The trees were black and shadowed, all but invisible in the light of the campfire and the bright stars above me. No one batted an eyelash. No voice was raised from a hurried living soul. But… that changed quickly.
As soon as he gave himself away, I sensed the slightest flutter in both of my knees. The hand that was holding the dagger was clammy and my grip had softened slightly. I tightened it once more, swallowed, and held the branch like a torch up to where I guessed the creature was; though it shook mildly in my hand.
I was so scared — truly terrified. Before me, stood a creature so big I had never seen or imagined in my life before, a creature so big it looked ready to slay me.
Above me was a grotesque face resembling a goats skull lain into the bark of the Tree. It then started to walked my way at a heavy gait. The morning revealed a series of wounds from which its claws had to have been the assailants that forced themselves open into the beast's skin now.
'These injuries play into my hand… I must not deny my fear,' I reasoned, and kept perfectly still.
The thing walked up until it was standing directly in front of me. It made me feel like ant.
There was only one way its unhesitant gait registered with me —
I had no room for mistakes. It was either him or me.
I felt way too short meeting Thorna because he stopped in front of me, I had to lift my head so I could see his gaze Those foul eyes were gazing down on me.
I recognised it in the atmosphere he bore, when our eyes met.
Why could I feel that power in his body? in reality, this was the forest it was flowing through him.
It was like the whole forest was behind him… that it lent him its power.
Thorna leant closer to me, his hideous bark smothered face closed in and he drew back his putrid maw opening into a mouthful of yellow green decay.
I did not waste my pretenses at being scared and disgusted and the more he saw it, the more he seemed to thrive off of it.
'Time to start the plan. Never underestimate your enemy!' I threw my dagger wildly at his chest
But the creature wasn't surprised. The weapon had ground up against his bark, and though my strike sunk deep enough to chip into his tree-like skin when I pulled it out there was no blood. Not even a drop.
'Why… isn't he bleeding?! I looked in confusion to the place where I had stabbed.
It took me all of a second to squint, and it was an instant revelation — the gashes on his body were not made by me, and the blood that was sitting atop his skin did not come from him.
This made me think, — the wagon I found by the river…
Could it be? Did he kill the owners?
And then – his right hand came flying across to me.
I barely dodged the attack thanks to my chest core cog that made me nimble enough, I got low and turned past the blow. His claws flew past my head.
Upon feeling the blow, I recoiled rapidly and started to put some ground between us.
How are you even supposed to kill something like this? He is nearly immortal…. I panicked, as he lifted his other hand for another strike.
I dodged again.
Realizing he was on the verge of attacking, I bolted running through the forest with my torch and dagger in hand.
I had to escape. If I just kept rolling away from him, he would eventually lose patience and with me in one place….kick my ass. But if I ran — if I escaped — it would only make him want to chase me more, and he might keep teasing rather than killing.
But those had been the same, in this life and my last.
It was only when anyone had pushed me as far as they could and I couldnt manage to land a punch that my temper would go through the roof.
Not him, I couldn't let that happen.
So I ran.
I ran and as I looked back if the look in his eyes He was enjoying this.
Thorna dropped to all fours.
Almost as if he was about to run after me like an animal;
But the only thing that did surprise me a little was, when he finally put his front arms on the ground and they made legs, but so long compared to Number Two's hind ones.
'Can he run in that form?! ' I was stunned.
Then he charged.
Fast.
Too fast.
My jaw dropped. How can he be that fast with a weird body morphed?
As I was running and panicking, the voice of that man in a cave kept resounding in my head:
Your world is… completely separate from this land.
That got me yelling out loud:
"You monster!"
I dropped to the ground at the last moment, covered my head with both arms and thrust out what I held above me as the beast lunged forward with those sharpened ends of its horns.
Thorna couldn't stop his steps, into a massive tree nearby behind.
Spinning on my heels, I jerked the torch down to make certain it was not extinguished. So I turn around, to see the beast.
He had banged the tree with his head and he was pretty shaken up about it.
I didn't wait.
I turned and ran again.
And, naturally, he started chasing me again.
I was able to make a dodge just before he got to me.
His rail-spike horns almost stabbed right through me twice.
Almost at the trap. I kept running.
The place I'd worked so hard to prepare earlier was finally getting closer.
I looked back — Thorna was right behind me. Practically breathing down my neck.
My heart jumped into my throat. My entire life flashed before my eyes — childhood races, school marathons, running from a neighbor's dog.
I pumped my legs harder.
I finally reached the trap.
I grabbed one of the oil barrels I had found near the shore. I had tied it high up to one of the trees, setting it so the liquid would spill if the tree was pushed.
As soon as Thorna ran beneath it, the wire clicked.
The oil poured down onto him.
He began to slow down, looking around, confused… but he kept moving.
"That's not all!" I shouted, grabbing a torch from the ground.
I threw it beside him — and flames exploded to life.
The fire engulfed him instantly.
Thorna shook his legs, rolled on the ground, tried to examine his body… but burning oil wasn't something you could just put out.
"More…"
I grabbed a nearby stone and hurled it at his head.
He didn't even flinch.
He knew it was just provocation.
That was exactly what I intended.
Thorna froze, flames still raging across his body.
Then, with a monstrous howl, he charged straight at me.
I screamed back:
"BURN!"
It almost seemed like he understood.
He accelerated.
"Oh? So you actually got it!" I sneered.
And this time — I ran toward the cliff.
I wanted to see him fall.
The same cliff I'd fallen from the night before.
I sped toward the end of the line, I jump over a rope that I had tied across the path – invisible unless you knew it was there.
Thorna didn't see it.
He struck the rope, stumbled forward and rolled… rolling head-over-heels straight towards the cliff on fire.
It was beautiful — almost poetic the way he rolled and I watched feeling very satisfied.
And followed him over the edge, with a final thud.
Intrigued, I inched my way to see if it was done.
I looked over the edge and saw Thorna gripping onto the roots of a tree sticking out of the side of the cliff.
With all his might, he hung, his claws dug deep into the root.
And his body…
It was still burning.