Day: 544
Days Left: 4936
Lives Saved: 2
Klei, Kai, and Dex stood before the remains of the cave they once lived in. Now it was just a pile of sandstone rubble that barely reached their knees.
"Wendy!" Klei yelled, rushing over to the wreckage, his hands scrambling at the rocks, throwing them aside. Dex joined him, frantically digging the debris up and calling out the wendigo's name.
Crouching down, Kai watched Reggie sniff the ground. The rottweiler circled the collapsed cave, then returned to Kai and Corinna and whimpered, his ears flopping down.
"She's not there?" Kai asked Reggie.
The dog's nose scrunched up and began sniffing around again.
Kai sighed. "You were right about that cave not lasting long," Kai said to Corinna. "It collapsed."
Corinna frowned, examining the pile of sandstone. "I don't think it collapsed naturally."
"You mean... you think Wendy did this? Or maybe another prisoner?"
"I don't know for sure, but there is definitely not enough rubble. Either someone took parts of the cave or... perhaps ate it?" Corinna looked back at Kai. "It seems she's capable of eating anything, even bricks and stones."
Kai nodded. "She eats anything nearby when she's upset... or if we don't have enough food."
"Was she getting enough food? We could increase her portion size."
"No, I think it was us," mumbled Kai as he glanced down at the ground.
Dex walked over, his clothes covered in sand and dirt. "We didn't find anything. Fortunately, she wasn't trapped under there."
"Reggie is trying to get her scent," explained Kai. "But we have nothing to give him. Wendy ate all of her belongings. The only thing that was left were parts of her bed which she never slept in."
"It also doesn't help that the wind is blowing all the sand up," added Corinna. "Any scent Reggie catches will be gone as well as any tracks she leaves."
Dex swore under his breath. "Then what are we going to do?"
"She'll be wherever she can find food," said Klei. He rose from his knees, covered in sand from the debris. His eyes looked over to the horizon, where the rolling black waves lashed up on the grey shore. "The water nymphs..."
Donning his mask, Dex transformed into the headless horseman, holding a helmet that contained his severed head under one arm. "We need to find her soon. It'll be the blood moon tomorrow."
*
With her thin and bony legs stumbling, the wendigo dragged the rest of her body over the dunes then paused as she saw a shining structure in the distance, glinting from the light. She shuffled over towards it, finding several large sheets of corrugated metal, a few lodged into the sand, standing but slightly leaning as if it would topple over at any moment. Cutting through the structure was a fallen tree, the bark charred and burnt to a blacked crisp. The rest of the bulky pieces of metal were scattered across the sand.
"Perhaps..." the wendigo pondered out loud. "I could make my own home?" She attempted to lift one of the sheets, but her bones creaked, and she gasped out in pain. Sobbing, she tore out a chunk of the metal and devoured it in anger.
"No," she sniffled. "I need to find a different home."
*
Corinna handed Kai her rucksack and spear. She then traced her finger underneath her jaw, and she transformed into the golden knight. As Corinna waded into the black water of the ocean, Dex, Klei, and Kai shouted out the wendigo's name whilst looking for signs that she had been here whilst Reggie sniffed around for her scent.
Fortunately, it seemed that Corinna did not need to breathe in her mask's form, but her sight had not been improved. Corinna was barely able to see underwater without any light source, only the silhouettes and shapes of the water nymphs below.
As the golden knight searched the watery depths for any sign of the wendigo, the three men looked to see any tracks on the shore, hoping that Reggie would eventually pick up her scent.
*
Roaming around aimlessly for a few minutes, the wendigo reached a cliff face, one that stretched far and wide, perhaps never-ending, and grew to great heights to which the wendigo had never seen, or at least could not remember seeing. She gazed up at the towering mountain range, then down to the grass where some of the patches were dark green instead of a brittle grey. Kai had once told her about this place; on the other side was the Carrion Steppe, where Kai had arrived when he was first imprisoned in the Eternal Abyss before he moved to his sector met Klei and herself.
Following along the cliff face, the wendigo discovered an entrance to a cave. Wafting out of it, the wendigo was met with a powerful odour of raw flesh and something that had been burnt. Maybe it was toast? The wendigo liked toast. The smell consumed the wendigo's mind, filling her twitching nostrils. The emptiness inside of her called out.
The cave... there was something in the cave that would fill that void in her, the wendigo's stomach told her.
"Perhaps this could be her new home?" she thought to herself as she hobbled inside, her body weary from travelling for this long.
The cave was dark save for the light that bounced off of the shining objects and trinkets that were scattered around the floor- forks, spoons, knives, odd pieces of jewellery, broken light bulbs, a metal lantern, a rusted cleaver... and nails that were hammered into the cave walls, from which hung large shapes which the wendigo could have sworn moved but dismissed it as a trick of the light.
At the far end of the cave were pieces of wood forming a circle, an unlit campfire, but something was lying on top. A large figure with hulking and broad shoulders, a thick neck, arms like tree-trunks, yet its legs was thin and spindly.
As she approached, the wendigo heard the creature groan and sob and saw that its skin- no... it did not have any skin, it had all been burned off, leaving only the exposed flesh that was charred and blackened. Parts of the creature's limbs were missing, chunks of it that had melted from being engulfed in flames.
Tilting her head in curiosity, the wendigo stepped closer to the creature writhing on the floor. "Hello?" she greeted her new acquaintance. "Do you live here? Is this your home?"
The creature grunted as its head swivelled in the wendigo's direction, revealing its squashed face that had been peeled of skin from the fire, red and bloodied, cheeks sunken, and a few places there were small patches of ivory white, where bone peeked out.
"My name is Wendy," continued the wendigo. "I am looking for a new home. I assume that you have already taken this one."
She stared back at the gorilla-like beast, waiting for a response. The creature returned the stare, its eyes wide, pupils small as pin-pricks that darted wildly around but still fixated upon the wendigo. It groaned and whimpered, almost like it was pleading for something. But the wendigo's attention was drawn instead to its skinned and bloodied flesh, seeing the pulsing veins and muscles.
"I am sorry for intruding..." she mumbled as she gazed at the raw meat. "I shall leave and find a different home since you have already claimed this one..." her voice trailed away. But the wendigo did not leave as she had promised. Instead, she stayed, her eyes locked onto the creature.
This... this is what will fill that void, the wendigo's stomach told her. This is what will make you feel no longer empty. This will make you whole.
The wendigo shook her head and retreated a step back.
"No!" she gasped, her voice quivering. "That can't be right. Klei said it was bad. I'm not supposed to do that again; I'm not allowed."
But she could not ignore how her mouth salivated upon seeing the red flesh, how her stomach grumbled and groaned, demanding to be fed. The emptiness inside her seemed to be even larger than before, like she was just a hollow shell.
It was wrong, the wendigo kept telling herself. She was told it was wrong back when she had wandered out of their home and waded into the ocean. The water had lapped at her legs, the coldness sending a chill across her skin but was also an exciting tingle. And under that water, in the dark depths, were those blank eyes that gazed up at her, hundreds of them. They beckoned her to come closer, reaching out with their hands to meet her.
And so she had.
She did not know how long she had been missing, but Klei and Kai were shouting at her, screaming about something. Something about water nymphs and that it was wrong. That they were people.
But she was so hungry.
And for just a moment, the emptiness inside of her had almost filled. If she were given just a little bit longer, perhaps the pain and emptiness would have disappeared? Ever since that incident, they forbade her from going outside without an escort.
But she had already broken that rule. Would they ever forgive her for doing so?
The wendigo paused in thought.
Why should it matter what Klei, Kai, and Dex thought now? They had forgotten her, abandoned her for their new friends.
So why was she still obeying their rules?
Besides, if it would fill that emptiness inside of her- if it would make her happy...
Yes, that's right.
You should always seize happiness when you can.
And so she did.
The wendigo seized the suffering creature, the gorilla-like beast in her grasp, drool dripping out of the corner of her lips, then sunk her teeth into its burnt flesh. She tore into the slab of meat that wriggled and screamed as she devoured another chunk. A smile spread across the wendigo's face; her eyes brightened as the emptiness inside of her slowly filled.
But it was short-lived. Soon she was left with nothing in her hands, her meal finished, and the emptiness returning, now more hungry than ever.
There was a murmured groan of pain from behind her.
She turned to see one of the large shapes hanging from the nails on the wall was moving. Its legs twitched and squirmed, then something snapped, and the figure fell to the hard cave floor with a thwack.
"Oh..." The wendigo shuffled closer. "You had roommates."
Her eyes now more adjusted to the darkness, the wendigo spied several bodies hanging from the walls; their cries, though muffled, echoed throughout the cave. The body that had fallen from its hook reached out with an arm and crawled its way across the floor, gasping and moaning in pain.
The wendigo's hand rose to her stomach, her fingers caressing her ghostly white skin through her dirtied dress. It was the emptiness. It demanded to be filled once again.
*
Having no luck, the group had split up to cover more ground. Corinna continued to search underwater, but the wendigo was nowhere to be found. She resurfaced and walked back up to the shore, the black water sliding off her gold armour. After wiping a finger underneath her chin, Corinna transformed back into her human form, then trudged along the sand.
She found Klei first. Due to his shrivelled and hobbled leg and the walking-stick to support him, the copper-haired man had travelled the least distance compared to Dex and Kai.
"Sorry," said Corinna, bowing her head low. "There was no sign of her."
Klei sighed, cupping his hands over his deformed face. "Where can she be? I don't understand. Wendy usually tries to go here. She's drawn to the nearest prisoners when she's upset, just like everyone is during blood moons."
"Speaking of blood moons..." Corinna stared up at the milky white moon. Though it was barely a sliver, she could see a noticeable streak of crimson spreading across. "We might be able to find her easier, though."
"Maybe..." Klei nodded slightly. "We'll be naturally drawn to her if she's nearby, and the same for her. She might head towards us." He paused, then glanced down at the sand. "But... she might not be so welcoming. If she is particularly in a bad mood during a blood moon, she'll attack us."
"It's alright." Corinna placed her hands on her hips in confidence. "I'll protect you."
Klei snorted. "Well, you did manage to beat me whilst I was a clay golem, and you had no mask."
Corinna's smile faded, and she bit down on her lip, her eyes averting Klei's face as she caught a glimpse of his deformities, his sagging skin, the corner of his mouth drooping down almost to his neck, his arm in a sling, and his hobbling leg. All of that was because of her.
Clearing his throat, Klei gazed up at the sky. "This place makes us do some horrible stuff, huh? We sometimes can't control ourselves. It's the same for Wendy and the water nymphs... and me. I wanted to get revenge on Harmony and tried to take it out on you."
He looked back to Corinna. "But we can help each other... to fight this. If we work together, we can get through it."
Corinna's smile returned. She nodded. "We'll find Wendy. We'll get her back to safety."
At that second, the two of them froze. Something inside of them, a spark that fizzed around in their brain. They both glanced over in the distance in unison. It seemed that the blood moon's effects had started.
In the hope of finding the wendigo, Corinna and Klei followed their instincts' directions; then both sighed in disappointment as they saw Kai, Dex, and Reggie.
"Nice to see you too," said Kai.
"I'm guessing no luck?" asked Dex.
Klei shook his head. "No sign of her. Did Reggie pick up anything?"
"No..." Dex patted the rottweiler's head, attempting to lift the dog's spirits.
Kai returned Corinna's spear and white backpack that he had been keeping safe whilst she was underwater, and she thanked him.
The group of five then stood motionless for a short moment, their eyes glazed as the grey sand they stood upon slowly faded into red due to the crimson sky and moon above.
No longer in command of her body, Corinna's fingers brushed underneath her jaw, and the golden armour of the knight reappeared. Once she snapped out of her temporary trance, she looked to her side. What once were three men and a rottweiler were now a lumbering clay golem, a stout goblin in a red woollen hat, a headless horseman, and a giant grey wolf.
"Right, let's split up," suggested Kai. "We need to find Wendy quick."
They all nodded then broke off in different directions.
After a moment of walking, Kai glanced behind, stopped, then frowned. "Seriously?"
The clay golem, the golden knight, the headless horseman, and the giant grey wolf were right behind, following him.
"Yeah, this isn't going to work," said Klei. "The blood moon makes us all drawn to each other. Dex and I won't be able to stop following you."
"I normally can," said Corinna. "I don't why... but I just couldn't control my body, and it just kept following everyone."
Reggie, being a dog and unable to understand the instructions from before, followed everyone from his own volition.
Sighing, Kai scratched the back of his head. "Okay," began the goblin. "I guess we'll have to stick together... since we don't have any choice in the matter."
*
The wendigo snapped out of her trance.
She gazed around at the cave, seeing that there was nothing left. In her feeding frenzy, she had devoured everything- the forks, the spoons, the knives, the odd pieces of jewellery, the broken light bulbs, the metal lantern, the rusted cleaver, the nails hammered into the wall... the occupants...
Everything.
The cave was now empty except for her. She sat in the middle of that emptiness and stared down at her hands, but she didn't recognise her hands as her own. How could they belong to her? Her hands were ghostly white, not red with clumps of something squishy and pink. Even her black dress had splotches of red. When did she change her clothes?
Standing up with a wobble, the wendigo exited the cave. It could have been her home, but it somehow felt small and cramped. There was plenty of room when she had first entered, but now it was like it had shrunk. The walls narrowed in on her, caging her in just like the cave she used to call home.
No... she needed a bigger place.
Her head almost knocked against the rock as she left through the cave exit. She didn't remember that she had to duck when she entered. But her mind had not been the most reliable lately. It seemed that a whole day had already passed as she gazed up and saw the scarlet sky and moon above.
But none of that mattered.
Her eyes turned to the peak of the mountain, where on the other side was the Carrion Steppe. Perhaps she could find a home there? And maybe she would find a way to fill the emptiness inside of her.
Sucking in a breath of determination, the wendigo began to climb up the rocky cliffside. The summit appeared to be closer than she thought it was. She could have sworn it was further away. It was like everything was getting smaller and smaller, just like the cave had. But no matter, the wendigo thought as she continued to climb.
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