Call Of The Night Raven
I have been running in these fields for a few hours at this point already. I cannot do this much longer. My legs will not last for long. It is night already and this means the real danger awakes while I am running around, following a damn bird.
I am doomed if I do not find my way out of here. And I have to do it fast.
My mind is still fuzzy. I am not sure how I got here. Something in me screams that something horrible happened at home, but whenever I feel like the memory is in my grasp it feel like it is slipping away from me again. My mind is mocking me, telling me that I cannot go back home and cannot stay here. But I know that nothing could possibly be worse than being trapped here.
Everybody knows that you should not come near the bonegrass. I remember the first time my mother told me why I was not supposed to go near the fields.
The truth is — people die there. Regularly.
Do you remember your uncle? The one that always tried to teach you how to catch fish, even if you didn’t like it? The one who I told you died because of raiders coming to our village? He was not killed by raiders who got him on the fields — he was killed by the fields themselves. We never found out quite what it was that actually killed him in the end. That is often the case when people die out there.
These fields are far more dangerous than any human could ever be. You have to be extremely careful because of all the different creatures and plants that might find you in there. Everything you might find there and especially everything that might find you there is out to kill you.
Take the grass for example. This is probably the most dangerous thing you would encounter out there, mostly because it’s everywhere and it changes its properties so frequently.
The bonegrass is pale as the freshly stripped bones of an animal. It feeds on the blood of animals and it can kill prey of any size with ease.
It was a mistake. Coming here was a big mistake. I do not know why I did that mistake, but it definitely was a mistake.
I am running as fast as I can. The end of the field has to be somewhere. I just have to find it. Something feels different though. I can’t really say what it is, but my legs are not hurting as much as they did an hour ago…
Suddenly there is a bump in the ground.
I fall.
My hand is touching the bonegrass and its razor sharp edges are cutting through the flesh in my hands. It feels like the grass blades are twisting to sting into my flesh. It hurts — though not nearly as much as it should be according to the amount of blood that is painting my surrounding red. Even in this dim light the pale grass with the new patches of red looks horrifying. Like a macabre painting that depicts my slowly approaching death.
I struggle to my feet.
I cough.
Something got into my lungs and my eyes widen as I realize what happened in the last hour. I managed to find one of the more dangerous patches of bonegrass.
Sometimes patches of bonegrass release something into the air. We are not sure what it is exactly — some say it’s pollen, others say it’s very small critters that eat you from within — but when you inhale it your extremities slowly start to numb down until you are not able to move anymore. You will die where you are, unable to escape, but still realizing that other things, besides the sharp gras blades, are tearing through your flesh.
The biggest problem is that you won’t realize when the grass releases the toxin, or critters or whatever it is. We call everything out there bonegrass, but in reality there are different patches. Lots of different patches. Especially in the outer regions most of it is harmless. It seems to live off the droppings of different animals that love the seeds that lie around dormant everywhere until they are fed blood. These seeds are very delicious and you only need comparatively few to survive, which is why we, like the birds, are trying to get them. It’s by far the best source of energy you can find in these regions.
But in the inner regions you find patches of grass that are not as tame as those in the outer regions. If you want the valuable seeds that our village needs to survive the winter you have to advance deeper into the fields. And that’s where the patches are that will rob you of your senses. You won’t realize what happened until it’s too late — until you are not even able to scream anymore.
I try to scream.
She was right.
Nothing comes out of my mouth, except for some wet coughing. I am starting to shake. This is bad.
I have to get up. Falling down was a mistake, it allowed whatever it was that is surrounding me to have easier access to my body. I can feel it not only getting into my body through my lungs, but through the cuts in my hands and arms as well. The sensation of my blood slowly running over my arms is somehow hypnotizing. I could stare at it for hours, marveling at the patterns my own blood creates as it runs down my arms, dripping on the ground and the pale white grass.
But I have to get up. I know that. I know it.
I try to stand up. It’s not easy, but somehow I manage to accomplish it. My legs feel wobbly, but I have to move.
I focus on my surroundings. I have to listen to the sound. The sound of my rescue.
But all that I can hear are my cough attacks. And I can feel critters moving around — under me. They are waiting for me to fall down again.
Some animals are immune to the grass. They live off the seeds and fertilize the grass with their droppings.
Though not all of them are this docile. Some are nearly as bloodthirsty as the bonegrass itself and they can be even more dangerous.
Take the fleshmoles for example.
They will follow their victims through their underground tunnels until they fall to the ground, unable to move anymore. They know exactly how much time an animal has left. If you can hear them you are nearly dead, because that means they don’t have to fear being trampled anymore. The prey is too weak at this point and trying to get away.
Once you fall they will come out of their holes. But not like you imagine.
They will burrow right into your flesh.
Gnawing at your fatty tissues they will try to get to big arteries in your body. They not only need the flesh of your body — they need the filtered oxygen you provide. If you are caught in a patch of bonegrass that will numb your senses, the fleshmoles would be weakened by breathing in this air. They can survive quite a long time in this environment, but it’s far more pleasant for them to use you for fresh oxygen.
You will struggle for a long time. They try to keep you alive for as long as they can, eating away the seeds surrounding you so that the bonegrass won’t grow as fast as it normally would. The bonegrass is always thirsty and it is a relatively fast killer. But the fleshmoles will take their sweet time with you if they get you.
I can’t hear them yet — I can just feel them. That means I might have some time left. At least I hope that the bonegrass has not taken my hearing yet.
There are too many clouds in the sky. I have no idea where I am going.
Stupid me. Why did I end up here? What was it that forced me out of my safe home and into these dangerous fields? Everybody knows that you have to go with a group of people if you want to survive. You go in a line, each one with a few meters between himself and the one in front of him. That way the first one can warn the others if something happens. Why am I alone?
The darkness, the pale grass, the blood, the loneliness, the fear… It feels like these images and feelings are running around in circles in my head, pushing everything else out, leaving no place for rational thoughts that might help me survive this nightmare. The only things left are the things mother said when she taught me about the fields.
These beasts, the fleshmoles, are the reason we have most of our information about the fields and what happens there at night. A few times we were able to find someone who was the victim of fleshmoles. They kept the poor people alive for days by injecting everything the human body needs while feeding on bits of flesh and the oxygen in the victim’s blood.
It’s a long and painful death.
And even if you are rescued it might not end.
These beasts are doing more to a human than you can see. Not only will the victim be severely disfigured, because they are used as a living ventilation system — they will also be injected with something that alters their brain.
One time someone we rescued wouldn’t return to his normal self. He was a cheerful guy before, but after the fleshmoles got him we had to amputate his legs. He nearly didn’t survive. He had lost so much blood before and getting him back to the village was difficult. We thought the legs were the reason why he was so gloomy at first.
But after a few weeks we heard him manically laughing in his house. Some of us gathered in front of his door, but he wouldn’t answer when we asked him whether we could come in. Someone opened the door and went in there first to see what was going n.
The woman opened the door. Called for the man who was in there, laughing like crazy. And after a few seconds of standing in the door she started to scream.
It was the most horrific sound I have ever heard. The reason was obvious some minutes later. The fleshmoles had burrowed into the flesh of their victim — and left him a few of their babies as a souvenir.
The offspring would wait inside the victim, growing by feeding on the flesh and blood like their parents did and then they would burst through the skin when they were big enough to survive on their own.
When we tried to kill them the man suddenly tried to climb to his non-existent feet, not even realizing we amputated them some time ago, and tried to fight us. He clawed at everyone coming near him and tried to bite them. There was no way of talking to him anymore. The only somewhat human-like sound coming from him, despite his maniac laughing at the pain the fleshmoles caused him when they burrowed through his flesh, were his calls that we should leave his babies alone.
They made him the host of their offspring and he tried to protect them with everything he had left, not caring for himself anymore.
We had to kill the man.
And then we had to search the village for every fleshmole that might have survived. That wasn’t an easy task. Apparently some of them buried into others while the first victim clawed and bit at them. Maybe those were still in his body. A gruesome image — how they were hiding inside of him, inside his mouth, for the chance to switch to another host that has more life in him. Or they might have found their new hosts in the night, while everyone was sleeping. These beasts are faster than you would imagine. We found some in other rooms in the house, one of them being the bedroom where his little daughter had slept. The moles got her. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for the village elder to end her pain. I couldn’t have done it. I will never forget the look in her eye. Painful, begging for mercy, full of fear, dreamy, ecstatic… the expression in her eyes was constantly changing, but in combination with the moles in her chest each one was more horrific than the last one.
We simply don’t know how they managed to escape the house and spread through the village. All we know is that they did manage it somehow.
It took us weeks to exterminate them all. Until this day we fear that we might have overlooked one of them. Six people died because of the fleshmoles. And two others were suspected of being hosts, for which they were killed. We didn’t find any evidence afterwards, but we were too afraid to risk any of these beasts escaping. Keeping the panic in check was nigh impossible.
It was horrible.
I can only hope to get away from them so that the bonegrass will provide me with a comparatively fast and painless death. Looking at the blood still dripping from my fingers, the drug or whatever this grass is releasing into the air is working quite well. It only hurts as if I had a shallow cut from a butter knife some hours ago, although it should be far worse judging by the depth of some of those cuts.
I have to move.
Otherwise this mistake of coming here will not only be the end of me, but it might also be the end of some of the others in the village if they happen to find me after the fleshmoles did so. If there are still others, that is.
… Why did I think that? Memories… They are spinning in my head. Something happened at home. But it is still escaping me every time I try to remember what exactly happened. Something happened there that forced me and others to go out here.
Yes. There were others. They must’ve run off somewhere. Don’t know where. But somewhere there have to be more. We talked about this. That the fields were our only chance. We could do it if we stuck to the rules. One goes in the front, the others behind. And we warn the others if something happens.
One of them called me because something happened. I remember that.
… Or did I call one of them? Which was my position? Front? Back? I can’t remember.
I wonder what happened to the others. Are they still alive? But I have to focus on my own survival first. They are in a group. Yes, they are in a group. That should make them more attractive prey then me. More flesh. More blood. Maybe I am lucky and they will be killed and not me.
…
These fields are changing me fast. They were my friends after all. At least I think they were my friends. I am not sure anymore. How many others were with me? Two?
…
Everyone knows that there are far less dangers in the fields during the day and that you can easily survive if you just go north to where our village is located. Sadly there is nothing here that would help me in deciding where exactly north is. Everything looks exactly the same. There are too many clouds, only occasionally showing the moon. I know that should help me already, but I can’t wrap my head around it. It’s all too complicated.
But I have the raven. The raven that called for me a few hours ago, when I woke up. Following the raven should get me out of here. Birds only live on the edges of the fields, so it’s best to follow them. Mother said so. It must be true. It has to be. Or else…
I feel so sleepy.
Just wanna lay down.
Only for a moment.
Do not sleep if you are ever in there!
I am awake again.
Have to remember the lessons my mum taught me. I may survive if I just try to remember everything. Hard to focus my thoughts on something. But I have to if I want to get out of here alive.
Do not sleep if you are ever in there! You wouldn’t wake up again. Or you would only wake up to find yourself the victim of creatures such as the fleshmoles. It’s important to keep moving. It doesn’t matter in which direction you go. As long as you follow one direction you should at one point get out of there. Just try to go forward in a straight line.
I think there are some trees in front of me. My mum never told me about trees in the fields…
That’s it! I’m saved! There are no trees in the fields! I’ve never heard of any trees in these fields. I start to smile. At least that’s what I wanna do. I can’t feel my face anymore, so I am not sure if I really smile. But that doesn’t matter.
I survived.
I really did it.
These beautiful trees wouldn’t be able to survive in the fields. The only trees I know of are near my village. I should be close now.
I extend my hand to feel the bark of these trees. They somehow look a bit different from the trees I know. But that is probably only due to the bonegrass. It’s still impairing my senses.
…
Something stings my fingers.
I look at the palm of my hand.
Red. Blood. Everywhere.
I look at the bark again. It’s not brown. Not the way it should be. It’s white. White as bones. Except for my blood. Dripping from the long protruding thorns.
We know that there are different regions in the fields. Different patches. Some look similar to what we have near our village, but they are different. We never ventured that far into the fields. I can’t tell you anything about them. We saw them, but it would have been too dangerous. If you end up there… please, be careful. Whatever is surviving near the bonegrass is most likely trying to kill you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an animal or a plant.
It will try to kill you.
Out of luck. That shouldn’t happen. I shouldn’t be here. And these trees shouldn’t exist.
But they do.
Something is wrong. Completely wrong. I followed the bird. I should have survived! I followed the bird. I did from the very beginning! I should be out of here!
When you are in the fields you have to listen for the birds. Especially the ravens. They will help you.
The ravens live in the outer regions. Those that are not as dangerous. The ravens would never venture too far into the fields and by following their calls you might be able to find a way out of there. That’s even better than going in a straight line, because they will bring you to the nearest outer region. Where it’s safe. Where you will be able to survive. Where we can come and rescue you.
Mum… I followed the screams of a raven. Did so the whole time. Whole time…
…
Feeling dizzy. My hands tingle far more than before. Feels like… something crawling inside of them. Something’s moving under my skin? Not sure… My head… It’s spinning. My vision becomes a bit blurry at the sides…
I throw up.
…
There! I heard it! The raven! My hope!
Just a bit. Close. What happened to others? Not sure…
…
Which others? What did I think about? I thought about village. My village. My friends. Escaping with me. Running away. Screaming?
…
Have to go. Further. Into the dark forest. With its pale trees. And needles everywhere.
I go. Forward. Always forward.
My head. It’s spinning. The thoughts… the memories… what happened back home? Are the others safe? Are you safe, mum? Will I be safe? When will I see you again, mum?
I go forward. But I stagger.
Sometimes I touch the trees.
Warm.
Tingling my hands.
Wipe my hands on my face. Warm. Smells good. Feels nice.
…
Have to go. Forward.
The raven. Again!
If you follow the ravens you will find a way out of there. It won’t be long.
Something not right.
But go. Forward. Always forward.
The call. My hope.
…
I stagger forward. I trip. Fall into the grass. White grass. Red splotches. Everywhere. Blurring into each other in rhythmic patterns. Beautiful patterns.
Sounds of life around me — small things, crawling. Towards me. On all sides. Mum told me something…
There are lots of little creatures there that are only waiting for their next meal. Take the marrow adders for example. Little snakes that are mostly living inside of bones. But even they can get impatient. Sometimes a victim would take too long to die and they haven’t had a meal in a few weeks. Normally they will use a certain acid to make the bones easier for them to eat. Yes, acid. Nasty little snakes. But if you are unlucky they will band together and use it on you, slowly eating through your skin until they get to their favourite white dinner inside of your fleshy parts. You probably won’t feel them though. They only get out of their houses if they feel it’s safe to start eating a bit early.
Grass is tingling. Wriggling. Up my legs. My arms. My hands. Everything tingling. Tickling.
I laugh.
Sounds like old, smoking man dying.
…
Something in my way. Before me.
Looks familiar. Has face. Laughing. Crying? Smiling? Screaming? Lying on the ground. Remember him. Was with me in the fields. Before attack.
…
What attack? Don’t know. Can’t remember. Head spinning faster and faster and…
Things moving in his belly.
…
Must. Move. Forward.
Crawl over thing. Friend? Maybe…
Forward.
…
More similar things. Smiling. Crying. Hugging trees. Needles looking through neck, painted in red. Looks fun. Laughing, too.
Beautiful paint everywhere. White and red.
Want to paint, too. Want to laugh, too.
Sleepy…
Tired…
…
Whatever you do — don’t stop! Do not stop until you hear my voice again.
Must.
Move.
Forward.
Not there yet. Close. Can’t be far. Mum. Mum! I’m coming. Home.
Hearing the raven. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
Do not go into the fields if you have another choice. You have to promise me. It’s dangerous, far more dangerous than you can imagine. I have only told you some of the important things, but there is so much more about these fields. So many dangers… Please, let someone else do it. It doesn’t matter how many people you have with you, it doesn’t matter how well-prepared you are, it doesn’t matter how often you have ventured into the fields already — if you are unlucky the grass is thirsty and it will get you. You have to survive!
Mum… My first mistake…
Why did I come here? Houses burning… People screaming… People dying… Something horrible happened… I tried to get away… I tried to survive! I will survive! Forward…
…
Open field. No trees around. Looking at the middle.
My mouth opens. Silent scream. Tears fill eyes.
One thing is more important than everything I’ve told you before. If you have to remember just one thing it should be the following. You can forget everything — everything! — about these fields. But not this:
Do not follow the raven after dusk!
Never. Follow. The. Single. Raven. After. Dusk!
During the day the swarms of ravens in the outer regions will guide you.
But at night something else comes to life. The ravens are diurnal. This creature is nocturnal.
It will try to lure you into the deeper regions.
This creature doesn’t have eyes, but you should hope to never see this for yourself, for when you see its empty eye sockets it’s already too late.
Some say this creature hunts by screaming at frequencies no human can understand. Every animal capable of hearing these frequencies stays away from it, but humans tend to be unable to even tell when they are exposed to these screams.
Like the bonegrass it will distort your senses. You will follow the night raven to wherever it wants you and you will slowly succumb to the insanity that this monster creates in your mind.
It is extremely dangerous! Even more dangerous than any other animal or plant in the fields.
Seeing the night raven is a sure sign of imminent death. Only a handful have survived long enough to leave short notes while the night raven was eating away at their heart.
Like the fleshmoles it will make you want to provide everything to this monster. You won’t be able to do anything while it forces you to allow it to peck out your eyes and eat your guts. In the end it will eat your heart while you are still partly alive. It’s a worse death than you would have to endure with any other creature or plant in the fields.
And it utilizes all the creatures and plants you might encounter. Everything is under the control of the night raven.
At night you have to ignore the raven. No matter how far or close the screams may be — you must not listen to this monster. Do not let it confuse you.
Multiple ravens are a good sign.
A single one means near certain death.
Nobody who listened to the raven has ever survived. Nobody. They all died gruesome deaths at the hands of this monster while losing their last bits of sanity in the process. We have some of the scripts in this village that were created by people in their last moments. Mostly they wrote in their own blood on whatever was close by.
Sometimes paper. Sometimes the bodies of their comrades, who already succumbed to something else. The night raven loves to let his victims run around in circles through the open outer fields, close to their home, never to return, though we suspect it also lured quite a lot of adventurous villagers into deeper regions of the fields. We never ventured too far, so we don’t know how many people we have lost to this creature already.
It’s a sadistic beast.
Do. Not.
Under. Any. Circumstances.
Follow. The. Raven. At. Night!
Mummy…
My last mistake…
