(T＿T)

_____'_'

After a long coma of unknown length, Linda’s eyes snapped open to the sound of ear-splitting screams.

It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t an illusion.

She rose slowly, head heavy, surrounded by a dense forest whose towering trees and dark leaves reflected a faint, chilling light.

On the ground beside her lay scattered weapons—rusted rifles and strange knives—as if someone had left them there on purpose.

The screams gave her no time to think.

She turned, terrified, and saw what she had never wished to see.

It was William—or what remained of him.

His body was mangled and torn apart, legs severed, internal organs strewn across the soil, the earth soaking in his still-warm blood.

His face was intact, but his lifeless eyes stared at her.

The sight was so nightmarish that Linda’s eyes widened as if to pop from their sockets and her heart stopped for several seconds.

Fate gave her no chance to recover.

Her eyes caught an even more horrifying scene: Rosie, her friend, in the grip of a massive ogre.

The creature was green-skinned, scarred all over, towering over three meters tall, its jaw dripping saliva mixed with the blood of its victims.

It held Rosie like a tiny doll as she sobbed in anguish, looking toward Linda with a final desperate plea:

—“Help me… please…!”

Linda sat on the ground, frozen, hands clamped over her mouth.

Rosie’s screams stirred only a tremor of pain inside her.

Then, with brutal slowness, the ogre began to devour Rosie piece by piece—starting with her arms, then her chest—her cries fading with every bite.

Her tears mingled with blood as she disappeared into the monster’s mouth until only her legs remained, which it swallowed at last, leaving behind a heavy silence and utter shock in Linda’s heart.

Linda felt her spirit drain away.

She stared into nothingness, one thought echoing inside:

“What is happening… i-is this a dream or what?”

She could not tell whether the vision was real or a hallucination.

The ogre turned toward her, stepping slowly, its green drool mixed with the blood of her friends.

A rifle lay on the ground beside her, but her fingers did not move.

Her body was frozen, as if resigned to her fate, not even trying to run or call for help.

The ogre stretched out its massive hands, seized her, lifted her high, and brought its jaws close to her head, ready to swallow her as it had Rosie.

She did not scream or cry, only her eyes shone with silent tears.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out.

The bullet pierced the ogre’s skull with precision, blowing apart part of its head and splattering its bloody saliva across Linda’s face.

Two more shots followed, tearing through its thick neck, and the creature staggered, shuddered for a moment, then collapsed like a giant boulder beside her.

Linda hit the ground, spattered with its sticky green blood until she felt covered in it completely.

Only then did she grasp that this was no dream—that Rosie had died before her eyes and William was only scattered remains.

She broke into sudden sobs, clutched her head, and screamed with everything left in her:

—“Nooooo! Why didn’t I save her? Why didn’t I die instead of her?!”

Someone approached and gripped her trembling hands.

It was Elias, eyes red from tears, voice shaking as he said,

—“Linda! Wake up, we have no time… there are many ogres, they will devour us too!”

She shook her head, crying,

—“No… no, Elias, I should have died… I let her die in front of me!”

He came closer, held her face in both hands, and pressed his forehead hard against hers to snap her out of it.

Then, eyes brimming with tears, he said:

—“Enough! It wasn’t your fault… if Rosie were here she would scream at you to run. Come on, Linda, we have no time… we must survive!”

He pulled her hand tight and dragged her after him as the sound of crawling ogres closed in through the trees, drawn by the gunshots.

The air filled with savage cries and huge shadows sliding between them.

They ran without stopping, the forest shaking around them, heavy footsteps in pursuit.

Each time they looked back they saw twisted figures emerging from the darkness, eyes gleaming and mouths dripping with blood.

Elsewhere, a little farther away, lay an abandoned village.

Its streets were paved with stone, its two-story houses had broken windows, as if the place had stopped breathing long ago.

There, Jude awoke suddenly from a drugged sleep to find himself sprawled on the ground.

Beside him were Karem and Camelia.

He shook them, trying to rouse them, until their eyes opened heavily.

Karem shouted in alarm:

—“What’s happening? Where are we?!”

Jude answered, panting with anger,

—“I don’t know… did that old hag trick us?!”

Then everything came rushing back to him…

(Flashback)

The night before, they had been wandering a crowded street of lights, music, and laughter.

An old woman with a bent back appeared, carrying heavy bags, asking for help.

Jude, kind-hearted, didn’t hesitate:

—“Let us help you, auntie.”

Camelia joined him at once, but Karem stood hesitant:

—“I don’t like this… something feels off.”

Jude scoffed,

—“Stop being a coward. She’s just an old woman.”

Even Camelia said,

—“Can’t you see she’s weak? At least help her a little.”

They carried her heavy bags and followed her through the alleys until they were far from the city’s noise.

The path grew darker, the silence heavy.

Karem, sweating, said,

—“This isn’t right… please, let’s go back.”

But Jude asked,

—“Is your home far, auntie?”

The old woman gave a strange smile and answered,

—“At the end of the road… there, in that building.”

They reached an old, dark building with broken windows, its entrance like the mouth of a beast.

Jude and Camelia followed the old woman inside to set down the bags, while Karem stayed at the door, his heart pounding wildly.

Suddenly, without warning, two men appeared before Karem wearing formal suits—one with a tiger mask, the other with a dog mask.

In an instant they struck Jude and Camelia from behind, knocking them unconscious.

The old woman turned to Karem with a devilish smile and said:

—“Heh… I forgot one.”

Before he could react, the two men moved toward him.

Overcome with terror, he fainted on the spot, urine soaking his pants.

(Return to the present)

Karem opened his eyes, crying, and said:

—“Didn’t I tell you?! We shouldn’t have helped her!”

But Jude clenched his fists in anger and shouted,

—“Yeah… it’s a trick by those stupid twins! They want revenge on us. It’s just a setup, a prank to scare us…!”

The three of them looked around the abandoned village, the air heavy with the smell of death.

Jude whispered,

—“We have to explore this place… no matter the cost.”

_____'_'

Thanks for reading. 💗

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***