Everlasting dream (18+)

Chapter 65 — Surviving the night

[Aster]

The night sky was full of twinkling stars, beautifully shining over the endless sea of pine trees. Forest sounds were all around; insects sang in the summer heat, leaves and grass rustled in the gentle breeze, and a distant owl hooted from among the branches.

The only thing disturbing the peaceful night was the young boy's heavy breathing and the desperate thuds of his boots as he ran through the darkness, his disguise cloak fluttering behind him. The half-moon gave little light, barely enough to see a few steps ahead of him.

Aster ran as fast as his legs would carry him, even though they felt like lead. The leather straps of his backpack, half-filled with food he had gathered before everything went wrong, dug painfully into his small shoulders. The spear in his sweaty hand threatened to slip away at any moment, its sharp stone tip glistening in the moonlight.

He dared not look back, knowing all too well what was chasing him. He could hear them running as frantically as he was, panting heavily. There were at least two of those creatures, ugly, grey-skinned goblins, maybe even more.

Sweat dripped from Aster's forehead, stinging his golden eyes and blurring what little he could see in the darkness. The boy gasped for air, his lungs in pain, and the sound of blood pumping echoed in his ears. Yet he didn't stop, couldn't stop. His mind screamed, begging him to keep going, not look back, run faster, hide, and survive.

However, running is a strong word to describe what he was doing. It was more like an exhausted, clumsy stumble through the dark, barely able to stay on his feet. Luckily, his pursuers were no better, struggling just as much to catch him.

— "Just... a bit... faster," Aster gasped, rubbing his eyes. More than anything, he wanted to throw the backpack aside and sprint without the weight slowing him down. But he kept reminding himself that it wasn't heavy. His tiredness was the real issue, not the little food he carried, his entire day of work he couldn't afford to lose. Not to mention how valuable the leather backpack is for his family.

So Aster continued to stumble through the dark. A faint warmth inside his chest appeared as he tried to ignite a few drops of mana. It was a process that required concentration, and it was the exact thing he didn't have the luxury of. The monsters' guttural growls echoed through the forest, getting closer with each new ignited mana drop within his chest.

Aster's heart raced, beating wildly, and the fear in his golden eyes intensified as they closed in. When they were only five steps away from Aster, he cast a spell to strengthen his trembling legs, evenly spreading the boiling mana between them.

— "This has to work. Come on!" Aster muttered under his breath, fully aware of how little he managed to ignite. It was barely a third of his usual amount, but he had no choice but to make do with what he had.

The whistling sound of a flying spear reached Aster's half-elven ears, making him suddenly jump to the left, dodging the projectile just in time. "Eat the dust, you fuckers!" Aster yelled as he felt the effect of his spell finally kicking in; the boiling pain in his muscles appeared. A feeling he hated so much was now the best thing he had ever felt.

His now mana-enhanced legs allowed him to run slightly faster, a barely noticeable difference under normal circumstances, but this "slightly" was all he needed to stay alive. He finally got an advantage.

— "Faster, faster, faster," Aster whispered, repeating the words like a prayer. He jumped, dodged, and zigzagged between the trees, the sounds of the monsters growing distant again with each passing minute, encouraging him to push harder and run faster.

Aster had no idea how much time had passed since this chase, this whole mess, began. It all started before sunset; now, who knew how long it had been? The day was undoubtedly one of the bad ones, that is for sure. 

For starters, finding food was incredibly difficult. It alone made the whole day just awful. Perhaps the lack of rain had made the mushrooms and berries harder to find, or maybe just luck wasn't on his side. Unfortunately, days like this have been more common lately, and Aster couldn't help but worry that it's just the start and that food will only become scarcer from here.

But Aster has a family to care for, so he has no choice but to do his best. Returning empty-handed back to the girls is simply not an option. Throughout the scorching summer hours, Aster managed to forage a small amount of nuts and berries that barely filled half his backpack.

When Aster was done for the day and on his way back home, he unexpectedly walked into a goblin, one of those grey-skinned fuckers, a situation he had desperately tried to avoid. He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts and making sure no one followed him that he forgot to do something as simple as looking forward, an incredibly foolish mistake.

Aster didn't notice the monster until it was just a few steps away, right in front of him.

The creature was at least two heads taller than him, with sharp, yellow teeth and burning-red eyes. The muscles bulged beneath the gray skin, and the smelly, dirty clothes made from rotten furs barely covered its twisted, hunched body. By some miracle, this ugly beast recklessly walked through the forest and was just as surprised to see him, giving Aster a moment to react.

In that split second, the image of his mother and sister flashed in his mind, reminding Aster of how much he had to lose—never seeing his sister's bright smile again, her mischievous laughter as he tickles her sides, never kissing his mother's warm lips or hearing her sweet, loving whispers, and so, so much more he couldn't live without.

As much as he wished to be a fearless guy who could casually beat dozens of those creatures, he was not. Not even close. The angry, bloodthirsty shriek the goblin made to call others convinced Aster that he was no hero.

So, he did what any rational person would do. Feeling a suspicious warmth in his pants, Aster swiftly turned around and ran. The twigs attached to the bottom of his boots didn't slow him down even a little; a soft cushion he made to hide his tracks just fell apart as he moved his legs.

The thought of never seeing his family again fueled his survival instincts, making him run faster than ever before, a force that gave him the strength to run ever since. Away from his cave, getting these creatures as far away from the girls as he could. If he didn't survive this night, at the very least, they would be safe.

But now, because of the spell he managed to cast, Aster started believing he could get home in a single piece and see his girls again. For the last few minutes, he couldn't hear the monsters' tired panting, only his own. He quickly glanced behind him to check and saw nothing but darkness. It was a good sign—a great one, even.

Just in case, he started randomly changing directions, hoping that if they were still chasing him, the unexpected turns would be confusing enough to completely lose him. Five minutes to the right, two to the left, then straight, then again to the right, and so on. At some point, he was sure he had made a circle at least once, picking the same direction too often. He did this until the effect of the spell wore off.

— "Ugh..." Aster groaned, leaning against a tree, his hand pressed against his chest. His lungs were burning, terribly so, causing the boy to gasp for air, his head spinning and making him dizzy. "Damn... I need to train more," he coughed, sliding his back down the trunk, his shaking legs finally giving out.

Aster glanced around, looking into the darkness and trying to listen for any noises, but he heard nothing except the painful beating of his heart echoing in his half-elven ears. He tried to calm himself down by taking deep, slow breaths, but it did little to help; his sweaty palms clenched tightly around his spear, which lay on his lap.

The smell of his sweaty body reached his nose, making him hurriedly grab a handful of dirt and start rubbing it on his skin – his face, neck, armpits, everywhere. He even stuffed his pants with it, feeling it slide down his pale thighs, fall out, and land on his boots.

He quickly tore off a bunch of grass blades and pine needles and repeated the process, hoping to hide his scent completely. Aster paused every ten seconds, looking around and ensuring no one was approaching. His hands shook nervously every time the wind rustled the leaves of the nearby bushes.

After five minutes of scrubbing himself with dirt and grass, Aster finally decided it was enough and stopped. Slowly, Aster pushed himself up from the ground, his trembling, aching legs almost giving up. Feeling a sting in his calves, Aster winced and cursed under his breath as he made a few steps towards the nearby young pine tree, perfect for his needs.

The forest was deathly quiet; only his heavy breathing, gradually becoming slower and steadier, broke the silence. 'I need to reattach branches to the bottom of my boots to hide my tracks,' Aster thought, his hand trying to feel the tree in the darkness. 'Then, find a place to hide until the morning mist. Yeah, sounds like a good plan.'

He quickly gathered a handful of the lower branches and tied them to the bottom of his boots, using a spare, thin rope from his backpack, the one the girls had made. The grass, leaves, and branches created a soft cushion for his steps, preventing traces from appearing on the forest ground. And even if they did, it wouldn't be as obvious as if his steps were bare, making it much harder to follow him.

Once finished, Aster sighed tiredly and looked around, unsure where to go. His golden eyes could not see much in this darkness, so he decided to go forward, hoping to find a safe spot. Every soft, crunching sound his feet made caused him to stop and hold his breath, fearing those creatures could hear him.

Eventually, he found a big enough bush for himself to hide in. Poking it a few times with his spear, just in case, Aster quietly crawled inside and sat down, his knees pressed against his chest. He removed his backpack, hid it under his disguise cloak, and waited, trying not to breathe too loudly.

The wind rustled the leaves around him, making it hard to hear anything beyond the bush. Aster tried his best, though, and listened as intently as possible. After all, his life depended on it.

As time passed, the boy slowly relaxed as much as the situation allowed. The adrenaline left his body, and exhaustion took its place. Oh, how exhausted he was. He wanted nothing more than to take a short nap for no more than ten minutes. Just a tiny bit of sleep would make him feel so, so much better.

And yet, no matter how exhausted Aster was, he did not dare close his eyes. It wasn't safe, not here.

'I can't sleep here... I most likely won't ever wake up,' Aster told himself, his knees pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He pinched his cheek every few minutes, trying to keep himself awake.

Trying not to make a single sound, fearing that even the slightest movement or loud breathing would give him away, Aster patiently waited for the morning for the mist to appear so he could return home. Those creatures see much better in the dark than him, so walking at night is not an option.

The strange sounds of the forest kept him on edge. Whenever he heard a thunderous rustle of leaves or a tree creaking that sounded much like laughter, his heart beat faster, and his mind raced, trying to decide whether to stay or run. Being alone at night in the woods is a horrible, horrible feeling.

Aster started igniting his mana to feel slightly safer, repeatedly casting a spell to strengthen his legs to ensure he prepared to run. It wasn't a rational decision to waste his mana just like that, but the boy couldn't help himself. He needed to do anything to keep himself from panicking, and it seemed like the right thing.

The night passed painfully slowly. Aster had no idea how many hours had passed, not a single clue. Only the moon and the stars had moved across the sky, telling him that, at the very least, it had been several hours since he sat down and started waiting.

He continued casting the spell on himself, feeling his mana reserves draining. 'One more time... Just to be safe, I must cast it again,' Aster thought, ignoring the voice telling him how stupid it was to waste his mana in such a dangerous place. 'Just a few drops of mana. It will be the last time,' the boy sighed, closing his golden eyes, and repeated the process, sending ignited mana into his trembling legs.

The same thoughts returned to his mind every time the warmth in his muscles disappeared, causing the cycle to continue, telling himself another variation of 'One more time... Just to be safe. What if I have to run?'

At some point, he had no choice but to stop and sit in the darkness without his mana giving him the confidence he needed. What was left was enough for a few more weak spells or a single, a little bit stronger one. Alone, scared, and with the risk of dying at any moment, Aster's mind raced, imagining all kinds of horrifying situations and trying to think of a plan for each one.

Maybe because of how nervous Aster was, making his imagination especially vivid, but in most cases, his plans somehow ended up with him dying. In the most painful ways possible. The images of him being gutted by the sharp claws of these creatures or torn to pieces, or worse, devoured alive, kept coming back.

Aster shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to chase the thoughts away. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the pictures out of his head, making him feel even worse. 'Maybe cast one more... Just one more...' he repeated in his mind, fighting his exhaustion and anxiety. 'No... I can't waste any more mana. I won't have enough to run when the mist appears...'

Aster was so deep in thought, trying desperately not to panic, that the twig breaking somewhere behind him took the little boy by surprise, his heart almost jumping out of his chest.

In an instant, Aster pressed his hand against his mouth, holding his breath. He pulled his knees tighter to his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible. The boy immediately started igniting his mana, feeling a boiling sensation in his chest appearing as he prepared to strengthen his body with all his mana at once.

There was another cracking sound, then the rustle of grass being trampled. Something was approaching his hiding spot. Aster could feel the cold sweat running down his back, his left hand gripping his spear shaft, which was slightly buried in the ground.

Just when an idea to make a sudden attack popped up in his mind, a high-pitched voice grunted right next to the left of him. A second goblin made Aster reconsider instantly. "Gruhh," the creature uttered, making Aster's heart skip a beat, his blood freezing despite the suffocating heat in his little body. The lack of oxygen caused his throat to constrict painfully, making him hold his breath even tighter, afraid to make a single sound.

Sniffing sounds reached Aster's ears, just near his bush. The spell was nowhere ready for him to cast, his body barely able to contain the pee. 'Maybe try to cast the fire instead, just like I accidentally did in our first cave?' he panicked, his hands shaking slightly, the burning sensation in his chest intensifying as his mana reserves ignited. 'N-no... I won't do much damage with what I have. And even if I did, the spell is damn hard to control. I can easily burn myself with it if I am not careful enough...'

Aster's eyes began to water, and his throat tightened even more, the pressure almost unbearable. The goblins sniffed, making strange, disgusting sounds, growling and grunting at each other. To his relief, they eventually continued on their way, getting away from his hiding spot. The moment the sounds of their steps disappeared, the boy made the biggest inhale of his life, his lungs greedily filling with air.

But the pain in his chest stayed, all the mana he ignited now swirling and boiling inside him, demanding release. Aster pressed his hand against his chest, feeling the intense heat through the disguise cloak. The pain was unbearable, so much so that he had to bite his lip not to cry out, sweat dripping down his forehead once again.

'Ugh... what should I do? I need to use it when the mist appears, not now...' Aster thought, clenching his jaw. He scooped a bit of dirt and smeared his face with it. 'Alright, I can hold it... Just calm down. Ignore the pain and maintain control over the mana,' he mentally ordered, taking a deep breath, feeling how his chest seemed to explode at any moment. 'It's not a big deal. It's nothing. An hour or two and you will be back home.'

He knew he had to change his position and go in the opposite direction. Goblins might return at any moment to recheck the spot. The smell of his sweaty body, which he so desperately tried to hide previously, was now emerging again and could give him away. But with this pain? It would be a miracle if he managed to stand up.

No matter how much he tried not to move, his whole body trembled from the tension in his chest, the air in his lungs turning hotter and hotter no matter how quickly he breathed.

To distract himself from the burning pain, Aster started digging a hole in the dirt—a small one, just enough for his tiny body to curl inside. The bush's roots made digging hard, but the boy still did his best, gasping for air more and more as he worked, feeling his lungs tightening from the pain his mana caused. Once finished, the boy crawled inside, covering himself with the dirt just enough so he could still breathe.

The next few hours were a living hell. The mana inside his body swirled around, making his veins feel like they were on fire. The boiling sensation of his chest made it almost impossible to bear. Aster could feel his skin reddened from the heat, sweat dripping from every pore, making the dirt cling to him and form a muddy mess.

It felt like being in an oven. At some point, Aster had no choice but to start using the mana to cast small, barely noticeable spells on his body, just enough to ease the pain once it became too much for him to endure. It helped a lot, giving him a chance to catch his breath and calm his racing heart, but the pain didn't completely go away.

Aster couldn't have been happier when the sky finally started turning purple, a sign of the coming sunrise. 'Just a little longer. Wait for the fog to appear,' he thought, lying inside his little grave, his eyes darting around. Half an hour later, the forest finally became brighter, the thick white mist enveloping everything.

'Now or never,' Aster thought, using all the remaining mana he so desperately tried to hold onto all this time, enhancing his legs and torso with a spell. In an instant, the pain in his chest was gone, replaced by the pain in his muscles. But at least this pain wasn't as unbearable and gave him strength and energy.

Aster carefully pushed the dirt above him aside, crawling out of the hole. The state of his skin—incredible redness as if he had been boiled alive—and the mud and dirt all over him made him look like a zombie crawling out of the grave. The tired golden eyes, glowing slightly in the dim morning light, only added to the impression.

Aster's knees were weak, his legs trembling. Even after all night doing nothing but hiding, he felt much more exhausted now than he had after running. His eyelids were heavy; the lack of sleep made him want to crawl back into the hole and close his eyes for a few minutes.

'The moment I close my eyes, I am dead,' Aster reminded himself, shaking his head and grabbing his backpack and spear. 'I was lucky enough to survive the night. Now, all I need is to return.'

— "I'm coming, Silvia. Mom," Aster whispered, holding the spear with both hands and using it as support to help himself walk toward where he believed the cave was. The rising sun on the horizon was enough to tell him the direction. "Just a bit longer."