Chapter V
Siphter held the first key tightly in his jacket pocket as he continued on his journey through the forest. He worked so hard to find it; he never wanted to let it go. Sipther noticed that each tree around him began to look the same as the last. He didn’t know how to continue on his journey. He had no map, no guide, only the feeling of something pulling him onward. He was excited about the first key, but he thought about how hard it was to obtain. Siphter wondered if the next two would be even more difficult. After his first battle, his confidence had dwindled to almost nothing. The doubts were beginning to take hold. Siphter was worried about his lack of defense. He looked up above and noticed the tree canopy was completely closed. It made him feel as if the day had already lost to the night. The air was cold and thick around him. Something was different about the woods. Our hero could feel each hair stand at attention on the back of his neck. He did not want to remain here any longer. Siphter picked up the pace. He couldn’t escape the feeling that something was watching him from a distance. Perched, Siphter saw it --a terrifying monster just ahead. It peered directly through to Siphter’s soul, but it had no eyes. It was made of darkness, like that of the starry night sky. No facial features besides large wolf like teeth hanging from its mouth. It raised both its hands from its sides and revealed dagger sharp claws.
Siphter sprinted as fast as he could in the opposite direction. His heart pounding against his chest as he looked over his shoulder. The creature was galloping on all fours towards him like mad. It ran like a jungle cat, snarling and growling, never once losing it's stride. There was a patch of tall pines in our hero’s path. He rolled and ducked behind one of the giant tree trunks. His face and hands were cut from branches and brush. Before he could celebrate his escape, the dark creature was floating towards him now on its hind legs, its claws ready to swipe for Siphter’s throat. Our hero sprinted away from his foe deeper into the wood until he twisted his ankle on a fallen tree trunk. He fell down a steep valley, bouncing off of rocks, and brush all the way down the cliff side. The creature reached the valley peak sniffing and salivating over its edge. Just before the creature could track his scent, a strange low pitch sound reverberated throughout the trees. The beast turned, letting out a horrible howl, and ran off into the woods after the bizarre bellowing echo. Siphter’s whole body ached in pain. He was sure that he'd never seen anything like that beast before, he was also certain it was somehow spawned from his own nightmares. Siphter was covered in dirt and blood from the fall. He brushed off his jacket and pants, picking himself up yet again. Siphter’s hand sat in his jacket pocket, gripping his little apple knife so tightly that his knuckles turned purple.
