My hand slid over one of the small, makeshift structures that tried to resemble a hut. Its surface was covered in a thick layer of dust.
I glanced at my grey-painted hand with a lazy look, rubbing the dust between my fingers. Then, I turned to the others.
One, two... Eight of us in total. Comparing it to the group we traveled with before, my blood ran cold and my heart sank. I inhaled the thick, heavy air of this forsaken camp, forcing my breaths to remain deep but steady.
"Uncomfortable," I muttered, watching as Paul and a black-haired, well-built man pulled at the chains of the massive gate, sliding it back into its original position.
The loud, jarring sound of wood striking wood let everyone know we were now trapped inside. People began heading toward the shelters, lying down on piles of soft scrap.
After standing still for a while, doing nothing, I finally crawled into one of the shelters and let myself collapse onto the soft material.
It wasn't perfect. Soft, but a little rough, still, compared to the hard, cold stone floors, it felt like pure luxury. It didn't even take a second for my body to relax, and soon, my eyes grew heavy. Within moments, I drifted off into a well-deserved sleep.
The next morning, or what felt like morning, since there was no light to mark the time, I was jerked awake by Zoey in a rather unpleasant way.
Gasping for air, I blinked as droplets of water dripped down my cheeks. I turned to find the grinning black-haired girl with an empty leather bottle in hand.
My heart pounded, my chest heaving as if I'd just sprinted a marathon. My head spun as I tried to process the situation.
"What the hell?!" I gasped, wiping the water off my face. "What was that for?"
"Bella told me to wake you up," Zoey said with an exaggerated frown. "She said it's not good to sleep too much!" With a raised eyebrow, she turned and walked away, clearly feeling smug about completing her task.
I lowered my head, letting my heartbeat and breath slowly calm down. I yawned a few times, still groggy, then sat there, blankly staring at the dirty stone floor for a couple of minutes.
Eventually, I stood up and began searching for the others. Torches were set up around the camp, casting just enough light to make it easier to navigate.
It didn't take long before I found Bella, who was knitting something from the pile of fabric that had been used as bedding. It looked like she was trying to make it resemble a beanbag.
Next to her, sat a woman, slightly younger than Bella, but not by much, her black hair tied in a lazy bun, strands falling in front of her emerald green eyes.
It looked like Bella was teaching her how to knit. She moved slowly, carefully guiding the woman's hands. But as the woman tried to imitate Bella's motions, she failed miserably.
"Morning!" I yawned.
"Oh, sweetheart! Finally awake, I see!" Bella exclaimed, glancing over her shoulder while expertly stitching two pieces of cloth together.
"Yeah, there's no way I wouldn't be after someone splashed ice-cold water on my face!"
Bella frowned slightly and put down the thread and needle. She shifted on the long, rotten log turning to face me.
"This girl…" Bella sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I told her to wake you gently, but I had no idea she'd do this!" she said, looking genuinely sorry.
I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. "Where is everyone else?" I asked, changing the subject, though I was genuinely curious.
"Paul's scouting the area with Robert. Zoey's collecting water from a leak in a large pipe Paul found this morning. As for the other guy... I'm not sure," she said, glancing around as if expecting him to suddenly appear.
"And what are you two doing?" I asked, sitting down next to Bella. She scooted over to make space for me.
"I'm teaching Cassandra how to knit. We're turning the pile of fabric into something more comfortable,... like a beanbag!" she explained, her hands working steadily.
Cassandra waved at me with a slight grimace, her hands covered in small cuts and scratches from her failed attempts.
I waved back, offering a small smile. Then, my gaze drifted to the pile of fabric behind her and the already completed beanbags. They looked soft, so much more comfortable than the pile I'd slept on.
The pile last night was already a five-star hotel bed after all I have been through.
But these beanbags... they must feel like clouds.
"Am I getting one too?" I asked, careful to not sound to excited, turning to Bella, who was still stitching away with focused hands.
"Of course, sweetheart," she said warmly, not looking up from her work. "I'm making one for each of us. After all, we plan to rest here for a while, so making it at least a little comfortable is a must."
My mood brightened instantly. "Thank you!"
Bella dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "No need to thank me, sweetie!"
"Well then, I'm gonna take a look around the camp, if that's okay?" I asked, standing up and glancing back toward the two ladies.
"Yeah, go ahead. Have fun!" she said, already absorbed in her knitting again.
Not wanting to interrupt further, I wandered off toward the outer edges of the abandoned settlement.
Dust had gathered on the long-forgotten structures, turning the wooden huts into shades of grey and black. The air was thick, heavy, with the dust suspended in it. I could see it in the rays of orange light from the torches. It felt like I was walking through the narrow alleys of a slum. Dirt and decaying debris lay scattered around for no reason, forgotten by time.
Soon, the wooden huts began to break down into tents made of torn and tattered cloth, propped up by a few sticks that were barely holding them together, making it feel even more like a slum.
In front of one of the larger tents, likely belonging to someone of higher rank, lay a small plushie. A unicorn. Its white fur had turned black with dust, one of its eyes and a leg were missing, and only a few pink strands of hair remained in its mane. It looked like it had been attacked by something vicious.
I bent down and picked up the battered plushie.
"At least its horn is intact," I murmured, brushing the dirt off its fur. A cloud of debris swirled up, making me cough.
My eyes watered, and my throat dried from the dust filling my nostrils.
"Bah!" I spat, annoyed by the thick, disgusting air.
"You're dirtier than I thought you'd be," I rasped, my throat burning.
I held my hand out, glanced in the opposite direction, then started slamming it against a wooden pillar of the tent. When the unicorn was almost free from debris, I pulled it closer, inspecting it one more time. The soft threads of its mane felt comforting in my palm.
I hesitated, looking at the tent for a moment before deciding to step inside.
It was as dark and dusty as everything else here, the air still and uncomfortable. But I had grown used to it by now, so it didn't bother me as much anymore.
Inside, there was a crib with a torn mattress beside it and a small shelf next to a broken mirror.
I stepped in, letting the cloth fall behind me, shutting out the entrance. Some dust swirled, but not as much this time.
The dim light from the torches outside filtered through the holes in the fabric, providing just enough light to see.
I moved toward the mirror, intrigued. Slowly, I stepped in front of it.
In the broken reflection, I saw myself.
My hair was a dark, ashen colored mess, not too long, but not short either. I stared into my lifeless gray eyes, my reflection distorted by the cracks in the glass. My tattered white shirt and brown pants were a size too big, hanging loosely on my frame.
In the mirror, I saw a child. No older than maybe thirteen.
I touched my face, checking if it was really me. I ran my fingers over the pale, flaky skin.
The child in the mirror mimicked my movements.
"So, this is what I look like... I really am a kid," I murmured, continuing to stare into the broken glass.
But then, something changed.
The eyes of the child in the mirror began to melt into black goo, dripping down onto the shirt. My hair turned black, and my face contorted in unnatural ways. It was grotesque.
Then, it shrieked, and I screamed in response, slamming my foot into the mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
My heart raced, and for a moment, I didn't even feel the deep cut on my foot. But as soon as I saw the blood flowing, the sharp pain hit me.
Rushing footsteps outside the tent soon followed, and moments later, the entrance was torn open.
Bella appeared, panic on her face, with Cassandra close behind.
She looked at me, the shattered mirror, and my bleeding foot. Her expression softened as she hurried toward me.
"Sweetie, what happened?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.
"I... I don't know. The mirror... it just..." I couldn't explain it. How could I?
She didn't care about my inability to explain. Instead, she tore off a piece of cloth from the tent and wrapped it around my foot.
I winced, but Bella didn't hesitate, wrapping it tightly.
"Does it hurt?" she asked gently.
I shook my head, standing with Bella's help. Cassandra was inspecting the mirror shards.
"It was just an old mirror," she said, picking up a piece of glass. "Nothing strange about it."
But as she spoke, the shards of the mirror burst into black flames. The flames spread quickly, eating through the fabric of the tent.
Cassandra tossed the shard away, a small burn mark on her palm. We didn't hesitate, sprinting out of the tent. I was not waiting for the flames to reach me.
Bella followed closely behind. As we stopped at a safe distance, I glanced back at the burning tent.
"What just happened?" Cassandra asked, out of breath.
"A curse..." I murmured with conviction, my fists clenched, rage building in me.
"How do you know that?" Cassandra asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
I didn't answer right away. I couldn't explain why, but deep down, I knew. I just knew those flames were a curse.
The others arrived soon after. Paul and Robert were panting from the run, looking between me and the burning wreckage.
"Just trust me, these flames are a vile curse cast by an even more vile creature, I just know it!" I answered Cassandra finally my voice heavy with hatred.
Paul frowned, then knelt to examine the ash. He found a tiny shard of glass that hadn't fully burned, but as soon as he picked it up, the black flames ignited for a second and made the piece of Glass crumble to dust.
"The kid might be right," Paul said, his voice low. "No normal flame can turn glass to ash."
"Well, duh," Zoey muttered. "The flames were black. Of course, they weren't normal."
Paul didn't respond, but his expression grew darker. Bella rubbed her temples, and Cassandra just chuckled at Zoey's nonchalance.
"By the way, Paul... have you seen Jeffrey?" Cassandra asked, glancing at him.
He shook his head. "Haven't seen him since yesterday."
"That's strange... Where could he have gone?" Cassandra mused, clearly disturbed.
But before anyone could respond, a large figure emerged from the darkness.
"What happened here?" the voice asked, low and manly.
"Ah, Jeffrey, there you are!" Cassandra said, walking toward the silhouette.
I had a strange feeling, watching her approach him. Something didn't feel right. It reminded me of the moment I was deceived by that tentacle-like creature in the flesh tunnel.
Before I could react, Zoey moved with lightning speed, grabbing Cassandra and throwing her to the ground with a thud. Then came a crushing sound and an agonized scream.
The group froze, stunned, as one of our own comrades bit Zoey's arm off.
"Jeffrey, what the hell are you doing?" Cassandra screamed, confusion and fear thick in her voice.
"Run! That isn't Jeffrey anymore!" Zoey shouted through clenched teeth, stepping back.
The figure stepped into the light.
We could finally see him.
It was Jeffrey, or at least what used to be him. His body was covered in black, his jaw dislocated, and his limbs twisted in unnatural ways. Something had taken over his body, and it was still figuring out how to control it.
"Why are you all just standing there? Get your fucking feet moving!" Zoey shouted, her voice filled with urgency as she clutched her severed arm.
The others snapped out of their trance and started running. Fortunately, Jeffrey, or whatever controlled him, didn't know how to run, so we had a head start.
At least, that's what I thought, until the creature let out a chilling scream that sent a wave of dread through me.
The shadows around us began to move, evolving into miniature versions of the behemoth that we had just escaped.