Primal Saga Volume 1: The Queen of Silence

Chapter 12: Within the Fog

"Stay close to me," Miyabi said in a hushed voice as I followed her into the dark void of the jungle. 

The fog has returned making it incredibly difficult to navigate through the dense foliage without stumbling all over the place. In the distance, the sound of the burning truck could still be heard mixed with shouts of the men as they fought against the blaze. No doubt, they will soon realize Miyabi is missing and will start searching for us. We just need to keep moving. The more distance we can put between us and them the better chance we have of not being caught. However, even though I tried my best to not think about it, I knew we were in for far worse waiting for us within these trees. Still, we kept pushing forward.

"Stop," Miyabi whispered with her hand raised. In front of us was the same clearing where I was chained up or at least I thought it was, the fog that made it incredibly difficult for me to gather any sense of orientation. "We need to avoid going out into the open. There could be-"

Miyabi grabbed me and pulled me down into the thicket. I was going to ask her what she had seen but she put her finger to her lips signaling me to remain silent. Through the leaves, I could see beams from a pair of flashlights shining into the clearing. Oh no. They already caught up to us.

One of the men began to bark orders. Based on his voice, I was sure it was Mondo. "You go that way and I'll head this way. Meet back here in five minutes. Boss doesn't want us wandering too far. Although, after that whole thing back there with your smokes, I'm sure the boss couldn't care less about what happens to you now."

The other man, who I'm sure is Oliver, remained silent.

Then.

A beam of light passed by where Miyabi and I hid. It was close. Too close. The beam continued to swing in arcs. The grass rustled as one of the men approached our hiding spot. My palms and forehead became slick with sweat. The man was so close now I swear I could hear him breathing over the sound of my own pulse in my ears. I held my breath. 

And just like that, he passed right in front of us, disappearing into the fog to our left.

I let out a long sigh of relief.

"We need to keep moving," Miyabi whispered. "Once we put enough distance between us and then we need to get out of the open. The longer we have exposed like this the higher chance we have at attracting-"

She stopped.

The jungle was nearly silent except for the pitter-patter of water drops against the leaves. Even the sounds from the hunter's camp seem to have ceased. I continued to listen but-

No.

There was another faint sound. Somewhere off in the fog. Across the clearing. There was a sound carried by the wind. It sounded eerily human. Like soft giggling. The ghostly noise lasted for a few seconds before it echoed into the night. Then silence.

The silence lasted a few seconds before it was broken by a crashing noise in the trees across the clearing. Something was heading this way...

"Run," Miyabi said in a hushed voice, grabbing my arm and yanking me to my feet.

Immediately the giggling started again but this time it shifted into a low, psychotic cackle. It was much closer now. The foliage behind us began to rustle and crash as the unseen creature charged after us. The whole jungle seems to have come alive. My lungs heaved as I was dragged behind Miyabi while we ran. Branches whacked across my face like whips making it hard to keep my eyes open. The animal, still making that god-awful laughter, must have been just a few yards behind us. A horrible realization crept into my mind about what was after us. It was the very same animal that tore off  Uncle Victor's arm. The barahari - the laughing death.