Beyond The Lost

19

As I emerge from the hut, Victor's eyes sink down to my neck. His stare traveled through each blood splatter, worry clear in his expression. "You found it."

"Yeah."

I watch him step closer, his feet ruffling the grass beneath him. The sharp blades of green caress his boots, fallen leaves trapped against his ankles. The air feels so heavy and he moves slow, as if there's thick, muddy water between us. "Let's go home, Eve."

My feet don't move an inch, eyes darting to his pale skin. My stomach urges me forward, but I wait.

"Eve?" Once he reached me, he pushed a strand of hair behind my left ear. I felt each strand, previously stuck to my face with blood, slowly tear from my cheek and whisk away. "You're not hurt, are you?"

I close my eyes, feeling emptiness in my gut. It crawls up my rib cage and slithers between the bones, wrapping my heart in a sludge of nothing. My back hits the grass, warmth against my face as I land in pain. The wind is knocked from my lungs but as I slowly open my eyes, I pull it back to me.

It's bright, sun shining down against my skin and leaving it a pale red. Brightly colored flowers travel endlessly in every direction. I know I've left Victor alone, but I can't bring myself to get up just yet.

Chlorophyll wraps my fingers as I trace them through the grass, dirt smearing my fingers. I breathe.

It smells sweet, like sakura tea. It doesn't ease my misery.

I'm exhausted.

"Victor...", I roll my head to the side, watching as I trace my thumb across the petals of a nearby daffodil. I sigh. "I'm wasting time, aren't I?"

I stand, eyeing my new surroundings. I wanted to be away from him, alone. Why did it work so well?

My feet move forward, grass itching at my ankles. I feel unsafe here, but I'm not ready to leave just yet. Distantly, I can see a group of children playing quite far from me. They're almost unnoticeable due to the pale fog. They're holding hands, dancing in a circle around a tall dark man wearing a severed goats head over his own. He's watching me.

I lift my chin, my eyes meeting his own as I gently cock my head. I haven't seen him before. If he's still here, can he really be so dangerous?

I feel sick.

My knees hit the dirt, small rocks sending pain through my femur. I wrap an arm around my stomach, a burning nausea shooting through my neck as I remember what I had done. I can feel my heart convulse, tightening in on itself as I clench my jaw.

Nails claw at the dirt, coughing relentlessly as the horned man stares me down from a distance. I can feel his eyes on me, his judgment, his anger and enjoyment.

The longer I cough, the more my throat begins to sting. After just a few minutes, my esophagus is bleeding, blood tracing my teeth and tongue.

He steps closer to me, my eyes finally meeting his again. The children are left to play, but he seems to pay no mind to them at all. As if he didn't even notice them in the first place.

"Who are you?" I cough out, blood splattering across the white petals before me. I don't think he can hear me.

"You poor thing." I flinch as he reaches me, his voice sharp and unwelcoming. Like a snake. He slips two fingers beneath my chin and lifts my head so I can look at him.

Now that he's so close, I can see the goats blood trailing down his neck and shoulders, releasing a foul smell that swarmed the entire area around us. I could only cough on my own blood in response.