Chapter 13: The Blood Lanterns
The wind howled like a grieving mother through the twisted trees. Lerato gripped the strange lantern tighter in her hand, its glass warm and sticky. It wasn't oil lighting their way it was blood. Thick, dark, and still warm. With every step, it dripped onto the forest floor, hissing as it met the earth.
They had fled the house, yes but it was no victory. Behind them, the house had not vanished. It still stood, still watched. Its windows glowed faintly with crimson light, as if it was alive and breathing. And even here, far from its door, its whispers chased them.
This can't be real,Thabo muttered, eyes scanning the dense forest. This whole place… It's not a forest. It's something else.Simo stumbled slightly, catching himself. I told you we shouldn't have come. We should've left Nia there
Don't,Lerato snapped, spinning around. She saved us. If it weren't for her, we'd be hanging from the ceiling like those… things.Silence stretched. No one wanted to speak. Every sound their breathing, the soft squelch of footsteps in moss, the distant howl seemed amplified in this cursed place.
Then they saw them.Lanterns. Hanging from the trees. Dozens of them.Identical to the one Lerato carried. Each dripping blood.Each glowing with that same sickly orange-red light.What is this… Simo whispered.
A narrow path appeared before them lined with the lanterns. The trees had moved again.I'm not going down there, Thabo said. This is a trap.So is staying still, Lerato replied. You felt it too. The trees are closing in.
She was right. The branches above had begun to knit together, choking out the moonlight. A thick mist curled around their feet.They had no choice but to move.
As they walked, the lanterns began to swing, though there was no wind. Soft whispers filled the air again, like a thousand voices breathing secrets at once. Lerato couldn't make out the words, but her name echoed again and again.
Lerato…
Lerato…
Come back…
The path led to a clearing. At its center stood a stone altar covered in moss and… hair. Human hair. Fresh. Tangled. Bloody. Lerato recoiled.
Simo bent to examine something at the base of the altar. A small locket. He opened it inside was a faded photo of a girl. She looked no older than ten.
There were carvings on the altar's surface. Names.
And there, among the old ones, were fresh ones still wet in blood.
Lerato.
Thabo.
Simo.
What the hell is this? Thabo shouted. Our names? How does it know our names?!
Lerato stepped back, heart pounding. This place… it marks people. Once you enter, you become part of it.Suddenly, the lanterns went out. One by one. Darkness swallowed them.Then came the voice.
A deep, guttural growl that seemed to echo from the earth itself. One must stay.The blood lantern in Lerato's hand flared again, brighter than before.One must stay… or all three will feed.
Simo's voice cracked. What does it mean?Thabo was shaking. It wants one of us. To die.No.Lerato's eyes burned. No one dies. We're not giving this forest what it wants.
But the ground beneath them cracked. From the altar, black veins began to spread outward like spider legs. The forest roared in fury. The trees bent forward, their bark splitting to reveal eyes dozens, hundreds of eyes watching.
The shadows moved. Figures emerged. The marked. People the forest had taken over the years pale, hollow, their faces twisted in permanent screams.Lerato grabbed Thabo and Simo's hands Run. Don't let go. Whatever happens, don't stop.They turned and ran.
The forest did not stay still. Trees moved. Roots lashed at their feet. But they kept running, dodging, stumbling.The whispering grew louder angrier.Lerato… Thabo… Simo… Come back. Feed the house.
Branches grabbed at their arms like claws. Simo screamed as one slashed his leg, but Thabo pulled him up without hesitation.
They burst into another clearing.
The mist here was thin. And in the center was an old, broken sign buried in the soil. Lerato wiped the dirt.Welcome to Ekanjo VillageHer breath caught.This is where it started, she said. The girl in the photo… the villagers…
The truth hit her like a fist. The forest wasn't just haunted. It was the village. Every tree. Every lantern. Every whisper. The entire village had been consumed. Turned into this.
Then something crashed behind them.The marked had followed.Dozens of them, closing in.Lerato raised the blood lantern. Back! Stay back!The light flared again stronger this time. The marked recoiled, hissing.
They're scared of it! Thabo shouted.Simo pointed at the largest tree nearby its bark was carved with hundreds of symbols. That's the heart. We end this there.
Lerato nodded.
She rushed toward it, holding the lantern high. The marked screamed, charging at her. She didn't stop. She reached the tree and smashed the lantern against its trunk.It shattered.Blood spilled, sizzling against the bark.A pulse rippled through the forest.The marked froze.
Then, one by one, they began to vanish like smoke in the wind. The tree groaned, splitting down the center. From within, a gust of hot air burst out, and a sound unlike any scream they had heard shook the earth.
Then silence.The forest was still.The trees no longer watched. The whispers were gone.Lerato collapsed, breathing hard.Simo fell beside her. Is it over?
Thabo looked around. I think… I think we broke the curse.They sat in silence, shaken but alive.But somewhere, far in the distance, a faint whisper remained.
One must stay…