The Sharpest Lives (Frerard)

Prologue

The sunlight glimmered dimly in the last moments it spared in the twilight. The luminescent forest was alive with the sounds of nature in its waking path. The chirp of birds faded with the sun's last breath of day, and the nocturnal creatures of the night were beginning to take their turn as if they were divvying up their parts in a melodious song. Somewhere cicadas were harping on in the chorus of magnificent, almost mysterious music. The soft hoot of an owl could be heard, and there were pitter patters as well as great sounds of the animals in the forest, eager to join in on the music.

Gerard drew this all in with wondering marvel. It had been too long since he had last seen a sunset and he couldn't fathom why he would want to miss such breathtaking beauty. He stood in the heart of the noise, intoxicated by every sweet sound and feeling. A warm breeze passed through and it whipped past the trees, their limbs swaying to the beat of the native song.

A dragonfly zipped by Gerard, nearly brushing against the tip of his nose and he laughed. He would be content if he could stay like this forever, molding in perfect harmony with nature. Unfortunately that could not be so. There was a loud, distasteful snap of a branch a couple of meters from where Gerard stood, and almost in an unanimous action, there was a sudden break in the sounds of the lively forest as if it were a scratch in a poorly tended vinyl. Everything seemed to freeze for a moment before returning to its previous state of resounding euphony, the creatures of the forest forgetting about the disturbance. However, Gerard could not forget the disruption for it had alerted him; the pause of the creatures was far too long and that unsettled him. He knew it was no mere misstep of an animal; it had been much heavier and calculated than even the largest of animals residing in the woods.

"Who's there?" he called out, a slight quiver in his voice. He regretted not bringing the fine iron sword his father had given him. It was on a hasty impulse that Gerard ran away from his family manor to the heart of the forest for some peace of mind that made him not think to bring any source of protection or provisions.

There was no response back with the exception of the hums of the wood dwellers. But the man was more clever than this. He could feel the presence of another; someone was watching him. The feeling of human — no, inhuman indicated by the spine tingling and stomach-wrenching  — eyes piercing at him was overpowering the bustle of the wood dwellers. Something about this felt wrong, and it's as if the forest could sense it as well. The creatures were singing in an eerie, somber tone and the trees howled with the vicious wind. Nightfall had fully approached, and the darkness clouded Gerard's vision more than he would have cared for. Another snap and crunch of branches and leaves, this time deliberately, as if shouting 'Hey, I'm here!' Gerard stood still like a statue, feeling petrified and vulnerable in the open expanse.

"Come out now, or you'll regret it!" The man did not know where this feeble burst of courage came from. Perhaps it was innate instinct for a person to act out when in danger, a final defense mechanism for the inevitable.

As if Gerard's command was understood, the culprit obliged. In a blinding instant, the man was rushed at and something cold and rigid wrapped around his neck as he was suspended in the air. He grasped at the object, unsuccessfully prying it from his neck. When set forth upon the thing that was choking him, sheer terror rippled through his body. A creature like a human but not quite — it was only something pretending to be human — had seized him with a shocking amount of strength. The thing before him had a sickeningly pale complexion like that of a corpse, its eyes a brilliant crystalline blue that made you swear you could see into the gates to hell. Those were not the worst of it. The feature that had struck dread in Gerard were the canines of the creature. They protruded in sharp curves, framing around the bottom of the stony lips as they grew into impressive incisors that would make the gray wolf's seem like baby teeth. If that was not remarkable enough, the eyes turned from radiant blue to an intense silver as the fangs extended, and the human-like creature appeared more like a spawn from hell than a human with the devious glint in its expression.