A feeble sobbing pierced my deep slumber like an arrow, breaching through the darkness and scattering it. Fluttering my eyes open the sunlight blinded me slightly as a headache made my head throb.

I dreamed of a horrible nightmare, but as I open my eyes I froze. All was real. The single thing I manage to do was to look down at the boy from my lap, which was trembling and sobbing heavy, but for me was like a lullaby, plunging me back to my slumber.

Yves was gripping from my cloth as his face was drenched in tears, letting strands on his face, cleaning it from dirt. My body hurt like it was whirled by an invisible force but in an end I manage to lift my hand from the wet grass and caress his back. Yves suddenly freezes up and raises his head up staring straight into my eyes.

His eyes were red and puffy. A smile appeared on his face and made my heart race. He looked so innocent while his lips started to purse; he looked like a baby duck. "Natty, you woke up!" Yves suddenly shouted with happiness in his voice taking me off guard as he wraps his arms around me and starting to cry again.

"I was just resting," I let him know, feeling still tired; as I took a deep breath of the fresh air mixed with a fragrance of hay and sere leaves. The scent of soil was pregnant; as the decaying from underneath our bed of leaves we felt asleep, early in the dawn.

"But... Natty you wouldn't wake up!" Yves whispered to me, like he was afraid something will hear him. I stared at him puzzled unable to comprehend his words.

"What you mean?" I asked him as I took his angelic face between my palms and gave him a kiss on his forehead, like I always did with my brother, Emilian, each time I ease him during a stormy night.

"I called you, hit you with my fist, pulled from you, but you wouldn't open your eyes. You were so stiff and ghostly that I thought you died." Yves said all in one breath as his lips took a frown expression. His baby face made my heart break seeing him on the verge of crying again.

"I was just tired..." I trailed off feeling as well disturbed by what I heard.

Hearing my voice Yves nodded and sank his head in my neck, bawling his eyes making me to flinch feeling his warm tears and what I presume, snort, dripping down. "I'm so happy you're awake, I was so scared..." He said while he stood up suddenly in his feet and wiping his adorable baby face with both his hands spreading the mud and blood across all his face making me chuckle.

Glancing at him all of a sudden his appearance from toe to head starts to be painted in a shade of deep crimson as he gripped the dirty rag that monsters gave us to wear, as they send out clothes to our parents, proof they had us.

His eyes felt on my lap making me look down as well. A stained and bit yellowish was all over. The rug was still damp and I could only say an "oh", making Yves turn around and crouched playing nervously with some rocks.

"It happens," I told him trying to stand up noticing that upon my skin the cold breeze of a late summer didn't caressed me, only felt pain, as the wind of gust felt like pulling me back to the ground.

I smelled as pee, I was dirty, hungry and scared, but the last feeling I could not lay open to the boy in front of me. I was his pillar, I was the oldest. Yves started to let out some noises as his ears were similar like the red roses from our garden from back home. Closing my eyes I could picture them, dancing slowing in the wind, emanating a sweet perfume and me running between the flowers beds.

"I want mommy." Yves sad as he stood up and turned around having a pale complexion, he was whiter than normal. He waddling a bit as he approached me realizing as I touched his body he was burning.

"Yves!" 

Worried I shouted suddenly not knowing what to do. I opened my eyes for real this time and seeing before me a desolating landscape.

I was surrounded by a decaying nature. All looked like it was splattered in blood, while the vegetation looked like remains of flesh and organs. The canopy of the trees looked like was engulfed in a fire, as the soil was covered in a red rug but all was stiff, and not a single noise. A whisper only shallow I could hear from the back of my head, unable to understand it, was like galling my brain, touring apart.

I cringe biting my lower lip as faltering stood up and catching Yves frail body as he slipped on the wet soil underneath the layer of leaves and branches that wilted. "I got you." I could feel a sudden gust of heat penetrating my back, as someone was blowing hot steam toward me. I knew as the dusk will fall again upon this land we might not live to see tomorrow. The sky started to entwine the colors of the evening as the paleness of the moon started to show up.

A broad spectrum of colors started to make its appearing, making my blood to rush through my veins as a growl echoed in the deepest of the forest. A mass amount of adrenaline surged through my body making my heart to pump. The wan violet reminded me of Oliver dyeing strands from his hair, and the red threads that grazed the sky, reminded me of Yves marks from his body, that now took a purple bluish shade.

His breath hitched as his eyes rolled in the back of his head, becoming limp in my arms. "Yves!" I shout at him but no response. Fear takes over my body as With one push I released my body from it numbness and took him in a bride style and started to walk, fast away from the forest, feeling my shoulder itching heavy, like something wanted to pierce out through my flesh as I would had scratch.

As I walked further from the forest, my body, my wounds started to bleed out, to sting, to devour my power, but I could not afford to stay still. The light slowly started to pale down but my vision was clear still, ahead of me was a plain field and a sound of a river as the evening breeze at last gave me a caress I breathe at last.

"Yves we will rest a bit," I whisper to him as he opened his bloodshot eyes smiling gently. Turning back I realized the forest was now like a dot. "Wow, how fast I did walk?" I said more to me, but enough Yves to hear me.

"Natty, you're real fast since." I nodded biting my inner cheek as felt thirst and hunger and my body released all the strength I had. All felt heavy even to breath, my vision became clouded as black dots danced before me. A hazy silhouette appeared across the river as I felt in the dry grass, feeling my skin being pierced. Yves felt with a thud in front of me and I could only reach him to hold his feverish hand, as I gave my last breath, and all became dark.

Slowly my lids open and I'm surrounded by a dim light. A sensation of warmth riddles through me as my senses comes to life realizing that the dim light comes from a fireplace. Restless I try to stand up but a soft giggle stops me midway. With the corner of my left eyes I could see Yves faces illuminated by the flickering candle that was in front of him. His palm was around a glass of water and was sipping from it, as placed on a chair he played with his legs back and forth.

The woods cracked making me flinch and let out a slight gasp. "Hmm, seems your friend woke up also." I heard an angelic voice filled with tenderness and turned my head toward the door. In front of it was a woman, with a long black hair kept in a braid and on a side, she head beautiful olive features but I could not see her eyes, even in the diffuse light if the room each detail felt so vivid.

"Kill her!" Something barely audible echoed through the room making me hide under the blanket as I heard steps toward me. A hand caressed my back as he let out a sad sight.

"Poor child, I heard everything." She said as slowly I unveil myself staring in her eyes. They were filled of sadness. The fire reflected in them like a mirror and felt suddenly shivers on my back. She looked demonic. "I called help..." She says as starts to walk toward Yves singing a song. "You rest and I'll bath this little angel." She continues as helped Yves stand up holding him from his hand.

I nodded as I slid down facing the ceiling and observing the flames creating shades on it. "Who are you?" I asked her as she opened the door.

"I'm Ava." She flatly replied as the door with a creak shut down realizing that the room was similar to an old hospital at first glance. The walls were filled with dark greyish spots and chopped and the wind swirled through the windows cracks.

My eyes slowly closed pulling me back in a dreamless sleep only to be accompanied by the old clock from the wall. A whirl coming through the chimney sounded like a shout of despair, swallowing the fire and making me abruptly waking up as my shoulder started heavy to sting and a warm liquid glided toward my chest.

My mouth felt sealed as something felt moving in my shoulder, digging, reaping my flesh. My mouth was filled with a bitter taste and felt like a slime. I gasped for air as the room flickered fierce by the lightning's which captures the sky.

"Yves!!" I could only say noticing he wasn't around. My eyes lay on the clock, revealing that was bit beyond midnight. The glass was still in the same place and a unsettling feeling took shape in my guts, making me forget the pain.

As I stand up and walked toward the door and holding the knob, fear pulsated through me, as my heart went hectic.

The door open with a crack as the lights from the dirty and narrow flickered, creating an eerie vibe like the old horror movies. The darkness had a mysterious feeling that made my body froze.

I could smell blood with each steps until a voice echoed through the stale pipes. It was the same song she sang but the voice was of Yves, deep and sinister, losing its sweetness. Gulping I waked until a shriveled blue door. Inside old tubs were one after one aligned in a row as the faience looked like it will crumble in dust anytime.

It smelt at death as I wrinkled my nose.

Stepping thoroughly on the wet and cold marble; I followed the song until I entered in another room, which looked like showers and in middle a big tub. Approaching I noticed the color of the water dark and a garnet shade that made me slow hard. On the surface I could see Yves head dipped half way and I smiled relieved.

"Damn, silly you scared me," I said as I start to look after Ava noticing she is nowhere and realizing that when they left the room was near nine. "Yves?" An answer never came beside a snarl that gave me goosebumps

Getting closer I reached toward the water touching it. It was icy cold and retracted fast back but something pulled me back toward it. To touch it, to sink my hand in, until I felt something soft. Suddenly at the surface a black spot made by strands of hair came up making me gasp and make few steps back, unaware I touched the wall.

Yves snarled again and lifted his head toward me revealing something that made me lose once again the control of my bladder and feel my legs feeble. His lips were of a dark grey color, his face had a cadaver color and his skin was splitting like the soil in a dry season.

He stood up and his all body looked like it was made by a branches of black veins as his marks let the myth creature from the wood slithered under his skin. My body convulsed as he spit a piece of meat between my legs.

His smile had a sinister vibe as in one move he jumped on top of me, piercing my jaw with his fangs that came out through his cheeks, ripping my flesh, letting me in an agonized pain, yelling.

The tub shattered and our bodies were engulfed in a sea of blood and as well revealing the chopped body of Ava's.

Watching the corpse I suddenly became mused as the blood oozed between my fingers holding the flesh from my jaw as Yves, delve inside her body, feasting.