Sohini Kumar.com

As the cry of the wolf echoed over the forest, the fire went out and Beck was left in darkness. He reached for his knife, hurriedly shoved it inside his backpack and started running.

The dry leaves crunched under his frantic feet and the wind whipped his ears and brought tears to his eyes as he ran through the trees, the branches scratching him on his face, reaching out to him with their arms. Blood raced down Beck’s neck and dripped rapidly down to his t-shirt, but he was not bothered. He knew that soon after the wolf’s cry came the howl … this time of the beast’s … and all he had to do was get away from the beast; the beast he had created.

The sun sank behind the huge mountain range that surrounded the forest. The sky turned orange as night approached with unnatural rapidity. Soon the beast would be strong enough; strong enough to know where Beck was and seek him out in the maze of trees it knew so well.

The sky turned blood red instead of the usual evening sky blue. The wind grew stronger with every step Beck took. A storm was approaching. The black clouds spread swiftly across the sky, chasing Beck into running faster.

The thunderous roar of the black clouds spreading over the sky echoed through the maze of a forest. It pierced through the vast sky, as the trees trembled and the smaller plants bent over in the wind, as if scared they would be destroyed if they did not pay enough respect to the thunder. Sweat dripped down Beck’s forehead as he pushed his feet further and further through the forest. He shuddered as if the thunderous roar was vibrating through him.

Suddenly, Beck felt water dripping on his head. He heard a distinct dripping sound of the rain spattering across the already muddy ground of the forest. It was raining; finally some good news. Beck knew the beast’s enemies, and one of them was rain.

Relieved to have earned some time, Beck tried to smile but his lips seemed to have lost the ability to stretch upwards to express a simple smile.

Beck now scurried across the muddy puddles forming on the ground, not bothered about the water soaking its way up his jeans, or the fact that the stinging feeling on his neck was getting stronger every second.

As the sky turned a menacing dark crimson colour, Beck pushed his feet forward, gasping, panting, even though his muscles turned heavier every second, screaming at him to stop running, to stop torturing him. Sweat pushed its way down Beck’s arm as he splashed through the puddles, running, not knowing where …

All of a sudden, a pebble slipped from under Beck’s foot and he crashed to the ground on his face. He tried to pull himself up several times, even though his muscles seemed to weigh a ton, but failed again and again.

His face twisted in agony as he finally pulled himself up again, leaning on a tree nearby for support. He panted, gasping for air, as the rainwater soaked through his clothes, making him shiver.

The wind had seemed to calm down a little, though it still blew quite strongly past Beck’s face. Beck closed his eyes, breathing noisily and deeply through his mouth. He reluctantly pushed his heavy arm up and gently felt the wound on his neck. It went from under his ear almost to the back of his neck.

When Beck looked at his fingers again, they were covered in blood.

Beck again remembered the creature … the beast, the enemy of all humans … the animal he himself had created.

Tears welled up in his eyes and immediately rolled down his cheeks, staining them with a light silver trail, like one of a snail.

He started walking again, knowing he would collapse if he tried to run. He walked as swiftly as he could, looking back nervously.

As he moved through a carpet of autumn leaves scattered on the ground, he heard a noise. He froze in his tracks and his eyes widened. He knew what it was and he knew where it had come from. He knew that it was too late; running away would not help him anymore. He would have to face the truth.

The sky was dark now, the darkest navy blue. The clouds still obscured the moon and the stars overhead, and it was still raining, though not so heavily now. The wind was still whistling in Beck’s ears as he breathed heavily with his eyes closed. He nervously turned around toward where he had heard the howl.

It was pitch dark behind him. The tress crowded around each other like a protective wall prevented anyone from seeing anything behind them.

Abruptly, the clouds started to clear away, as if tying to escape from coming danger, moving away with unnatural speed.

A soft silvery ray of light from the round moon in the dark navy blue sky glittered down to where Beck was standing. Beck shielded his eyes with his arm, surprised by the sudden appearance of the bright light.

Then he heard it; a low growl … it was nearby.

Without warning, Beck started running, face twisted in half fear and half anger. His legs moved fast across the leaves strewn all over the ground. He sensed the creature running swiftly and effortlessly behind him. He knew it would only be a matter of time before it would catch up with him, but even so, did not give up.

As he ran, anger and fear battled inside his head.

Why should I be afraid of it? I created it! It should obey me.
I created it to be a friend. It turned into a monster, a beast, a horrible creature!
It can still be a friend if I can control my fear.
It can never be a friend. How can it be a friend when it was responsible for my own brother’s death?

Unable to control his fear, Beck ran further and further.

Then something inside him made him stop abruptly and he collapsed into a heap on the ground. As tears rolled down his cheeks, he felt the creature behind him, breathing slowly but noisily. Beck panted loudly trying to catch his breath.

Slowly, he turned around. There it was, standing there calmly as if it was a friend with what seemed like a smile on its face. It was not a friendly smile though. It was a smug one.

It was as if it was saying, “You knew I would catch up to you, didn’t you? You know that I’m too good for you.”

Beck knew that this was the end. It was the end of his life, the end of his story forever.

I’m going to die, he thought. I’m soon going to join my brother.