Forest Dreams

Nest tripped over the rock, his palms scraping against the sequoia. He hissed and narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell am I doing here?" He swiped the back of his hand against the rock, and promptly sat down. His azure eyes were obscured by pale skin, and a sigh escaped his lips.

"Map the area. Don't worry, it's safe. Yeah, right! There're freakin' bears out here!" He glared at the trees. Stupid, stupid forest. He winced as the old wound on his right arm burst and seared. He swallowed a scream and clenched his left hand, before relaxing it slowly.

He reached inside his backpack, taking out a roll of gauze and a medical kit. Tending to his wounds, he winced. His gash hurt. And he was alone. The stupid, stupid guide ditched him. All because of the goddamned bear.

"Oh my God, ruuuuuun!" He squeakily said, scrunching up his face. He patted his arm, checking to see if it was all right. "Coward. Just play dead and they'll go away. Damn, and they're supposed to know... huh?"

The bushes rustled to his right. He glanced over and began to sweat.

Blazing white, pupil-less eyes burning against him. Fangs bared in a furious growl, impatient for the feel of human flesh in its jaws. He really didn't want to see the bear again.

But then a human hand reached out.

"Oh, oh, God! You scared me!" He let out a long breath and held a hand to his chest. He got up and headed towards the bush and took the hand. "Hey, ya need help-- whoa! Damn, your hand's freezing! Are you o--"

A sinewy head, veins bulging blue against snowy skin, with eyes rolled to the back and mouth open in a silent, pained scream with bleeding red rolling down the upturned corners of its lips, slid from the leaves.

"Holy sweet mother of God!" He shot back as if he was burned to his bones. His heart slammed against his chest, begging to escape, and climbed up his throat. The creature crawled from the bush, transparent liquid oozing from its ears. The torso was impaled with spikes and its breasts were dripping blood from the nipples. The second arm-- a rotting stump, with long strips of meat and red hanging and swaying, was all that was left. The stench... rancid. The smell of decay, stinging and sour, pierced his nose. Bile rose and he retched, his throat burning raw.

"Muuuhhhh.... Nuuaaa...." It moaned. Nest stumbled back, his eyes never moving from the monster.

It moved so slowly-- it was only now that he saw its lower half.

It tapered backwards at an impossible angle and as it neared the groin a conch-like shell grew from the skin-- that was what was piercing the creature's torso.

"Suh... stay away!" He screamed, and bolted. Behind him, he could hear groaning. He darted past a large tree and glanced back.

Tawny squares tinged with black surrounded a tunnel of pulsing red and a slimy muscle. Blood red irises pierced his own.

"Fuck!" He fell and scampered backwards as the white arm reached towards him. He kicked his legs hard to escape, feeling pain shooting up his right arm.

"Nuuoooohh..." The slime trickled from its body and onto the dirt. Nest clenched his teeth as his heart threatened to burst. "No! Stay back!"

His body froze. It refused to move despite his fears...

Death.

The monster came closer.

Death.

Its arm reached out.

Death.

It seized his right arm, and the pain flared.

Death was coming.

And then there was nothing.

* * *
Nest's eyes flitted open. Seeing the forest floor, he groaned and pushed himself from the ground. He yawned and rubbed his head. "What happened? Did I hit my head or something?" He spun his right arm, his other hand on his shoulder. He paused and frowned when he noticed that the bandages were gone.

His lips parted as his eyes scanned his arm. It was just... skin. He traced his fingers over where his wound should have been, and felt nothing but smoothness.

"What happened...?" He whispered. He lifted his head when he heard the sound of bushes rustling, his mind still weary. He groaned. Not another bear!

A head burst from the leaves and a face grinned. "There you are! I was looking for you!"

Nest's eyes widened and he smiled in turn. "Yo!" He lifted a hand.

The guide stepped from the bush and smiled. "Ah, that's good. You had me worried when you just ran off like that!” He laughed, and Nest frowned. "Whaddya mean, I ran off? Didn't you do that? Like, when that bear showed up?” The guide stopped laughing abruptly. He slowly lowered his head to look at Nest in the eyes, before smiling and tilting his head. "Huh? I was just explaining the area when you suddenly bolted. Besides, there aren't any bears."

Nest opened his mouth, but closed it. He sighed and shook his head. "I guess I had a dream, then." He stood and brushed himself off. "Well. I'm feeling a bit pooped." The guide smiled sympathetically. "How about we head back and continue tomorrow?" He nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

They started in the direction of the town. He could rest, and do his job tomorrow… Thank God.

But... he wasn't sure he wanted to return.

"Feeling woozy? Don't worry, sometimes people who walk through here feel like that."

He looked at the guide. "Whaddyou mean?" He asked. The guide laughed.

"They say that travelers with wounds-- big things, by the way-- run off for about a minute or so. Then they're found and start spouting stories about weird things that made them run, like giant centipedes or vultures. And the wounds are always gone." Nest frowned. "So that's happened to other people?" A nod; he looked away.

They traveled the rest of the way in silence. Finally, they reached the entrance to the village; a gate of wooden logs blocked their view.

"I don't think I want to map this place."

The guide turned to look at him, confusion evident. "Huh? Why? Jeez... no, don't tell me. It's because there's something that makes you feel that you shouldn't, right?" Nest looked at him, his eyes wide. The guide smiled.

"Just go. Don't worry."

And he did.

The guide turned back to the forest. He stared, and let a small smile on his face. "You're not leaving, are you?" There was silence and no reply. The guide shook his head in defeat. "All right, you won. I won't try anymore."

Nest closed his eyes and departed from behind the gate. An outline of a human-like figure entered his mind. He didn't recognize it, but the voice was still fresh and clear.


Thank you.