Chapter 5

When Chase felt the burning creep down his throat he thought it was already too late. But after a moment the searing pain vanished and was replaced by the raw sensation of flesh rubbing against flesh.

The intensity wasn't as strong as before but his entire throat felt like it had been stripped and exposed to the elements. Despite the change in sensation he still shovelled water into his mouth incessantly.

A minute later he stopped, taking deep gasping breaths. As if he had resurfaced from almost drowning.

He hadn't realised in the moment, but he had practically walked into the river up to his knees in his desperation. Chase walked back to the riverbank and sat down on the ground, hanging his head between his legs and trying to calm his breathing.

Every time he inhaled or exhaled too forcefully the burnt part of his throat, mouth and tongue started screaming at him to stop. Every gulp felt like swallowing needles and moving his tongue was a sin punishable by hellfire.

He closed his mouth for fear of what was inside. To hide it from Elie.

"Dad... Dad... Did it poison you?" She asked whilst holding onto his tunic with her little hands.

Chase thought of how he should respond but he dreaded the thought of speaking a word.

"Can you talk Daddy?"

He tried to respond but his mouth resisted his attempts.

Elie hugged his back, "If... If you can't, I... I... I'll talk for both of us." She stuttered.

Chase felt an intense helplessness, he used all his willpower to muster out two excruciating words.

"...Very ...spicy."

He stopped himself there as he felt like he would start coughing if he continued, his façade broken. Chase tried to gesture that he was ok but it seemed to be lost in translation. Elie kept staring at him with concern, swaying back and forth in unease whilst holding onto the edge of his shirt.

All he could do was give her a smile and thumbs up, to give the impression he was ok.

He tried to get back to working, but the pain in his throat made it difficult to focus on what he was doing. The more he thought about what had happened the more his heart sank. He wouldn't be able to recover without food, but the thought of even taking a bite made him break out into a cold sweat.

The rest of the evening went by wordlessly as they set up for the night by the riverbank. The cold night air stung as it made its way to his lungs.

The more he thought about it the worse it became, he wouldn't be able to eat solid food for at least a few weeks. If he factored in the risk of infection his chances weren't looking good.

He just wanted to go home, somewhere he could be fed soup and left to rest until he recovered. But the only piece of home he had brought with him was silently sleeping next to him.

Eventually Chase fell asleep.

A vague impression of his village formed in his mind, the wooden fences and clothes lines were clear in his mind

He wandered around his hometown with an air of wonder and excitement. The faint scent of cinnamon carried along by the breeze led him to the apothecary.

He felt he should treat himself today and bought some cinnamon along with a small pot of honey.

He carried his shopping home, waving at his neighbours along the way. When he got home, his two favourite people in the world were waiting for him. Elian had prepared 3 cups of warm milk that he dropped a single clove and a dollop of honey into.

It made him warm to his heart against the chilly morning breeze.

Their family gathering was interrupted by the goat bleating at them. Apparently there was someone in front of their door.

Chase opened the door only to find a familiar face. A slender young man with dark hair and an air of sophistication not found in the countryside.

"Hi, I just moved here. At the house by the Golden Mare. I thought I'd give a gift to break the ice."

It was at this point that Chase noticed that he didn't recognise this familiar face. Was there ever anyone like this in their village?

"Who are you?"

His fake smile grew wider, "What do you mean? This is the first time we've met."

"No, I'm sure I've seen you before."

The mystery young man's smile grew until it no longer resembled that of a person.

Elie tugged at his hand and spoke with the same voice he had heard from the young man. "How could you tell it was me?"

His heart jumped wildly in his chest as he tried to piece together what was happening.

Everything faded away from his vision and he was left flailing in the dark. He felt a hand grab his face, putting two fingers into his mouth. The fingers grew until whatever was crawling into him obviously didn't belong to a human. He tried to scream but all he could do was thrash around, he attempted to pull out whatever was in his mouth but couldn't find his hands. He felt it slowly crawling down his throat. It seemed to fill any nook and cranny it could find.

He spared no effort to make sound, but all that came out was deep muffled breathing, in and out from his nose. The fingers slowly made their way down his windpipe then wrapped back around, looking to exit from his sinuses. There was an intense burning sensation as something forcefully made its way out. Blocking his only remaining source of air.

He was bound, gagged and blind within his own mind, a slave to the every whim of the voice in his head.

The voice he heard was lower this time, more omnipresent, as if his mind couldn't comprehend anything but its words.

"Shhhh, shhhhh, be quiet now. We don't want you waking up just yet."

Chase felt something stroking his hair as if to calm a scared animal. The touch made him freeze in place.

"Good, good. Now listen closely. I won't repeat myself."

There was a faint breath against his ear, "You and your offspring have such sweet dreams. I enjoy them quite a bit. It would be a shame for either of you to die so soon."

The voice got even closer to his ear, he didn't do anything more than whisper, "You would be wise not to interrupt me when I am participating. Even if you notice, have some fun. Play along."

"Ahhh, when I think about what you will dream of I get so excited. I wish I could just live inside your head." There was the sensation of something moist licking the nape of his neck, as if trying to worm its way in through his ear.

Chase woke up in a cold sweat, his body trembling. He tried to take in a deep breath but couldn't.

He couldn't breathe.

That was when he noticed the vine that had snaked its way into his mouth, it had blocked his airway, suffocating him. He grabbed at it, pulling it out of his mouth and nose. The vine didn't resist and slowly slid out of his throat. Once he managed to get it all out he leaned out of the shelter and violently started to vomit.

Elie got up after hearing her father. In her sleepy confusion she thought that the poison was finally taking its toll. They had set up camp closer to the river this time and so she ran towards the river to grab some water. Elie turned back half way after remembering the cups she had made for them. She came back, offering her father a cup of water.

He took it and rinsed his mouth before spitting it out. His senses had finally returned to him and he looked to see his daughter gagging. The smell had been too much for her and she vomited alongside him. Chase almost wanted to cry until he began to laugh, he handed the cup back to get and instructed her on how to spit the vomit out.

They both went back to the river to wash their faces and clear up.

"Can you stay back for a minute, Elie." he said when they returned to the shelter.

He peered inside, the vine was still there just as he had left it. This time it hadn't grown bark and was still moist and green. The end of the vine that had been inside his mouth was completely different though. It was a sickly pale green and had little root-like hairs that came out of it from all directions.

The words that the voice spoke were still embedded into his mind. He was almost sure that whatever he saw was causing these things to grow. He walked towards the riverside and a strange numbness overcame him.

As usual he started fishing, without him even saying a word Elie started preparing a fire, when he came back with his catch. He started the fire and soon the aroma of fish they had grown used to filled the air.

Chase mindlessly stripped the stalks. He had taken them out of the river now that they had softened and worked to get at their fibres. Elie brought more wood to feed the fire, sparing nervous glances at her father that had been silent the entire time. As she tried to carry a new bundle of sticks, in her arms she fell over, grazing her knee.

Chase saw this and for a moment didn't register it. He quickly ran over and helped her up.

"You shouldn't try to carry too many at once." he chided. Taking the rest of the sticks to the fire himself. He cleaned up the graze on her knee and they sat down to eat.

Elie looked at her legged-fish in discontent, "Can't we eat something else?"

"No, it might be poisonous." he said, taking a bite. It felt tasteless without any salt, but he needed to eat what he could get.

"But you got poisoned and you're fine!"

He shook his head, "You're wrong, I still haven't fully... recovered... yet..."

Chase suddenly scrambled to his feet. How had he not realised until now? He could speak normally without any pain! Was it the work of that vine in his mouth this morning? In that case he was almost thankful to the voice in his dreams, he felt as if he had been blessed by some strange spirit.

Chase touched his tongue with a finger and the pain he was expecting wasn't there, he was about to rejoice, when he noticed that something was off. The salty taste of his skin wasn't there, and the more he felt around in his mouth the more terrified he became. His mouth felt too... smooth. As if it was covered in scars.

The roof of his mouth, his tongue, even the back of his throat felt like it was scarred. For some reason he couldn't taste anything. The only thing he could detect was the smell of fish.

"Dad?"

Chase snapped back to reality, "Ahhh... I just... I got a fish bone stuck in my throat. Let me see if some water helps."

He walked towards the riverside and stared at the smooth flow of water, he could almost peer inside his mouth from the reflection and all he could see was a monster staring back. This was no blessing and that was no spirit.

There were demons in this forest.