The next day, Harker insisted on hunting alone. That was the last time he would be shooting animals and eating them raw for his diet. The day before that was the moment of truth.
Would this plan work? He could only dive into it blindly.
In case things went wrong, he entrusted Blank to use his flaming arrows to get Joan out of the cave. The original plan was to have him as the bait, but….
"I'll do it. He should be the one on defense anyway. He'll do it better than me who can just wave torches in front of the wendigos' faces."
Harker tried to argue, but she was having none of it.
"I want to be the one to see how you will attack this wendigo. If you die, I will burn you and the wendigo myself so the others can't eat you. You'd prefer that, right? A cremation rather than being a buffet?"
Harker closed his mouth and sighed. "If I die, you waste no time and run out of there. Look for the bodyguards with Blank and Ahanu, and tell them to pass the news to my family. Tell them I died valiantly protecting others until the end."
"Sure thing, Hamlet." She scoffed. "But if you did die, I won't be going to your funeral. I might end up embarrassing you to your family with my eulogy. "
Harker knew the real reason why she couldn't attend his funeral. He knows how strong and volatile Joan's emotions were towards him.
But he just smiled as if they were doing their usual bickering. Instead of actually worrying about a life-or-death situation. Again, there were things that were better to be ignored in certain moments, like a taboo that must not be spoken out loud.
Blank meanwhile just created more arrows and polished them. "If both of you die inside the cave, I will tell your other friends that you both died a valiant death, working together as one."
He set down the multiple fire pits to surround and protect him and Ahanu later. They were stationed at the cave's entrance. His little brother was slowly getting in better shape, though his voice was still hoarse and he could only say a few words at the time. He was wrapped up in layers of fur coat, and yet he was still shivering.
"Mahti ekawiya….." He mumbled with his eyes closed, sounding very distressed.
He kept saying things which made his older brother frown.
Harker approached him. "What is he saying?"
"Please don't." Blank said.
"Please don't what?" Harker asked, though he had a feeling he knew what it was.
Blank turned to him, repeating his brother's words. "Mahtu ekawiya micih. Please don't eat."
Harker took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Why not?"
Blank asked his brother, but the boy did not speak anything else besides the same thing. It wasn't clear who he was talking to, and what he didn't want to be eaten. But Harker already knew in his heart what it was.
He went inside the cave, hiding behind tall stalagmites while Joan turned on her torch and stood outside, waiting for the sunset. Once it gets dark, she will run inside the cave to lure one of the wendigos in, and Blank has to shoot down everything else that tries to get in.
Harker squatted as he waited, his face grim. He called out to the only other presence in this cave.
The one entity that never leaves his side.
"Yan, I have something I want to confirm. The wendigo were once human, and not born monsters. They just got cursed instead, right?"
The flying eyeball appeared by his side. It also looked somehow even grimmer than him, despite not having a face.
"Yes. They are cursed with the endless desire for the flesh, just like the zombies. They needed it to get stronger, yes, but they also crave it just like one would crave an addiction. They could never resist the presence of meat."
Harker clenched his fist. "Will that curse be passed on to me if I eat them?"
Just like how the diseases that the zombies carry would be passed on to him. Though he could control what he shapeshifted as, it's different from blocking curses and diseases acquired from eating.
Yan didn't say anything, because he knows his Master already knows the answer to his own question. Harker had known it for a long time. He just chose to deny the truth to keep going, just like he always does.
He stood up, brushing himself up. "Not like I have any choice. I already made precautions."
Soon, he heard the rushing footsteps, and light coming his way. It's here.
The wendigo had been lured by the bait, and he must come to feed on it soon. To eat the one that only knows how to eat and eat and never be satisfied.
The gray monster was fast, and the only thing that was warding it off was the torch that Joan Seward was holding. She was running as fast as she could, but she also knew that if she slipped or fell, it's all over.
These creatures snapped a person in half with their own bare hands. And the one she caught….
Was a pretty large one, about 13 feet tall.
The wendigo ran on all fours like a wild predator. Saliva dripped from its razor sharp yellow teeth, along with some blood. Harker realized that the blood was murkier and darker, and saw the bite mark on Joan's shoulder.
Yet she did not react to this at all.
Still, she had a human mind, and fear never truly left it. Once she finally reached a dead end and couldn't go any further, her green eyes showed flashes similar to a cornered prey.
She gulped, and shouted. "Anytime now, Jones. I know I agreed to this, but I don't wanna be turned into confetti without seeing my sister first."
Harker took a deep breath, the light of her torch casting shadows over his face.
And it also casted shadows on the walls. You can see the long and slender shadow of the wendigo, even Joan's shadow, and…..
A creature slowly appeared from behind the jagged and sharp rocks. It slowly grew larger and larger, movements erratic as it transformed.
It grew as tall as a strong stag, and yet low and deep growls could be heard from a long snout. The feet had the shape of a canine's paw, antlers slowly grew, and lastly…..
The wings that bear the pattern of a snow owl erupted from its back. It was the birth of a new creature that never existed, until this night.
This chapt𝒆r is updated by free(w)ebnovel(.)com