A Mother of Hunger

It didn’t take long for a wailing screech to pollute the sky above us. I was tempted to put my hands over my ears in an attempt to blot out the horrible sound, but I kept my daggers held close instead for whatever may come.

From our left, several ball-shaped monsters were slowly consuming the grey scene. Their long tongues would wrap around whatever they came across and pull it into the black abyss of their mouths. Bushes and foliage we’re sucked in, and trees became uprooted as they were swallowed whole.

The world itself seemed to cry as it was slowly being ripped apart.

“Not good,” Orrin said as he looked to the few hungers who consumed the grey woods. “We need to get back to the others before things get too crazy.”

This wasn’t ‘too crazy’?

The trees gave way to a canyon with a narrow rope bridge. Orrin took the lead and carefully began to tiptoe across. The wood structure seemed liable to fall off at any moment, but I followed after without second thought.

We were about halfway across when the wail rang again across the grey sky. Heavy footsteps began to shake everything, including the bridge. Orrin and I both turned. The canyon stretched a good distance until it ended in a sharp cliff. A world lake lay beyond, with a long stretch of grey grass in between. The river that fed the lake ran through the canyon and under our feet.

A shadow first crept in from the side of the canyon wall, but soon the whole opening was blocked as the monster walked by. It must have been taller than any building I had ever stood at the base of—not even the palaces in my dreams could match the beast in scale. It stood on four legs, with a head and tail that most closely resembled a wolf, though the comparison was a far cry from the actual creature.

The body itself was the most disturbing part of all. The creature had no fur or skin or features to make out. The surface was simply a collection of what the smaller beings had eaten, and where it all went suddenly made sense. I saw grey trees and foliage flow across its body like many rivers running next to each other. The source I could not see, but all would flow down to the stomach where they would be sucked below the surface, presumably never to be seen again.

In addition to the things in the grey world, I could also make out wood from buildings, weapons, armor from fighters, and a great many other items from the world the monster had just come from. And mixed in with all the collection of objects and goods, I could make out hands, feet, and the occasional head. They all squirmed just enough to show that they were still alive before reaching the end and getting absorbed deeper into the beast.

I shuddered as the giant creature turned its head in our direction. Its jaw opened, and as it wailed, the smaller four-tongued creatures flew out from the mouth straight at us. My feet shifted, but the rope bridge gave me little support to flee quickly.

Orrin suddenly grabbed my arm. Before I could respond, he threw me over the rest of the bridge to the other side. I had hardly any time to ponder where his burst of strength came from as I landed and rolled in the grey dirt.

I turned my head to him. A happy smile painted his face, and he posed with a thumbs-up. Behind him, the hungers we saw in the woods began to cross the bridge.

My mouth opened to let out a cry, but the hungers that the mother had fired like cannonballs crashed into the weak bridge at that moment. I stumbled forward and looked over the edge just in time to see the monsters fall into the river below. Orrin landed in a narrow patch of grass on the side like he was some kind of cat.

“Keep going; I’ll catch up!” he shouted before running away from three hungers who had escaped the river as well.

“Maybe, he’ll get eaten,” Azul said. I couldn’t tell if the dragon was joking or serious, but it didn’t matter for the moment.

In the distance, I could see several flares shining brightly over the grey trees. The others had also encountered the beasts and were likely hard at the battle. I focused on the closest light and began my charge through the woods.