Kala stood defiantly between the men who had approached Neeka. The wooden broom she had been using to sweep up the entryway to the corridor was still tightly grasped between her arthritic fingers. Neeka was surprised that the silver-haired woman was brave enough to stand her ground, especially with Jeffrey included in Lyall's group standing before them. With his wolfish amber eyes, broad frame, and the missing chunks of his ear and finger tips; Jeffery had a scary appearance to match his cruel personality and people rightfully avoided the owner's right-hand man. He was the only non-human employee who worked full time at The Pit. Even when other theron came to drop off drugs and creatures to replace the deceased ones for the fighting ring, they made an obvious effort to avoid him.

"No." Kala repeated firmly to Lyall.  "My family has lived by the enchanted forest for many generations. It is dangerous to trifle with the spirits that reside there."
She stood tall, which really wasn't that intimidating given her short stature and age.
"Especially on this night when entities are most active! Everyone should remain secure inside their homes and ward off the evil spirits! Asking Neeka to assist in hunting the creature is too much!" 

The creature she spoke of had lately been seen attacking Lyall's men as they discarded bodies of his expired fighters in the woods. It was said to be ghoulish in appearance and was most active on nights when the moon was at its fullest. The cryptid was supposedly not interested in the corpses left in its territory, but the same could not be said about Lyall's staff dumping them. The Pit personnel had noticeably started thinning and Lyall was not happy that rumours were also deterring potential customers from attending and betting at the regularly held events.

Lyall's bald, heavily scarred head tiled down distastefully at the elderly woman. Kala's ancestors had been natives of the land and she was very expressive of that fact. Stories and teachings from such heritage had proudly continued to be passed down throughout generations and spread among the other villagers. And even when much of her family moved on to find a safer and more sustainable place to live, Kala stubbornly remained. Tonight was a special night that her people acknowledged. And not in a good way.

"I don't care about your foolish superstitious nonsense." Clicking his tongue between his craggy yellowing teeth, Lyall spoke with a venomous amusement in his tone. "And I wasn't asking."

Jeffery easily shoved Kala out of the way, causing her to cry out and fall heavily to the ground. He then grabbed Neeka aggressively by the elbow, forcing her petite figure to walk away with the rest of the hunting party. Lyall smirked triumphantly at Jeffery's actions under his orders. Neeka didn't understand their dynamic, but she knew the horrible man felt powerful having the shapeshifter willingly follow his demands. And that scared her.

Meekly in Jeffery's grip, Neeka tried to glance back reassuringly at her friend. But Kala's expression was shadowed in fear as she watched the younger woman be carted away by the brutish group.

Neeka's stomach churned nervously as she frantically tried to recall the details of Kala's stories for All Hallows Eve.

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Neeka's nerves had transitioned into fear as she lay sobbing in the glade of the woods. Tears flowed from her blue eyes and onto her freckled cheeks. The strip of fabric tied around her head to gag her tasted horrible between her teeth. She dared not guess what it had been previously used for.

Neeka hadn't had much of a choice but to agree to his wishes, but she still felt foolish thinking that Lyall's word of a large payout for her cooperation was insurance for her safety. The hunters had left her as bait while they hid back in the safer line of trees closest to the village. Or, that is what Layall had ordered the group to do before he headed back to 'his duties' at The Pit. Bound to the spot, Neeka was unable to manoeuvre enough to verify that with her own eyes.

Hours must have passed by now. She had been here since early evening and the sun had now melted away bringing the night. And with unusually thick clouds blanketing the moon, it was indeed a dark night. It gave the illusion of there being no moon present at all.

Neeka's body, sore from being unable to move in the restricted position, felt clammy and itched where mosquitoes had feasted. She tried to move to reposition herself to a more comfortable angle, but doing so aggravated the stinging wounds recently carved into her flesh. Lyall had slashed a blade into her skin for extra lure effect. One cut on her arm in particular was especially painful and blood eagerly drizzled down from it and into the rope tightly securing her wrists. 

Neeka wished she was back in her rundown hut, the doors and windows latched tightly shut and a generous bundle of Kala's sage burning- like many of the other villagers were sure to be doing tonight. Instead, she was tied painfully on filthy ground, forced to look into the spooky wilderness and question each sound that emerged from it. She told herself the crackles, rustling, and shrieks were a combination of the warm autumn wind and usual wildlife; But it didn't really curb her fear.

Moonlight suddenly emerged through a gap in the cloud cover. It brightened the glade of the humid night, leaving Neeka's curled body exposed between the long wisps of grass. Unwillingly facing the direction in which the woods began to thicken into untamed wilderness, she scanned the crowded tangle of trunks and branches for the millionth time. Between the brushy vegetation, leaves were beginning to shed atop the combination of brown and russet strokes of wood. The spindly bodies of trees look almost like the emaciated limbs of people. One tree even had eyes.

Neeka froze as she realised what she was seeing. A pang of dread struck through her as she took in the ivory glow of pupils piercing straight at her.
Had that been there the whole time? She could not be sure. But now that Neeka had noticed it, something began to move without its gaze averting from her.

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