The woods are quiet as I bathe in the pale moonlight like a creature lying in wait. A soft wind moves through the trees and rustles the leaves. Eyes watch me, they crawl on my skin. Owls wail around me, echoing through the underbrush.
He has her.
That's the only thought that wrestles through my mind as I inch closer to the beast that lies before me. Pools of blood stain the dirt and leaves that litter the ground. Its body is riddled with holes and is still as a rock. Blood slowly trickles from the holes. Its matted black fur is stained
The moon calls to me like a long-lost friend. Beckoning me toward it, an invisible string connects us like the lines of fate.
A pool of blood stains the dirt and the leaves that litter the ground. The body of the monster lies in the distance, still as a rock, the blood slowing to a trickle from the holes that riddle its body. Matted black fur stained with blood covers the beast. Limp extremities hang from it. Talons extend from its fingers like kitchen knives.
Meters away, snarling fangs continue to glare at me. Those piercing yellow eyes grow more dim with each second that passes, life fading.
I feel nothing for this monster. Why should I when it just tried to kill me? This thing has no answers for me, yet the voice told me to proceed forward to find the answers I seek. Is killing my only way of getting her back?
"Proceed forward. You've done well with this beast." The voice echoes.
"I want answers!" I scream toward the moon. "Quit playing this game and give me answers!"
There is no reply, only silence. This thing in my head will only speak to me of its own accord. But it's inside me. I can find it again if I concentrate hard enough, then I can get back to that place. I'll force it to give me the answers that I seek.
"You cannot handle the answers." That ominous voice returns as if it is listening to my inner thoughts.
It is listening to my inner thoughts.
"Show yourself, you foul cur."
Laughter echoes through my mind. Pain shoots into my temples, and I grasp my head and fall to my knees. Blood splashes around me. Groans of agony explode from my chest.
"You cannot begin to fathom the power which I have. You cannot begin to comprehend what I can do. You seek answers, yet are not strong enough to engage in psychic war with me. I could take your body from you and destroy this world. You call me a foul cur, but you are nothing more than a bug to me."
The pain grows as my head grows tight like a balloon about to burst. I fight it as my ears pop and eyes bulge. I unleash a wail of pain yet continue to fight, concentrating on the voice, trying to find my way back to the cage inside my mind.
This is mine. You will not have it.
I will get her back.
I find the voice and push a mental door open as rage begins to bubble in my stomach. I feel it growing towards a boiling point. I feel the temperature rise, and the pain in my head starts to lessen like a grip loosening around my throat.
"I've found you," I say, staring at the cage.
Sweat flows from my temples, my hair soaked through.
Flames rage in my eyes.
"So you have."
"Who are you!" I scream.
"You cannot yet handle the full truth, but I will give you part."
The pain dissipates from my head, my senses returning to normal. Despite that, the rage still bubbles in my stomach. I cannot control it as I thought; it's fighting for control. I'm losing the fight, being consumed by the rage.
Thoughts of my wife and daughter flash through my mind, a loop of memories. Delightful memories of a time when there was no hunt or sickness. Then the loop changes to Evelyn. I see her struggle against capture. I see her in chains. I watch a man of faith do vile things to her.
I cannot control the rage.
"I am a demon," The voice says. "I've been trapped inside you, only gods know why and for how long."
There is a long pause filled with silence. I feel the boil slowly come to a simmer. My eyes are no longer engulfed with flames.
"That rage is your power, but for these trials you will need some of mine."
Behind the bars of the cage, red eyes appear. A ball of white light with hues of deep red forms and floats towards me. I feel its gravitational pull like something biblical has come to fruition.
It collides with me, and I'm rocketed, knocked out of the dream-like state and into a tree. My head swirls, and darkness grows heavy before me.
"I give you fire." The voice whispers.