Part 10

Splattered blood. Crushed bones. Chewed intestines.

It was another feast.

The feminine monster had ripped apart the group of giant insects that were looming over Rei. It had shattered their chitin armour, squashed their organs, and tasted their blood.

“S-Sister! We-No, I didn’t know!”

One talking insect remained. It was the hybrid that seemed to be in charge of the others. Though it was not unscathed. A wing mashed and crumpled into a mess of bloody feathers barely covering the bones poking out. Its thin legs twisted into irregular shapes with blood dying their moss green colour. The hybrid was the opposite of unscathed but-

“-LOOK, SIS! IT’S A GNOME!”

“HUH?! REALLY?! WHERE?!”

With the split second it created, its healthy wing slapped against the air, propelling him into the air, losing the glutton’s grip on its mangled legs. Then, a golden tint caught his beady eyes, attracting his talons to snatch them from their socket-

In an instant, its world was turned upside down. The glutton’s hands dragging it over her head and slamming it into the-

Snap

“Oops.”

The glutton sent the hybrid flying into the depths of the forest.

“HAHAHAHAAH!” She laughed as she took a bite of the mangled leg in her hands. “Yum.”

Within the few seconds that this took place, Knight and Rei found each other’s eyes. It had barely been ten minutes since they were last together but, ‘It feels like ages.’

It was only for a split second that they caught each other’s gaze as Rei crawled past a tree and into the darkness.

It was only for a split second but Knight knew she was ready to cry. Surrounded by darkness. Surrounded by monsters. Surrounded by death. If it was anyone else, they’d be frozen with fear. Even Knight was frozen to the spot as the glutton decimated what seemed to be her family.

But Rei was different. It’s not that she had an impenetrable mind; ridiculous mental strength. She was sensitive, she was desperate for companionship but had trouble opening up. It took Knight the saviour for her to ‘break’ out of her shell. But even now she was still going back inside. She could and would cry at the smallest things but, ‘She always strengthens her resolve.’

She was encumbered with fear but she didn’t let it pin her down. She made sure that she would move, even if it was only a step at a time.

So, as she slinked into the darkness and escaped from Knight’s gaze, he hardened his resolve just like her. He still didn’t know why or what he really wanted, but he had two things to do right now. Try not to die and to make sure Rei doesn’t die either.

As the monstrous glutton finished off the leg, Knight too, slinked into the darkness.

* * *

“-! Where have those two gone?” The glutton asked the silent forest as she itched her blood-covered grey lips. Like a spoiled brat begging her parents to give in, the glutton yelled out “Someone tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me!” shaking each mangled body scattered around her as she asked.

“…”

“I said tell me!”

“…”

Her patience at an end, the glutton screamed “Useless bastards!” and jumped on everybody. “THIS!” She crushed the first. “IS WHAT HAPPENS!” she crushed the second. “WHEN!” she crushed the third. “YOU IGNORE ME!” she crushed the last body.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

And of course, nothing left their mouths. The spoiled, rampaging child had inadvertently crushed any chance of them still being alive by stomping their windpipes.

Then, shrouded in anger and confusion, the glutton screamed with all her might “FOOOD!” and-

Boom!

-shattered the closest tree into oblivion. The splinters flying at breakneck speed into all the trees in the immediate vicinity, creating a multitude of cracks in each one.

“I’ll see brother at home, yeah. This is a good plan.”

The glutton set off deeper into the forest, destroying trees sporadically as she walked.

* * *

Soaked in tears Rei stumbled into the darkness whilst desperately trying to push down her fear. And that was only possible because she had just locked eyes with her saviour. Yet, she couldn’t hold her gaze. Her saviour looked broken. And why was he there without the big furry?

“-No,” Rei told herself clearly with the shake of her head, fixing her broken dam before she wiped the remaining tears off her face. ‘I need to get to him.’

With the dark questions and fear burrowed under determination and hope, the little blue-haired girl ran through the forest. Knight had retreated deeper into the forest, so hopefully, he had the same idea as well. Their only shot at safely meeting up was to loop around the scary, hungry insect.

The problem was the silence was being overridden by the cackles in the distance. It was as if they were getting closer. It could be more scary insects. Rei knew if she ran into even one more, she wouldn’t last.

“…!”

An idea! Surely she wasn’t far from the small camp her saviour and friend set up, right? The other girl, Iroha, must still be there.

With a new hope brewing, Rei hastened her movement, urging to see someone on her side. It was lonely in the dark, after all.

BOOM!

An explosion of sound erupted, followed by a cracking noise that ripped through the forest and sent tremors through its countless trees.

Rei clasped her ears as she fell to the grass. It came from close enough to send shivers through her entire body, never mind popping her eardrums.

Luckily, Rei had made enough distance between her and the scary insect that she didn’t go deaf. It was clear that the scary monster was the catalyst for the explosion of sound.

In an attempt to shake it off, Rei ripped two clumps of grass from the ground and stuffed them into her ears. It didn’t really work, but it eased some of her fear. Then, Rei started running again.

Boom!

The cracking noise coursed through the forest again, but its sound didn’t shake the trees surrounding Rei. Luckily, she had gotten far enough to feel somewhat safe from the noise.

The cracking noise repeated and repeated, getting quieter and quieter as Rei ran further and further. But it was the only thing Rei heard through the clumps of grass.

As she ran even further, a buried worry started to arise. It had been more than a few minutes, yet nothing apart from the darkness and shadowy trees had entered her view. Not Knight. Not the big furry. Not the camp. And no scary insects.

Rei abruptly came to a stop, ripping the cold clumps of grass from her ears.

The forest fell silent apart from the muffled booms that were getting quieter and quieter.

“-!” Rei’s golden eyes shined as she noticed something just ahead. She ran towards it and no trees seemed to fill the spots the darkness slightly revealed. A sudden warmth defrosted the fear circulating in her body as she cried out, “the road!” and tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground.

Immediately, Rei got to her feet rushing out onto the road. It wasn’t lit but Rei knew it was the road she and her friends walked on from the town.

“That means-!” Her golden eyes lit up as she came to a realisation. She turned her head both ways before turning right and running down the forest road.

She tripped over the cobbles and grazed her bare skin multiple times in a rush to reach the camp.

“-!” With a gasp of excitement, Rei came to a stop, noticing the dying embers of a fire a few meters within the forest.

Rei pushed off the ground with all her might, sprinting into the forest to reach the tired fire. Maybe Knight was waiting there for her! Maybe Iroha had wakened up and was waiting with a big smile! Maybe even that fur guy was there with news of safety! Maybe-

“Uff…” Rei tripped over something again in her rush to get to camp. But that didn’t matter because as she got to her feet, the dying fire was right in front of her.

“Ma-Knight! Iroha! Furry!” Rei spun her head from side to side looking for someone. ‘No one here. No one there.’

Rei looked all around. She looked underneath every blanket. She looked behind the surrounding trees. She looked on the road again. Then once more at the camp.

“No one,” she mumbled as the cold fear began to freeze the hope circulating in her body. “WHERE IS EVERYONE!” She screamed, the dam broke again, tears streamed down her face, and she collapsed to the floor. “I-I can un-understand him and him! B-B-But wh-where’s she!”

Rei was right. Knight wasn’t there. The furry wasn’t there. They were only slight hopes. But Iroha wasn’t there either. She hadn’t even come with Rei and the boys. She hadn’t appeared when they needed another helper either.

“Why…” Rei muttered, drenched in tears. “Why is no one here?”

“But someone is here. In fact, a handful of ‘someone’ is here.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, don’t get your hopes up though. I’m just another scary insect who happens to talk. These lot here can’t talk but they had fun tripping you up along the way.”

“…”

“Yeah, I’m not sure why all the ones who can’t talk are sadistic. They like to play with their food.”

Rei wasn’t alone. She received her wish. Five human-sized insects were with her. She couldn’t escape. She led herself here with the hope to find her friends. And in the end, her hope was wrong. She thought she could follow hope again after she came to be friends with her saviour. But nope. These scary monsters in this scary world had just squashed that train of thought.

‘Rei… From now on you will be called Rei.’

Suddenly, Knight’s words appeared in Rei’s mind. They pushed back the sadness, fear, and despair. Allowing Rei to fully focus on his words.

‘Rei… From now on you will be called Rei.’

That’s right. He gave her a name. One that wasn’t just some code to help if she went missing or to keep track of in experiments. A proper name.

Her hope might have been false here-no. Hope can’t be false. It might have not worked out here but if you keep believing and following that hope, it won’t fail you. No. Rei knew that wasn’t true either. Knight, her saviour, her hope, wasn’t without his fair share of despair either. But just because the hope is shot. Just because hope is eaten. Just because the hope is damaged, doesn't mean you should wallow in that despair. If the only outcome is death, then prolong that death and create new memories.

Rei was sure that was what Knight believed. Well, it was what she thought Knight was going through when she caught his gaze for a few seconds earlier.

‘Rei… From now on you will be called Rei.’

Knight had saved her. Gave her hope. Named her. And soothed her wounds. He could never get rid of them but maybe it was possible to heal them to a certain extent.

“-EIIIII!”

She couldn’t betray that hope he sparked, whether he meant to spark it or not.

“REIIIII!”

“-!” Rei’s building resolve froze as a shout reached her ears.

“REI!”

Someone appeared from the darkness, sprinting towards Rei in a moon grey tracksuit with a small piece of armour covering his chest.

Before Rei could process her thoughts, her cold hand was grabbed by another cold but larger hand. Instantly, she was swept off her feet and onto the person’s back. She instinctively wrapped her slender arms around his neck to steady herself as the person sprinted back into the forest. She pressed her head against the person’s messy brown hair and shaved sides.

“Thanks-” Rei mumbled into the person’s ear. “-Knight.”