The dark stars twinkled in the night sky like charcoal, staring down at the forest below, uncaring and unfeeling, shining as if to say; "you can die in a ditch for all we care."
Not a whisper of wind rushed through the trees, all life asleep in the dead of night, air still and silent.
A single soul snaked through the ferns, branches raking across the already-destroyed jacket, taring more holes in the stitched mix of fabrics. Long, ragged dark brown hair flowed behind like water, tied together messily by a long red ribbon, wide silver-grey eyes tried to pierce through the darkness, however the human was navigating on touch alone.
They hacked away at the plants trying to hold them back with the only weapon they could find; a plastic, toy knife. It wasn't the ideal weapon of choice, but it was better than nothing at all. Besides, whatever plastic this toy was made of, it was suspiciously durable.
Their heart pounded hard against their chest, beating in her ears and reverberating through her other organs. Any animal could smell her fear-scent if they were close.
Running they have been for many hours now, deciding to catch their breath for now to get their strength back up. Thankfully the snow had thawed two nights before; it was easier to travel without a foot of frozen water in their way. The abundance of berries was quite high in spite of the harsh winter that had just passed, fighting to stay alive in the fresh spring climate.
If anyone was watching, they would've noticed the obvious limp the human was travelling with. A massive bump was raised on her head, swelling up in mind-numbing pain, while all the minor wounds had stopped bleeding not too long ago. However the human's face wasn't matted with only blood. The tears hadn't dried yet, despite the human having no more to cry. Their soul resonated with grieving fury, not used to having its trait violently shattered into a million little pieces.
Patience was a valuable trait, more durable than the strongest steel and stronger than any hoofed animal, however even with the greatest power, there is a limit. It has been crossed long ago. The human's patience had run out.
Family should never abuse family. Blood shouldn't spill blood. He was their father for goodness sake! A role model, a guardian... not a brutal criminal.
They had fled, and the man had chased them, however the little child was faster than the grown man, and could wriggle through small gaps adults couldn't fit in. They had a head-start thanks to that, but the little human knew the grim man's determination from their own bitter experience.
Their older brother had fled thanks to them, however the man managed to catch the little sibling before they could escape, the older brother having to leave them behind to save himself. At least he didn't have to face the abuse they were facing. The little human only hoped that he was alive and well somewhere in the big wide world.
Mt. Ebbot was somewhere humans did not go. If they could just reach the village on the other side, they should be okay for a while. Maybe they could find their brother, since they planned to escape there in the first place.
The air got thinner as the human climbed up, up, up without end. The plants weren't as interlocked as they were at the base of the mountain, so the toy knife went into the destroyed patchwork pocket. The sun began to rise into a dawn of fire, chasing away the ignorant stars that were trying to clutch onto their place in the sky before the sun convinced them to retreat back into space. The air was colder here, snow still laying around here at the top. It was still fresh, despite being early April and quite late for snow season. The human smiled faintly as they listened to the crunch of the snow beneath their feet. Halfway! They were gonna make it! Their father should've given up the chase by now.
Pain pounded in their feet, harsher with every step as a stitch sliced through their body. Not long now! The top of the mountain was in sight!
With a gasp of relief, the human broke into a last dash towards the top of the mountain. Maybe they could rest there? They had been travelling for the whole night, after all.
Tiredness sagged in their aching limbs as with determination, the human pushed onwards. Their heart lifted as the ascending ended. The myths were just myths. Why was everyone so scared of...
Hang on. A massive hole gaped open in the middle of the top of the mountain like an open mouth, ready to swallow the world whole.
Blinking all the tiredness away from their eyes, the human cautiously padded up to the edge of the hole.
The darkness down there was sickening, miles down, down into certain doom. The human jumped back to avoid throwing up in their mouth. Fear of heights was awful indeed.
They turned round to walk away from the horrifying hole, however there was the shadow of a massive man there, looking down at them with beady eyes.
The little human barely had time to scream before their father pushed them back with all his might.
All the little child knew was that they were falling, down down, into the bottomless abyss of death.