The four of them pushed through the thick undergrowth, the forest canopy swallowing what little light remained. By the time they realized it, the sun was gone behind the cliffs, leaving everything tinted in deep blue shadows.
Daniel slowed his steps. "Stay sharp. The things living here aren't friendly."
Jonathan swallowed hard. "How unfriendly are we talking—?"
Before he finished, the bushes around them rustled violently, leaves shaking as something moved fast through the undergrowth.
Daniel's voice dropped. "Yeah… that's not good."
Jonathan whispered, "Should we fight or—?"
"No. You run," Daniel said immediately.
Something small shot out of the darkness, a flash of bone and shrill screech. Daniel reacted instantly—he yanked Jonathan back by the collar and drove his knee into the creature mid-leap.
CRACK.
The tiny body hit the ground, skull-mask cracking against a root.
Jonathan stared, horrified. "WHAT—WHAT IS THAT?!"
A pygmy-like creature, no taller than Daniel's waist, snarled on the ground. Tribal paint. Bone blades. And eyes filled with murderous intent.
Before anyone could breathe, another shriek cut through the trees—then another. And another.
Evelyn stiffened. "They're surrounding us…"
The whole forest suddenly seemed to rattle, branches shifting overhead as dozens of tiny shapes moved through the trees.
Daniel clenched his jaw. "Everyone move! Don't stop for anything!"
They sprinted.
From behind them, dozens of pygmy creatures burst out of the bushes, chasing on all fours, then leaping onto tree trunks like spiders. Their bone knives clacked as they shrieked.
A cluster of pygmies screeched and launched themselves from the bushes, bone blades raised.
Daniel's eyes flashed crimson.
In the same instant, sharp crimson arrows materialized mid-air behind him and shot forward like a storm, impaling the pygmies and pinning their tiny bodies to the trees.
THWIP—THWIP—THWIP.
Small bodies hit the trunks and hung there like grotesque puppets.
"JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Daniel barked, sprinting behind the group and clearing the path with ruthless precision. "DON'T SLOW DOWN! IF YOU SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE DEAD!"
Another pygmy dropped from a branch above—Daniel snatched it mid-fall and slammed it sideways into a tree, breaking its spine with a sickening crunch.
Jonathan shrieked. "WHY DO THEY SOUND LIKE ANGRY CHIPMUNKS TRYING TO MURDER US?!"
More screeches filled the darkness—shadows zig-zagging between the trees, movement everywhere.
Daniel kept to the rear, eyes glowing like twin embers, firing more crimson arrows at anything that got within striking distance.
Each arrow shot out with terrifying accuracy—
PIERCE.
PIERCE.
PIERCE.
"Faster!" Daniel yelled, his tone sharp and commanding. "These things don't stop—one slip and they'll swarm you!"
Ardeth ran ahead of them, slicing down anything that leapt into their path. His blade flashed through the shadows, cutting pygmies out of the air before they even touched the ground.
Evelyn and Jonathan ran in the middle, pushing through dense branches and tangled roots. Jonathan sounded like he was seconds from collapsing.
The three burst out of the trees and skidded to a stop at a narrow cliff ledge. A fallen tree lay across the gap, forming a shaky, uneven bridge—just like the one Rick once crossed years ago.
Ardeth went first, moving quickly. Evelyn followed, trying to keep her balance.
Daniel stayed at the back, still firing crimson arrows into the darkness as more pygmies poured out of the forest.
"MOVE!" Daniel barked.
Jonathan practically threw himself onto the tree trunk, crawling across on all fours.
Evelyn hissed, "Get up, Jonathan, you're slowing us down!"
"I AM UP—THIS IS MY MAXIMUM!" he yelled back.
By the time Evelyn, Jonathan, and Ardeth reached the other side of the cliff, Daniel finally stepped onto the narrow tree bridge.
He didn't rush across immediately. Instead, he walked backward, keeping his eyes locked on the treeline where the shrieks were getting louder.
The forest burst open a moment later.
Dozens of pygmies scrambled out—small, fast, and disturbingly agile.
They leapt toward the fallen tree trunk like a swarm of vicious insects, claws digging into the bark as more poured in from behind them. The entire bridge trembled under the weight of the oncoming mob.
Daniel turned and bolted across the trunk. Every step shook beneath his feet as the pygmies raced after him, their shrill cries growing sharper.
There were too many. If he used any large-scale attack, he'd bring the whole cliff down—and the others with it.
He needed something controlled. Something precise.
Something that wouldn't get his entire group killed.
As the pygmies closed the final meters, Daniel pushed off the trunk and leapt forward.
His foot glowed crimson, the energy coiling up his legs. In the air, that glow spread over his entire body, wrapping him in swirling red mist as if he were stepping through a veil of blood.
Behind him, the mist thickened and twisted.
A massive blood-energy hand materialized, its fingers curling as it solidified out of the red haze. The giant hand slid beneath the base of the tree trunk, positioning itself like an enormous catcher ready to snatch a flying object.
Daniel twisted mid-air, eyes glowing bright crimson, and his shadowed outline sharpened.
A small smirk formed.
"Bye."
The massive hand clenched around the entire tree bridge and ripped it upward in a single motion. The trunk swung like a gigantic wooden club, crashing into the oncoming swarm with brutal force.
The impact exploded through the clearing.
A deep, concussive BOOOOOM ripped through the air, sending a gust strong enough to rattle the leaves on the opposite cliff. Pygmies flew everywhere—bodies flung into rocks, branches, and each other as the shockwave tore through their ranks.
The ground quivered. Even the trees swayed violently from the aftershock.
Daniel hit the other side a heartbeat later, landing in a crouch. The crimson energy shimmered off him before fading, leaving only the faint glow in his eyes.
*****
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