A Circus of Tales || Short Story Collection

The Open Pathway

CW: Violence and light gore (such as mentions of blood, stabbing, etc)

Short story for avadel's short story contest
Prompt #1
Slight alterations to the prompt added

More information at the end of the story

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The monsters appeared without a warning.

I had lived in the forest for years, to the point where I could maneuver my way through the trees with my eyes closed. Usually, the only disturbances to our peace were those from natural causes. The occasional earthquakes, thunderstorms, freezes during the winter--my village had seen it all. And that was the only thing shaking us. Everyday, we'd wake up, hunt, eat, and then sleep. Of course, there would be deviations from our routine, but that was to be expected.

We lived normal lives, simply following the way of nature.

The monsters and the curses they brought were not a part of nature.

It was my first time seeing something like them. They came in various sizes and appearances, though their general shape was the same. Eerily enough, they almost looked like us. Almost. There was something off about them, but I couldn't tell what it was.

Some of them had the ability to summon fire; some had the ability to take down anything with their large, sharp claws. Others had voices so loud and unnatural that every part of the forest could hear their screams. Sometimes, they could kill in a single instance, without even giving us a chance to run.

We'd lost friends and families because of them. I'd lost friends and families because of them.

I was one of the few lucky ones to kill some of them and live. Most of us died the moment they encountered those creatures.

The thought made me stop in my tracks and flick my eyes down the mountain, just where the cliffside ended. Before those monsters arrived, there was an entire village of us that would move depending on the season. We used to occupy a small area near the river. The houses had been barely visible under the clusters of trees, but could be seen from a higher angle.

Now, there was nothing left for me to see.

Not the trees, not the homes--the river continued flowing, as nature commanded it should. But now, nothing remained next to it. It was barren. There wasn't even a sign that there was life there before.

I could accept death. I could accept no longer being a part of this world. It was the natural order of things.

But those that died always left something. A sign that they were once here, that they were a part of this world.

The destruction below didn't leave anything behind.

"Fancy seeing you here."

I glanced back at the pathway I was walking on. Unsurprisingly, I didn't see anyone. Just as I was about to run before he could get to me, a weight landed on my shoulder. A groan left my lips, and I shrugged it off.

There was a laugh, and I shot him a glare. "Didn't expect to see you here either, Orion."

Orion waved his hand before following right behind me. "I was looking all over for you. You didn't come back to the cave last night, got Leonne thinking you died. Good thing I found you before those things did: they seemed to like the sun, ya know?"