Within you I found home

seventeen

      ONCE OUT OF THE CAVE, you turn right onto the stone path. Water pounds to your left. Almost immediately you're stopped in your tracks.

        The Wendigo blocks the path, standing where rock becomes grass.

        It was the most grotesque creature you'd ever laid eyes on.

        Two arms, two legs, all four limbs too long for its body. Parts of the forest cling to its frame which makes you think it'd been buried amongst nature for a long time - so long it'd become part of the scenery itself.

        Briefly you wonder if you'd stepped on it during your travel here. Or if you'd come close to it at least.

        Its tree-bark like head reminds you of a clock face. Perfectly round with cracks forming arms from the middle of its face where a nose once belonged.

        Eleven-fifty, the lines point to.

        It's fitting, you think, because you certainly felt like you'd run out of time.

       Two red eyes peer at you from tiny slits. It's mouth without lips exposing a row of razor sharp teeth, yellow with what appeared to be moss coating the base of the bottom row and clinging to its chin almost like a beard.

        You're not sure on its height, but it was a hell of a lot taller than Nico and suddenly you feared for his life as well as your own.

        A desperate choke-gargle-groan noise escapes it and quicker than you'd ever have expected, it lunges towards you on gangly legs.

        You have little choice but to dive left, straight into the rushing waterfall and plunging into the icy depths. You push to the surface with a gasp, already kicking your legs as you head to the edge of the water.

        You reach it and pull yourself out. Your clothes drenched, leaving you heavy as you climb onto the bank. The air hitting your frozen wet skin has you trembling, teeth chattering as you turn and crawl backwards, surprised to find that thing wasn't in the water behind you.

         Instead it was rushing around the edges with long determined strides, still making that haunted noise.

         Anger and worry curl your insides when you see Mithun rush out of the cave behind it.

        You should have known he'd follow.

        You rise to your feet. You know you'd never be able to outrun it but you could lead it as far away from the others as possible. 

        "Mith don't you dare follow!" This way you'd be able to save Mithun from witnessing your remains. . .If that thing left any, that is.

         You knew Nico was somewhere in the forest behind you. The cliff to your right wasn't an option – whilst you had no problem jumping if you needed to, you couldn't guarantee it would follow you down there – and there's no way in hell you were going back into the cave which left you with one way only; the treeline to your left which was the same route you'd walked with Mithun not too long ago, when you'd first arrived here.

        You dart towards it, the Wendigo hot on your trail. It was quickly gaining on you, there was no way in hell you were going to make it into the forest. It was going to eat you out in the open and you pray to the Gods Mithun somehow wouldn't see any of it.

        Something smacks into your hip, sending you flying onto your side. Air is forced from your lungs at the impact and you try to roll away but its on you instantly.