(((WARNING: graphic content ahead. )))
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Mara was running, running like her life depended on it.
It did.
Her breath was ragged and her lungs burned as she tried to run away from the equally as fast footsteps that rustled on the forest floor several feet behind her. The presence was terrifying, tears welling in her eyes as every imaginable fate came to mind from which every ending resulted in her death. Mara knew she was going to die, but not in a horrific way—not in the way the man following close behind her wanted to.
*THREE DAYS BEFORE*
Mara's dispirited figure stood slouched before the fruit tree, eyes scanning the massacre just feet in front of her. A deep sense of anger coursed through her, eyesight going blurry with frustration. She kneeled down to the soil, gently picking up a mango that had been crushed and had mingled with the dirt below it. Just beside it, several other mangos lay in an indistinguishable pile of irreversibly mushed fruit. Mara scanned every single one, hoping she could save the bare minimum of food, however not a single fruit was spared. The girl looked up at the tree that bore fruit, staring at the broken trunk and mangled branches, at the tree that had been pulled from the ground for every root to be visible. The main trunk, laying just at the center of the mess, had an odd symbol carved into the wood. The traces of sinister intent left Mara horrified, as she not only fed from the tree, but relied almost entirely on the fruits from it. Her first mistake was relying too much on the tree, and her second was expecting to be safe from the wrath of the unknown. Mara was aware that this couldn't have been done by nature, but rather a force equally as strong. The girl could do nothing but mourn the loss and move on, however now there was a problem bigger than the lack of food. Despite her having harvested a few fruits, it was not enough to keep her alive for too long.
She couldn't be to sure that the force behind this act was out to get here, but what else could have been the motive? She questioned why someone would simply destroy a source of food without at least fully taking advantage of it. If every fruit and part of the tree were destroyed completely, it came down to it being driven by malice. Whomever was behind it must've known she was relying on the fruit, thus giving them a reason to get rid of the tree.
Mara was surprised. She was surprised that despite the misfortune and obvious threat that, for all she knew, could be watching her at that very moment, she was not afraid. More than frustrated, the girl was furious. Mara had been through so much, experienced abuse and the unmentionable, experienced so much grief and loss, loneliness and abandonment, and it was taking a toll on her. She'd done nobody harm, she'd kept to herself, and now she was being dealt cards she knew in her heart she did not deserve.
Unable to do much else, Mara decided that the best thing to do was stay at home for a few days, considering it too dangerous to stay out here if the person behind this was still around. Mara would stay inside at least until she felt safer. However, even when Mara made her way home, she felt as if eyes were following her every move. Staying inside felt odd. Every room she entered felt invaded, even when fully aware that she was the only person to have entered the room. The girl would peek out the window, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible in the off chance that someone were actually stalking her. Even when the world felt empty and deserted, it wasn't. There were plenty of threats out there, all with the same goal of survival, but all with different methods of achieving that. The symbol never left Mara's mind, and the idea of a presence being so close stayed at the very forefront of her thoughts.
Mara looked to the window of her room, where the jar filled with the centers of countless mangos sat. There were many to spare, but the girl was unsure how long it would take for those seeds to grow as big as the tree they came from had. No doubt, it would take a while, and Mara was not sure if she had the time, or safety, to stay in one place for however long. She sighed, hands carding through her ever-growing hair.
She had a bit of food to last her for a small while, but it was a bit more than a week's worth, and that just wasn't enough. Mara couldn't help groan, couldn't help the curse that left her mouth, directed towards whatever or whoever was behind it. The girl was simply glad that she still had food and shelter.
Mara watched the sky begin to darken, a last plead from scattered rays of sun poking out from the horizon. Clouds began to cover the sky, blocking from view the sight of a million stars, and preventing even the moon's light from touching earth.
Two days went by, all characterized by silence. They were two very long and excruciatingly boring days, nonetheless invaded by paranoia. Nothing , not a single soul wandered into view, regardless of the window Mara looked through. She constantly looked for any movement, any sign of life, but she came up empty handed. She was unsure of whether to be relieved or concerned. Staying in meant finding ways to counteract the restlessness, and the nervous itch had the girl turning to her food supply to kill time.
On the third day, Mara decided to search the forest, clutching her prized machete tightly in her hand. She wasn't on the lookout for the threat, instead seeking out another form of food. In fact, she was trying her best to keep her mind off of the incident two days ago. She walked until she reached the river, hoping that her racing thoughts could be calmed by the white noise of burbling water. The clear water rushed over the algae covered pebbles and stones, shallow enough to be walked across but cold to the touch. Mara walked over stones, making it to the other side with ease. She searched around her, the stillness of the forest increasingly eerie as paranoia began to creep in the back of her mind.
The wind began to pick up, and the trees swayed in tandem. Chills rose on her skin and the hairs at the back of her neck stood up. Tightening her grip on her machete, Mara headed deeper into the forest, gauging the direction back home by a particular tree that stood in the distance, looming above all else crookedly. Getting lost was not an option.
A rustle of leaves startled a concentrated Mara, her head swiveling in every direction to find the source of the sound. It seemed to halt before continuing again, in odd and incoherent spurts. Mara's brows furrowed in confusion as she quietly walked forward. The shuffling sounded small, light, and Mara was almost completely sure it didn't belong to a human.
It was a couple of steps forward that the source of the rustling came to view amidst the dense thicket. Mara felt her anxious heart grow calm, and a small smile grew on her wary face. The girl cautiously stepped forward towards the source, now in a more challenging mood. Mara froze when the rabbit, bearing its thick coat of white fur and twitching snout, shifted its beady black eyes towards her. They made eye contact, and the rabbit seemed to freeze as well, stare-down intense and full of awareness that felt heavy.
Mara could not attain a proper trajectory for the machete, as there were trees and dense bushes laying in the midst. They blocked her view, and thus Mara began to step forward, attempting to appear as innocuous as possible even when raising the machete to ready it for a throw. She maintained eye contact, and oddly enough so did the rabbit. It seemed to be calculating Mara's steps, for in a very quick instant it swiveled in place and darted in the opposite direction.
Mara cursed under her breath and followed suit in a sprint. Finding food was already a difficult task, so letting it run off was not in her best interests. She wouldn't give up without trying, at least.
Mara was running through the forest in a haste, however her speed was no match for the rabbit's. It seemed to grow farther and farther away the more the girl pushed herself. Mara aimed, then threw her machete at the rabbit, hoping to render the animal immobile until she could quickly dispatch it. Mara hated letting animals die slowly, and she was not a fan of the tortured screeching of injured animals, so killing it quickly and painlessly was for the good of both her and the animal.
The attempt was a miss—a very near miss. Mara groaned and in a quick motion she swept the machete from where it had plunged into the ground. Mara didn't let this discourage her, as she leaned back for another throw, grunting as she put her energy and power into a very hard throw. The rabbit continued to dodge and weave through the thicket, missing her throw by a hair. The machete, instead of it's intended target, impaled itself into the trunk of a large and broad pine tree, causing it to jitter to a halt. Mara reached the machete, attempting to pull it out swiftly, but the blade was pierced deeply. This created a struggle to remove it, Mara momentarily taking her eyes off the rabbit to pull it out. The girl gave it one last pull, the blade easily slipping out easily and causing her to yelp as she fell back. The machete was airborne as she landed with a loud thump on the ground, her widening eyes watching it fall with a muted clang just inches from her face.
The girl gulped, her stomach dropping at the thought of getting herself killed on accident so easily. She quickly got up, dirt kicked up into the air and forming a cloud as the girl whipped her head around in search for the rabbit.
It was just an instant in which she watched the rabbit turn back to look at her, quite a distance away, before disappearing into the darkness of a large opening.
Mara's mouth grew slightly ajar and her eyebrows raised in surprise. She blinked away the dryness from having her eyes open for far too long, simply staring at the grand opening that seemed to deflect any type of light from the incandescent sun. The wind blew in a sudden burst, blowing the vines that hung down from the cave that was carved into the hillside. Mara stared into the void of the cave, feeling herself being absorbed by a very dense silence that emitted from it. It almost felt like a trance, and the black void seemed to beckon her forward. The unknown inside was tempting, and the girl was a curious cat.
If the rabbit went inside, it might just be a rabbit's nest.
Mara looked down to her machete, considering how much damage the weapon could really do when up against danger. She'd been through hell and back with a machete—nothing else—which improved the finesse she had with it. She wondered what kind of person she would be if she had a gun. Given its lethality, the girl knew the power of holding it, even without the intention of harming someone, was overwhelming. The idea of being able to kill someone with the pull of a trigger was terrifying.
Mara grabbed the machete, taking cautious steps forward and glancing around for any other presence nearby. The cave itself felt like an ominous presence, one that Mara was being coaxed by. The thought of hitting jackpot with a rabbit's nest was persuasive, and Mara was already imagining the taste of meat in her dry and hungry mouth. The mango diet was beginning to get old, and tasting the same thing everyday was killing her palate. Being grateful for the mango tree didn't make the mangos taste like steak.
The closer Mara got to the cave, the louder the silence got, but this didn't drive her away. She was surprised she wasn't afraid, as she usually would be.
Mara stood at the entrance, tilting her head away from the spiderweb and the passerby spider that rested calmly on its creation. She pushed aside the vines that tickled her back as she stepped inside. She looked back, the stillness of the forest almost like a friend that watched with fear from afar. Mara listened, noticing that there was a very faint sound of water droplets in the distance. A frown etched itself on her face as she noticed a dim glowing light far in the back of the cave, one that flickered. Like a moth to the flame, Mara stepped forward, taking each step with eyes intent on the dim light.
Everything was suddenly a blur, and pain filled Mara's body as she took a step forward into nothingness and began to tumble down.
And down.
And down.
The breath was knocked from her lungs as she continued to fall down what felt like an eternal flight of stairs. Mara could not see in the darkness, so she tumbled down with her eyes wide open, searching for anything that could determine orientation. The girl squeezed her eyes shut in pain, the cave so dark that she couldn't tell the difference between having her eyes open or closed. She was struck and scratched in the face and her exposed flesh also received the same infliction. Mara could feel her nose sting as she face-planted into the ground, her hair tangling in front of her face as she covered it with her forearms.
After what felt like a never-ending fall, Mara grunted and writhed in the ground in pain. Mara felt her cheek hit the cold humid ground with a flinch, but she couldn't focus on that too much when her ribs burned and ached just as much as almost every part of her feeble body. Mara coughed as she sharply inhaled the dirt that lined the jagged and coarse ground, her throat burning as she further choked. Mara could feel liquid trickling from her nose, and she dreaded stepping back into the light to see the crimson that plagued her everyday life. However, in order to do so, she had to first step out of the cave.
Mara was disoriented for a moment, vision blurred with tears and dizziness as she flipped herself onto her back. Mara looked into the open dome space, eyes first catching sight of the deathly-sharp stalactites that covered the entirety of the dimly lit ceiling.
Mara could've never been prepared for the twists and surprises life could've and had thrown at her, even before the apocalypse. However, never did she ever think that her decisions in life would've led to something like this.
Nothing could've prepared her for the sight her eyes landed on once the world became clear again.
Her pain, once vigorous and at the center of focus, was dulled and mocked by what was before her.
Mara first noticed the smell—the smell of something putrid in a dingy and humid cave. The air was so dense that breathing was made difficult. It was harder enough as it was after falling that great deal of steps.
Mara could not believe what she was looking at.
Mara's vision grew blurry again, this time with raging fear that rendered her speechless. She could only muster a shaky breath and a silent tear that rolled down her bleeding cheek. She dragged herself backwards, up against the wall, but she wished she could burrow herself deep within the earth, where the sight before her was simply a forgotten memory.
It didn't feel like a memory, more like a living nightmare.
The girl's eyes shifted everywhere. She wished she could look away, she really did, but her eyes were agonizingly glued onto the walls of the cave, where they were.
There, nailed to the walls of the cave, hung the corpses of several people sewn together meticulously by thick rope. Body parts from several stages of decomposition clung sturdily to depict odd and disturbing formations like some sort of symbolism. Everything—except her— was lifeless and every corpse was missing its head. The bodies were composed of several skin tones, several ages and opposite sexes. Three bodies nailed to the far left of the cave were severely decomposed while another three were well kept and nailed to the other side—recent. She'd only ever seen something close to this once, and here it was again. Mara felt her insides shrivel up, and bile threatened to rise to her throat. Her squeamish self was growing sick at the sight before her. However, Upon turning around, Mara was met with another gruesome sight.
The heads. The missing heads of all the bodies were displayed neatly on shelves, just like a vase full of spring flowers or a shelf full of unread books and picture frames. Their mangled faces and frightened expressions depicted their last breathing moments, forever frozen as a reminder of their grizzly deaths. In the corner of the room, and littered everywhere, there were several piles of rotting body parts; the ones that weren't used for display.
Another hallway led to a darker area, but entering deeper into the cave was the last thing she could even think of doing.
Mara stumbled back in utter disgust and horror, tears streaming down her stinging cheeks at the thought of innocent people dying only to be a monster's muse. A museum of torture and uninhibited sadism. Whoever was behind this was more than just a monster. Derived from the darkest and most sinister pit of hell—a demon—whose only purpose was to inflict an otherworldly wrath on those simply trying to survive.
Mara's ghostly pale face was ridden with dismay, and her shaky legs stepped onto the first of many stairs leading up into the exit. Just as she did so, the sound of shuffling made its way to her ears. The ringing, caused by a now disturbing silence, had been interrupted by an abrupt sound. Mara grew still, feet glued to the ground in fear. She was sure that every person in that cave was dead, and thus she concluded that the sound didn't come from them, but rather....him. In the darkest corner, just out of view of a distraught Mara, a man stood. Mara slowly turned her head, stomach dropping to her frozen feet. He stepped out into the light, eyes glowing almost inhumanly. His pupils were so dilated that they appeared black. He was focused on none else but her, intensely and with such clear intent. His bones popped as he took another step forward, eyes never leaving Mara. His face was small, hair wet and in very thin strands hanging from his otherwise balding head. His cheeks were gaunt, cheekbones protruding unhealthily and skin flush to bone, eyes sunken into the skull with almost black bags surrounding them. His limbs, also severely emaciated to the point that you could pinpoint every bone on this...man's body, were moving slowly but otherwise surely towards her. Every bone of the man's ribs was clear as day even in the dull lighting of the cave, and with nothing but a loincloth to cover his last bit of decency, Mara was not spared from the sight of the scarily scrawny and unbelievably alive body of his. She would've thought he was another display weren't it for his steps towards her.
Mara inaudibly gasped, eyes momentarily honing in on the symbol that had burned itself in her memory—the exact same one left on the ruins of the mango tree. The symbol was in the form of a large scar at the center of his chest, almost as if it were carved in the same fashion as on the tree.
Without giving it further thought, Mara turned and began to sprint. She heard the sound of his bare feet hitting the wet floor of the cave as he exited, now running after her with inhuman speed—or at least faster than what a starving man like him could run. Mara didn't spare another glance, keeping her eyes forward and not daring to slow down even to catch her breath.
*Present*
Mara ran through the thick woods, vines entangling in her legs and causing her to trip. She got up as hastily as possible, resuming her sprint in the direction of her home. It was futile to try and hide where she lived when she knew he had already gotten close enough to know. She wondered how long she had gone without noticing him. She wondered how many times he'd been watching her in times she believed to be alone, by herself in the forest. She had often visited the river for short whiles, simply to think. She wondered if he watched from afar, unbeknownst to her, and if she had narrowly avoided death each and every time he did so. She had purposely walked into a death trap, a very literal death trap. She couldn't believe her stupidity. She couldn't believe that the first thing on her mind when walking into a dark and ominous cave was a rabbit's nest.
He knew where she lived, no doubt, and that was a terrifying thought.
Mara's lips quivered as she ran, images of the horrors she witnessed flashing before her eyes. She wanted to fade into nothingness, out of sight and mind of the emaciated remains of a man that presently chased her.
Mara didn't want to die, not at the hands of that man. Mara wished Jimin was there, just to keep her from going insane. She did not, however, wish that he could see what she saw, or experience what she did, because it was exactly enough to drive someone to insanity. Mara was growing increasingly nauseous by the minute, and running without breath was not helping.
Mara ran in the direction of her house, following the large and crooked tree in the distance. Her house slowly came to view, and she wished she could simply turn and slash him with her-
The machete.
Mara wanted to cry and kick and scream when realizing that in the panic and horror of the situation, she had forgotten to pick up her machete, which had fallen beside her with a loud clang. Mara continued to run despite the feeling of hopelessness creeping in her mind. She reached the large front yard of the lodge, eyes solely focused on the door she would immediately slam behind her once she entered. The girl glanced back for a second once she was halfway down the yard, noticing that the scrawny man had stopped just outside the border of the overgrown grass and forest tree lining. He stood there without further intent of approaching, but she didn't wait for him to make a further move before entering her home and closing the door behind her. The lodge was uncomfortably quiet and dingy, the sun barely poking through the blinds to light up the furnished space.
Mara locked and barricaded the entrance, scurrying to the other entrances to do the same. Mara collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air and that her lungs craved and burned for. The girl occasionally retched as she sobbed inconsolably. She laid on the cold floor, blood smearing onto the white polished wood from a continuously bleeding nose and scraped cheeks. Her hands were equally scratched up, as was her lower back and swollen ankles. Mara's adrenaline was wearing off as everything came crashing down.Her tears were shedding from every kind of pain. She was writhing on the ground as she regained her breath and could only gasp with every sob.
Mara's paranoia had been proved correct, every fear of hers gathering to join into one elaborate and massive nightmare. The girl dragged herself to her room, enduring excruciating pain that pulsated throughout her entire body until she reached her room. She barricaded the door as well, covering her window with anything she could find. The girl did not rest until she scanned every nook and cranny inside the four walls. The room was turned upside down into a mess before she finally laid down, wincing and moaning in pain. She laid on her side, ignoring the dark crimson that bloomed on pristine white sheets. She laid there, eyes wide open.
Closing her eyes for too long brought back those flashes.
Those bodies.
Those heads.
Mara covered herself with a blanket, shivering but not from the cold. Her eyes were glued to the wall, unmoving as she wished to die in her sleep.
She wished for a peaceful death; if not now then in the future.
If not now then very soon, because what she had just witnessed not even thirty minutes prior was bound to push her into an insalvable madness. Complete and utter isolation was better than sharing a space with a vile man like the one she ran from. If only the brutes had eaten her instead of Jimin.
If only Jimin were there, with her, to at least comfort her or help clean her wounds. She didn't have the energy to stand, let alone move a single finger. Her boots remained on her feet, and she was still clad in her jacket and dirty clothes. Her lungs still burned and her chest ached, her throat was sore and her nose was runny—mucus and blood. Her body felt stiff, but most notably her fingers and hands felt the most rigid and cold. Her ears rang, and she wished she could hear Jimin's voice, soft and comforting, telling her that she would be okay and he would keep her safe.
But Jimin is dead, and he's not going to come back—ever.
The simple thought was enough to bring Mara to tears once more. She covered her mouth to stifle the sobs, fearing for the man to be listening into her every movement and breath—her every thought.
Mara knew that living people were far more scary than the dead that roamed.
She now knew they were scary enough to make even God question His own existence.
Even the devil quivered at the atrocities committed by his very own apprentices.
Mara was scared.
Scared and alone.
———
Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you're all doing good.
-wethenaive