For the past few hours, the siblings trudged across Cinderglaze's damp ground. Their moisture-laden clothes weighed them down, making every step an ordeal. It made the stark contrast with their journey through Sereplain all the more apparent, where the sand below offered plenty of friction, making each step heavier.
While in the rainforest, the ground at times became slippery, requiring them to exert extra pressure to walk, or else risk tumbling.
But stopping or easing their pace was not in the cards, for the grisly spectacle of the grizzly had unnerved the older sibling beyond words. She had determined to leave the forest—and its ghastly beings—behind them by today.
Though hasty, and reckless even under some circumstances, her decision was justified by the unique nature of Cinderglaze.
Across the boundary between Sereplain and Glaswold, Cinderglaze extended, making it an exceptionally long ecosystem. The rainforest was formed due to the mixing of cold, moist winds from Glaswold and searing, dry winds from Sereplain, which created a cold front at their borders, that is, Cinderglaze.
However, despite its prodigious length, the breadth of Cinderglaze was very modest—barely two and a half dozen kilometers wide. It was akin to a long, narrow strip of green semi-circle stretching between two mighty biomes of Sereplain and Glaswold.
"Sis, do you think it was the Dendro Numina who killed Blacky?" The younger sibling asked. She had learnt the fate of the bear from her sister.
"N—no. The numinas are known to be noble creatures, preserving the world's balance while dwelling in solitude. They seldom show themselves, so very little is known about them, especially the dendro one."
Kicking a small pebble aside, she added, "Then again, because of their mysterious nature, nothing can be said about them with certainty... except that they are vast and powerful... and we are not..."
Her tone grew distant and low as she tried to assess their worth in comparison to some truly mighty beings.
The younger sibling held her sister's hand to uplift the mood of her usually strong and reliable sister.
Seeing her sister's efforts, the older sibling faintly smiled. Suddenly, the sky above rippled and glowed, followed by several jagged white lines streaking across the dark sky—illuminating the clouds in a series of flash.
The air vibrated as a sharp crackling sound emanated from the cloud. Then mere moment later, a deafening boom reverberated across the forest and beyond, jolting the siblings.
The older sibling crouched, enfolding her sister with her body. The sonic boom of thunder lingered for a while, before its echo slowly died out.
Only when the rumble faded did the siblings dare to raise their heads. And once they did, the light drizzle intensified—drenching them from head to toe.
But the older sibling was not one to back down; clenching her teeth, she firmly grabbed her sister's palm and took resolute steps forward.
"Sis, shouldn't we wait until the sky clears, or till the rain slows down, at the very least?"
"No. We must get out of here now. The rain might last forever—we can't wait that long."
Unheeding to reason or common sense, the older sibling continued to press forward. The torrential downpour made her body heavy and her movement slow, but it did nothing to waver her resolve.
A few hours passed as the siblings maintained their pace. Their senses overwhelmed by the rhythmic thud of rain and the gurgle of rising water on the forest floor. The wind whipping through the canopies added to the intensity. While the roaring thunder at times kept them on edge.
"Sis, can we at least remove some of our clothes—they are too heavy!"
"We cannot, 'squeak. There are many insects roaming about the forest. We can't take that chance. Just hold on for a while, we are almost out; I can see light ahead."
The older sibling noticed some of her sister's hair stand up straight. She knew what this meant. She abruptly ducked along with her sister. Immediately after, a blinding flash of light illuminated the dim forest with vivid detail. Followed by an explosive crackling roar as the air collapsed back on itself. It was lightning.
The lightning bolt struck a nearby canopy, travelling down the trunk as a glowing line of energy, and splitting the tree in two. Its wood splintered under the heat and pressure, ejecting out small, sharp pieces of shrapnel in every direction.
One such stray projectile lightly grazed the back of younger sibling's neck: "Ouch!" It left a shallow but bloody mark.
The siblings slowly raised their heads as the ringing of the bolt gradually waned, and the drumming of heavy rain resumed—broken, occasionally, by the rustle of leaves and debris crashing on the forest floor.
Gazing at the aftermath: the mighty canopy cleaved in two, charred and moments away from collapsing, while its surrounding thicket scorched and blackened. The siblings shuddered. Their lives were a matter of luck, not choice.
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Thereon their steps faltered, but their momentum showed a clear surge in urgency.
In their agitation and haste, the siblings had failed to notice the slow yet steady blood dripping from the younger sister's neck. She had mistaken it for rain droplets rolling down her body.
Unbeknownst to them, an unknown creature trailed the bloody scent, even though most of it was quickly washed off by the rain. Still, this did not deter the creature, it merely slowed its advance marginally.
"Sis, look a mountain!" the younger sibling said.
Though fatigued and shaken by their travel, her spirit was restored after witnessing something as magnificent as the Silent Heights, which loomed just beyond the last series of canopies.
The older sibling saw the mountains as the end of their journey through Cinderglaze, and sighed a breath of relief: "Yes, 'squeak. They mark the start of Glaswold. C'mon, we are almost out now."
"We'll buy some proper winter..." Something slippery crawled on the neck of the younger sibling, she took it for some bug.
Casually swatting it off, she continued, "... once we reach the market area. You can leave the shopping to me, consideri—"
Her eyes twitched as the slippery thing returned. It flexibly slowly moved up and down her neck, tracing every inch of her skin. She snapped and grabbed it, then turned around—and paled.
"H—hey, sis..." She whispered lightly, and prodded her sister's arm.
"What is it?" The older sibling turned as well. Her heart skipped a beat and eyes shot wide open. She saw a giant mole mere feet away from them, with its elongated tongue in her sister's hand.
Their march through the rainstorm had left their senses dull and ears numb. Hidden by the cacophony of rain, thunder and the forest itself, the giant mole crept up on them unseen.
The younger sibling froze, unable to back off or think properly. The older sibling tugged at her sister's clothes, pulling her back. But the younger sibling forgot to let go of the mole's long, narrow tongue—yanking it like rubber.
The mole squealed under pain, making a high-pitched noise. Its shriek made the siblings step back in disgust and dread.
However, there was something uncanny about the mole's behaviour. It never looked at the siblings—not even once—it only pointed its nostrils at them and occasionally on the ground. Also, it was yet to pounce at the siblings, which was the most bizarre of them all.
These peculiarities did not go unnoticed by the older sibling, whose dull senses had been sharpened on the anvil of fear. She spoke, "Pipsqueak, I think it's blind. It must be tracing our scents."
Her sister, however, did not respond. The older sibling shook her sister's shoulder, and whispered, "Hey—'squeak, you listening?"
The younger sibling still did not react. She held her head with one arm, and meekly spoke, "Sis, I'm feeling... sleepy. I'm sorr..." She fainted and collapsed. Her fall was stopped by the older sibling who grabbed her mid-fall.
The older sibling, with a distraught expression, tried to force to open her sister's eyes. To make her woes worse, the giant mole steadily began taking small steps forward—licking the bloodstains smeared on the ground.
The older sibling quietly dragged her sister and herself away from the mole. Whatever little sound she did make was masked by the surrounding noise, and the paralysing toxin on the mole's tongue—besides knocking the younger sibling unconscious—had also slowed her blood circulation.
Thus, the mole's already slow pace, became even more sluggish. Yet its hunt continued. Sniffing the air—mixed with a myriad of smells—its inhuman senses detected the scent of its prey. It steadily advanced in the sibling's direction.
Already fatigued, the older sibling could not manage to outpace the mole, at least not with her sister in tow. Still, managing to stay just a few feet ahead of the mole, she somehow evaded its pursuit.
The snail-paced chase persisted for a while, when the older sibling at last exited the dense canopies and Cinderglaze itself, though her ankle had sprained in the process. She bit her tongue, swallowing her painful cry, and kept on moving.
Standing at the edge of the plateau, she looked down, a twenty feet fall, awaited her one side; on the other side, the giant mole approached with saliva seeping out of its mouth.
A dozen broken bones, or that over-grown—filthy!—rodent, she reckoned.
Her body smarting under the toll of over-exertion had become sore all over, while her sprain only worsened with each subsequent movement. Her heart raced as the noxious tongue of the mole neared her and her sister.
Inching back, she weighed her options, but the mole would not allow her more time; it opened its snout and revealed dozens of sharp-incisors coated in dirt and blood. Its foul reek assaulted the older sibling's senses—revolting her beyond words.
Without sparing a second more, she placed her sister on her stomach, and jumped down.
The fall though not deep enough to prove fatal, was also not shallow enough that they could escape unscathed. Landfall arrived very soon. Tightly holding her sister, the older sibling braced for the impact.
However, it never came—or as forcefully as she had expected. Instead all she heard was a subdued squish sound, and all she felt was a sticky, slimy goo on her back. The vine encasing containing the four fruit pouches had cushioned much of the impact, saving the siblings from a dire outcome.
The older sibling took long breaths. She had almost relaxed herself when the ground shook, and a figure more than twelve feet large appeared. Raising her head, she took a glance, The mole!
The giant mole had arrived. Relentlessly hounding its prey, it had plunged down the cliff, landing only a few meters away from the siblings. Whiffing its surrounding, the mole again approached the sibling, while producing low snorts, as though expressing its anger—or perhaps, amusement.
The older sibling, however, was too worn out to move even a muscle; she tried to lift her legs, but apart from minor twitches, they did not respond. The mole now loomed directly above her, its drool dribbling mere inches away from her.
Rolling her sister away, she closed her eyes and prepared herself for an imminent death. Sorry, Pipsqueak. I won't be able to save you, if I am not enough to sate its hunger.
Sniffing around a few times, the mole silently climbed back and returned to the embrace of Cinderglaze.
When the older sibling opened her eyes, there was nobody around her, except her sister.
Dragging herself to her unconscious sister, she wrapped herself around her and finally let the weight of today's event crush her.
Tears came freely as she began to cry, her sobs drowned only by the whisper of her mother's voice still echoing fresh in her memory: Mommy loves you... now and always.
"Me too, mum," she murmured. "I love you too."
Then, at last, she drifted into a much deserved slumber.
The older sibling had no idea why the mole left. But she was grateful that it had.
In reality, it was her sacrificial act itself that had saved their lives. Because when she rolled her sister away from the danger, she unknowingly applied a thick layer of fruit paste on the back of her sister's neck. This closed off the faint scent of blood the mole had been tracking.
Which atmosphere felt more immersive during their struggle to survive?
