"You can't stay here."
He grabbed my hips and lifted me up. I don't have time to protest or resist him. "Climb on Bethany. Now."
I swallowed hard, grabbed the tree, and started climbing. I looked back and found Cade looking at me on the ground, then turned around. I almost jumped from the tree, almost from the leafy tree hole, but I grabbed the branch and pulled myself up. Anyway, if I have to do this, I will take better pictures here.
Climbing halfway to the tree, I climbed to the end of a thick branch, and my body was flat on it to blend in with the surrounding dense foliage. I quickly searched for Cade, but he seemed to have disappeared in the dense "jungle" around us. My heart is pounding, my head is dizzy, where did he go? How did he disappear into the wilderness around us so quickly and silently
I was about to go forward when the thing crawled into the clearing. When my fingers were rolled into the limbs, the bark bit into my nails. The same waves of fear and horror tear me, making me tremble, standing on the edge of falling from a tree. This is the combination of every nightmare I have ever had.
It is not as arrogant and clumsy as its larger brother. No, it is only the size of a little Dane. It has an oval shape with spider-shaped legs, and it crawls forward carefully before taking a small step back. Its crawfish clicked like its mouth, and it took another step forward. Unlike its brothers, it does not look like a swollen tick, and it is opaque. But it was not transparent enough that I couldn't see the pulse that I thought was the beating heart of that terrible creature. Strange, the twisted thing was wrapped in a circle near the monster's terrifying mouth. They contain a black sticky substance, which seems to be able to sift and flow in the vein-like circle, but cannot pass through its body.
I feel sick looking at it, but I can't remove my eyes from it either.
It seems to be looking at all places at the same time, but I don't know that its eyes are actually focusing. Maybe it doesn't have any, maybe it can only smell me, and even hear the sound of my heartbeat. Somehow, it seemed to know that we were getting closer and closer to where Jenna and Abby were hiding. My hand was tight on the gun, and I aimed at the thing. I know Cade is right, shooting will only bring more people here, but I will destroy it before it catches my sister.
Just then I saw Cade. He knelt by the woods, holding the knife firmly in his right hand, pressing it tightly to the ground. The shadow enveloped him, making him almost imperceptible under the shade of the tree. A calm and disturbing atmosphere surrounded him, and I thought of the lion before they rushed forward. I was fascinated by him; when he stood up and disappeared from view, I couldn't look away.
I blinked as I searched for him, but I can no longer see him in Yin's shadow. My attention returned to where Jenna and Abby were hiding. Cade appeared again from the wall like a ghost. He ran out of the woods at an alarming speed. A scream rose in my throat, and when the creature turned towards him, I was choked by it. It took a step back in surprise, then raised its hind legs, ready to attack Cade.
When Cade slammed the monster, the monster let out a strange scream. Fear overwhelmed me, I can't stay here, I can't stay here useless. I hurried back and got down from the tree at the fastest speed, full of the urge to ask Cade for help. He can't do that alone, he can't do it at all. When I was ten feet above the ground, I jumped from the tree. My ankle protested against this movement, but when I ran towards him through the forest, I didn't care. I don't know how I will oppose it, but I don't care.
When I fell from the tree, I could no longer see Cade, but when I passed through some dense bushes, he appeared in my sight again. I was almost taken aback by the oncoming sight. After the initial scream, the battle died down strangely. It has also become more violent and bloody. I stumbled forward, and when Cade raised the knife above his head and plunged into the already swayed creature, I almost fell.
The terrible blue and black blood covered Cade and the creature, and it didn't stop me. Or even tentacles emerged from under the beast's abdomen and fluttered on the frozen ground. This is the absolutely calm appearance that CapitaLand still has. He didn't seem to be out of breath, and he didn't even seem to be disturbed by the creature falling under him. He tore the knife apart and wiped off the blackened blade with a leaf grabbed from the ground.
I was motionless, my breath was trapped in my chest, and he finally raised his eyes to look at me. He looked at me motionless. I don't know what to do, what to say. I don't know what I saw just now, and I'm not sure who the man standing across from me is. I have known him for almost a lifetime, and even if we haven't spoken, he always appears in my world. Now he was standing there, covered in blood, staring at me, his eyes broke my heart and scared me.
He looked as fragile as a child, and it seemed that he desperately needed me to understand what had just happened, but I didn't know how to understand. He is primitive and savage, and I am sure this will not be the last time he kills in such a violent and cruel way.
But at that time, it was a necessity in our lives now. I was just surprised that he accepted this fact so quickly, and that he accepted it so skillfully.
"Are you okay?" I managed to croak out in a trembling voice. He nodded and wiped the blood from his face with his forearm. When I found the wound on his upper arm, I found that I could move and breathe again. He won the battle, but he was not unscathed. "You are hurt."
"I'm very good."
"You don't know what kind of bacteria those things carry."
He turned his arm around and frowned at the bleeding blood. "The wound is shallow, Bethany."
He held me with his good arm. I frowned at him, and while pushing his good arm to the side, I grabbed his hand. "Don't be naive, let me see."
He sighed, but when I pushed him to a rock, he showed me compassion. He came up with this method when I packed up the pitiful remaining supplies. There was no bandage, only a little antibiotic ointment. I tore a shirt and used it as a bandage temporarily. When I knelt in front of him, I felt his eyes watching me. He did not flinch, nor did he leave my touch. I gently wiped the blood on the wound with a rag. He was right, it was very shallow, but I still applied a thick nǎi oil, hoping that it could prevent infection and kill any foreign bacteria.
"You are good at this."
I barely squeezed a pale smile. "When you are as clumsy as I am, you will learn some skills."
His low chuckle is the infinite sound I find I like. When I sat back on my heels and admired his rare and fleeting smile, I laughed. "I thought you were considering becoming a doctor."
"No, that's Aiden."
With cruel memories of everything we lost, my entertainment disappeared. Cade's smile disappeared, and the muscles on his face jumped up. "I see, what do you dream of?"
When I thought about his problem, my eyes moved to the forest boundary. I never know what I want to do, what kind of person I want to be. I thought I would go to university, I even considered leaving, but I never really thought about what I would study there. I will never have a chance to find the answer.
"I don't know," I said, wiping off the excess oil and remaining blood on his arm.
"Whatever it is, I believe you will do well."
I glanced at him from under my drooping eyelashes, trying to tell if he was joking with me. He doesn't look like it. "How about you? Are you planning to go to college?"
When I tied the torn shirt on his arm, he shrugged absently. I had to force myself not to wander on his soft skin and stiff muscles. I had to force myself not to pay attention to the redness that his skin brought to my face and body.
"Finally," he finally replied.
"Where will you go and for what?"
Those thrilling eyes flashed briefly on my face. "I haven't decided yet."
While observing him, I sat leaning back. I think he is hiding something from me. Although Jenna and Abby showed up, I haven't had the opportunity to question him further.
"Are you okay?" Jenna blurted out.
Kadela lowered his shirt sleeve to cover half of the rags. "Very good," he muttered to himself.
Abby stared blankly at the dead body just feet away. I can't let myself see the destroyed wreckage. "How do you know the hiding place?" Jenna asked.
Before Cade stood up, he held my hand tightly. "I stayed here for a long time." I was taken aback by the discovery. I didn't think of Cade as a true paintball fan, but there are many things I never imagined what he would be like, but I started to realize that he really is. "I know this course very well."
"Thank God," Abby murmured.
"Why?" I asked.
He shrugged, turned his shoulders, and stretched out. "Target practice." He flashed a smile, but his eyes moved away from all of us to search the woods. "We should act."
I don't want to argue with you, I put my arms around Abby's shoulders, and forcefully turned her away from the guy she was still watching blankly. "too frightening."
"Yes," I agreed. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)