Heir of Darkness

Chapter Six

My bare feet were a bloody mess as I dragged myself through the ForbiddenForest. Sharp thorns and twigs cut into my sensitive skin and prickly bark dug into my heels as I dragged myself deeper into the forest.

I didn't know how long I had been walking, how far I had travelled from Parker and the hole but his shouts still haunted me, no matter how hard I pressed the heels of my hands against my ears.

The sun was starting to rise, the moon now a distant shadow in the sky as a façade of orange filled the air. There were a few moments of hazy dusk where the edges of the orange sky melded with the darkness of the night, slowly lighting the area around me.

Uprooted trees made of deep brown bark stood tall and demeaning, each one a few feet from the next. Their roots snaked across the ground, entwining with each other, making it harder and slower for me to travel. Different hues of dark green leaves of diverse shapes and sizes drooped down on thin twigs to brush my face and body as I passed, and the ground I walked on was a crunchy mixture of moulding bark, fallen leaves and brambles waving their way into my path. A fog was slinking through the tree tops, shattering the suns rays and sending them all over the forest in small shards of light.

When I felt my feet hit something soft and squishy I drew my attention from the forest to the floor beneath my bare feet. I jumped back in disgust when my gaze landed on what appeared to be a worm, as long as my arm and twice as thick, wrapping itself around a fallen branch, its head latched onto one of the ends. A spray of small insects streamed from the other end and across the floor towards me and I shrieked, darting away as the large worm unwrapped itself from the branch and slithered across the floor to suck the fleeing insects.

My back hit a tree suddenly and I clutched onto it as the worm glided past, leaving a trail of pale saliva-like-goo in its wake.

I waited until the worm was gone and the dusk had converted into dawn before moving on, side stepping the crushed bugs and fallen branch careful not to step into any goo as I tiptoed past.

If a worm that large ate bugs than small I wondered how large the beasts were that hunted me. A shiver of fear ran down my spine at the thought and I wrapped my arms around myself, seeking comfort.

Moving on through the forest I choked down my disgust, noticing a slight chill in the air as the fog lowered, sweeping around my waist. It blurred and covered the ground below and I tried to block out the thought that I couldn't see the small beasts and creatures that could wander unseen below the fog.

I kept my eyes on the forest ahead.

The terrain became tougher to travel across as the ground was harder and rougher as it began to slope upwards. The trees around me became denser and their trunks thickened the further I walked, their harsh black barks shining in the penetrating sunlight.

I kept tripping over roots torn from their resting place and low branches slapping me in the face repeatedly and I came to the conclusion the trees were alive and doing this to me on purpose. My eyes constantly flickered around me looking for signs of beasts prowling and creatures hunting and although I saw nothing but the trees swaying gently I heard a number of terrifying things as I journeyed through the ForbiddenForest.

Nightmares of shadowy creatures chasing me came to mind as sound s of low growling and the crunching of autumn leaves haunted my every step. I imagined scenarios of twigs snapping under large paws alerting me of a beast's presence but I was too late to react and I was ripped to shreds before I could even turn around and see the face of my executioner. The slightest rustle of leaves high above me in the skies sent nerves running through my veins and my feet picked up their pace a little faster each time.