Beyond Doubt: Whispers of the Unseen - Chapter 29

Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.

As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.

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Chapter 29

Dear Reader, How important is it for you not to lose sight of reality?

Is your idea of reality really the reality? Or do you only see what your brain is able to digest?

Are you blind to everything you don't understand, like most animals?

When the light at the end of the tunnel seems to fade and not even an emergency exit is visible anymore.?

How far will you let me go before you call me out? Have you seen everything to say with any certainty that I am fantasizing?

That realization has always stayed with me, and now that I'm embarking on a journey of which the deeper meaning is still a mystery, I really feel what he means. I live day to day in unfamiliar areas and situations that I would never have foreseen. Yet I have never felt so alive, so awake, so human.

Sleep is slowly starting to overtake me. I feel compelled to wake Numico. The young man is indeed a light sleeper, for the few steps it takes me to approach him are enough to make him open his eyes. "My turn," he whispers. He gets up sleepily. I take a seat under the still-warm animal skins and fall asleep almost immediately.

A push wakes me up. I feel a hand held over my mouth. The fright makes me gasp; the hand makes this impossible. "Shh," a voice whispers in my ear.

The fire has gone out, and in the dim light of the moon, I cannot see my attacker. "Don't be alarmed. It's Numico, but be very quiet. There at the edge of the forest," he says, stretching his arm toward trees.

It takes my eyes a moment to see something in the darkness. But I only see the shadows of trees. "Where?" I whisper softly. "Shh, wait a minute," then I suddenly see flames rising above the hill.

The dancing fire shows only the outlines of those who wear them. They move like humans, only their bodies are not human. Their heads form a whole with their backs, without a neck, and their backs have a hump as if all are hunchbacked.

"They were loud before; that saved us because as quiet as they are now, I hadn't heard them until they were within sight. Then chances are they would have seen our fire," Numico whispers almost inaudibly. "What would they be?" I ask.

"People, I'm sure. Animals feel very different. They are very tense; they want battle, they look for blood."
I wonder what they do in this forest at this time? It is a place that is not recommended to visit during after hours. Apparently, they know it better; they seem familiar with the area, and head straight into the woods.

The story, as it was told to me, is as follows. The shadow people turn into fire monsters at night. They go into the forest in search of the sleeping lord of the forest to kill him. They hold him responsible for all the evil that befalls their tribe.

Every time something happens to the tribe or one of its members, the fire monsters rise up to look for the lord of the forest. During the day, they stand no chance, for the lord is a cyclops with the strength of ten men and the help of the forest. But in the dead of night, the lord would sleep. That makes it possible to approach and kill him. Apparently, they haven't found him yet.

In complete silence, we wait until the group is out of sight; sleeping is impossible tonight. The chance that they leave the forest through our camp is too great. A tribe with such violent plans may well be capable of decapitating two unsuspecting travelers just for practice.

I hear Numico's breathing turn irregular all of a sudden. He flinches as if he feels tremendous pain. “Numico, what is it?” There is silence, Numico moans softly. My hand searches for the boy's shoulder, and when I have found it, I feel that all his muscles are tense.

He shakes his head and arms loose: “We must go, the forest is afraid. The animals, the plants, everything asks for help,” he whispers

"What happened?" I ask.

"I do not know. A huge jolt of pain went through me. Then it was quiet inside for a while. That silence was followed by a tidal wave of anxiety. It came from all sides. I don't know why, but we have to go into the forest. Something or someone needs our help.”

We hide our pack in the bushes, far from buffalo. If buffalo is found, there is a chance that our luggage will not be discovered immediately. Numico shoots like an arrow from a bow into the forest. I struggle to keep up with him. Branches hit my face, I trip over stumps and other obstacles several times.

Every now and then Numico pauses for a moment. It seems as if he listens before he goes on without saying a word. Fortunately, I'm getting more and more adept at spotting and avoiding obstacles. Which helps to keep up with him. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the flames a few hundred steps to our right.

“Numico, right,” I call in a muffled voice. The boy looks and quickens his pace. Then suddenly he stops; he folds his hands around his mouth and makes the typical sound of a tawny owl. There is no response; he tries again. To our left, less than five meters away, we hear an owl call. Carefully we move in the direction of the sound. There is nothing to see in the darkness, then I stumble because of a fallen tree.

When I want to push off on the tree to get up again, the trunk feels warm and fleshy. I stare at the place where I expected the branches. A huge shadow forms, lying on the ground. Numico saw it too. He rushes to the place where we expect the head and kneels.

Which language Numico speaks with this apparition is utterly unclear to me; it sounds soft, like a kind of gnawing. Then Numico calls me. “Mart, this is whom you call the lord of the forest. He is wounded. Look at his right leg; something is cutting into his flesh.”

When I reach the leg, I see a huge clamp that has sunk its teeth deep into the flesh of the giant. No matter how hard I try, the clamp cannot be released. There must be a way I realize. I take the time to examine the clamp. It is a most ingenious case, where rows of wooden teeth are carved, and with an animal gut, the parts are stretched to the limit so as to slam shut at the lightest touch. No matter what I do, it won't come off; something is locking the clamp.

My hands feel the clamp, but the darkness makes it impossible to see anything. I look up and see the flames approaching us. The distance is only seventy steps or so. I search like a man possessed for the bolt, and there is a wooden pin, well hidden in the woodwork. I tug on the pin, and luckily, it pops loose. The clamp falls off the leg.

"Get out," I hiss to Numico. "He can barely stand; he can't get away on his own," Numico whispers. I look over my shoulder, the fire monsters are fast approaching.

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