Hi everyone! Same disclaimers as last time. I ask forgiveness for grammatical mistakes and typos.
Clover checked a trail map before picking one that went deep into the woods. It advertised a scenic path that went past a creek. They took off down the path, following the trail markers.
They allowed a few minutes to pass before summoning Daisy. People are usually surprised when they see a purple capybara, so it was best to make sure they'd be alone.
Clover called forth Daisy, and she manifested from a cloud of indigo mist. Daisy looked at her surroundings and sighed.
"Come on now, a little walk won't kill you," Clover teased.
The animal snorted and stretched its stubby legs, clearly having just been woken from a nap. She looked up at the gaudy shirt and Hello Kitty bandages, waiting for an explanation.
"What, you don't like my new style?" they joked, putting their messenger bag around Daisy's neck.
They had reached the creek, and it was too beautiful to pass up.
They decided to stop at the footbridge for a break before continuing deeper into the woods.
Dangling their feet over the edge, they were both watching the small fish swimming in the crystal-clear stream. An infant reaper hopped around with the normal frogs. They seemed to be playing together.
Clover smiled, basking in the last of the morning light. Many clouds had filled the sky by then.
They finished their snacks and continued on.
It was so quiet and scenic that it should have been a very peaceful experience, but Daisy grew uneasy the further they walked the trail.
"Hey, what's wrong, girl?" Clover petted the familiar's head.
She grunted and sat down, looking up at the trees.
Now that they thought about it, the birds had stopped singing a little while ago, and the clouds had grown darker, obscuring much of the sky.
"I probably should have checked the weather today," Clover commented.
Daisy was still fixated on the trees.
"Hey, let's go back, ok? You can go home right now if you want to," they offered, but the capybara only moved to sit closer, pressing her body against their legs.
"What's wrong, Dazers?" Clover tried to soothe their familiar, but to no avail.
They looked up into the trees, scanning for whatever could be the cause for worry. A bell rang.
Clover's blood suddenly ran cold. It felt like someone was watching them. They spun around and saw something duck behind a tree. It dashed between points in their peripheral vision, obscured by the shadows.
A bell rang.
Clover was suddenly aware of how many times they'd heard that bell already.
Dread sank deep in their guts like lead.
Why didn't I notice that bell before? I've been hearing that bell all morning, and I didn't notice... What's going on...
"Who's there?!" Clover called out angrily. The anxiety in their stomach rose up their throat like bile.
Daisy barked a warning and shuffled her splayed paws back and forth, unable to pinpoint the exact position of the threat.
Clover widened their stance, preparing to run.
A heavy wind rolled through the trees, beating the leaves. A few birds cried out at the rough disturbance.
The first drops of rain fell.
A stick snapped and Clover whipped around, but the figure darted behind the trees again.
"It's a hide-behind. You shouldn't try to look at it," said a soft male voice from above.
Clover's heart stopped. With wide eyes, they glanced up to see a young man sitting on a tree branch, several feet above them.
They jumped back, and Daisy instantly grew to the size of a horse, going on the defense. The messenger bag strap was still around her neck, now looking like a strange pet collar.
"Impressive familiar... for such a weakling," he spoke in a similar tone as the unengaged bookstore employee.
"What do you want?" Clover demanded.
This guy was sending off all kinds of red flags. His clothes were abnormally aggressive. A deep black and dark red color palette, leather pants and jacket, all embellished and accessorized in dark symbolism. Metal spikes and rings, small skulls, distressed fabric, and a spiked green mohawk.
He looked like a shock-rocker, a hardcore punk, or even some kind of metalhead.
He apparently also knew about demons and familiars, but he wore no visible True Cross pin.
"What do I want?" he repeated. He scratched his chin in fake contemplation. "Well, I was considering killing you," he said without any emotion.
Clover pressed hard into Daisy's flank.
"But you heard my bell... and that hide-behind is very interested in you," he listed on his fingers.
His eyes narrowed.
"Catch," he said as he threw something down.
Clover, against their better judgment, threw a hand out to catch it.
It was a round sleigh bell with a looped cord. They turned it over in their hand, looking at the strange inscriptions in the metal.
"I don't understand," they objected.
"You will. Now, do me a favor, cursed child," he droned on. Clover raised an eyebrow and waited.
He held up a hand, signaling them to wait. Clover silently pocketed the bell, still on guard.
"Turn around...Now," he leapt from the branch in a blur, Clover gasped and spun on their heels.
It was a completely transparent trap, and Clover fell for it.
Hook, line, and sinker.
They saw it.
They saw the hide-behind.
And it saw them too.
Their eyes locked, and it was too late. It jumped forward from the cover of the treeline.
Clover slid onto Daisy's back, gripping the bag around her neck, and screamed at her to go. Daisy tore off at an impressive speed, but even running it was going to take them nearly 20 minutes to get down from the trail.
Clover looked back and saw the hide-behind running on too many legs.
Its teeth spiraled all around its disproportionate body, like a spinning zipper of gnashing fangs. It had two small beady eyes, and a body shaped like tree limbs. Its arms and legs sprouted from random directions like branches, and it ran awkwardly, rolling and contorting over its own limbs.
Clover screamed a string of swears as both the enraged demon and the rain picked up.
They were now soaking wet, and it was becoming difficult to stay on Daisy, whose fur was becoming slick. They gripped the bag tighter with their now white knuckles.
The rare demon behind them kept slipping in the fresh mud, fortunately slowing it down, but unfortunately so did Daisy.
Daisy grunted at the strain on her muscles, and Clover mentally cursed themself for allowing her to get so out of shape. They were coming up on the creek, and the ground was nearly all mud, washing down into the water.
In the few minutes it took for Daisy to reach her physical limit, the rainfall had grown into a storm.
The sky was dark, and there were no lights this far out in the woods.
Clover just needed to get past the creek. If they could cross the footbridge, there was a fork in the trail that went straight downhill and back into the park. They could escape by rolling all the way down, they just had to stick to the landing.
"Daisy, go left!" They cried over the drumming downpour.
The familiar was panting heavily and trying to stay ahead of the hide-behind, but this was just too much for her. She wasn't going to make it much further.
Clover wasn't even an exorcist. Yeah, they were studying to become a cram school teacher, but they were a desk worker! A total nerd! They didn't have formal training.
Clover didn't even see demons very well, as they were always overlooking them or completely failing to notice their presence. Grandfather Fortune once told them that it was just a matter of experience. They had taken those vague words of insight blindly, not thinking about it since.
Daisy leapt over the bridge, soaring through the air.
That's when Clover felt something pull on the back of their shirt.
As they fell forward together, Daisy's front paws touched the ground, but Clover's baggy shirt was in the demon's hand.
Clover was pulled backward off their steed, and Daisy botched the landing because of the sudden shift in weight.
Thunder roared.
Clover watched in sheer terror as one of Daisy's back legs slipped and flew out at an unnatural angle, and she collapsed on them with the increased weight of her current size. They both screamed.
The hide-behind shook Clover like a ragdoll in the air, scratching them all over, and the oversized shirt began to rip. They flailed and twisted to get out of the terrifying claws, until the shirt finally tore open and Clover fell free.
The monster's free arms swung to catch them as they fell, but only succeeded in further tearing the ruined shirt.
Clover quickly slid with the mudslide towards the water, deftly evading their attacker.
It was dark and hopelessly loud as the storm raged around them.
Where did this thunderstorm come from? DAMN IT!
They cast Daisy away to return home, with a wave of their hand and hunkered down into the muddy bank of the flooded creek.
They shivered and bled; their arms scratched to hell and back from being treated like a chew-toy. They began crawling to get closer to the bridge for support.
The monster furiously thrashed around blindly, searching for its prey.
Clover had to think fast.
Ok, you know this. You studied this. Think Clover, damn it, think.
Images of textbooks long since studied filtered through their mind, as did their deep regret for lacking the appropriate hands-on experience.
They began to recite a protective spell, barely managing to build a up a weak barrier.
The hide-behind noticed and lunged, but bounced off. It readjusted itself, rotating sections of its limber body in contradicting directions.
It lunged again and the barrier flickered but remained.
Lightning occasionally struck closer and illuminated the horrific creature's frustration.
It would buy them a couple minutes tops. They looked around their surroundings for something to arm themself with.
The flooding was washing all kinds of debris into the engorged creek, which now resembled a small river.
A large log was fast coming their way, and Clover moved without thinking. They jumped for it as it flew by, leaving the safety of the barrier.
They missed.
Clover hit the log with their chest, and a branch tore into their arm.
They fell into the water, screaming, as the current dragged them under.
They fought to resurface and felt the bell slip from their pocket. They instinctively grabbed it in the moment of panic, closing their fist around it.
The demon descended upon them. It plucked them out of the water with such violent speed that Clover lost their grip on the bell.
The bell flew forward between the two.
Thunder shook the sky and trees.
Clover threw their arm out to grab the bell, their fingers just barely latching onto the cord, and it slipped down their wrist.
Lightning struck the footbridge behind them, engulfing it in flames, as they slammed to a halt. The hide-behind had impaled them on one of its arms.
The bell slapped against Clover's bleeding arm.
Time stopped.
A bell rang.
"Catch."
Author's Note: gasp!
