#1-3

Chapter one

Into your world

Suzy

I opened my eyes and gaze at the sky above me. The dark clouds block and absorb all the lights in the sky. I realize that I am in a place which is unfamiliar; an eldritch surrounding. When I have the urge of getting out of the place, I tried to lift but it seems impossible. A weird smell pervades the area around me. I feel awkward, and my throat feels weird that I really want to throw out everything in my stomach.

Turning my head to the right side of me while my body still lying on the wet grass, I am surprised of what I see. I am astonished by the beauty of the plant which is lying just in front of my naked eyes. A purple dark flower stands beautifully in front of me and I dare my left hand to touch it. Once my hand touches the soft texture of the petals, I feel recharged. I have retained the energy to stand on my feet again. However, that beautiful creature just wilts as soon as I touch it as if I have absorbed all the powers that the weird flower has.

I rise up from the ground and sit. The air is getting fresher as I lift my nose to the next higher level of the atmosphere. I continue to arise and enjoy the freshness of air as my head getting higher from the ground. The feeling of drowsiness just faint and leave my body alone in the mysterious surrounding. I stand on my feet when I see a large tree in front of me, stand taller than the other plants visible. My feet suddenly step a few steps ahead though I do not wish to, but I just obey.

The strange tree is standing just in front of my tiny body now. I am dazzled by the gorgeous tree. The wild flowers that creep around the bark and the branches of the strong tree look so beautiful, so I dared myself to touch them. But the moment I put my palms near the living thing, it deflects. Startled, I dare not to touch anymore. I step back a few steps to refrain the tree and at that time I realize the burnt grasses beneath my feet as I stepped on it.

It is creepy, it’s so unearthly. I am going to bear in mind that I am just dreaming. I pinched my arm, hard, but all that I get is the affliction of my foolish action. It is totally not a dream and it invites me to awareness, having goose bumps all on my body.

All of sudden, I feel that I am being watched. I turn myself back and see a glimpse of a black figure. I am so scared but I insist to follow my curiousness, so I pushed myself to view the figure fully. It is like I am mesmerized; I step forward, leaving the strange beautiful tree to chase the figure that my eyes catch just a few seconds ago. On this very moment, surprisingly, the fear that I feel for the last few seconds ago just gone. I continue my steps forward, into the woods where the figure disappeared behind them. The black figure disappears so fast, like a dash. But, I can feel the positive energy of the figure that I should follow it. So, I step forward without haste.

I see a guy standing behind a tree, and I believe he’s the one whom I chase. I walked towards him while he stares at me with his grey shining eyes. His innocent eyes invite me to walk nearer to him, but he dashes away before my eyes and sits on a branch of a half dead tree, a meter further from the site he was standing. One more step nearer to him, when I feel slight arduous to take my breath. Getting nearer, the guy flicks a smirk and disappears.

“Wait!” that’s the first word that fall off from my jaws from the moment I was deserted on this strange place. No, the guy does not seem to appear anymore. I looked around and I just realized that I’m standing among the creepiest trees that I have ever seen. Everything is just a contrast of the site that I have gone for the first place. It’s getting scary.

I try to escape, so I walk back to the ground that I have stepped on. Strangely, the woods are getting thicker as I walk. Everything is vague. The atmosphere feels getting thinner and thinner, nearly to zero oxygen as I walk further and further.

I’m suffocating.

Chapter 2

Run

Suzy

No oxygen. I can’t breathe. I can’t even stand on my feet.

The forest is getting thicker and darker in front of my eyes. All the woods standing tall seem lifeless. I am surrounded by all dark dead trees, giving the freaking creep out of me. Realizing that I am alone, it is impossible for me, thinking if there would be even a person or something that could save my life. Not here, it this lifeless forest. Even the earth that I touch feels like it is not even fertile enough to grow up something.

I was nearly dead, pale, lying on the ground when a person arrives.

He is tall, standing right at the side of me, on the ground where I am lying. He looks down at me with a stern look. The moment when my eyes meet his ebony, darkest black eyes with his narrowed-down eyebrow, I know that my presence here is nothing than a disturbance for him. I’m suffocating but I can still look up to see the perfect mannequin well from down here.

“What the hell are you doing here?” a deep voice is coming out of the throat of the owner. But I can say nothing. How can I answer the question when I don’t even have the idea on how did I get here?

Suddenly he kneels down, with his left knee touching the ground. He pulled the collar of my dress, placed his arm around my shoulder, makes my body slowly rise up, leaving the lifeless earth. His touch, I can feel my skin nearly turn into dust, rotten like the skin of the dead as I don’t feel anything on the surface of my skin once his index touches my neck. Coldness is flowing underneath my skin, into my bloodstream. I should not have been mistaken, he must not a human.

He’s wearing black leather clothing, dashingly attired, looks like a royal blood, the prince of the empire of Rome, the kingdom of King Arthur. I fall into his deep dark black rounded eyes that penetrate its ray into my eyes. His pale face is too near with mine, as if he wants to kiss me with his heart-shaped lips. His skin is soft, flawless and beautiful radiantly white that is near to pale, but he has the touch of ice. His skin is freezing cold. I can even feel his freezing cold breath touching my nose.

I’m still suffocating. But, if I was fated to die on his arm, please let it be. Getting weaker, I just letting my eyes shut, waiting for the last second of death to arrive, letting the gods of death to pull my soul out of my body. I’m willingly let myself die on the arms of a perfect mannequin.

Suddenly, the mannequin harshly dropped me off on the dusty ground, and at the same time I have awaken from the death. From that very moment, I can feel oxygen going in and out of my lungs through my nose again. I’m back to life. He is trying to keep himself a distance away from me as I’m slowly arising from the site where I was dying just a few seconds ago. My back, it is slightly painful but I continue to lift, making the mannequin moves his body much further away from me. As fast as a lightning, he just lightly lifts up his body, and now he is resting on the branch of a dead tree, six feet away from the ground just avoiding me to get nearer to him.

“I don’t care who or what you are. Just stay away from my territory. If I ever see you again here, I won’t hesitate to banish you out from this world. Forever,” and with his loud evil laugh he groaned, get off from the tree he was sitting. His face transforms from a perfect-build mannequin to a complete perfect horrible demon look. His face darken to dark pale green, his eyes are completely dark black, his jaws are open as wide as his whole face with billions of small yellow canines, with his two branched, sharp tongue sticking out. He rests his palm on the tree as black steam flows out from his palms, slowly seeping into the bark of the tree. In a blink of an eye, the tree becomes dust or worse, it smells like a rotten dead. He turned back, stares at me, like I’m going to be his next prey.

I get on my running track now. Run.

D.O

I feel it again, the same aura that ignores my rule, almost every day.  Now enraged, I wonder who it will be.

The feel is getting stronger as I move to the north side. I can feel the soul, dark and strong, but alive. A living body shall be forbidden in the death forest. Thus, I sway my sword and curse. I no longer demand to stay but to catch the culprit that always ignores my commands. As I reached at the end of the north side, I catch a glimpse of a man, walking quick, as he is being chased by something. I am definite that it is the soul that I have always sought. Nevertheless, I must hide behind the tree before his senses awake. I fear to fail once again, so I must choose a right time to petrify him.

Suddenly, I am awakened by another soul. White and pure, stronger. I cannot even resist the aura. Disturbing, I even choke by my own breath. The aura is like a breeze that leaves a tingling sensation to each and every hair on my body, infuriating that I feel that I want to scream and chase both of them away immediately.

But I stop once I am dazzled by a beauty, making an entrance to my eyes. Hair as dark as ebony, lips as red as roses, skin as white as snow; I start to think of waiting for a best timing rather than to rush them straight away.   

“Wait!” she yells, and the man looks back, smirks and disappears. Damn, I am certain that he discovered me behind my hiding. It drags me to remorse; the culprit is now escaped and I will not let her slip too. With my power, I command the souls of the forest to captivate and slur her eyes. She walks deeper into the forest and finally collapse on the ground, dying at the center of the dead.

I come closer to her and touch her. I can feel a fantasy between my fingers and her white skin but I stun when her skin became cold and dust when we contact. I no longer wish to keep the fantasy as I grow dear to her, for the first time, I want her to keep alive.

Chapter 3

Light saber

Suzy

I run as fast as I could. I’m so terrified of what I have seen just now. I have never seen a terrifying creature in my entire life before, neither a ghost. Without looking back, I keep my head heading to the front of me. It is getting brighter; I feel that I have reached the end of the forest. The air is getting fresher and there are no more, black trees that I have seen earlier, but I see the sky. I keep running towards it.

Suddenly I heard a sharp noise, concealed behind the trees. Most likely the sound of a blade, but what is it? Curious, so I stop to listen to the sound more carefully. Unfortunately this time, it is bolder, that I heard footsteps running towards me. I know it is no longer safe to stay so I run away without turning my back. I know this will come to an end soon, I hear the footsteps, and they are getting nearer as I run away from it.

I turned my back when suddenly I do not realize that I have stumbled over a huge root. My whole body tosses in the air and I fell into a hole.

* * *

I wake up as I feel something pokes on my bare feet repeatedly that I feel painful.

“Ughh,” I moan. As I open my eyes, I see a figure sitting on the side of the hole, which its wall is twice than my height. He is the one who pokes a stick on my bare foot.

“Ah, finally you’re awake! We need to get out of this place before it’s dark,” says the guy with a smile across his face. “Are you alright?”

I nod my head slightly.

“Good. Now slide back a little can you?” he commands. I move backwards, obeying him. Pain is seeping into my bones, the wounds are hurting that I feel like dying.

He leaps forward, trying to reach the branch of the tree above the hole I am lying now but it is a fail. However, not for the second one. Miraculously, his leap is no longer a leap but he is flying forward and grabs the branch, like a monkey, he flings his back over the branch, sitting on it. He draws his hand forward, clenching his hand and a ray of light shine out of the gap of his fingers. And with the light he holds, he slashes the strong root in front of him and tie it neatly around his waist. I see, it’s a light saber.

“Grab my hand,” he utters. I do not realize he draws his hand right in front of me, where it is now reachable, because I was mesmerized by his quick, flawless, flexible action. Finally I grab his hand and he pulls me out of the hole, with his strength, in a blink of an eye. He is trying to make me stand on my feet, on the ground but pain stings on my foot intensely that I cry.

“You’ve twisted your ankle,” he explains while scrutinizing my foot. “Let’s go home, my house is at the corner. Get on my back.”

“No,” I say, unrehearsed. How can I simply believe a stranger?

“Why? We need to escape from the forest before night. The beasts will be after us.”

“Who are you? Why are you helping me?”

“I’m Baekhyun, and why are you asking such a stupid question? Is there anything more important than your safety? Get on my back quick!” he scolds. I am startled and do what he asks me to do.

* * *

“Sorry that I yelled on you,” he finally says something on the way.

“Erh… no, I should say thank you for saving me. Thank you,” I say, trembling. Nervous.

“Ah, are your feet alright? I’m sorry I need to do that to make you awake,”

“It’s alright.”

“We can heal it as soon as we reach home. Don’t worry,” he says. I see him smiling although I just can see the right side of his face as I leaned my head on his right shoulder.

“Your house, is it far from here?” I ask, worry that it may be a long journey. I don’t want to be on his back for days.

“Nope. I won’t piggyback you for days, neither have I wanted to, what do you think?” he says, giggling. By any chance, did he read my mind? It turns me silent, reflecting his response.

“We’ll be alright, the beasts are afraid of light. That’s why they just come out during night time.”

He spreads his fingers and force out a ball of light. The surrounding is now bright, equal to the daytime. I can see the darkness on both my sides and far in front. It is like there is a light boundary between us and the darkness of the forest.