Lara woke up with a loud scream ripping from her throat. Her body was bathed in cold sweat, every muscle strained as if it were ready to spring into action. Her heartbeat was pounding like a terrible sound against her ribs, a barrel solo mimicking the terror of the disturbing dream that clung to her like a cloak.
Cold sweat plastered her skin to the cheap wastes, each muscle screaming a silent renewal of escape and violence. The scars on her back, a brutal chart of treason etched into her skin, palpitated with a phantom pain. This room, once a haven, now felt like a pen.
The megacity lights, once a pledge of obscurity, now mocked her with their cold in curiosity. Escape. It was not just the confined walls she craved to outrun, but the suffocating grip of her history. With a swell of adrenaline that masked the quakes in her hands, Lara threw on a worn jacket, the leather offering little comfort against the bite of the night. She stumbled out onto the fire escape, heaving for air as the cool night wind assaulted her.
Below, the sprawling megacity stretched out like a spangling mosaic, a stark discrepancy to the fermentation raging within. structures morphed into murk as she ran, driven by a primitive need to overrun the phantoms that chased her. Hours blurred into twinkles, or was it twinkles stretching into agonizing hours? A familiar fear drilled at her skin, the stories of lurking beasts in these uncharted forestland rumoring warnings in the reverse of her mind.
Yet, another sound pierced the night, transferring jitters down her chine and a flicker of reality new burning within her curiosity. It was a long, mournful howl, echoing through the ancient trees. Not the bloodcurdling roar she anticipated, but a sound invested with a deep sadness, nearly a lament. The megacity lights were but a distant memory now, replaced by the ethereal gleam of the moon filtering through the thick cover outflow.
Hesitantly, Lara pushed forward, the mournful howl her only companion, drawn by an unnoticeable force towards the heart of the unknown. The forest bottom swallowed her whole, the darkness pressing in, heavy and alive with secrets. Fear warred with an incipient stopgap within her, a hopeless hankering for commodity more, commodity beyond the suffocating hold of her history. With each step deeper, the pull grew stronger, prompting her onward towards the source of the mournful song, towards a fortune she could not indeed begin to imagine.
Sanctuary Sought
The darkness pressed in on her, broken only by patches of moonlight that managed to pierce the thick cover. Suddenly, a branch snapped in the distance. Lara set, her heart forging against her mockers. The echoes of the snap bounced back from all directions, creating a disturbing symphony of sound. fear surged within her, hanging to consume her.
But also, she flashed back the howl. The mournful cry sounded to gesture her forward, but also, she flashed back the howl. The mournful cry sounded to gesture her forward, offering a strange sense of solace amidst the unsettling symphony of the night. With a shaky breath, she continued her journey, her senses on high alert.
The forest became thick, the undergrowth thicker, frustrations snared at her clothes, and unseen brutes scurried through the fallen leaves around her. Fear eroded at her, but an indeed stronger force propelled her forward the hopeless need to find the source of the howl, a strange echo of her own internal fermentation.
Just when she was on the verge of collapsing from prostration and terror, the trees began to thin out ahead. Before her was an open space illuminated by a soft moonlight. In the center stood a massive oak tree, its twisted branches extending like dead-looking arms toward the sky. A tiny hut lay down at the base, almost invisible due to the gloom. With a reassuring white vapour against the dark oil of the night, Bank coiled from its smoke stack. Lara hesitated at the edge of the clearing.
The warmth and promise of sanctuary emanating from the room provided a striking contrast to the untamed beauty of the surrounding forest. It seemed like a temporary light in a sea of questions. still, the primitive fear of the unknown still battled with the yearning for sanctuary within her.
Were the inhabitants of the room friends or foes? Could they really be the wild people she had been warned of, hiding in the shadows of the forest? Taking a deep, bracing breath, Lara decided to take a chance.
The memory of her recreating agony, the constant memorial of her once betrayal, was far more intimidating than the unknown inhabitants of the room. She stepped forward, her thrills scraping on the frost- covered earth. Her heart pounded against her mockers with each step, a shower of apprehension.
As she drew closer, the scent of woodsmoke boosted, mingling with the faint aroma of commodity herbal and soothing. A low scowl erupted from within the room, transferring a jolt of terror through her. Lara set, her hand artificially reaching for the small cutter she always kept hidden in her charge.
Had she walked straight into a blood sucker's den? Before she could reply further, the room door creaked open, revealing a splinter of light and a figure standing within. A stern voice, laced with a hint of surprise, boomed out. " Who walks this forestland so late at night?" Lara swallowed hard, her voice slightly a tale when she eventually spoke." I need help." The silence that followed sounded to stretch on for an eternity.
Lara armed herself for another scowl, perhaps maybe an attack. But rather, the figure shifted, and the figure stepped completely into the light. An audacious woman with piercing tableware eyes and hair the color of moonlight stood before her. She was clothed in a simple leather jacket and trousers, her expression undecipherable.
But there was commodity about her that felt different. Not like the people Lara was used to, but not like the monstrous beasts she would be stressed for. " Help, you say?" the woman said, her voice low and steady." What kind of help are you seeking, young one?" Lara jittering, torn between despair and the fear of revealing too much. Eventually, she took a deep breath and spoke, her voice pulsing slightly. " I'm…I am running away," she confessed." From someone.
And the forest it brought me here." The woman's eyes softened slightly." Come in, child," she said, waving towards the open door." The night is cold, and indeed the lost need a place to rest." Lara looked at the woman, her mind caught in a war between her fear and the inviting need for safety. But the warmth expiring from the room and the sincerity in the woman's voice proved too strong to repel. With a final, reluctant step, Lara crossed the threshold and entered the unknown.
The door creaked shut behind her, plunging her into darkness formerly more. But this time, there was a brief patch glow, a faint pledge of sanctuary in the face of the deep incidents that had driven her into the heart of the forests.
What happens next as Lara ventures into the hearts of the forests seeking answers over her scars ?
