Once Upon a Tale

Chapter 16: Silence

"If it's the Snow White tale you're looking for, discover the story that came before."
~The Huntsman, Winter's War~

"Y/N RUN!"

As if on cue, I dashed out of the place to the outside world, The hatter's voice being played on replay inside my mind.

Y/N RUN! Y/N RUN! Y/N RUN!

Like a broken music player, Hoseok's voice seemed to be playing on repeat inside my head, getting louder each time, invading all of my senses, getting me to not think of anything else but running away from the mysterious man who sneaked up on us two. He threatened to harm the hatter so it means he has no good intentions ever since he appeared next to us.

"Climb up." A sudden voice rang from my side making me look towards that direction.

There, the hatter's heterochromatic eye-colored cat is, running beside of me. I assume that it is the one who suggested for me to climb up on a tree.

"I can't. All these trees are canopies and I've never experienced climbing a tree before." I gasped out as I tried to steady my running pace.

"He's going to catch you in no time if you don't climb up on a tree branch." The cat hissed.

I gritted my teeth, trying to formulate a plan on how could I escape the man on my tail. I couldn't run any longer and I'm sure that once I come to a halt, I'd fall on my knees. I think the reason why I'm still running in the mean time is the adrenaline rush that I felt when I first took off.

I could feel my legs shaking and it'd only take a single mistake to make me come stumbling to the earth's surface.
"Hide." The cat stated, motioning me towards a big canopy. I quickly went there and hid under one of its big roots that are not buried on the ground.

I ducked under the root of the tree so I could fit my whole body inside of it. Heavy breaths left my trembling lips and I could feel my whole body getting tired and slumped on the surface where I am currently lying. The mad hatter's cat is nowhere near me now. I guess it returned to its master which is Hoseok.

I heard the rustling of leaves and the crunchy sound it makes whenever someone steps unto it. Guess the mysterious man from earlier is already in the premises of my hideout.

Trying hard to steady my laboured breathing, I shifted to adjust into a more comfortable position which is lying on my backside.I closed my eyes to prevent dust from coming into them while I slowly rolled over to lay on my back. Once laying more comfortable from my earlier position, I decided to open my eyes but that is when I see it. That very time, I regretted listening to the cat, hiding under a canopy's root, laying on my backside then opening my eyes.

Dearest Greek goddess Demeter—

Here I am now, face to face with a giant centipede that is hovering too close to my face. It's not moving and is at rest but I know that one wrong move could trigger the instinct of the parasite before me and I would say goodbye to all the blood I have in my body.

Hearing the footsteps still near my hiding place, I couldn't do anything but stare wide-eyed at the big bloodsucker of an insect, watching its next movements as if I'm watching a horror movie myself and a jump scare is just around the corner. The insect may have somehow detected a source of life because of the stare I'm giving at it or because of the exhalation of hot carbon dioxide coming from me because it moved closer to my face making me flush on my position, trying to get away from it as much as I can without creating a single sound. I clasped my hands around my mouth and bit my lower lip to prevent my urge to just scream and runaway from the hideous creature hovering a few centimeters away from my face. It's like its challenging the little ounce of courage I have before it'd actually attack me when my guard was down.