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A Scent in the Air!!

Natasha's POV

I cut through the compound, scaling the fences as to not wake up Derreck and approached the edge of the Forbidden woods of Artena. A night bird cried a warning in the distance. The surrounding houses squatted in silence, their inhabitants asleep at this time of night. Can nobody hear the pain of that poor animal except me and Tasha? Or they are sitting quietly in their darkened homes, in the fear of something lurking in the woods. A patch of evenly trimmed land was all that was required to cross to enter the forbidden woods. The wilted and dead weeds acted as a borderline, a threshold beyond which lay the shadowy depths of the dark trees, sliced through with moonlight under the star-flecked sky.

"Natasha, I am scared. Are you sure we need to go?" Tasha's voice rumbled through my mind. I sag my shoulders before answering.

"It's okay Tasha, we will quickly search for the injured animal, making sure it is safe, then will safely return. You worry too much," I assured her.

"I am warning you, Natasha, not to take any chances. If you see a ghost, just get out of there," Tasha warned me.

"Ghost? Seriously!! If I see a ghost, I'll probably piss myself."

"Fine. But do it as you're running." Tasha taunted.

I cleared my mind of fear, and darted towards the dark canopy ahead of me.

"Hey folks, get ready for a new adventure. The mission is Odyssey through Forbidden Woods. I wonder why it is called so because even a douchebag can enter it undetected." I was speaking to the invisible audience who were watching my adventure. It was something I always do when I am taking a risk or get stuck in a dangerous situation. It gives me the courage to fight through. I could imagine Tasha rolling her eyes at my weird antics.

"Let's ignore Tasha, keep our head straight and senses open. Things will get strange as the beauty is going to save the beast if it doesn't try to eat her away. It is just me and the woods and a whinnying owl, which sounded pissed off. Maybe fought with its mate. I think she rejected him or maybe denied sex," I spoke to my audience as I moved ahead.

The edge of the knife was hurting my waist as I crossed the tree line, taking me deeper into the woods. The sounds of nocturnal animals vibrated through the air, and the winds stirred the leaves and the branches. My breath puffed as I notice every detail of my surroundings. The air turned humid as I crossed the threshold. I stilled and took a deep breath as panic surged through me, but I had to hide it from Tasha. Or she is going to kill me.

"Nice try to fool me, but you seem to be forgotten that I live in your mind, can hear your thoughts," Tasha snapped at me. I ignored her, focusing my eyes and senses to track the wounded beast. Suddenly, the dark clouds crowded the sky. Loud thunder rumbled through the sky, flooding the woods with torrid rain.

"The Goddess of Thunder has joined the adventure as well," I muttered to my audience, as my clothes drenched in rain. My loose hair was a sticky mess on my face. The layers of rainwater dripping through my eyes made me difficult to look ahead. A growl rumbled through the woods. My heart jumped in my throat.

“The injured beast is incoming in our direction!” I informed my audience.

I darted behind the nearest tree and flattened my back against the rough bark to ensure the wounded beast was harmless.

"If the beast is not injured and weak, we are done for," Tasha muttered.

A tree branch cracked before I could respond to her. It sounded like an enormous foot crunched the brittle glass. The movement stopped.

"Shit! It sensed us. It is following us by our scent," Tasha voice was traced with fear and panic.

"What's wrong with you? How can a creature sense us by our scent? You need help!" I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

“Dumbo, these creatures may have a strong sense of smell. They don’t need to see us to follow us,” Tasha replied.

A second growl made me suck a breath in my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, my body shaking, and it has nothing to do with the chills spreading my body because of the heavy lash of rain.

"Stop breathing loudly and hide between the bushes of wild roses, it will conceal our scent up to some extent from the beast," Tasha said.

"Be quiet now, everyone," I warned my imaginary audience.

More grass crunched under the creature's enormous feet. It was moving in my direction. A whimper escaped my lips. I slapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late, the footsteps ceased. It had heard me. The darkness ahead of me lay in silence for a few seconds.

The beast roared again in agony, making me jump out of my skin. Fear doused me, and then I ran, sprinting as fast as I could, without even bothering to look behind, crashing through the bush of roses. Loud grunts followed. I couldn't see the beast properly, but it seemed massive, with two enormous feet ending in the sharp claws, churning through the dirt and branches. Tasha was correct. The beast could not see me properly, just following the trail of my scent. I kept going deep, crawling in between the bushes, with blood trickling down my skin from where the thorns had ripped through.

"I have to leave," I thought to myself. Summoning my courage, I crouched, looking ahead at the darkness. Silence and no sight of the beast, send a wave of relief to my wild nerves. With bated breath, I waited for something to happen, watching for movement, listening for sounds. Nothing. Maybe the beast has left.

"Good news folks, maybe the beast has left us, after all, it doesn't need a beauty to tend," I said, sprinting forward towards the direction of my house, without asking Tasha, and this was a mistake, considering Tasha's sixth sense and the way she had always warned me about the upcoming danger.

"Dumbo, why did you run from the rose bushes? Your blood made our scent even more potent for the beast to sniff," Tasha grimaced.

The beast roared behind me, closer. The shape of trees shifted as it moved through them, shrieking in terror. Its roar spread through the air like ripples in the pond. My breathing came in haggard gasps. Its roar rattled my bones. My heart was thudding against its walls. The beast was right behind me, much too close.

"Fuck! I fumbled. Hold on to your dicks. This is going to be a shit ride," I warned my audience.

The end was near! Adrenaline dumped into my bloodstream as I moved through narrow bushes, hoping they will do the job of slowing down the creature, given its enormous size. My reflexes were in flight mode, sprinting through the bushes like a minion.

"What kind of animal was that? Congratulations folks, we have discovered a new species of the beast or maybe a ghost or I don't know, but we get to keep the name," I was continuously giving live commentary to my audience, much to Tasha’s annoyance.

I took out my knife, looking behind, straining my eyes to sense a movement. The outburst of rain wasn't helping and the night wasn't cooperating to reveal its secrets. Another cry and I tried to peer through the bushes searching for the beast. Shit! I straightened up quickly, jumping through the bushes at the speed of light, as the beast was right behind me. Its movements were intense, making the leaves clatter like dancing skeletons and branches creaking like a noodle stick. I hurried forward, to put some distance between the beast and me.

Suddenly, my attention got drawn to another set of distractions, the low growling sounds of the wolves.

Damn!

I looked to the other side, panicking at the sight of two wolves approaching in my direction. Their snarling and predating eyes turned my belly into the gravy, singling me out as prey. They twisted and stepped to my side, cornering me. I bring forward my knife as if it would help me against those thick-skinned felines. I was so stupid. One of them slashed down with its long claws, grazing my skin, but I was quick enough to dodge before it got deeper. Another one pushed me to the wet ground and crawled up on me, ready to tear my face, but something reached ahead and grabbed that wolf by the tail, flinging it away with incredible strength.

I saw the back of the beast as it crushed the body of that wolf on the ground. The sight made me vomit. I sprinted ahead into the bushes, trying to run away as far as I could, as I could hear the painful yelps of another wolf. I was not sure what the beast did to it, but at least I was relieved to have two enemies less on my trail.

Suddenly, the loud footsteps rumbled through the woods, and I was sure that the beast was again coming for me. I glided through the floor. A patch of grass and twigs stood in front of me like a welcoming mat. They were clattering and flowing through the ground. I thought it was the rainwater, but was proved wrong when stepped on it. I feel into a messy pool filled with dirty water, garbage, twigs, leaves and something black and sticky, mucus kind of thing, which covered and tangled my whole body. I was figuring out a way out of this mess, but a loud splash made me jerk and jump. That beast also miscalculated its step and bumped into the pool.

"Shit! Shit! Double shit!" I muttered to my audience.

The beast was just at a distance of a couple of feet from me, but I couldn't see it properly and blame it on the downpour of rain and the sticky black mucous that coated the beast as well. I quickly bring forward my knife, trying to cut through the sticky strands of the mucus to free myself. The beast was using its claws to untangle itself. There was a brief second when our eyes meet, and a strange feeling rolled through my chest, like a heavyweight stuffed on me. A shock of fire and arousal rose through my body.

"Natasha!" Tasha pulled me out of my thoughts. My breathing turned irregular as I desperately tried to shut the desire coursing through my core. I could barely focus. A low growl sliced like a current, with a pair of claws wrapping my body. An icy terror once again seeped into my body, but I lifted the knife and stabbed through the six-inch claws of the beast. The beast screamed in a high-pitched agony, like a human in peril, being eaten alive or gruesomely tortured. Something shifted in the pool as if the beast was morphing into some other form. I heard the sounds of skin tearing and bones shifting. The pain that beast was suffering was reflecting in my heart as if I was connected to it, but maybe it is trying to hypnotize me and caging me in a trap, so I grabbed my knife and jumped out of the pool, running through the woods, ripping through the bushes and ducking under the branches. I could hear the agonizing screams of that beast. That thing could go on screaming for all I cared.

I burst out of the forbidden woods and raced to my house, stomping up the steps, and barged through the door. Before I could catch my breath, I turned and slammed the door shut behind me, securing me in. I jumped under the shower, pulling over the clothes and clearing the dirt and mucus from my body. The distant growls of the beast could still be heard. It was crying in pain and its suffering seared my heart, but all I could do was ignore it and try to keep calm.

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