Nephilim: New Dawn

Chapter 2-The Village

Haru woke up to the sounds of winds brushing through the branches and the annoying noisiness of late morning, the screeching and chirpings of birds are things that he couldn't bear to listen when he wants to sleep more. Sitting up, he wiped his sleepy violet eyes before letting out a yawn, hand reaching for one of the small leather bands he usually uses to tie his hair into a small ponytail behind his head. After a while of searching without finding any of them, Haru blinked his eyes opened, but instead of seeing the familiar corner of the house where he sleeps, a put out fire pit and a cliff overseeing the valley below greeted him. The boy was tossed into maelstrom of panic and fear, not knowing what to do except for wrapping himself in his leather blanket.

Wait. Leather blanket? This isn't his, it belongs to someone else. A name popped out into Haru's mind as he began to stitch up the scattered memories from yesterday. It was a bit foggy at first, but it started to become clearer as he recalled his adventure. Everything seemed to be in their places, except for his strange companion who he last saw was sitting near the cliff has gone.

- Keto-san? - Haru looked around, hoping that his companion was just around the campsite.

- Yes?

The voice came from above, somewhat muffled as if he was choking on something. As soon as Haru looked up, his face turned white, immediately regretting his decision. Quetz was sitting on a large tree branch, his big toes acted like thumbs, gripping the wooden barks tightly while his long tail coiled around it, anchoring him as was trying to swallow a large lizard whole. It was still moving, its hind legs and tails flailed around desperately to escape from the fearsome predator that is Quetz. Haru flinched as the older male slightly unhinged his jaws, twice as wide as a normal human could and clamped down, slicing the poor animal in half like a monstrous guillotine.

He gulped down the upper half of the lizard, throat inflated like a pelican as he did, blood dripping from his mouth, down to his chin and onto the ground below. The man, the monster, dropped down on all four in front of Haru, cocking his head slightly in confusion at Haru's terrified face. He slowly crept forward, half crawling, half hopping like a monkey, leaving a trail of bloody handprints and droplets behind while his young companion crawls backward.

- Hey! Wait! - Quetz yelled out a warning and reached out his hand, trying to grab the boy before he crawls to the edge of the cliff.

Haru's mind was filled with terror, his ears buzzing from his own breathing and frantic movements in order to get away from this...beast. It was too much for his mind to handle, the sight of the half bitten body dropping from Quetz's mouth to the ground just inches away from him, the sensation of blood droplets splashing on his face, it was too much! As the creature moved forward in an inhuman fashion, he could feel his heart beats louder and louder, matching quickening breathes. The beast's eyes glowed eerily, drowning everything around him in utter silent and darkness, reflecting Haru's fear mockingly as if revealing his grand scheme of leading him here to devour him whole.

- No! No! - The boy yelped in horror as tears streamed down his cheeks. - Get away from m...

His sentenced was cut short, his heart stopped for a second as the sensation rushed from his hand to his arm and spread out throughout his body. Instead of hitting the hard ground, Haru hand reached into the empty void, so transfixed in getting away from Quetz that he's forgotten that they were on a cliff. His mind went blank, unable to think of anything as his view shifted from the approaching beast to the clear blue sky.

Then suddenly he stopped.

- Te tengo! - Quetz's voice pierced Haru's mind, bringing him out of his freezing state.

The boy looked up, sensing his shirt being gripped by Quetz's grey hand, holding his upper half from falling down. The older male forced a smile onto his face, both intentionally to calm Haru and unintentionally showing his relief. Before the boy could react, he yanked his arm backward forcefully, but instead of opening his mouth and chomp down as Haru's feared, Quetz wrapped both his arms around the shaking boy, making Haru fall on top of him.