Chapter 5: Crimson Eyes
The voice vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Kill."
One word.
Nothing more.
Yet it lingered in Kai's mind.
The monster tilted its head.
Its crimson eyes glowed beneath the moonlight.
Watching him.
Studying him.
Waiting.
Kai tightened his fists.
The knuckleduster felt heavier than before.
His breathing steadied.
Fear still clawed at his chest.
But there was something else now.
Anger.
Lily's body lay behind the creature.
A child.
A girl who had laughed only hours ago.
Gone.
The monster clicked its teeth together.
Mocking him.
Then it moved.
It disappeared.
Kai's eyes widened.
Again.
Gone.
The shadows swallowed it completely.
Instinct screamed.
He threw himself sideways.
A claw tore through the air where his chest had been.
The impact shattered part of a tree trunk.
Wood exploded outward.
Kai rolled across the ground and scrambled back to his feet.
Fast.
Way too fast.
The creature wasn't merely strong.
It was hunting.
Using the darkness.
Using fear.
The monster circled him.
Its red eyes appeared briefly between the trees.
Then vanished again.
A predator.
Enjoying itself.
Kai turned slowly.
Trying not to lose sight of it.
Trying not to panic.
The forest suddenly felt much smaller.
Every shadow looked dangerous.
Every direction felt wrong.
The creature attacked again.
A black blur erupted from his right.
Kai barely managed to raise his arms.
Claws collided with the metal knuckleduster.
A shockwave of pain traveled through his body.
He was thrown backward.
The force knocked the air from his lungs.
The monster landed several meters away.
Unharmed.
Kai groaned and forced himself upright.
His forearms burned.
If the knuckleduster hadn't been there—
That strike would have torn through flesh and bone.
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
He wasn't fighting a beast.
He was fighting something far worse.
The creature smiled again.
Then rushed him.
Kai reacted.
This time he swung first.
His fist connected.
For a brief moment he felt resistance.
Then the creature staggered.
A hit.
He actually hit it.
The monster seemed surprised.
Kai didn't hesitate.
He followed with another punch.
And another.
The creature retreated into the shadows before the fourth strike could land.
Kai's chest heaved.
His entire body hurt.
But now he knew something important.
It could be hurt.
The monster wasn't invincible.
The crimson eyes narrowed.
Its amusement faded slightly.
Good.
Kai wanted it angry.
The battle continued.
Minutes felt like hours.
The clearing became a blur of movement.
Claws.
Punches.
Blood.
Pain.
The monster struck from every angle.
Kai defended as best he could.
Sometimes successfully.
Sometimes not.
A claw tore across his shoulder.
Another opened a wound along his ribs.
Blood soaked his pants.
His breathing became ragged.
His vision blurred.
The monster wasn't doing much better.
One eye had swollen shut.
Several of its teeth were broken.
Dark blood dripped from its mouth.
Neither side was willing to retreat.
Neither side intended to survive the other.
Kai stumbled.
Just once.
That was all it took.
The monster immediately noticed.
It lunged.
Too fast.
Too close.
Kai tried to dodge.
He failed.
Pain exploded across his chest.
The claws tore through flesh.
Kai was thrown backward.
The world spun.
His back slammed into a tree.
Everything blurred.
For several seconds he couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
The monster approached slowly.
Confident.
Certain.
The clicking sound returned.
It was laughing again.
Enjoying his suffering.
Kai looked down.
Blood.
A lot of blood.
Too much.
His body felt heavy.
His arms barely responded.
This was it.
He was going to die.
A stupid death.
In a forest.
Fighting a nightmare.
Without even knowing who he was.
The thought made him laugh.
A weak laugh.
But a laugh nonetheless.
The monster tilted its head.
Confused.
Kai slowly stood.
Blood dripped onto the ground.
His legs trembled.
Yet somehow he remained upright.
He spat blood onto the grass.
Then looked directly at the creature.
"No."
The monster paused.
Kai clenched his fists.
"No."
His voice grew louder.
Stronger.
"I don't know who I am."
He took a step forward.
The monster remained still.
"I don't know why I'm here."
Another step.
His body screamed in protest.
"I don't know anything."
The crimson eyes narrowed.
"But I'm not dying here."
The monster hissed.
Then charged.
Everything slowed.
Moonlight.
Blood.
Shadows.
Kai saw the claws coming.
Saw the exact moment the creature committed to the attack.
Instinct took over.
He stepped left.
The claws missed.
For the first time all night.
The monster overextended.
Just enough.
Kai's body moved before his mind could catch up.
His legs pushed upward.
His shoulder rotated.
His fist shot forward.
An uppercut.
The metal knuckleduster connected directly with the creature's jaw.
A horrible crack echoed through the clearing.
The monster left the ground.
Its body twisted through the air.
Then crashed onto its back.
The forest went silent.
The creature didn't move.
Kai stared.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
The monster twitched.
Still alive.
Bad mistake.
Kai rushed forward.
Before it could recover.
Before it could escape.
Before it could disappear again.
He dropped onto it.
And started punching.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four.
Five.
The creature shrieked.
Kai didn't stop.
Every punch carried his fear.
His anger.
His frustration.
Every unanswered question.
Every drop of blood spilled tonight.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The monster's face collapsed beneath the assault.
Its claws weakened.
Its struggles slowed.
Then stopped.
Kai threw one final punch.
Silence.
The creature lay motionless.
Dead.
For several seconds Kai remained there.
Breathing heavily.
Unable to process what had happened.
Then exhaustion hit.
Hard.
He rolled off the corpse.
The stars spun overhead.
His body felt numb.
Every muscle burned.
But he was alive.
Barely.
Alive.
Eventually he forced himself to stand.
The first thing he did was walk toward Lily.
He knelt beside her.
Already knowing.
Already understanding.
Yet hoping anyway.
There was no pulse.
No breathing.
Nothing.
The little girl who had called him weird was gone.
Kai lowered his head.
A strange heaviness settled in his chest.
He removed the torn cape from his shoulders.
The only thing he truly owned.
Then gently placed it over her body.
The moonlight no longer touched her face.
It felt like the least he could do.
"I'm sorry."
The words barely escaped his lips.
A branch snapped nearby.
Kai immediately turned.
Ethan emerged from the trees.
The boy froze.
His eyes immediately found Lily.
The covered body.
The blood.
The silence.
Understanding spread across his face.
"No..."
Kai looked away.
The child fell to his knees.
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Kai couldn't find any words.
No speech would help.
No lie would ease the pain.
So he simply stood there.
And waited.
Eventually Ethan rose.
Neither spoke.
The forest seemed colder now.
Kai carefully lifted Lily into his arms.
The child felt impossibly light.
Far lighter than she should have.
Ethan walked beside him.
Head lowered.
The journey back to the village began.
Neither looked behind them.
Neither noticed the darkness watching from deep within the forest.
Or the pair of crimson eyes that briefly opened among the trees.
Watching.
Waiting.
Observing.
Then disappearing once more.
The monster was dead.