It was something about the way I screamed.

It's what they told me when they found me.

Something about my screams was attractive and lured those close by.

Shiloh told me it was such a sad and desperate cry that reminded those of a young child lost in her own suffering. My screams begged for a savior, displaying the innocence of a child.

Adrien told me it was the cry of prey. Weak. Pitiful. Cornered.

Gideon only smiled. He told me that my scream was taunting. Desperate and luring. He claimed I was a master of manipulation, luring those who pity the scream to draw near before I could strike. He told me I was a naughty little girl for using my gifts like that.

Whatever the case was, whether it was innocent, weak, or manipulative, my screams did draw other monsters near.

Whatever lurked within the nightmare trees were drawn to the sounds of my screams.

This was a problem.

The monster that chased me through the slanted trees wasn't a Masser. They called it a Shadow. No one had truly seen one before until I lured it out on accident. It lurks in the shadows and remains hidden until its prey is cornered or tired. I didn't outrun the Shadow, no, the only reason why I lived was because I broke a branch of one of the trees.

A word of advice, never break the trees.

〰✷〰

I run as fast as my tiny legs can carry me, forgetting all about my exhaustion. I race through the strange slanted trees, ducking under the low branches and kicking through thick bushes. My breaths come in short gasps as my head aches lack of oxygen and constant stress. I fear that it's the shock that will kill me.

The monster of the slanted trees is flying behind me. It's dark edges blurring into the grey realm of the forest with elongated arms. The only image that comes to mind when describing it is Slenderman. Except this monster wears no suit with a shadowed face. It weaves through the trees expertly and silently which makes my panic levels skyrocket. How many monsters are there?! Where am I? What is this place? Did I fall into some kind of nightmare realm?

I barely noticed the trees changing shape and kept running. They grew thicker and stood straighter. Knobs form on the trees like warts or boils as the bark begins to fade to an odd yellow color. The gnarled branches fatten and twist awkwardly above my head. My nose begins to run causing me to sniffle loudly and keep running. My chest tight from running for so long as my breath becomes even shorter.

I run deeper into the new forest of fat trees as my breath is continually stolen away. My head dizzy and I begin to feel nauseous but I keep running. I glance back fearfully to see the monster beginning to have a hard time moving around the trees like a ghost. I wipe my mouth realizing I was drooling. I swallow it back trying to ignore it but as I keep running, my body continues to wear down on me.

A low lying branch is up ahead and I get ready to duck. I burst forward and whip my hand up to give myself more room. The branch cracks like brittle and suddenly it's raining yellow dust. I speed forward from out of the strange cloud of thick powder, frantically wiping it off me as my eyes water and nose runs faster. I cough loudly and shake my head trying to keep going but vomit is rising up my throat. I gag slapping my hand over my mouth, powder still flying off of me.

I look back fearfully only to be relieved, for once. The monster is caught up in the acid yellow powder, flailing and-, I grimace as I see some kind of liquid flying from its body. Still silent as the grave even as it jerks violently. I turn my head and keep running struggling to keep my stomach under control. I wince as my skin begins to tingle and sting. I quickly brush off the remaining dust but to my horror, I find red marks all over my arms like I've been lightly burned.

A blunt force rams into my side taking me by complete surprise. I shriek and hit the ground with a loud thud, skidding for a moment. I cry out as twigs stab into my arms and body and look up blindly, my face beginning to sting. My eyes widen in horror.

Standing over me with a looming figure is Gideon.

He glares at me with murder in his eyes. His golden knife glinting in the odd grey light. Gideon's thick hair is coated with sweat with a black mask covering the bottom half of his face. I gasp and shrink back, eyeing his knife fearfully. Now I've done it. He's definitely going to kill me now.

Gideon's golden eyes flick over me before widening, "Is that...?" he asks slowly, beginning to look more shocked than furious.

I scan my tiny body and shrug, "I-It came from the tree..." I look back scared I'll see the monster chasing after me again. But all I see is the forest of gnarled trees. "It was like-, like yellow powder... I hit a branch and it kinda exploded on me. But the monster... I think it got him."

"Monster?" Gideon asks curiously, spinning his knife.

I eye it for a moment. Then I nod, "Yeah. It was... tall... It kinda looked like a shadow... It blended with the slanted trees... I've never seen anything like it."

His eyes suddenly widen. "A Shadow?" he asks, fear clear in his eyes.

My heart rate skyrockets from the fear on Gideon's face. "What's a Shadow?"
Suddenly, he's grabbing my arm and yanking me to my feet, glancing back nervously, "We have to get out of here. It won't be distracted for much longer."

"What's a Shadow?" I repeat worriedly. I wince as his leather gloved hand tightens causing my new burns to sting worse. He doesn't notice my wincing but he does look down at me, beginning to run back the way he came.

"It's rare, dangerous, and stronger than I am so let's get out of here," he orders before taking off. I yelp as he nearly rips my arm from my socket as I struggle to keep up with his sprint. Already exhausted and nauseous, I start to drag my feet despite my desperate urging to run faster. I gasp loudly as I stumble, wincing as he continues to drag me alongside him, "Wait!" I wheeze as I try to run, "I-I can't! I'm trying but-!"

"Run or die where you stand," he growls harshly, "It's your choice, Eve."

My heart aches from running, "I'm-" gasp "trying!" My lungs make a painful wheezing sound which catches his attention. Gideon slows for a moment, still scanning around him before stopping completely. He whips around as he shoves his knife into its holder attached to his belt. I quickly wipe at my watery eyes confused why I would be crying right now. Yes, I'm terrified but I'm not one to cry from fear. I watch my hands confusedly for a moment before looking up at Gideon hoping for some kind of explanation.

"The tree. It's the powder in your eyes and the gas in the air," he finally answers as he begins to walk towards me. Out of self-preservation, I begin to back up knowing very well that he wants to kill me. He could try killing me now to get away himself and blame it on the monster. Say he was too late. I'm not taking any chance.

He gives me a weird look, "What?"

I frown at him putting my hand up to stop him. "Don't come any closer without telling me why," I answered sternly. He sniffles beginning to wipe his nose with his sleeve, "We don't have a lot of time," he growls in a threatening voice, "if you want to get out of here, I suggest you stop being weird."

"I know you want to kill me and that you are crazy," I snap, "I'm not stupid! You said it yourself!"

He grins, "Smart girl."

Suddenly, he's scooping me up in his arms like a child. I yelp but his hand slaps over my mouth giving me a cold look. "Scream and the Shadow will find us faster," he hisses. I stare up at him in fear praying he doesn't try to crush me again. But he doesn't. Instead, he turns back to his path and starts running. I bounce in his arms, my head hitting his chest occasionally. His hand drops from my mouth leaving me with the taste of old leather. His black cloak is thick but rough so it scratches against my cheek.

I struggle to catch my breath wanting to get out of his arms as fast as possible because it didn't go so well last time. I bring my knees closer to my chest watching as Tressa's old dress flies in the wind like the remains of a ghost. I shudder as I remember that Tressa is dead. Did they kill her? Was she like me?

"By the way," Gideon huffs as he continues to run. His hood now on his head making him look like a Reaper. "The trees are called Sarin Trees. They are filled to the brim with poison and used to make bombs. If you breathe in too much, your body goes nuts and starts spewing. In concentrated forms, it can give you some pretty bad burns and make you start puking your guts up so you got pretty lucky."

My eyes widen in horror as I remember what happened to the Shadow. "So... beware the trees?"

Gideon chuckles, flashing me an amused look. "Beware the trees."

I gulp as I blink quickly to push back the tears. I begin to discreetly wipe my face against Gideon's cloak to get the powder off my face. I don't think it helps, but the action helps me calm down. Oddly enough, I'm calmer than before. And relieved. Gideon finally answered one of my questions directly. I feel like I should be celebrating his straight and clear answer. I didn't think he could do it.

"Where are the others?" I ask realizing the others are nowhere to be found.

Gideon stares ahead for a moment, his face completely shadowed from the dim light and his thick hood. "Adrien stayed behind. Shiloh went another way but we'll run into him soon."

I nod at him. Then I look down at my child body only to feel a fresh wave of confusion and panic. "Am I...? Am I stuck like this?" I ask worriedly.

He shakes his head, "No. Adrien's working on more tonic to reverse it."

"Why am I younger?"

But this time he shrugs, "Adrien will explain better than me." Then he grins at me, "But to be honest, you are very cute like that, little Eve."

I watch him warily. "Was I cute when I punched you in the face?"

He bursts out laughing for a moment before silencing himself. He looks around for a moment before smiling warmly at me. "Yes, even then."

"What are you guys?" I ask, hoping his answering streak lasts for a moment longer.

But to my dismay, his eyes turn cold again and his face falling dark again. "Well, what do you think?"

I swallow nervously, unsettled by the sudden change of emotion. I avoid eye contact and stare down at the racing ground beneath me.

We aren't going extremely fast meaning he doesn't have some kind of super speed... he's able to hold me but I am smaller and he looks strong on his own... He looks human but lacks normal human features at the same time. He had to learn English meaning he has another language. They said they weren't human. Shiloh used to be human meaning a human can change into one. They said they kill people. They are from this strange forest. They magically aged but so did I which may be the forest's fault.

They could be aliens and turned Shiloh into one. This place could be in another dimension or world. Or just beyond the forest in the place we have never ventured into. The vampire theory is fading because they-, well maybe they could because they kill people but the alien theory could still work. They could be supernatural creatures like ghosts or demons from another place which seems like the best theory now. But if they were, wouldn't they have powers of some kind?

I bite my lip, lost in thought of trying to figure out the mystery. "Um... I'm not sure... many things could work."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

I watch his sly smirk beginning to recognize the signs. If I guess he'll probably... well, I'm not sure what he'd do. But that's the point. He's unpredictable. Who knows what Gideon will come up with in that crazy head of his. He could laugh it off and call me cute like he has before. Or threaten me again. Uneasy, I shake my head. "No, not yet. I don't know enough." And it's not like you'll ever tell me.

His smile deepens revealing small dimples. He continues to run effortlessly through the gnarled trees filled with poison. Then he chuckled softly with a slight nod of his head.

"Smart girl."

(This is a shorter chapter but I didn't want to drag it on just for the word count. What are your current opinions on Gideon? What do you think they are? I'd love to hear your theories to see how well I'm keeping up with the mystery~!)