Homecoming [OPEN]

[Kyle Roberts]

Wind howled through the bare branches of the forest, its eerie wail sounding all too much like the death keen of some beast whose life had just been ripped away from it, along with whatever semblance of a soul it once possessed. Overhead the moon loomed full and bright, flooding the wooded path with white light so that one could easily see their way. Of course, this didn't simply apply to the unsuspecting traveler. It also applied to other things, darker things, things that were far more at home in the darkness and shadows than any mortal could ever be in the light of brightest day. These were things that one could never truly believe were of this world, they were beings that belonged nowhere other than the most truly horrifying nightmares. Yet they were all too real; and all too hungry.

Through their midst walked a figure, one who stood erect and unafraid of their presence. This in itself intrigued them, for their mere existence turned even the most stolid of souls into quivering masses of flesh and fear. And so before beginning their blood feast they studied the creature before them, trying to determine what cause it had to ignore their presence. They did not fear its escape; they were far from any means of shelter and the little mortal was in no hurry. There was ample time to study their prey, they had all of the time they might need before it died. And die it would, for no quarry escaped them.

Kyle, for his part, was no less aware of the things that encircled him than were they of he. He knew very well that they were there, and he knew very well what they were. In his time away from the palace he had encountered their kind several times and he knew what they were capable of, knew what they intended. Even so he did not speed his pace, did not even turn his head or glance out the corner of his eye as he moved amongst them. Though he knew exactly how deadly they were, knew that they were things to be horrified of, he was not afraid of them. Afterall, he'd seen far worse than these.

He knew that the ones around him now were little better than a pet dog that was let run free rather than be kept chained or penned. They did not want for a meal, there were plenty of handouts to be had in the form of foolish boogies and humans that stayed out just a bit too late and decided to return home at exactly the wrong time. These things were amply fed, and mostly safe. Everything in this part of the world that might challenge them was safely locked away, confined with the labyrinth walls where the stronger things could not harm them. But that was only here. Kyle had seen things that would make these little 'pets' beg to be tied to their post and let inside at night, and that would only be at the mere whisper of the things. Were they actually present these beings would not, if any lived.

As they circled ever closer he finally made a motion that was not simply putting one foot in front of the other; he raised his head and stared up through the intertwining branches ahead of him. Beyond, looming like some great sentinel at guard, lay the palace. Through the deadened canopy of the trees he could just barely make out its outline, bits of it bathes in white light while the rest seemed to absorb any light that attempted to near it. As he stared up at it something about him seemed to shift, it was almost as if the very air around him had suddenly died, leaving nothing but a void. In that instant, his eyes somehow appeared to have changed color completely, seemed to have shifted to a bight blue that almost seemed to glow. After only a few moments though his eyes closed and his head lowered, and anything that seemed to have changed about him was gone. Slowly his gaze turned back to the way ahead, to the path flooded in that chilling white light. Above him a shriek tore through the forest, the wind ripping through the desolate trees.

They would be coming soon.