Keith brought his hand down in a swift motion, cutting the thick leaves with his trusty knife. Shiro stalked behind him, keeping close.
"Keith, we've gone as far as possible, soon we'll be passing our borderlines, entering the unfamiliar, it's time to turn around," Shiro reasoned.
"No, we're getting close, I can feel it."
"Feel what? You still haven't explained what we're doing out here so far away from the village," A leaf smacked the man in the face.
"There's a strange energy coming from this direction, I want to find out what it is," Keith grumbled, not stopping.
"I'm not leaving the safety lines."
"Then leave," Keith spat, turning around to face Shiro for the first time in an hour.
"I'm not leaving you!" Shiro gasped.
"Why not? I'm more than capable of doing things on my own from now on," Keith crossed his arms. "So, just go."
"You'll die!" Shiro gaped.
"No, I won't! Why can't you just trust me for once!" Keith's yelled, catching Shiro off-guard. He tried to reason with Keith, but the boy was already running.
Shiro tried to chase after him but Keith was running away from the path and so it was easy for him to get lost in the trees.
"Keith! What are you doing! Come back!" He received no answer except the sound of leaves crunching under boots becoming more and more distant.
Shit.
-
Keith ran blindly through the woods, the energy being the only thing guiding him. Wind flapping through his hair and large leaves and twigs scratching his face.
His feet hurt from the way he slammed them down on the rich soil. He was sure Shiro was far from him as the sun was beginning to set.
And the reality dawned on him.
Keith was in the unfamiliar territory, a place that the villagers were forbidden to enter, it was far too dangerous.
This wasn't the first time Keith ventured in, he was never one to follow rules, but he never went this far, plus, he always had Shiro running behind him, ready to drag him back.
The energy urged him to continue but the soreness of his legs and the heaviness of his eyes made him reluctant to keep going. Keith searched around in the nearby area, stumbling across a tiny cave, maybe a few meters big.
Good enough.
Keith slumped down on the floor, trying to catch his breath. He eyed the entrance, were the rumours true? Were there really monsters out here?
Keith doubted it.
He started a fire for warmth and figured some shut-eye couldn't hurt.
-
He awoke to a loud growling, not the best thing to hear. He snapped up, moonlight streaming in and lighting up the foot of the cave.
A greyish creature lurked, baring its teeth at Keith and snarling. Keith grabbed his knife, he could surely take on this one creature.
The wolf like animal raised its snout into the air and howled widely, the sound echoing off the walls of the cave. There were a few moments of silence before more howls erupted from random directions, becoming closer.
Oh fuck.
Keith backed up as a pack of about ten creatures surrounded the front of the cave, all glaring at Keith. The boy kept his knife pointed at them, though it would hardly help him.
