Read Amatepetl :: CHAPTER 8: THE NIGHT AXE PART 1

The forest air was humid and stifling to the point of suffocation as we waded through the undergrowth. Insects and other unsavory creatures stirred beneath the dense layer of brush that surrounded us and clung to our feet, the rotting stench wafting through my nostrils as my body collapsed upon the wet, squelchy soil underneath, my hair and sandals dampened by sweat and mud. Honestly, we probably should have turned around when we saw the roped boundary blocking off the entrance to the uncharted forest. The protective paper charms that acted as a shield against the horrors beyond dangling from nearby branches were nearly hidden by the foliage.

The elders speak of a time where we could wander freely in and out, where nothing lurked within. Eventually, when more and more villagers disappeared from a seemingly uncontrolled cause, we took precautions and enforced a permanent barrier to protect the community. Still, things would find their way through and sometimes you'd find a broken charm near the shore of the river, others on the fringe of the uncharted forest where it brushes against the boundary and protects our land. Even then, we didn't turn back. We couldn't turn back. Not when we couldn't even see what was in front of us.

The plan was simple. Find the boy and bolt right out of here without injury or casualties. Obviously easier said than done, now that we're past the barrier and deep within the uncharted forest. As soon as we ducked under the roped off boundary, within our first step we could all sense that something felt amiss.

For starters the noises of the woods had become all the more jarring the deeper we tread, like there was a thousand voices buzzing, chirping and roaring around us, scratching and clawing at our eardrums and ripping the skin off them. The closer we crept, the more unnerving our surroundings became. The woods became thick, the atmosphere suffocating, the humidity nearly unbearable to the point it felt like we were walking under boiling water. Just utterly hot and sticky, gross, humid air clogging the sinuses and making our chests heavy.

What were we even looking for? Were we walking around aimlessly? Just hoping that we'll somehow run into this boy?

Every couple of steps I would stop and glance at Hyats'i in hopes I wasn't going the wrong way or getting us lost but whenever I tried he remained as still as the trees beside us, refusing to meet my gaze, only staring off ahead at a particularly gnarled looking tree that was starting to lean heavily to one side. Something that I didn't even notice at first until I strained my eyes trying to discern what was catching his interest. At times, the rustling of leaves would sound suddenly and our breath would hitch for just a second. No birds, animals or even insects. Only the sound of snapping of twigs under our feet and the odd huffs or croaks from my two companions as they fanned the heat with their garments.

It wasn't a noise so much as an unsettling presence we could sense nearby, a prickling sensation along the backs of my knees, an eerie aura around the bushes and plants nearby, and the quiet that seemed so much louder than normal. Perhaps the heat is finally starting to get to me. No matter what I did the ground underneath me swayed and rippled like the waves upon the river. Everything was hazy and my limbs stiff like dead weight, heavy and hot to the touch. My heartbeat felt like a sluggish thud in my chest as we stood around trying to gain our bearings.

Just as I raise my arm, going to slash away at the underbrush to break into the next clearing, Hyats'i's face is red and gleaming with sweat as he presses a firm hand upon my forearm just barely hanging it's swing, gesturing towards the ground below us.

"The earth. It's moving." He croaked out with a hard swallow, voice gravelly and dry.

Ah. So, he felt that too. Could that be what he'd been concentrating on for the last few minutes? Trying to make sense of the swaying while keeping his expression guarded? My jaw clenched as we stared down at the muddy ground beneath us. Thick clumps of mud were shifting with tremors that made the entire area rumble with tremors, as though an earthquake was shaking our world, its intensity growing, steadily getting louder and stronger the deeper into the forest we traveled.

As though...A tree were falling over, causing the ground to rumble beneath our feet. Or better yet. Trees were collapsing, the distance between the quake's sounded like a good distance, yet also close enough that we could all hear and feel their tremors. Whatever it was that was moving was something large.

"This is useless, let's just head back and tell the old man we can't find him?" Müdi, the clearly very selfless and brave man following us closely behind suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as his voice cracked, a panic evident in his face that quickly shifted into the beginnings of fear. Though, who could fault him?

"You're free to leave whenever." I declared and pointed a finger towards the boundary behind us, or rather somewhere towards it's direction. I hope.

He stood there for a moment as though threatening to go back, just like that. Even made a show of standing tall, proud and stern. Though it took little time for his expression to turn somber and his pride to falter until it crumbled. Hyats'i and I kept going while he remained there for several minutes. Neither one of us turned back to check but, before long he followed quietly in our footsteps. He didn't scream. Didn't shout at us to leave the area with haste, nor did he rush towards the closest way out. In fact, he stayed at a very controlled distance from us both, constantly giving space while doing his best to keep up. I wondered what changed his mind. His fear of being out here all alone and dying at the claws of some wild beast? Or was it dying at the hands of his own father-in-law for his cowardice if he went back now?

The man uttered some more words of defiance, but they fell short of true defiance as he simply lowered his voice and tread with less enthusiasm as we pushed deeper. It wasn't really hard to ignore him as my thoughts swirled like a fog, trying to focus and think straight while also observing everything happening around me.

These weren't the sounds I was used to hearing when I was in the forests. In fact, now there was no noise, aside from the sounds coming from us as we pushed further and further, wading our way through the ever thickening trees. The sound of our feet breaking twigs on the ground or a bird cawing in the distance. Everything was just quiet all of a sudden, and the farther we got the hotter it got and the sweatier the palm of my hands grew. I can already feel my fingers tingle, just wanting to take my long blade and make quick work of every bug that makes even a peep or move my way, cutting into each bush and twig that came within range.

"Say, what do you suppose made the poor guy vanish." Hyats'i murmured from right beside me, and I honestly wasn't sure if he was addressing me or thinking out loud, but he sounded curious rather than wary. Either way, his mind seemed preoccupied with the topic and not the imminent threat looming above, which in this situation made him brave.

His dark eyes were firmly gazing over the endless wall of trees before us, sharp, yet concerned. What was he looking for? Why hadn't he bothered to worry about our situation, instead asking about a guy he'd never even met before? This seemed like the last thing he should've been concerning himself with, especially now.

Still, I can't help the knot in my stomach at the sight before us. It doesn't look too promising, to be honest.

The very ground trembles slightly below our feet. Smaller earthquakes here and there like tremors that struck throughout the entire uncharted forests.

"Who knows," I mused, scanning the underbrush around us while answering the same question.

What exactly could cause these tremors to begin with? There were several possible ideas but none were particularly believable. With all the sounds that have been resonating through the forest, perhaps a wild cat stalking the surrounding brush? But would that explain the blistering heat? It wasn't this hot before we crossed the boundary into the uncharted forest.

"I just wish they could've given us something. More clues as to what happened to this kid," Hyats'i answered. His words came with a little shrug of his shoulders, and he looks as nervous as me, as a single bead of sweat trickled down my neck. I tugged the necklace that hung around my throat, tapping at the small bell that'd been attached to it to shake off the nerves. But instead it rouses the cowardly man behind us, with an irritated growl, he stepped forward, waving off my hand as he leaned close enough to snap his teeth.

"Stop making so much noise! What if something hears?" Müdi whispered fiercely, pulling both our attention to his agitated expression as he scanned the wilderness around us, eyes darting from each bush to the next.

Is this guy serious? His outburst is doing more harm than the stupid bell on around my neck! What a nuisance, not only is he a coward but he dares to come near my person and growl like a dog when his fears get the better of him. And yet his anger makes him bold? As soon as we spot whatever has him on edge, he'll probably hide behind Hyats'i like the woman-child he truly is.

But instead of glaring him away and pushing him back as he'd expected me to do, I met his fiery gaze and simply grabbed hold of him by the shoulders, yanking his body forward so suddenly he almost lost his footing as he stumbled on ahead with a yelp.

"If you keep pestering so much you won't have to wait for some monster or whatever lurking about in these woods, because I'll probably do you in before that happens."

Müdi had flinched at the very unexpected grab, but his mouth moved rapidly, already rebutting the words without delay, anger growing ever more palpable and boiling over the surface. But before any argument could be had Hyats'i placed a single firm hand on my shoulder, in my mind, intervening before things could escalate. Yet when the coward and I both snapped our heads up to glance at the guy, his eyes weren't on us. They were staring intently at something off ahead, barely visible to our naked eye, yet undeniable. His hand tensed ever so slightly where it remained pressed into my shoulder, tugging at us to go. For us to move now.

The ground rumbled and shuddered as a shape pushed past the foliage, pushing forward with the sheer mass that shook the leaves, sending tremors rippling through our legs and bodies alike.

My hand clapped over Müdi's mouth with such ferocity he clawed at it, his gaze pleading. Yet every time he did my grip merely tightened until his eyes looked like they were ready to fall out. I mustn't let him yell. Anything but a yell, we wouldn't stand a chance against the likes of it if it finds us. We would need to remain hidden, silent.

As silent as a rock, Hyats'i had held a firm grip on my shoulder, his form as motionless as I had become.

Hide. We needed to hide now!

I dragged both myself and the much bigger, sturdier, heavier man along behind me as Hyats'i moved further into the brush. Every muscle in my legs felt stiff and brittle, unable to hold our weight even if I wanted to. The coward's movements behind me weren't any better, a poor imitation of a human, clumping and sliding against the floor. I turned to look at my friend, trying not to grimace as his gaze remains dead ahead, as if focused on whatever is passing us by. His expression was a mask of indifference but I can see a muscle working on the side of his jaw. Nerves. He was definitely afraid. He was doing his best and I had pushed him into this situation. I waved my hand to get his attention. He glanced towards me and my hand pressed against the coward's lips. His eyes darted briefly towards the man himself, who was now red in the face from exertion, fighting hard against my iron grip as his own hands desperately tried to yank my fingers off him. When our gaze met once more Hyats'i's chin dipped with a slight nod, already on the same page as me. Get down and hope this thing, whatever it was, wouldn't find us.

It was getting closer and closer, moving up alongside us at an alarming pace, from the way the ground was trembling underneath, whatever it was it must've been huge, certainly large and heavy enough for the earth to vibrate. But the sounds of trees being pushed away, bending and breaking sounded loud and violent and unlike the creature's footfalls which remained low and rhythmic, which reminded me more of a person's heartbeat.

I got curious, damn it. If it was heading our way anyways, I wanted to get a look at what we were about to deal with before it noticed our presence, so with a twist, I jerked my head away from our two companions and glanced away, attempting to peer through the heavy underbrush. I regretted it immediately when my gaze landed upon it.

Not just because of how horrific the damned thing was but because I knew there would be consequences. Because after getting a good look i finally came to the realization of how utterly screwed we are the moment this thing discovers us. It would surely kill us in one fell swoop, one wrong move and it would turn to see the three of us like fish caught in a net. Why would something so disgustingly enormous exist, and why would it be needed in the uncharted forest?

My insides churned at the sight to the point of having to clamp my own mouth so as not to give away our position, my tongue numbed by the terrible scene before me. It's body was hideous. The rumbling from earlier, that one we had originally believed to be from a tree, no, it seemed to belong to the looming headless being in front of us. The monstrous figure with its humanlike hands inside its chest, cracking it open to reveal its heart and entrails. The heart was a bright white and beating, pulsating and squirming. It almost burned my eyes with how bright it was but I just couldn't tear my gaze away. There were parts that looked more... human. If one could call it that, there were arms and legs, albeit not quite a torso, and no head to speak of. Not unless the pulsating heart on display was an actual head.

Hands still wrapped firmly around my face, I quickly hid with the other two, my body reacting out of pure terror. My lips were numb, and my throat dry. Everything in my body just froze with a sudden horror and, despite my instincts telling me not to look, I did anyways. And damn it, was it terrifying to see. What to do? What to do? If it was me It would be a whole lot easier, but with these two? This thing could crush us between its biceps and I couldn't take that risk!

What do I do? Where do we go? What did I do and why did I have to drag Hyats'i into this?

Run.

Yes, we have to run! Now!