Chapter 12 - Wandering Grooves (2) (1/1)

'What?!' With such realization she snapped her face around her. Her body suddenly quivered and her shoulder tightened as though tensely gripping her collar bone. And she couldn't stop her heart from racing when she found herself already standing in the middle of thick mist. It was coming from those gooey dead leaves! No. It was the ground! The ground smokes!! It looked like a muffin cake puffed at the top and gushes out clouds. A mini volcano!

”What the hell?” Realizing she had gone into a mess, her throat went dry as she gulped from her arid mouth. She tightened her grip and clenched her teeth when she felt something wrong about this place.

”Siwaliw! Where are you?!” Her ċhėst heaved up and down as her cold sweat broke on her temple. No one answered. This made her heart beat wildly. Her noodled fingers quivered with her head constantly turning side to side with such hope to find Siwaliw.

'What's with the fog? It gets even thicker now.'

Ziro slowly narrowed her eyelids and her muddled eyeballs squinted when everything got blurry.

Rattle!

A sharp hiss punched her ears.

”Whose there?!” Her shrill voice echoed within the murky woods but no response. Her breath burst in-out and her hands turned clammy. Was it a beast? Was it Siwaliw? No. He would answer her call if he was that. With a sudden reflex, her tensed feet moved.

'This is bad. I need to get out of here fast! This place is dangerous.'

One step. Two steps. Three. Four! Until she found herself running. She rushed south where the rest had reposed. With her mind fell in tremor, she cautiously evaded all those indistinctive figures around her. Those shadowy figures, she wouldn't know if it was a beast or an ȧssassin or just an old tree, she dared not approach it. Steps! She swiftly jumped over the tree roots as her copper colored hair danced with her sways.

”Siwaliw!!” Catching up some oxygen, she tensed her neck and anxiously let out a cracking yell. No good, no Siwaliw answered. Without taking any pause, she continued her quick pace. For the second time, she found herself passing a huge tree root bent above the ground. At first she thought it was normal but… for the third time, fourth and fifth… until her feet couldn't take a step, she ended on the same ominous root again. The heck! Was she just running around the place?

'B*llsh*t! What the hell is happening?!' Her eyes fell in grimace as her knees hardly slumped on the mushy ground. She tightly gripped her white robe splattered with brownish spots mud, and gritted her teeth with such vitriol. Then her ċhėst tautened as it hefted up and down. She couldn't go on. Her jellied feet already covered of nasty muck shivered with pain. Too weak. Simply too weak to drag her feet.

”Tch! D*mn you! Show yourself, you coward!” She tightly clenched her teeth. Her heart which still racing, was burned with fury and agitation. Well, in her past life, she learned being too nice will bring no good upon her, only trouble but if she was a b*tch, only that she could survive such cruel world. Feeling the inevitable danger, she rolled her eyes on the ground hoping to find anything she could use as a weapon. And there! She found a subtle sword-sized tree branch with clawlike end. Perfect! She hovered her hands and grabbed it avoiding inducing any noise.

With her ragged heaving of her ċhėst, she mustered her strength in struggle to stand.

Shhhk!

'Sh*t!' Her body trembled tremendously when she felt something… someone was swiftly gliding around her. What could it be? She couldn't see but she could hear it and could feel its killing aura. She hardly gripped the wood and stood in an offensive stance turning her body towards that hissing blare. Cold sweats already crawled towards her ċhėst and soaked her robe.

At a few tiks of clock, everything went silent. However, Ziro could still sense the menacing gaze around her. But a second passed…

Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk! Then a slow dragging hiss from the ground broke in front of her until a hideous face showed upon the mist crawling right above those dead rattling leaves.