Sean gripped the rope hard, his muscles pulled taut like steel cables. He fought against the void threatening to swallow Evelyn whole. The wooden plank beneath his boots rocked dangerously, ready to give way under their combined weight.
Evelyn dangled two meters below, the rough rope digging into her waist, her breath coming in broken gasps that pounded in her chest. Every tiny movement tightened the strain on the line, which seemed to thin under the pressure. The wind whipped across her face, mingling with her tears. Beneath her, the abyss gaped open like a black maw.
Exhausted, she clung to the rope with desperate fingers, craving even a second of relief from the crushing pressure.
Sweat dripped down Sean’s forehead. His vision blurred, but letting go wasn’t an option. Hold on! he thought, not to Evelyn, but to himself. His muscles screamed, yet his will refused to break.
A sudden tremor through the boards made him turn. Brenda was coming toward them in long, determined strides, her boots pounding on the unstable wood that groaned under every step.
Just when despair was about to crush him, she stepped in.
Together, one last, grueling effort, they hauled Evelyn up, tearing her away from the abyss.
Once they reached the riverbank, they collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, their bodies still trembling from the adrenaline. Evelyn pushed herself up with effort and looked at Brenda.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Without you…”
Then she turned to Sean. His face was tight, his chest still heaving. In his eyes, beyond the fear, something new had taken root: inner strength.
“You faced your nightmare,” she said softly. “And you beat it.”
That trial had changed them. The danger wasn’t over, but now they knew one thing: together, they could face anything.
They moved on through the dark labyrinth. The faint glow of their torches guided them beneath thick canopies that swallowed the moonlight. The forest pulsed with eerie sounds, shrill cries, the flap of unseen wings, restless rustling in the undergrowth. Each step took them deeper, where every turn might be hiding a threat.
“I can’t wait to get out of this damn jungle!” Evelyn burst out, her breath short with growing frustration. More than once she’d nearly screamed, mistaking a vine for a lurking snake. “Damn it, you can’t see a thing in here! This adventure is draining me dry. I just hope all these bad sensations are just… paranoia.”
Brenda let out a huff, staring into the darkness. “Stifling, huh? Come on, we can’t just hang around keeping the bats company.”
The forest felt endless. Every step dragged them deeper into a realm suspended in time. Their sticks were a flimsy defense against real dangers, and the tension thickened with each passing moment.
Evelyn felt crushed by the anxiety of the third trial, while Sean and Brenda, more focused than frightened, ducked under branches and vines tangled in the dense undergrowth. Humidity dripped from the leaves, soaking their clothes with every move.
“This is a nightmare!” Evelyn snapped, her voice taut with nerves. “Are we ever going to get out of this damned jungle?”
No one answered.
“Lucky you,” she muttered bitterly. “You already faced your fears. Now it’s my turn. Can’t wait.”
Sean and Brenda didn’t say it out loud, but they were exhausted too, and desperate to leave the forest behind. They both knew the third trial wouldn’t test just Evelyn. It would test them all.
“Maybe we should check the map,” Sean said, crouching down. Brenda joined him, holding the torch steady, while Evelyn stood back, watching.
“Well, my brave ladies…” he said, weariness clouding his eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, we’re about a hundred meters from the finish line.”
“You’re right!” Evelyn exclaimed. “Even though… I can’t see a damn thing that way.”
“We’ll make it,” Brenda added, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
They started walking again. The light seemed closer now, and with it, the promise of answers.
The vegetation thinned. Moonlight filtered through the branches, casting silvery reflections. The air grew surreal, as if the forest itself were drawing back to reveal something ancient.
“We’re getting close,” Sean said, lowering his voice but keeping that steady edge of authority. “Stay sharp. We still don’t know what’s waiting for us.”
Pushing through the last bushes, they reached the edge of the woods.
Before them rose a breathtaking structure. A wide moat enclosed a perfectly circular area, and at its center stood five menhirs, stone monoliths smoothed by time, reaching toward the sky like eternal sentinels.
In the middle, two massive dolmens supported a flat stone slab, an altar from another age. The place radiated a solemn, almost sacred energy.
Evelyn froze. Her eyes widened in awe.
“It’s incredible… This is the place from my dream. It’s all coming back to me now.”
A new determination lit up Evelyn’s eyes. At first, there had only been fragments, flashes of light, vague shapes, a haunting sense of déjà vu. But then, like puzzle pieces snapping into place, everything aligned. Evelyn furrowed her brow, and understood.
“I know how to lower the drawbridge. And I know what the bow and arrows are for.”
Sean and Brenda stared at her, hanging on every word. This wasn’t just an adventure anymore. It was destiny taking form.
“This place is a portal. And under that smaller dolmen…” She pointed decisively. “That’s where the Moon Pendant should be.”
Brenda tried to hold back her excitement, but her face lit up anyway.
“We’re almost there, and we’ve actually got a plan! Go on, tell us everything, while I take a quick nap…”
She flopped down on the grass, followed by Sean.
“And you?” he asked Evelyn. “Aren’t you gonna rest a little?”
She shook her head. “This view… it helps me remember.”
“Let her be, Sean,” Brenda said with a laugh. “If I were ten years younger, I’d do the same thing!”
“Now come on, tell us about the dream.”
Evelyn nodded, her gaze fixed on the menhirs.
“The drawbridge… it’s fixed on one side, and the chains are connected to a winch. In my dream, I saw it clearly— if you hit a specific spot, something triggers… and the bridge just drops.”
She paused, brushing her fingers along her arm as if trying to summon the memory back into her body.
“I hit the center of the winch with an arrow. It felt natural—like I’d done it a thousand times before. And yet… the idea that everything depends on a single shot still unsettles me.”
A tense silence fell. Evelyn didn’t mention the rest. Something darker lingered in her mind, a fragment struggling to surface.
“That’s it? You don’t remember what happened after?” Sean asked, catching the hesitation in her voice.
Evelyn narrowed her eyes.
“There was someone lying on the smaller dolmen. I wasn’t alone.”
Brenda froze. “Can you remember who it was?”
Evelyn’s eyes grew distant, clouded.
“Wait… I can see her…” she whispered, her throat tight. She turned abruptly, her face pale as chalk. A sudden chill clamped down on her chest.
Then, a scream tore through the night.
Brenda’s cry froze them all.
For a heartbeat, no one moved. No one even breathed.
“Brenda!” Sean shouted, jumping to his feet.
She stood motionless, her breath coming in ragged bursts, eyes locked on his, searching for salvation that might not exist.
At her feet, in the tall grass, something shifted.
A viper, arm-length, grayish-brown scales, a zigzag stripe down its back. It slithered away with unnerving calm, no hurry at all. The venom had already done its work. It vanished into the bushes, leaving behind only a deathly silence.
Brenda touched her neck, where two tiny punctures were swelling fast. Her glassy eyes found Sean’s.
“It bit me…” she whispered.
He was beside her in an instant, slipping an arm around her shoulders.
“Brenda, stay calm…”
She swayed slightly.
“No… stay with me! Please!” he murmured, pulling her close.
A violent shiver ran through her body from head to toe.
The poison spread fast, like a shadow racing through her veins.
“My heart… it’s racing…” Brenda gasped, her fingers clutching at Sean’s shirt.
Evelyn stood frozen. The snake. Her worst nightmare.
“We have to do something! Now!” Sean shouted.
Evelyn fumbled through her bag with trembling hands.
“I don’t… I don’t know what I’m looking for…”
Her fingers moved blindly, her mind lagging behind the panic.
Brenda gripped Sean’s hand tightly. “Don’t leave me…”
Her eyes fluttered shut for a second. When they opened again, they were looking somewhere else, toward a world only she could see.
✦✧✦✧✦ 𝓛𝓮𝔂𝓵𝓪 ✧✦✧✦✧
Just when destiny seemed within reach, a silent threat strikes from the grass. The poison is spreading fast, and every second counts. Will Evelyn and Sean manage to save her before it’s too late?
Keep following the saga awarded with the prestigious FIRST PRIZE GERUNDO FANTASY. Drop your theories in the comments and let me know what you think will happen next! 👇💔
Rispondi