The Magician's Assistant

3

Rachael wasn't sure how far away from town she was. She guessed she was maybe halfway back from the point where she'd finally decided to turn around.

The forest was completely drenched in an orange hue, it would be getting dark soon.

Rachael was starting to feel a little uneasy. Nightfall would make it significantly easier to get lost, and would render any predator nearly impossible to see.

There was something else that caused Rachael anxiety though. It was impossible for her to put her finger on what exactly, but something just didn't feel right to her. For whatever reason, she couldn't feel completely calm at the moment.

"Maybe I just need to eat something," Rachael muttered, desperate to break the uneasy silence.

As soon as the last word left her mouth, any appetite Rachael had was completely destroyed. An awful, putrid stench hit Rachael's nose. She winced, and searched for its source.

It smelled like a mix of several different unpleasant odors. Like someone had thrown rotten meat into a latrine, then vomited into the resulting mixture. It was completely overwhelming, and without a doubt the worst thing Rachael had ever smelled.

Despite the odor's strength, Rachael couldn't find its source. It seemed to be drifting in on the breeze.

Rachael stopped and looked around. The forest was almost completely silent. No birds chirped, and only the rustling of leaves in the wind rose to challenge the sound of Rachael's breathing.

Rachael forced herself to ignore the smell, and started walking again. No matter how far she traveled, the scent didn't go away. It would wax and wane, but it refused to ever completely disappear.

The sun completely dropped below the horizon. The sky was rapidly darkening.

Rachael's vision was locked on the ground in front of her. At first, it had been a result of her disappointment in herself, now she did it out of a mild sense of paranoia. She could not afford to lose the trail, no matter what.

The moon was nowhere to be seen. Once the last traces of daylight slipped away, it would be pitch black out.

The forest was still unusually quiet. Rachael could really only hear her own footsteps. It came as a real shock to her when a loud crash came from right behind her.

Rachael stopped and spun around. It sounded like a tree limb had fallen somewhere nearby.

She looked around. Everything seemed the same as it had a moment ago. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what could have caused the sound. It could have been some sort of animal, or it could have just been rotting wood.

She took a step back. The next unusual sound came from somewhere to her right.

Twigs snapped, leaves rustled. Something was moving towards her, very fast.

There was movement in the corner of Rachael's eye. She turned to face it.

Some sort of animal was barreling directly towards Rachael. It was obscured by the darkness, and the bushes it was plowing through. Whatever was coming towards her, it was at least as big as she was.

Within just a few brief seconds, it was just a few feet away. As it closed in, it dropped down making itself smaller. It ran on all fours briefly, then sprung back up, launching itself into the air towards Rachael.

Rachael didn't waste any time on screaming, nor was she frozen in fear. When the creature pounced, she threw herself to the side, out of the way.

The creature sailed past, narrowly missing its target. It landed a few feet away.