TCoE: A Widow’s Hunt
A Short Story of The Chronicles of Enchantments
A tan man stumbled through the dark forest, his brown gaze vast with fear as he caught sight of multiple glistening pairs of eyes throughout the shadows surrounding him. He panted as he frantically scrambled through the undergrowth, crashing through plants and thorns, ripping open his skin to draw blood from within his veins.
His heart pounded against his chest as he whipped his head around, praying for a sign of escaping the legendary woodland. He frowned as he caught the sound of a strange voice singing; his blood ran cold. The full moon shone brightly in the cloudy sky as he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Goosebumps rose along his skin as he slowly trudged on, blood roaring in his ears.
The woman's singing curtly stopped when he cracked a small twig under his boot. He gasped as he scanned his surroundings. The loud cries of various insects and nocturnal critters suddenly cut short. He froze as he felt his skin burning. The glowing gazes vanished, and he believed he was alone.
His heartbeat slowed as the thumping echoed throughout his fear-gripped body.
"Are you lost?" a young woman's voice called. He slowly turned to see a beautiful woman with long black hair, dark skin, and shimmering brown eyes. She gradually stepped closer, her movements so graceful she seemed to float toward him.
"Am I within the Periat Aminas?" he questioned, his anxiety rising.
She frowned as she lowered her head. "I'm afraid so… this is where lost souls come… now, here you are," she paused as she locked her gaze on him. "What were you running from to become lost?"
The man sighed as he shook his head. "A pack of werewolves, I think they're former Sithtoren; they've been hunting me ever since I left the desert… I can't believe they chased me here… I've only heard stories about this place…"
The woman smirked as she walked a circle around him. "You were already lost in other ways before now…"
Abruptly she vanished, and he was alone again - or so he thought.
A woman's voice called out for him, "Wayne!" Wayne's skin burned as he felt like something was watching him. He spun around, glaring into the darkness. The man's brows furrowed as he narrowed his gaze, trying to see the source.
"If you want to stop feeling so lost and find yourself again in the world beyond, you'll have to stop allowing yourself to fall further into self-pity. You need to breathe and focus," she advised, her voice had a strange calming caress that seemed to draw Wayne into a trance. His brown eyes glossed over as his head started to spin.
His feet began to push on, carrying his body closer and closer toward the voice. The woman continued to call his name, and soon she started to sing. Her beautiful cords matched with the symphony of a harp commenced to put him to sleep as he walked. His eyelids grew heavy as he struggled to blink away the sudden fatigue. He stumbled on, finding himself near a cave.
"Wait, this can't be right," he thought to himself. "Stop! Turn around, idiot!" he spat. "Oh, my gods… I can't feel my legs… What is happening to me?" Wayne's mind raced as his feet strolled into a tunnel within a corner of the cave. "Stop! Turn around!"
No matter how much he screamed to himself, his body was no longer in his control. Utter terror surged through his veins as he started to feel sticky material cling to his body.
"Help me!" the woman's voice screamed. "Please, Wayne, hurry!"
As he continued to walk forward, soon, a cavern full of glowing moss opened up before him. Water dripped from the ceiling. Wayne's brown eyes widened in sheer fear as his heart stopped. Webs covered the cave from top to bottom. Skeletons and corpses hung around him, suspended in the white tacky substance.
His heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of a woman's silhouette crying in the corner. His heart slammed against his chest as he crept closer. As he reached out to touch her shoulder, his pulse roared in his ears.
As soon as he touched her, she stopped crying. Within a heartbeat, the woman turned to face him. His jaw dropped. Two large eyes centered on her face were purple and surrounded by smaller eyes. A snake-like tongue slipped out from behind her four long fangs as she sprang upon her eight powerful legs. Her spider-like body rose from the shadowy ground and sent chills down Wayne's spine. She bared her four fangs as she circled him. Before he could flee, her stringer penetrated his back.
He groaned as his muscles burned. As he struggled to trudge through the thick webs, she leisurely followed him, a smirk stretched across her lips. Her long black hair dangled from her head as she toyed with him by crawling on the ceiling above him.
"Please!" he begged as he commenced to hallucinate. "Please, I just…." Wayne's eyes started to darken. His heart slowed as he grew weaker. "I just want to go home," he grumbled as he fought to press on. As he reached the end of the tunnel and returned to the cave, he caught a glimpse of moonlight shimmering against a small pool on the edge of the rock. He cried as he thought he felt and saw scorpions crawling over his skin. He screamed as he crashed to his knees. Wayne tried to shake and brush off the imaginary beasts as he scrambled to the water's edge.
Once he reached the water, his heart sank as he caught sight of the reflection on the water's surface. Hanging above his head was the Cornicapus Widow; her demented smile haunted him as she took her time playing with his head. He frowned as he watched her reach out toward him with her arms. He flipped over to confront her as her hands touched his face. His body froze as her poison took effect. She gradually kissed his lips as he blacked out. Abruptly, Wayne succumbed to the venom as he fell into the abyss of fears that plagued her prey.
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Originally published here.
About the Creator
Mel E. Furnish
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More stories from Mel E. Furnish and writers in Fiction and other communities.
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Comments (1)
Hey Mel, I just finished reading your story and I have to say, it really kept me on the edge of my seat! The way you described Wayne's fear and panic as he wandered through the dark forest and encountered the werewolves was so vivid, it felt like I was right there with him. And when the mysterious woman appeared, I was even more intrigued - I couldn't wait to find out what her true intentions were. However, I did find the twist ending with the spider-like creature to be a bit sudden and disjointed from the rest of the narrative. I also had a hard time picturing the creature, which made it difficult to fully appreciate the scene. And while the resolution with the imaginary scorpions was interesting, it did feel a bit rushed and unsatisfying. Overall, I thought your story was really well-written and suspenseful. I think with a bit more development and description in the ending, it could be even stronger. Thanks for sharing it with me, and if you're interested, I also wrote my own take on this challenge - you can check it out here: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-abyssal-harbinger.