Silence followed. It was written all over their faces, that no one knew what to say. Everyone looked at her scars differently now. They were not only scars of war, most of them were of torture.
Then Kaffrine broke the silence in a low voice. "I know this doesn't change your situation, but you have my sympathy."
She paused briefly before adding, "We should get going."
After packing the food and drinks into her backpack, she viewed the plan with a serious voice,
"Above all, you follow my command. If I say run, we run. If I say fight, we fight.
If it comes to a fight, you two stay with Lorum at the front.
If we're attacked from two sides, Lorum and I will hold one side while you two defend the other. Did I make myself clear?"
All three replied in synchronization, "Yes."
"Good. We'll advance in this order: Arorox and Mithranda in front. Behind you will be Lorum and me," she commanded, then added, while pointing the way. "We'll push deeper into the jungle, scout the area, then report back. All clear?"
They nodded.
"Okay, Let's go then." while saying that she put the helmet back on.
The deeper they ventured into the jungle, the denser and eerier it became. The silence made every movement feel heavier. It came to a point where Arorox began to hallucinate sounds to keep calm.
'It is quite funny, I bet that everyone hates the quietness, but no one wants it to go away.'
Suddenly, something as big as a barrel hit the ground a short distance in front of them.
"What is that?" asked Lorum.
Mithranda answered "Looks like a dead bird of prey. A big one at that."
Before she could say more a loud shriek came from above. Looking up they saw another bird of prey who was alive going down in a nosedive.
"Fight!" shouted Kaffrine.
The bird dove at terrifying speed, its target Arorox. As its talons came within mere meters, he instinctively stepped aside, trying to dodge them. But Arorox wasn't fast enough. The creature slammed into him, clinging to his right shoulder. Its claws tore through fabric and flesh almost instantly, dyeing his tunic red, while spreading pain.
'Damm, am I slow!'
The impact sent him staggering backward, against a tree. He was able to stay upright by leaning against it.
'And weak!'
The beak snapped toward Arorox's head, but before it could tear his face apart, an arrow struck true, pinning one of the bird's wings to its body. Its grip tightened as it began to lose balance, the other wing flapping wildly. With every passing second, the pain grew more intense, forcing a grunt from his clenched jaw.
Arorox seized the bird's long, thin neck with his left hand and squeezed with all his strength. The creature made horrible choking sounds as it futilely tried to bite him.
Before it could suffocate, Lorum drove his sword through the bird's body, nearly splitting it in two.
Finally, the bird went limp, but its talons were buried too deeply to release, and the corpse still hung from Arorox's shoulder.
Lorum and Kaffrine were putting away their weapons when a black-furred beast suddenly leapt down from a tree. It landed on four clawed paws, its tail lashing behind it.
The creature's mouth hung open, revealing rows of sharp teeth framed by twitching whiskers. One eye bulged grotesquely from its socket, swinging wildly as the creature charged toward the nearest person.
"I can't smell anything close to delicious. The one time I was devoured, I was immediately vomited right back up."
The beast seemed to care about nothing else, purely fixated on Arorox.
But before it could reach him, Mithranda struck. Her hands, clenched into a single fist, came down from the side like a hammer, smashing into the creature's head. The beast crashed to the ground.
Blood ran out of its nose and mouth, its head visibly deformed, but that didn't stop the beast. As it tried, indifferent to pain, to get up, Mithranda was already on the creature. Her hands went for the beast's neck, forcing it to stay down. A low growl rose from her throat as it hissed in return.
Moments later, a sword pierced straight through the creature's head, and the struggle ended shortly after.
"What is that thing?" asked Mithranda, while pointing with the hand at the beast and looking up to Lorum. He replied with a shrug.
"It's a panther. Gosh, Lorum, didn't you read any of the papers to this world." Kaffrine said, annoyed.
She added, while gesturing with her head towards Arorox, "Now come you two, help me separate them"
"Lorum, you stay alert and protect us in case something shows up. Mithranda, you hold the dead body up, while I pull out the talons and Arorox, just stay still"
Without another word, the work was being done.
Shortly after, as Mithranda was holding the bird, she looked at the panther, still having a few questions.
Seeing that, Kaffrine explained, "They are carnivores, but they usually don't attack humans. Panthers are skilled hunters, who attack their prey from above."
"You sure? Because the thing we fought was reckless and aggressive. Not skilled. I mean the panther was so fixated on him. It didn't even see me coming from its side. What's also weird is that it didn't react to the punch at all, no twitch, no cry. It is just like the bird, which also didn't react to pain. Do the animals in this world not feel pain?" questioned Mithranda.
Kaffrine went still for a moment, recalling the information she studied, before she turned her gaze towards Mithranda, "They normally do." The worriedness could clearly be heard in her voice.
"Well, they can't be poisoned," Lorum cut in, "There are no Tiremate carcasses around."
Kaffrine repeated quiet and slowly, while carefully moving on to the next talon, "Poisoned… but no carcasses?"
She gasped abruptly, "We need to hurry!"
"What? why?" questioned Mithranda, worry creeping into her voice
A thunderous bang split the air. In the distance, a bright red light flared across the sky, lingering for a heartbeat before fading.
Mithranda turned to her, accusation sharp in her voice.
"Tiremates? I thought we had more time, Kaffrine!"
Kaffrine shook her head once, hard.
"This isn't the Tiremates." She paused only a fraction of a second before raising her voice. "Get ready to run for your lives!"
Then she turned to Arorox and added, "This is gonna hurt"
"Wha…"
The question never left his mouth. Pain exploded through his shoulder as Kaffrine tore the last three talons out in one brutal motion. A growl came out of him in response, strands of torn flesh clinging to the blood-slick claws.
Suddenly another bang split the sky, louder, brighter, closer.
"Now run!" Kaffrine's commanding voice snapped them in motion.
Mithranda pulled out the arrow, dropped the bird without hesitation, and sprinted.
Kaffrine pressed a rag against Arorox's wound until he took over and gave her a reassuring nod.
She followed close behind Mithranda, Arorox just a step after Kaffrine, teeth clenched. Each step sent a fresh surge of pain through his shoulder.
Kaffrine glanced over her shoulder past him. Even though her face was hidden, the fury radiating from her was unmistakable.
"Lorum! What are you doing?!" she screamed.
Following her gaze, Arorox saw Lorum cutting something from the carcasses
"I won't leave without proof!" shouted Lorum back.
All of a sudden, a human scream could be heard not far away. With every passing second, it became more grotesque and inhuman. It didn't last long, but the moment it ended, another began.
And another.
Amidst all that screaming came Arorox and the others to a halt, Kaffrine shouted fiercely: "Proof doesn't matter if you die!"
Whether the screams finally convinced him, or he had taken what he needed, Lorum shoved his blade back into its sheath and ran. In one hand he carried the severed head of the bird; in the other, a panther's paw.
BANG
An explosion ripped through the sky, far louder than the ones before.
This time, there was no red light.
When Lorum reached them, they ran together. "I'll kill you if I die!" Kaffrine snarled at Lorum without slowing. "Not fair," Mithranda shot back. "We should draw lots for who gets to kill him."
Before anyone could react to her statement, a strange clicking sound filled the air. Everyone immediately fell silent and slowed their pace, trying to quiet their steps.
The clicking never stopped, but its tone shifted constantly, from high to low and from low to high. It switched between pitches at irregular intervals.
A flash of a forgotten memory came to Arorox's mind.
Surrounded by carcasses, some human, some insect-like, he held the most beautiful woman of the world in his arms. She was dead.
He felt tears running down his cheeks. Agonizing pain spread through his entire body. Alongside the sorrow and pain, there was fear, fear of the thing behind him.
Clicking.
But this time, the sound shifted between pitches in a regular pattern. And it slowly came closer, and closer. So close that whenever the clicking dropped to a low pitch, he felt a gust of air on the back of his head.
"Arorox!" hissed Kaffrine. Her voice snapped him back to reality.
He fell a few meters behind. Every step Arorox took to catch up with the others felt heavier than the last. The urge to simply collapse grew stronger with each stride.
His head began to ache, and his face was wet. His vision blurred.
Only when he reached the others again did he notice that the clicking had stopped.
"Why are you crying?" Mithranda asked in a low voice.
'What am I doing? I told myself I would never feel anything again. And here I am, one day later, talking to people, forming connections, feeling things. This must stop… forever.'
So Arorox kept quiet.
"I think he's schizophrenic," said Lorum bluntly.
'What?! This must be intentional.'
Mithranda asked in amusement: "Why do you think that?"
"I mean, Arorox attacked Akash in the middle of a military meeting, and it's assumed drugs weren't involved. Of course, that's not the only reason I think he's crazy. The way he acts, most of the time quiet and distant from others. Only mad people act like that," Lorum argued.
'Ok, maybe I am a bit crazy. But still, does he have to say it in front of me?'
"Sounds plausible," commented Kaffrine.
Mithranda gave Arorox a thoughtful look.
For the rest of the way back, they discussed what might be wrong with him. Arorox remained true to himself and stayed silent, which turned out to be quite a challenge. At one point, it felt like they were simply making fun of him.
For example, when Mithranda suddenly blurted out, as if she had just found the solution to every problem in the world, "Wait, guys. He might also have erectile dysfunction. Arorox, say something if you don't have erectile dysfunction."
'Curse you, Mithranda! You will rue this day!'
Fortunately, once they arrived at the clearing, the torture ended. Unfortunately, Arorox despised them all now.
'I will get my revenge one way or another.'
The clearing had changed. It was larger. Where many trees once stood, there were now only stumps. Everything was more orderly as well.
A few tents had been pitched, most of them completely black, the remaining few beige. In the middle stood an especially tall tower from which many kept watch.
A large army stood ready for battle, facing the direction from which the light signals had been seen. Much of the camp was already surrounded by a wall.
They quickly ran toward an opening in the wall.
While searching for the centurion who had sent them scouting, the group learned that he was with the king in the meeting tent. Without hesitation, they headed for the largest tent.
Once there, Kaffrine was about to enter, but Lorum stopped her.
"We can't just interrupt their meeting," he said, a hint of worry in his voice.
She replied in a serious tone, "We can, and we should. The more time we waste, the higher the chance that many will die!"