Ixana sidestepped on her branch, her long legs almost stretching on forever; Nova wondered how tall she was compared to her. Not that she ever wanted to get any closer than this.
Ixana's movements were so graceful, calculated and even lethal. Her head tilted almost at an unnatural angle, reminding Nova that she is not entirely human. Nova didn't know what she was or what any of those human-beast creatures had been.
She was so ethereal that Nova would never forget that she was some mighty bird of prey, cold, calculating. The sky matron, the monkeys had called her.
These creatures might be human right now, but dark blood was splattered on their white and brown feathers, even smeared on the man's lips. These two killers had just attacked a bunch of human-shifting capuchins. If her memory serves correctly from her little informative tour with Felipe, the capuchins were one of many prey to the harpy eagles.
Nova shivered and backed further into the cave, looking up and watching the bats with stomach-twisting fear. She was relieved to find none of them stirring from their slumber, especially considering she had minor grazes over her body.
The need to scream gripped her throat so much. Instead, a few tears streaked down from the corner of her eyes, the fear taking water form. She continued to back away, listening to their conversation.
Ixana sighed, annoyed. "It's acting foolish. That girl's gone into a bat cave."
Was it foolish? That stunning, cruel creature hasn't come down to draw blood yet. Bats or eagles, neither odds were in her favour.
Nova's breath halted when her heel hit something and made a small sound. She froze on the spot. If they wouldn't come in here, then these bats must be deadly like the first lot. Her teeth gnawed at her bottom lip to stop herself from making any sounds.
"Please, your magnificence, Ayumi is too young to be left alone too long," the male begged. "The capuchins might have scattered but the howlers…"
Ixana smiled cruelly. "Ah yes… They put up more of a fight…" She licked her lips like the idea delighted her and sighed, that sharp gaze still focusing on the cave. "But that girl… came from the lake, Ezak."
"She cannot be like those from the legends. Please," the man, Ezak pleaded, glancing around nervously.
It was beginning to make Nova nervous. What was in this part of the forest that made a creature like him act like this?
Ixana sighed. "We shall see… I will be highly disappointed if she is one." She jumped off the branch, and her dress pulled back into wings before she grew and transformed into her eagle form, soaring away with Ezak following.
Nothing had tried snatching at her or lunging at her in the cave, but that didn't stop the tension coiled in her muscles. She moved carefully, resisting the urge to rush. For once, luck was on her side; her heel didn't catch any loose rocks, and she slipped out without stirring those vile creatures.
Honestly, she was so damned proud of herself for not crying out in utter fear of those creepy little things.
Now she was dealing with a creepy ass forest. Creepy because it was deadly silent. There was no noise except the wind slightly howling and making the leaves rustle.
Those harpy eagles wouldn't go any further. Was this territory to another predator? One worse than what they were?
Nova turned to go back in the direction she'd fled from. The resort was in that direction.
She paused and looked around. Or was it in this direction?
All of the trees looked the same here.
The forest pressed in on her from all sides, thick and stifling. Her head felt light, and a wave of dizziness rolled through her. The trees swayed slightly—or maybe that was her vision blurring. Everything looked the same. Dense. Tangled. Too close together to tell one part from another. Where was the slope she'd fallen down? Where was the river? She couldn't hear the sound of the running water.
"I'm lost… Alone… With nothing but my phone and my heels, my only weapon against… razor-sharp teeth." She blinked profusely as the situation began settling into her veins, ice sweeping through them.
Nova spun slowly in a circle, trying to figure out where to go. Surely finding a beach was her best option then to follow it all the way back to the resort. Even if it meant walking around the entire island, it was better than being lost inside the forest where natives and beastly creatures transforming into humans—something she still refuses to process yet—were, and would attack her.
"I know…" Nova released a breath, cringing as she removed her heels, hating the idea of any bugs on her feet, but she reminded herself it was either dealing with creepy crawlies or dying because she got lost in a forest and would either starve to death or get eaten.
Nova held the heels in one hand and used the heeled end to mark the tree with a visible X. A strange groan rumbled down the bark, making her freeze, holding the heel as a weapon for any attack. Nothing jumped at her.
Those groaning noises followed Nova as she continued to leave little marks on the trees. The urge to stop doing it because of some uneasy feeling that she was actually hurting the trees and making them groan was fricken surreal. But how else could she track herself in such a dense forest?
Nova also hoped none of the natives would notice and know exactly where to go to drag her ass back and spear her to death.
Although she didn't circle back on herself, it also didn't mean she wasn't lost. In this quiet underbrush and raised roots full of centipedes and army ants, Nova couldn't stop herself from checking over her shoulder every few seconds like something might leap out at her.
Those eagles didn't come this way. Ezak had looked fearful, and they were high up on the treetops.
She didn't know what was better—running for her life with the known threat chasing her or this unseen threat whose presence might or might not be near her and was amping up her paranoia to a maddening degree. There was definitely some sort of predator or even apex predator around here.
Nova just couldn't find her way.
"W-woah!" She stumbled forward and reached out to a vine, halting her from falling into a pit.
How the hell did she miss this large-
It had been covered. The floor fell away into a deadly trap, and Nova barely managed to not fall in.
Wooden spikes jutted upright from the pit floor, their tips stained dark with dried blood.
Nova gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as her eyes locked on the horror below.
At the bottom, a man was tied to one of the spikes, his feet brutally nailed to the ground.