Chapter 10

Chinua awoke, his eyelids fluttering open as the deafening silence echoed in his ears. He found himself lying on a floor in a grove. He wondered where he was. He thought about the odd dream he just had. What was that strange being he saw? Questions flooded his mind. Anxiety crept all over his body, and he felt a tingling sensation. What he was certain of was that he was alone in this strange new world. Chinua steadied his mind, taking a deep breath that smelled of damp earth and humid air. He could barely remember how he got here. Then it hit him—a ram! A ram with bronze horns. He had been dragged into a tree that swallowed him into darkness.

Chinua needed to find that ram; it was the only way he could go home. That being could take him back. He quickly stood up and looked around, trying to figure out his environment. How would he find a godly ram in this vast forest? He asked himself.

Above him, towering trees reached towards a sky draped with luminous leaves, their vines as thick as pythons coiled around rough bark. Sunlight spilled through the dense canopy, casting an orangey glow.

Chinua hated everything about nature, and he felt nature hated him back.

The waist-high grass prickled his bare legs, and tiny insects bit into his skin. He scratched his face and slapped his neck, grumbling in irritation. He hoped his allergies wouldn’t flare up. As he walked, he could hear nothing at all. The forest held its whispers—no owl’s hoot or cricket’s chirp to break the eerie stillness. He was no expert on nature, but he knew that animals lived in the forest.

Then he heard a faint scratching sound split through the silence, sending tremors down his spine. Snap. A twig cracked beneath his feet. Chinua’s breath caught in his throat. The air hung thick with danger. At the corner of his eye, he caught a dark shape flicker.

From the unseen depths of the forest, Chinua heard a guttural growl that sent adrenaline surging through his veins. A wild thing stalked the darkness; he was sure of that. Panic clawed at his chest, but he stood his ground. Squinting into the shadows proved futile. Without his glasses, the darkness was impenetrable.

He heard that faint sound again, scraping through the grass, this time inching closer. Suddenly, a hand clamped down on his arm, its cold touch jolting him back to reality. Chinua spun around, heart drumming against his ribs. It was only a girl. A primitive-looking girl held onto him. She was adorned with a red wrapper around her chest and waist, beads around her neck and hips, and she moved so quietly that the cowries around her legs didn’t make a sound.

He felt relieved, only to more curious.

“Who are you?!” he shouted. He never thought he would find another person in this remote, damp forest. He was in awe at the coincidence.

The outlandish girl shushed him. “Shh! We’ve gotta move. There are wild animals nearby” she gasped, her voice hoarse. Her chest heaved. “If you want to live, come with me.”

Chinua jerked his arm away, his confusion mirrored by a furrowed brow. “What are you talking about? I don’t even know you!” he snapped. “Why should I go anywhere with you?” 

Her gaze remained elsewhere. “Because if you don’t, you’re not making it out of here. Trust me,” she hissed, her voice filled with urgency.

Chinua shook his head indignantly and pointed in the opposite direction. “I don’t even know you! I can take care of myself.” he argued.

His thoughts were spinning. How could he trust some random girl in a forest he barely understood? He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a trap. He had watched enough scary movies—these were the little things that led to people being unalive.

The girl’s expression hardened as she shoved past him, her voice a harsh whisper. “You’ll regret this,” she warned before disappearing into the bushes

Had he made a mistake? He shook his head. If this was a trap, then he would try to outsmart it; he wouldn’t go down easily. The temperature dropped, cold shivers ran through his body. He rubbed his arms to stay warm. The ground and grass were moist as the day grew darker. He wanted to find a place to camp, but he decided it was better to keep moving.

Suddenly, a cackle cut through the unsettling silence. Chinua’s breath came in shallow gasps, his legs trembling as he struggled to keep his footing. Every snap of a twig made him flinch.

 He spun around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. Around him was only darkness and shadows.

Chinua’s breath quickened, each inhale sharp and shallow. Palms grew slick with sweat, and a steady thud echoed against his ribcage. His legs picked up pace as he shoved his way past the dense foliage.

The eerie sound echoed again, morphing into ravenous shrieks. He stopped abruptly. Peering around, he realized he was being stalked. The forest had marked him as prey, and he needed to disappear to throw off his tracker. He lowered his head and slowly sank to his knees, trying to remain as silent as possible. The damp ground shifted under him.

A few inches before him, yellow eyes pierced the darkness, staring intensely in his direction. A growl rumbled so loudly that his skin vibrated. He clasped his mouth shut and forced himself to remain still.