Child of prophecy

14 | Terror of Monsters II

ANALIA

I'M TERRIFIED.

Everything about this place gives me a bad feeling.

As we start to tread through the gates, I can't help but stare at the statues as my body trembles in fear.

The statues are of a man and a woman. The woman overlooks the city with her finger pointing ahead; she's dressed in a chiton with a crown adorning her head and although she's pointing towards the city, her head is angled our way in an eerie manner. I don't know who she's meant to be, but merely looking at her causes my body to go cold.

The man, on the other hand, gestures away from the city, as though telling us to head back to where we're coming from. There's a grotesque expression on his face, cautioning us of the impending danger we might face as we venture in.

I forcefully tear my eyes away from them to the footprints on the ground. It's obvious that others have already gone through this path.

The fog that captured the city's entrance starts to clear up. As we continue to walk undisturbed, I suddenly feel the hair on my neck rise, feeling someone's gaze burning right through the back of my head.

I pause abruptly, causing Iyan to stop in his tracks too. His voice sounds distant in my ear as I turn to find the source of whatever is causing my whole body to tremble. My eyes begin to quiver when they come in contact with those of the woman's statue.

Wasn't she just overlooking the mountains a minute ago? How is it that she's looking directly at us now? And it feels as though she's peering deep into my soul.

"Ana," Iyan's voice snaps me back to reality, and when I blink my eyes, the statue's eyes are no longer fixated on us. They are now looking far ahead into the city.

I'm sure I wasn't hallucinating. Her head did turn, and she was, in fact, looking at us.

"That statue, it–"

"Ana, we have to keep walking. Do you understand?" Iyan lets go of my hand and holds up my head in his palms.

"That statue was watching us, wasn't it?" I ask, still shaking. We just got here, and I'm already scared out of my mind.

"Yes," he admits, running a hand through his hair in frustration, and I feel my stomach drop.

"Fear is what kills first in this terror, Ana, not the monsters but fear. She was only watching; she's not going to hurt us," he tries to calm me down.

He says it as though he knows something about it. He called that thing a she.

I take deep breaths as I stare into his eyes and assure myself that he's right. If she wanted to send us flying or crush us, she would've done so by now.

I nod frantically and gulp down the saliva that has accumulated in my throat. Iyan's here. He won't abandon me.

His hands leave my face as he holds out his hand to me, and this time I take it without hesitation.

It's suddenly getting too dark for me to make out the pathway of the city. I can see the outlines of the buildings, but apart from that, I can't make out anything more.

I'm tempted to look back at the statue as we walk forward, but I don't. I fear that if I do, I might freeze.

That statue. There's something foreboding about it, and I can feel it in my bones.

The air reeks of something rotten, a putrid smell that causes me to gag as I hang onto Iyan for dear life. I can feel Boy's presence beside us, and in a way, it calms me, knowing that I have both Iyan and Boy by my side.