Yousafer stepped out of the house to find five black horses waiting. He came to a halt beside Yuray, followed by the Chief, who seemed lost in a daze. *Should I trust this boy?* the old man wondered, his spirit broken. *But if he is wrong, what will become of us?*
Seven men were mounted on the horses. Six of them glared at Yuray and Yousafer, while the seventh lay unconscious across the saddle of one of the riders. The horses had massive hooves and white saddles striped with black, matching the cloaks worn by the men.
The village was now crowded, eyes watching from every dark corner. A gravelly voice erupted from a hulking man with a long black mustache, his tone dripping with arrogance. "You two!" He pointed a finger at Yousafer and Yuray. "You're coming with us."
The Chief snapped out of his trance as cold raindrops began to fall. "These are my guests," he protested. "What business do you have with them?"
The mustached man shot him a threatening look, his voice cold as ice. "Keep your mouth shut, you filthy old man. Do you think we need your permission to take them?"
Yousafer smiled cunningly and whispered to the Chief, "We'll be fine. Don't worry. Just do as I told you."
"Are you sure?" the Chief hesitated.
"I don't joke about such things, old man," Yousafer replied boldly.
One of the men at the front leaned down. "What are you two muttering about? Move it, or we'll drag you to the factories. Be obedient."
Yousafer's face contorted for a moment, his sleepy eyes fixed on the man with a downturned mouth full of hidden disdain. The rider noticed the shift and raised an eyebrow. "What's that look for, you brat?"
Yousafer ignored the insult. "Where is the way?" he asked simply.
The men exchanged bewildered glances before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! The poor boy thinks we're going on a picnic!"
"I don't know what trick you used to catch that idiot," one of them sneered, gesturing to the unconscious rider, "but you'll pay for everything once we arrive."
The riders' laughter echoed, met only by the grim faces of the villagers and a trembling Helmo.
"Curse it..." Helmo gripped his hands tight. "It's my fault. I'm sorry... I'm sorry I brought you into this."
Even though Helmo had seen Yousafer take down a supervisor with ease, the fear bred into these villagers since childhood outweighed all hope.
Yousafer and Yuray said nothing. They simply began to walk, flanked by three horses in front and two behind. Before long, they vanished from the village, swallowed by the trees that groaned under the weight of the rising wind.
The forest was pitch black, illuminated only by two torches—one at the front of the line and one at the rear.
"Poor kids," one rider mocked. "Bad luck entering this forest."
"Hahaha! They must be shivering so hard they can't even speak!"
"You'll never see the outside world again. You'll work like animals every day until you rot!"
After an hour of continuous mockery, they arrived at a high wooden fence, nearly three meters tall. A large gate swung open, and they entered. A man in his fifties stood before a wooden house, holding a glass lantern and smiling.
"These are the ones you went for? They look so young. What a waste of youth."
"Are you pitying us, old man?" Yousafer asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Hahaha! This is the first time I've seen someone in a mess like this smiling! You truly don't know what awaits you."
The man laughed loudly, but a sudden gust of wind blew a dry leaf straight into his open mouth. He began to choke violently. *Agh... Hack... Cough!*
"What's the matter, old man?" Yousafer mocked. "Are you in a mess?"
After a struggle, the man spat out the wet leaf and glared at Yousafer with murderous eyes. "Did you do that?"
"Do you think I commanded that thing to enter your throat?" Yousafer asked with fake confusion. "Do you think I can control objects? I wish I had such power."
"You brat!" the man hissed, clutching his throat and gasping for air.
"Hey, stop it," the mustached man called out. "The Boss is waiting. Let's go."
They dismounted. Two men carried the unconscious prisoner toward the gatekeeper. "Watch this fool until he wakes up."
The gatekeeper nodded, his eyes still fixed on Yousafer. The group continued toward the factories, which were now visible in the distance.
After walking a short distance, Yousafer stopped and rubbed his chin. "There's a strange smell in this place."
Yuray finally broke his long silence. "It's not an ordinary smell."
The guards stopped, turning back to them. "What now? Why did you stop?"
One of them reached out to shove Yousafer from behind, but before his hand could touch the boy's back—
*Squelch!*
Blood sprayed into the air, carried by the wind, coating everyone in red spots. A severed arm flew through the darkness and thudded onto the ground, the fingers still twitching.
The guard stared at the stump where his arm used to be. For a second, he didn't understand. Then, a blood-curdling scream erupted from his throat.
Another spray of blood followed, this time drenching their faces. A fountain of red geysered from a neck—the head was gone. It soared high and rolled across the dirt until it hit another man's foot.
The remaining five men stood paralyzed. What they saw froze the blood in their veins.
A long, white bone, writhing like a serpent, extended from Yuray's wrist. The tip of the bone was razor-sharp.
The men's faces turned ashen. A cold chill raced down their spines. *What... what is this?!*
One man's legs gave out, and he collapsed, trembling. They had lived in this forest for years, but they had never seen a horror like this.
Silence followed, broken only by the roar of the wind. The rain, which had been holding back, finally began to pour, as if to bear witness to the slaughter.
"W-who... who are you?" the mustached man stammered, his voice shaking.
The man on the ground lost his mind as he stared into the dead eyes of the rolling head beside him. He opened his mouth to scream, but a bone whistled through the air, piercing his mouth and exiting through the back of his skull.
Hearts hammered against ribs. Blood surged through veins like a torrential flood.
**FEAR.**
The survivors fell to their knees. They knew there was no escape. One name echoed through their minds—a name that carried weight in this world:
"Possessed..."
"What is a Possessed doing in this forest...?" one man managed to gasp. His answer was a bone driving through his chest, straight into his heart. He coughed up a spray of blood and looked into Yuray's face—a face that held no emotion, eyes closed in a mask of death—before he slumped over, dead.
**FEAR.**
The terror of the remaining men reached its peak. They began to wail, apologizing for their mockery on the path.
Yuray murmured words that were barely audible over the rain. "Do you think I care about the insults of insects like you? You can mock me all you want. Do you think it matters?"
But before he could finish, the bone swept horizontally with blinding speed, claiming the remaining heads.
"There is no need for you to hear more."
Yousafer looked at him. "You idiot... you didn't leave anyone for me."
Yuray smiled. "There are more inside. You can kill as many as you want."
Yousafer sighed, rain dripping between his eyes. "Fine. I'll take the factory to the right. You take the one to the north."
The factories looked small from the outside—silver and gray buildings, two stories high with many barred windows and two large chimneys. Inside, most of the supervisors were preparing for bed.
In the screen-filled room, the Commander was still waiting. His face was twisted in a scowl. "Those bastards... why are they so late? It's not like there's anything to do on a night like this. They've made me wait here like a fool. They'll pay."
**FEAR.**
The Commander was losing his patience. Suddenly, he clutched his heart, gasping. "What's happening...? Why is my heart racing...?"
*Thump-thump... Thump-thump...*
Even breathing became a struggle. He stood up, clutching his chest, and stumbled out of the room. He walked down the corridor with heavy, labored steps. On either side were doors engraved with the faint, faded image of a tree.
He turned a corner and began to climb the stairs.
***
In a nearby room with two yellow beds spotted like stars, two men were preparing for sleep.
One looked out the high, small window. "Did you hear a scream just now?"
The other was tucking in his covers. "What scream? Didn't you see the wind outside? And the rain... you must have heard the wind."
The first man stared at the window, whispering to himself, "I'm sure I heard a scream..."
**FEAR.**
"Sleep is getting to you," the other said. "Just shut up and let's sleep. We have a lot of work tomorrow." He turned off the light and pulled the covers over his head.
The moment the light went out:
*Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!*
Four heavy knocks pounded on the door.
"Who is the bastard knocking at this hour?" The man threw off his covers and flicked the light back on, his face contorted in rage. The other man didn't care; he remained facing the wall.
The man threw the door open. "Who the—"
He never finished. What stood before him made his skin crawl. Blood began to seep across the floor, reaching his feet—blood mixed with a strange black substance.
What stood there was a nightmare:
Eyes like a frog's stared at him. A face covered in pustules oozing a sticky black liquid. A mouth full of saw-like teeth drenched in blood, and wedged between those teeth was the eye of a man the beast had just slaughtered. The monster had no nose. In its hand, it held half a head, the victim's brain still visible.
The beast's body was distorted; its stomach was on top, and its chest was near the bottom of its torso. Its skin was a sickly, pale greenish-white. Its arms were skeletal, and a strange bone protruded from its left shoulder. Its hair was a mass of white tree branches.
And beside its face, a white bone wriggled like a serpent, emerging from the base of its spine, its tip impossibly sharp.
**FEAR.**
**End of Chapter**