"Are you... okay?" Maya asked, still trying to process what was happening. "Does it... hurt, or something?"
"Oh I feel perfect! In fact, I feel even better than I did before!"
"How? How is this possible?" Maya once again questioned, it seemed that removing the bewildered look on her face was going to be very difficult.
"I already told you. The bugs are magical." Dennis said, like he was explaining something to a child.
"There's now way that's possible!" Maya continued to reject his words.
"You do realize we're currently in some random forest in a place that i don't think is earth, right?" Dennis stated.
"But-" Maya tried to say something but she just couldn't. All the words she had had already left her mouth and there was no question that she had that could be answered right now, so she opted for silence instead.
Putting the topic behind her, she refocused back to their initial conversation, "Anyway, let's go find some water", she said, turning her body in the direction of the cave's entrance and motioning her hand in attempt to get Dennis to follow her.
Dennis grabbed his stick, got up, then followed after her, the glow fading as he got up.
"Why do you always carry that stick with you?" Maya asked.
"It's my weapon" Dennis answered flatly while raising his stick.
Maya burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?"
"That? your "weapon"? Against all the monsters in this forest?" Maya mocked, still laughing hysterically.
"Hey! my stick almost killed you yesterday, remember?"
"Suuure it did" Maya said in a sarcastic tone.
Then the two exited the cave and walked back out into the forest.
***
"Are you ready?" Dennis asked, now nervous and afraid.
"Of course I am!" Maya said confidently, "What about you? Need me to hold your hand?" She teased. She looked completely fearless, or so it seemed at first glance. Dennis could see the slight shivering of her hands, as well as hear her deep and shaky breathing.
Noticing that, Dennis just replied "I think I'll be fine"
The two were still outside the cave, trying to push themselves to go through with their search. Every step they took outside the cave induced more fear in their hearts than the last. The wind was flowing freely, and everything was quiet, including them.
They continued walking slowly, their hearts out of control, their steps slow, their bodies shivering lightly under the bright sun.
They walked farther and farther away from the cave, entering the monster filled forest. The second they walked in between the large green trees, Dennis and Maya stopped suddenly after hearing growling noises from their right. Maya covered her mouth, trying to stop herself from screaming or crying.
Dennis took the lead, pointing his hand in the opposite direction from the noise, suggesting they take a detour. Maya quickly followed his instruction. Their original plan was to just travel straight like Dennis did the day before, but it looks like that was not an option anymore.
As they walked farther to their left, the noise was getting lower, however Dennis and Maya were still as tense as ever, Maya was even holding her breath. 'Why! Why! Why! Why!' She thought to herself, her inner voice also shaking.
Dennis was trying his best to stay composed. Taking light and quick steps away from the unknown source of the noise while also trying calm down and think. 'Relax Dennis, relax' He thought as he took deep silent breaths through his nose.
They continued traveling left for a while, still not finding anything. They remained as quiet as possible, even trying to quiet down their footsteps. They once again heard heard noises and immediatley moved to the other direction. Dennis was still taking the lead, his face looking calm and composed, completely hiding the storm going on in his insides. Maya's face was honestly indecipherable.
She covered her mouth as if her life depended on it and didn't shift her gaze from the ground. They stuck as close to each other as possible without touching each other or hindering their movements.
Eventually, after walking some more, their nostrils were attacked by a terrible smell that was so strong,it was as if they were right in front of its source.
'Oh my gosh it smells so bad! Did something die?!' Maya complained in her head.
'I think I'm gonna pass out if this smell continues' Dennis predicted internally.
Unfortunately for them, the smell only got worse from there. As they continued walking around, the smell got stronger and stronger. It was now so strong, that Maya stopped and threw up in the ground, which caused Dennis to do the same. They tried to change direction, but it didn't change the pungency of the smell. In fact, it made it worse.
They switched to holding their breaths, allowing for only a few seconds of relief before they had to breathe again. Dennis couldn't keep going, and he fell to the ground once more and started throwing up again. This time, he couldn't stop, it just went flowing out uncontrollably. Maya also fell to the ground, although she was trying her best not to vomit like Dennis, instead swallowing whatever tried to fly out of her mouth.
'Where is that smell coming from?!' Maya asked in her head. Her question was about to be answered soon though.
"Let's just go back" Dennis forced the words out of his mouth. He was completely weak now, the oppressing smell causing him to puke out whatever little energy he had in his body. He and Maya were now lying on the ground on their knees.
Dennis dragged himself up using his stick, then looked to the side... and immediately dropped himself back down to the floor, although this time, he looked like he was about to cry. He dropped his stick and buried his face in the ground while clutching his hair so hard, it looked like he was gonna rip it out.
'W-What's going on?!' Maya thought as she saw Dennis practically break down. Then, she tried to look in the same direction that Dennis did, and immediately regretted it as she sunk behind a tree, looked up, and closed her eyes as rows and rows of tears came streaming down.
What they had seen was more terrifying than anything their nightmares could come up with. Even scarier than the centipede Dennis once almost got killed by.
It had a thick yellow beak, a massive body covered in fur, two thick and hairy legs, and two extra long arms with sharp brown claws that looked almost like they could cut through anything.
It's body was covered in open wounds. They were so open, that you could clearly see the creature's bones poking out of its skin. However the bones were poking out in multiple directions, almost as if they were never connected to each other. It was truly a horrifying sight.
Dennis got up then immediately went over to Maya who was still by the tree. He shook her violently and flailed his arm in the opposite direction from where they were going, desperately trying to get them to run away. Maya however, didn't oblige. She looked at Dennis, her face twisted in pain and fear, then shook her head, sobbing without making a single noise. Dennis fell back onto the ground, giving up all hope.
***
(Dennis POV)
Someone please, help us! I can't breathe, I can barely move, I feel like... like I'm about to die! Why!... why is this happening. What have I done to deserve this. I don't want to die. Somebody... please....I'll do anything.
***
(Maya POV)
Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry... for everything. Please help me. Please... forgive me. I'm scared. This smell. This pressure. It feels like I'm going to die. Mom, please... help me. Mom....
***
A few moments passed and nothing happened.
***
(Maya POV)
'Nothing's happening?' I thought after it had been a minute or two since I laid eyes on that thing. I decided to take another look. I slowly moved away from the tree and peeked my head out in the monster's direction. Sure enough... it was still there, lying in the exact same position as before.
'Maybe it's dead?' I started to think. 'But what if it's not?!' My mind started replying back to me. I took a deep breath and decided, 'Let's go and check it'
This was easily the biggest gamble of my life. If I win, I won't have to sit here in fear anymore. But if lose, I might die. The smell here was numbing my senses, and the pressure that spread everywhere was paralyzing. But even so, for the sake of my own sanity, I had to push on.
I crawled towards Dennis and reached out for his stick. Honestly, I had no faith in it as a weapon, but it's sharp end did give me a little bit of hope that it could maybe pierce through its skin. I grabbed the stick, then turned my body towards the monster.
Dennis must've saw this because he grabbed my leg and whispered to me, "What the hell are you doing?!"
I gestured to him, telling him to calm down and let me go, and he did. I then took one last deep breath, then made my move.
I moved slowly, allowing myself distance to escape in case it made any sudden moves. I was now right in front of the large monster, and sure enough, it was the source of the smell. It was also dead.
And man, it looked terrible. Whatever killed this thing really wasn't messing around. The blood on it was still wet and dripping, and its flesh didn't look rotten, so it must've been a recent kill. Although, I wonder what could've killed this thing.
I internally breathed a sigh of relief before I motioned over to Dennis, who was watching me from the bushes, to come over. He came over and I shouted at the top of my lungs in celebration, with a big smile plastered on my face, "Dennis! It's dead!"
***
Dennis ran over to Maya and smiled at the monster's corpse, trying to ignore the terrible smell so he could celebrate. Not only had they avoided death again, but they also happened to stumble upon food. That is, if they're willing to eat it.
"We're gonna eat this right?" Maya asked.
"Of course, we are!" Dennis exclaimed.
"But how are we gonna cut it?" Dennis asked her.
"I have no idea"
They sat there for a few seconds, trying to think of ways to cut the monster's body. Due to its sheer size, carrying the whole thing would have been impossible for them.
However, just then,
"Oh, what's this?" A voice came from behind the corpse.
The smell of the monster's corpse had completely faded, and the atmosphere was instead filled with an oppressive pressure, which sent both Dennis and Maya crashing to their knees
'What the hell is happening now?!' Dennis thought in his head while he was gasping for air on the ground, blood leaking from his mouth. The same was happening to Maya, as she was grasping her chest with her head facing the ground.
'I thought it was dead! What's happening now?!"
They looked to their side at the source of the voice and they saw...
'Another human? No, that thing is not human!' Dennis thought, trying to analyze the weird species he was laying eyes on.
It's form and body shape resembled that of a human adult woman, not to mention it was also strangely beautiful. "She" had pale skin, so pale that she looked like a ghost.
She also wore a black cold shoulder dress made of thin fabric, and her hair was long and blonde, with piercing red eyes to match. Despite clearly not being human, her beauty was on the same level as Maya, which was quite high.
"Have I just discovered a new species?" She said to herself with a smirk on her face.
"I-it can talk" Maya barely managed to whisper.
"Oh wow" The monster said, placing a hand near her mouth and widening her grin,
"A white core capable of speech. Now this is interesting"