Ancient Forest (1X1)

Lauren jumped to her feet calling after him but John put his hand on her arm to stop her from going after him. "We need to go now."

She hesitates then nods slightly.

Everyone soon had their packs ready. " he's just a boy...we can't just leave him..." Lauren was saying but Kevin shakes his head. "If we go chasing him, we'll get lost and get picked off one by one out there. All we can do is alert the tribe. Maybe they know who he is and can help."
 
He ran straight to his brothers and told them, almost frantically, that their targets were packing up and getting ready to leave. As soon as they heard, they started heading back towards the camp, just in time to see them with their packs ready and about to leave. The brothers had never been off the territory before, but they couldn't let their meal slip away. The eldest brother quickly grabbed the hand of the youngest, which just so happened to be 'Chris,' and started walking towards them.

"Excuse me. Are you the ones who helped my little brother here?" He spoke calmly, trying not to seem threatening, but he would have to find some way to convince them to stay.
 
Everyone stopped instantly as they heard the new voice. Lauren was relieved to see Chris and found that he was with another.

Kevin was instantly on guard as was John.

It was Sarah though who stepped around the protective men and to the brothers. "Yes. We are glad he found you. We were about to go to the tribe and see about getting help finding you and him."

John touches Sarah's arm gently. "Now that he has found you, we should get back. "

Sarah looks to the ruins. She hadnt gotten as many pictures as she had hoped but John tugged her arm again.
 
"Where do you plan to go?" The older brother asked, still as calm as he could be. "While I appreciate that your first intention was to tell someone about my brother and I being separated, now that you know we've found each other what will you do?"
 
Sarah hesitated to answer but before she could Kevin spoke up. "We'll probably head back to town. The tribe only gave us the one night out here."

John was forced to let go of Sarah as she pulled her arm free. "I'm staying one more night. I haven't gotten enough pictures and I've waited to get here since I was a child. "

John narrowed his eyes at her but could see he wasn't going to win. He sighs and nods. "One more night but no more running off on your own."
 
The older brother could be seen brightening up a little at this, trying to figure out how to ask his next question without sounding suspicious. "Do any of you plan to stay with her or will you be letting her stay by herself?"
 
John was suspicious as was Kevin. Both men eye the older brother a little. "We'll both stay with her."

Zack clears his throat a little. "If it's okay with all of you, Lauren and I are gonna head back. We have early classes starting in a few days. "

Sarah smiles and nods a bit. "Be careful. "

John wasn't happy about this at all but nodded in agreement.
 
The older brother gave a small nod, then turned to the younger and whispered something that made Chris laugh softly. The two then turned and started back towards the woods, seeming to disappear almost as soon as they got to the trees. Now they had one more night to get three targets. They could only hope things didn't try to backfire again.
 
Zack and Lauren say their goodbyes before they gather their stuff and leave.

John looks to Sarah. "You get your pictures and then we are leaving first thing in the morning."

She looks at him. "Those ruins hold the secrets to this place. I'm not leaving until I get all of my pictures." She retorted and went back to the waters edge as she fills her canteen.
 
The two brothers returned to the others hiding in the woods, and the eldest began going through the new plan with them. Since interaction and social or emotional manipulation didn't seem to work, it'd probably be better to simply strike by night. After the remaining campers went to sleep, they planned to sneak into the campsite, surround the area so they couldn't escape, then they'd finally get their meal of souls. Only three would have to go in, leaving the other three to keep anyone trying to run from escaping.
 
Kevin and John were talking amongst themselves as Sarah got her camera ready to use.

She knew they were mad at her but she wasn't leaving. She grew up with her parents talking about this place. She had finally made it here.

Once her camera was set, she starts to walk over towards the ruins.

John sighs and shakes his head before yelling for her to stay where they could see her.

She makes a face at him then heads to the ruins.
 
The six brothers stayed nearby, just waiting for their chance to strike. They sent the second youngest, their usual lookout, to keep an eye on them while the others prepared. They had one more shot at making those campers into a meal fit for a demon, and they were not going to waste it. This had to be foolproof.
 
Sarah spent a few hours getting the pictures she needed. John and Kevin stayed near by as they got fire wood and food made.

Once it started to grow dark again though, Kevin went and got Sarah. She was reluctant but went back to the camp. They all ate before John says. "We'll leave at first light. No arguing this time. "

Sarah sighs and nods. "Fine." She goes to her own tent and curls up in her sleeping bag. The men do the same.
 
A few minutes after the campers head into their tent, the lookout starts towards his brothers to let them know they were headed to sleep. With that, the brothers began to surround the camp, three of them stepping forward after a minute. The chosen few were the oldest and the two John and Kevin had encountered in the woods earlier. They allowed a part of their human disguise to fall, then as quietly as they could, snuck into the tent, each one aiming for a separate person.
 
The two men were sleeping deeply as they usually do. One had even started snoring.

Sarah had stirred a little in her sleep. With a grimace, she opened her eyes as she sits up a little.

She rubs her eyes a little then tenses sharply as she saw a figure standing over her. She screams which woke the men.
 
Each would awake to one of the demon brothers facing down at them, now with leathery wings on their backs. Sarah was faced off with the oldest, dressed in red just like earlier today and his wings blood red as well. Kevin found the boy in green, and John saw the boy in purple. The oldest quickly covered Sarah's mouth and pushed her head back onto the pillow in the sleeping bag. "We've been starving for such a long time. Now that a perfect meal for us has finally shown up, we won't allow it to just slip out our grasp."

With that, the demons bit into their targets' necks, and each of the campers would begin to feel a tug at their chest.. no, inside their chest, as if something inside them were trying to be pulled out. However the pull was lightest on Sarah for some reason. As the two 'twin' younger brothers were prying at the men's souls to try and make a meal of it, gulping down whatever they got as if they were drinking water, the eldest seemed to be having second thoughts. While he was sure his brothers were distracted, he sat up and folded his wings in, hiding them once more.

He looked down at Sarah, red eyes glowing for just a second as he tried to figure out what to do. Once the two men beside her were pale and unconscious, presumably dead by the looks of it, he looked back down at her and said one simple thing. "Run.." The younger brothers stepped out of the tent, leaving just the eldest and Sarah. Then he spoke more, seeming to try and hold himself back from attacking her again. "There is something special about you, I can tell. I can't bring myself to devour a soul like yours.. run back to your home, to your remaining friends. My brothers are outside, don't let them stop you. Just run back home, don't come back here for any reason. ... I hope someday you will be able to forgive my cruel decisions." With that, he stepped out of the tent, planning to try and get his brothers to clear out before Sarah emerged, if she took his advice.
 
Sarah felt panic flood her as she was pushed back down. She felt the pain in her neck and tried to struggle but there was nothing she could do.

When he released her though, she stared at the older brother. Run? He was letting her go?

She trembled as he left her there for a moment. Then she looks to Kevin and John. Tears fill her eyes as she stared at them.

Then gathering her strength she got up and took off out the tent quickly. She just ran, ran as fast as she could. She wasn't aware that she had lost her pendant necklace or that she had left her camera behind. She just wanted out of there.
 
As she was running out, the older brother could be seen getting the others to back off, and he watched her run off, his brothers quickly gathering around him.

The second oldest soon turned to his brother, seeming a little confused. "Red, why did you let her go? We've been waiting for this opportunity for years."

"I know, but... well, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It just didn't seem right."

"You think only two people is gonna be enough to keep us filled?"

"Yes. We've had to last on just one person before, two people will be fine. It just didn't seem right to take her soul, so I decided not to. And even if you guys don't like it, it's too late to take it back now."
 
Sarah had kept running until she couldn't run any more. Her legs gave out finally and she curled up where she fell. She laid there for hours.

It was the tribes people who found her. They took her back to their village and treated her wounds.

When she woke, the chief was watching her. They would have to send her back. It was clear she had gotten away but he was uncertain if the spirits would be angry or not. He couldn't risk that on his people.
 
A couple of the brothers were upset with the eldest's decision, but no one said anything. He was right, even though they didn't like it, it couldn't be taken back. Though even Red doubted himself, as soon as they returned back to their usual area he was pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what to do if she did come back, for any reason. His brothers would kill her on sight if she did, and wouldn't show any remorse like he did.

Meanwhile, the brothers started taking down the tent left behind, and of course hiding the bodies of the two men they had killed. While they searched the camp for anything useful, the boy in green pocketed Sarah's pendant necklace. He had already been planning to try and find her, maybe the necklace would help lead him to her.
 
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