I awoke to the sound of rustling leaves and whimpering. As I sat up and looked around, I realized I was still in the forest. Nighttime had enveloped the surroundings, as no sunlight pierced through the forest canopy. Strangely, I could see perfectly well in the dark.
Feeling unwell and nauseous, I knew I had to keep moving. Dried blood covered me from my previous meal, making me look like an actual demon. Considering my circumstances, being a demon made sense.
The forest was alive with growls and snarls, hinting at the presence of many creatures hunting. Soon, I would have to search for my next meal too.
Finding a small clearing, I sat down on a large fallen log and gazed up at the stars, lost in my thoughts. "What exactly am I?" I pondered. "Am I a demon? A human? Both? Is this all some twisted dream or nightmare?"
Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly realized I was not alone. I looked up and saw a figure standing right above me, about to bring a knife down on my skull.
Swiftly, I rolled out of the way and jumped to my feet, raising my hands defensively as the figure came towards me. It was a young boy, a schoolmate of mine, twelve years old with short brown hair, freckles, and big hazel eyes.
"Dad! I found her!" he yelled.
"Hang on, wait!" I replied.
Multiple footsteps approached from behind him, and several voices echoed. I tried to run, but the boy threw his knife at me with surprising accuracy. I barely dodged it, but it bought him enough time. In just a few seconds, ten people surrounded me. Four were schoolmates, including the boy, and six were older men armed with knives and pitchforks.
"There she is," one of the men said.
In my moment of shock, the boy shoved me, knocking me to the ground. I attempted to get back up, but one of the men rushed towards me and placed his foot on my chest, pinning me down. I resisted, but it was futile.
"Stop resisting," he commanded, raising a pitchfork. "Don't make this harder on yourself."
In my desperation, I dug my claws into his ankle and tore it apart. The man dropped the pitchfork, clutching his torn ankle. That lapse in concentration was all I needed to free myself. Using all my strength, I pushed the man off me, and he fell on his butt.
Still, grasping his ankle, he glared at me. "You little shit!" he yelled.
The other five men closed in on me while the four kids my age just stared at the unfolding scene. The adults were in a frenzy, and one of the boys suggested, "Let's burn her like we burnt that old scarecrow once."
One of the men laughed and cheered. "That would be fun."
These people saw me as a target, not a person. Would I be able to get out of this without killing anyone? If I did kill, would I lose my humanity as I did with the wolf?
I had to act fast. So, I leaped at them while they were still distracted.
I kicked one of the men in the groin with all my might. His eyes widened in disbelief as he fell to the ground. I grabbed him by his hair, claws near his throat.
The other men were in shock at how fast I'd acted. Fear flickered in their eyes. They backed away cautiously, and one of the boys looked at me.
"Let go of my dad."
"No, I won't," I replied, tightening my grip on his hair.
"Are you going to kill him then?" one of the men asked.
"Not unless you try to hurt me. Now throw your weapons away, somewhere far."
The men hesitated momentarily but threw their knives and pitchforks aside.
"Alright," the man with the injured ankle said, attempting to stand and falling to the ground. "Let's calm down now. We can discuss this like adults."
"Yeah, let's," another man added.
They all looked at each other and nodded, then turned to me.
"You want a discussion now that I've got one of your buddies by the throat? Awfully fast change, don't you think?" I said with a sneer.
The man with the injured ankle tried to stand and fell again. "Let him go."
"You guys are going to leave me alone," I replied menacingly.
"We'll give you some time to cool down. So please don't harm him," one of the men pleaded.
Honestly, I'd always thought most of my peers were idiots, but it looked like a decent number of adults in the village were idiots too.
"You're not just going to give me time to cool down. You're going to go back home and leave me alone. Do you understand me?"
The men looked at each other and nodded to me. They were clearly scared. I suppose I should have been afraid of them too, but I wasn't. I was just annoyed at this point.
"Good. Now get moving."
The men retrieved their weapons cautiously. "What do you all think you're doing?" I asked.
"We're getting our weapons back," one of the men replied.
"Did I say you could?" I asked, moving my nails closer to the man's neck, drawing blood.
One of the kids cried out, "Dad!"
"Now hold on, Laura," another man chimed in. "If we don't have our weapons, how are we going to make it back to the village in the dead of night?"
Truly, these people were idiots.
"That doesn't sound like my problem. Now, if you so much as touch one of those weapons, he dies."
To anyone looking, I must have looked like a demon, and my actions were becoming more like one too.
The men backed away from the weapons and eyed me warily. The boy who cried out earlier started talking.
"Laura, you truly are a demon."
"If I'm a demon, then you're a moron. I mean, you tried to stab me first, so you have no right to complain about anything."
He shot me a glare before turning to the other men. They all started retreating into the forest.
"If I get even the slightest suspicion that you all are still there, then he dies."
Of course, I had no intention of killing him, but they didn't need to know that. It's all about how you act.
I watched them go until they were out of sight. Afterward, I went over to the weapons, still dragging the boy's father. I picked up one of the knives they'd left. It was nothing special, just a run-of-the-mill kitchen knife, sharp enough.
After twenty minutes, I released the man from my grip. He immediately got up and hobbled after everyone else.
I was alone again, for better or worse. I wondered if they'd all make it back alive without their weapons. Well, it's no concern of mine. My mindset was truly changing, being forced to leave and survive in this forest was messing with my head.
I awoke to the sound of rustling leaves and whimpering. As I sat up and looked around, I realized I was still in the forest. Nighttime had enveloped the surroundings, as no sunlight pierced through the forest canopy. Strangely, I could see perfectly well in the dark.
Feeling unwell and nauseous, I knew I had to keep moving. Dried blood covered me from my previous meal, making me look like an actual demon. Considering my circumstances, being a demon made sense.
The forest was alive with growls and snarls, hinting at the presence of many creatures hunting. Soon, I would have to search for my next meal too.
Finding a small clearing, I sat down on a large fallen log and gazed up at the stars, lost in my thoughts. "What exactly am I?" I pondered. "Am I a demon? A human? Both? Is this all some twisted dream or nightmare?"
Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly realized I was not alone. I looked up and saw a figure standing right above me, about to bring a knife down on my skull.
Swiftly, I rolled out of the way and jumped to my feet, raising my hands defensively as the figure came towards me. It was a young boy, a schoolmate of mine, twelve years old with short brown hair, freckles, and big hazel eyes.
"Dad! I found her!" he yelled.
"Hang on, wait!" I replied.
Multiple footsteps approached from behind him, and several voices echoed. I tried to run, but the boy threw his knife at me with surprising accuracy. I barely dodged it, but it bought him enough time. In just a few seconds, ten people surrounded me. Four were schoolmates, including the boy, and six were older men armed with knives and pitchforks.
"There she is," one of the men said.
In my moment of shock, the boy shoved me, knocking me to the ground. I attempted to get back up, but one of the men rushed towards me and placed his foot on my chest, pinning me down. I resisted, but it was futile.
"Stop resisting," he commanded, raising a pitchfork. "Don't make this harder on yourself."
In my desperation, I dug my claws into his ankle and tore it apart. The man dropped the pitchfork, clutching his torn ankle. That lapse in concentration was all I needed to free myself. Using all my strength, I pushed the man off me, and he fell on his butt.
Still, grasping his ankle, he glared at me. "You little shit!" he yelled.
The other five men closed in on me while the four kids my age just stared at the unfolding scene. The adults were in a frenzy, and one of the boys suggested, "Let's burn her like we burnt that old scarecrow once."
One of the men laughed and cheered. "That would be fun."
These people saw me as a target, not a person. Would I be able to get out of this without killing anyone? If I did kill, would I lose my humanity as I did with the wolf?
I had to act fast. So, I leaped at them while they were still distracted.
I kicked one of the men in the groin with all my might. His eyes widened in disbelief as he fell to the ground. I grabbed him by his hair, claws near his throat.
The other men were in shock at how fast I'd acted. Fear flickered in their eyes. They backed away cautiously, and one of the boys looked at me.
"Let go of my dad."
"No, I won't," I replied, tightening my grip on his hair.
"Are you going to kill him then?" one of the men asked.
"Not unless you try to hurt me. Now throw your weapons away, somewhere far."
The men hesitated momentarily but threw their knives and pitchforks aside.
"Alright," the man with the injured ankle said, attempting to stand and falling to the ground. "Let's calm down now. We can discuss this like adults."
"Yeah, let's," another man added.
They all looked at each other and nodded, then turned to me.
"You want a discussion now that I've got one of your buddies by the throat? Awfully fast change, don't you think?" I said with a sneer.
The man with the injured ankle tried to stand and fell again. "Let him go."
"You guys are going to leave me alone," I replied menacingly.
"We'll give you some time to cool down. So please don't harm him," one of the men pleaded.
Honestly, I'd always thought most of my peers were idiots, but it looked like a decent number of adults in the village were idiots too.
"You're not just going to give me time to cool down. You're going to go back home and leave me alone. Do you understand me?"
The men looked at each other and nodded to me. They were clearly scared. I suppose I should have been afraid of them too, but I wasn't. I was just annoyed at this point.
"Good. Now get moving."
The men retrieved their weapons cautiously. "What do you all think you're doing?" I asked.
"We're getting our weapons back," one of the men replied.
"Did I say you could?" I asked, moving my nails closer to the man's neck, drawing blood.
One of the kids cried out, "Dad!"
"Now hold on, Laura," another man chimed in. "If we don't have our weapons, how are we going to make it back to the village in the dead of night?"
Truly, these people were idiots.
"That doesn't sound like my problem. Now, if you so much as touch one of those weapons, he dies."
To anyone looking, I must have looked like a demon, and my actions were becoming more like one too.
The men backed away from the weapons and eyed me warily. The boy who cried out earlier started talking.
"Laura, you truly are a demon."
"If I'm a demon, then you're a moron. I mean, you tried to stab me first, so you have no right to complain about anything."
He shot me a glare before turning to the other men. They all started retreating into the forest.
"If I get even the slightest suspicion that you all are still there, then he dies."
Of course, I had no intention of killing him, but they didn't need to know that. It's all about how you act.
I watched them go until they were out of sight. Afterward, I went over to the weapons, still dragging the boy's father. I picked up one of the knives they'd left. It was nothing special, just a run-of-the-mill kitchen knife, sharp enough.
After twenty minutes, I released the man from my grip. He immediately got up and hobbled after everyone else.
I was alone again, for better or worse. I wondered if they'd all make it back alive without their weapons. Well, it's no concern of mine. My mindset was truly changing, being forced to leave and survive in this forest was messing with my head.
