Yu wakes, gasping, the echo of his mother's scream still clawing at his throat. The nightmare of that day, the fire, the beasts, her body torn apart. haunts him. Eleven years have passed, and at twenty-one, the memories remain as sharp as ever. He's curled under a gnarled tree, its roots digging into his back, the damp earth soaking his ragged tunic. The air smells of moss and rot, heavy in this forest where the sun barely creeps through the canopy.
"Yu, move it!" Shizuka's voice cuts through the haze. His friend looms over him, lean frame taut, eyes scanning the trees. "We need to hunt." His spear is slung over his shoulder, the blade chipped but sharp. Yu grunts, hauling himself up, his body stiff from sleeping on dirt. His pack loaded with ropes, flint, and jars for water, slaps against his hip. He's no hunter, not like Shizuka. He's a carrier, lugging their gear, their kills, their survival. Every hunting group has one: the strong, the steady, the ones who bear the weight so the hunters can strike.
The forest is a tangle of vines and shadows, so dense the light feels like a rumor. They move in silence, their group of six hunters, Shizuka leading, Yu hauling, and Kael, the scout, darting ahead. The hunters grip their spears, eyes flicking to every rustle, every snap of a twig. Fear clings to them like damp… Yu looking at the hunters thought
No one's ever killed a Supernatural. That's what the Elder called them, beings beyond nature, capable of moving mountains, shaking the earth, tearing the sky with storms. For ten years, humanity has run from them. Ten years of hiding, losing, dying. Some were born in that time, but far more were lost…We're not a village anymore, not a people. we're ants, burrowing in the earth's wounds, craters, caves, tunnels carved into mountains, that tower like walls around this valley. From afar, it looks small, a narrow gap between peaks, but it's enough for the few Thousand left. we dig, we hide, we wait, knowing it's only a matter of time before the Supernaturals find this place. The mountains might slow them, but nothing stops them.
Shizuka signals, crouching low. A deer's tracks mark the mud ahead. Yu's job is to stay close, ready to carry whatever they kill, but his mind drifts. The Elder's face flashes in his head, his smile, his lies about the Light. He spits into the dirt, the taste of ash still on his tongue from the nightmare. Shizuka glances back, frowning. "Focus, Yu," he whispers. Yu nods, but his chest tightens.
This valley feels safe, but it's a trap. Just like the Elder's stories were. And deep down, I know: we'll never stop running, not from the Supernaturals, not from him.
Shizuka points to the tracks, motioning the group to fan out. "Spread tight," he mutters, barely loud enough to hear. "Yu, stick with me." Yu grumbles but shifts his pack, falling in step behind his friend. Shizuka's always been solid, quick with a spear, quicker with a laugh. Back when they were kids, before the world went to shit, Shizuka was the one who'd sneak Yu extra bread or crack jokes when the Elder's sermons dragged on. Now, he's all business, but there's still that glint in his eye, like he's daring Yu to keep up.
They creep through the underbrush, the air damp and heavy with the smell of pine and decay. Kael signals from ahead, a faint whistle. The deer's close, grazing in a clearing just past a tangle of roots. Shizuka nods to Yu, handing him a short blade. "You're not just carrying today," he says, smirking. "Help us pin it." Yu raises an eyebrow but takes the blade. He ain't a hunter, but he's not useless either.
The group circles the clearing, slow and steady. The deer's head is down, munching grass, oblivious. Yu's heart pounds not from the hunt, but from the quiet, the kind of quiet that feels like it's waiting to explode. Shizuka gives the signal, and the hunters move like a single breath. Two of 'em throw nets, heavy with stones, tangling the deer's legs. It bolts, but it's too late, Shizuka's spear flies, catching it clean in the flank. The deer stumbles, bleating, and Yu's there, faster than he expects, driving his blade into its side to finish it. Blood spills, warm and sticky, staining his hands.
"Nice one, Yu!" Shizuka claps his shoulder, grinning like they're kids again, stealing apples from the old village stores. "Didn't think you had it in ya." Yu snorts, wiping the blade on his tunic. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I'm still just the pack mule." Shizuka laughs, low and easy, the sound cutting through the forest's gloom. For a second, it's like the Supernaturals don't exist, like just two friends, alive, pulling through.
They tie the deer's legs, Yu slinging it over his shoulder with the ropes from his pack. It's heavy, but he's used to the weight, gear, kills, guilt, it's all the same. As they head back, Shizuka walks close, quieter now. "You good?" he asks, glancing at Yu's face. Yu shrugs, the nightmare's ash still lingering in his throat. "Same as always." Shizuka doesn't push, just bumps Yu's arm with his fist, a small thing that says he gets it. They've lost too much to need words.
Backing toward the mountains. The hunters chatter ahead, their voices buzzing with the thrill of the kill. Shizuka's right beside him, yapping about the hunt, his spear bouncing as he walks. "Man, Yu, you gotta step up," he says, grinning. "You stuck that blade in clean back there. Quit haulin' shit and be a hunter already."
Yu barely hears him. His eyes are up, searching the gaps in the dense forest canopy, chasing slivers of sky. The leaves choke out the light, but he's looking for something, anything that ain't just green and shadow. Shizuka keeps talking, "no one carries better than you.Look at you, broad back, strong arms, calloused hands... ya body was made to serve, not to question", but Yu don't wanna be a hunter. He don't wanna be anything but free of this damn trap.
They break through the edge of the forest, the trees thinning out, and there it is the sky, wide and gray, stretching over the valley. Yu stops dead, the load on his back forgotten. Something's wrong. His gut twists, sharp and cold, same as that night eleven years ago when the beasts came. A sixth sense, like a blade in his chest, screams danger. Before he can think, he's diving for cover, scrambling under the nearest tree, its roots shielding him.
The others freeze, confused, staring at Yu like he's lost it. "What the hell, Yu?" Kael hisses, but then it hits. The sky turns blood-red, a sick glow swallowing the clouds. Lightning too many bolts to count rips through the air, not natural, not normal. It's them. The Supernaturals. Up there, fighting, their forms barely visible, twisting like storms given flesh. The ground shakes, a low rumble that makes Yu's teeth clench. The hunters, those so-called brave bastards, scatter like roaches, diving for trees, rocks, anything. They're tough when it's deer. Not when the sky's screaming.