The Writer - Chapter 32

The Silent

Forrest had never experienced anything worse than being forced to watch himself give him to the all consuming rage of his Curse. 

Yes, he had been tortured by a Rogue to earn Coral’s compliance. Yes, he’d been subject to an unfair Curse and a goddess’s wishes ever since he was a child. But nothing compared to the feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed him as the anger took his body from him. 

“No!” he recognized it as Coral’s voice as she screamed, her hands in front of her mouth in horror. “Forrest!” 

Racke seemed indifferent. Her face was one that masked all emotion. 

And Forrest was an animal. The thing inside his body, controlling him - it wasn’t Forrest - it was something else entirely. Something that sought blood. 

“He couldn’t fight it,” Racke said, slightly disappointed. “And I’m afraid the Curse may have taken him for good.” 

Coral looked shocked and scared and angry all at the same time. “Help him!” she spun to face Racke, her eyes wild and her bow suddenly in her hands. The arrow was knocked at Racke. “You said it yourself - the Curse was unfair. Fix him right now!”

Racke narrowed her eyes. The friendly demeanor was gone, replaced with bitter hatred. 

Still, her expression could never convey the loathing Forrest was feeling build inside of him. The animal inside of his chest snarled, ready to tear into flesh and spill blood. 

“Listen, girl,” Racke spat, her voice radiating anger. “I have been good to you. I could have given Forrest zero chances - but I gave him one. He was just too weak to beat out the Curse. You think he deserves to be freed?” 

“Yes!” Coral shouted. “After everything he has done for the goddesses - done for you!” 

Racke frowned, her nose wrinkling. “You really are pathetic, aren’t you? Where are you from, exactly?” 

“Nelith, but why does that matter?” 

Racke snorted. “I should’ve known. Lithby gets the ones that she thinks are ‘special’, but really, she just pities them.” 

Coral was seething now, and the animal inside Forrest could sense the growing tension. He wasn’t subduing it - only the animal’s odd sense of patience was preventing it from attacking now. 

“Look, this isn’t about me,” Coral growled. “This is about Forrest.” 

“I know!” Racke shrieked. “You foolish girl, I’m doing this for him. The other goddesses would kick me out if I helped him out of his Curse for no reason. That’s why I haven’t sought him out all these years. I would be discarded like rubbish if I healed him.” 

“So what, you’re just going to let him suffer?” 

“I’m giving him the test I give everyone else,” Racke continued, her voice a bit calmer now. “Those who want to be freed of their Curse must defeat their biggest fear in the name of love. The Curse taking over is only the beginning - the challenge has yet to come.” 

Fear poured down Forrest’s spine like buckets of ice water. 

No. He knew what Racke intended to do and what she wanted him to do. But he couldn’t help himself anymore - not with the creature inside him begging for bloodshed. 

“Isn’t his biggest fear having his voice back?” Coral asked innocently. 

For once, Forrest was glad that his girlfriend was so naive. She had no idea what he knew, what he had dealt with since the day he was Cursed. 

“Wrong, dear,” Racke said, her lips curling upwards in a sick smile. “His biggest fear …” 

Is to never become my father, Forrest said in his thoughts the same time that Racke said them aloud. Since he had seen the knife that day, since his father had punched him and gotten him Curse, since the very day his father turned out not to be the amazing role model Forrest had always seen him as - ever since then, Forrest wanted to do everything he could to never become his father. 

He’d tried to remain passive except when it came to enemies. 

He’d tried to remain loyal to his friends - he’d even fallen in love with Coral, who loved him with or without his Curse. 

And in the end, his Curse had won out. Forrest was at the beast’s mercy now. 

He knew what Racke was planning next, and he knew that it was impossible for him to succeed. 

His feet moved beneath him, his hands drawing his sword from its sheath. 

Coral spun at the sound, her bow now pointed at him. The arrow gleamed in the dim light. 

His heart raced. 

He took another step closer to Coral’s trembling form. 

His mind pleaded for him to stop before it was too late - before his actions were permanent.

His sword rose into the air and Coral’s eyes widened. 

He wanted to look away and close his eyes and cry and scream and fight and love and talk and LIVE...

The sword came down. 

And dance and sing and tell Coral how much he loved her and to hold her in his arms once last time and say he was sorry…

His muscles braced for the impact. 

He wanted to be FREE! 

Coral was no longer standing in the spot Forrest’s sword had struck. Somehow she’d managed to duck away and find relatively safety a few yards away. 

The Beast grew angrier that its prey had escaped. 

You can’t kill her, Forrest told the Beast. She’s the only one who has ever loved you in a way that no one else could. She lives - even if we don’t. 

The Beast didn’t like that. It roared and Forrest’s feet moved again as he charged for Coral. Her mouth formed an o and she let out a small yelp before holding her bow up again. The Beast grabbed the arrow that was knocked and snapped it in half. 

Coral ran and the Beast chased after her. 

She was faster than the Beast, as he was burdened by the little voice inside of his head - the one saying the girl was his friend. 

She managed to slip away, but the Beast would find her. 

You can run, you can hide, but you can never escape the Beast! He let out a loud yell and scanned the room. Something slammed into the back of his head. It was a bow string! 

The Beast spun and grabbed the girl by the hair with his large hand. She was cowering and trembling, looking for a way to escape like the prey that she was. His head throbbed with a headache. 

Then the girl kicked him in the face. The Beast dropped the girl and she ran. 

Blood spurted from his nose and pain swelled in his face. The little voice wasn’t helping anything either by saying that the girl was innocent. 

Pain only made him more powerful. 

He spotted her out of the corner of his eye, running towards a woman at the back of the room. She was begging for help. 

The Beast withdrew his sword. 

The cries in his head got louder and more painful, like knives stabbing his brain, pleading for mercy. 

The girl wasn’t expecting him to see her so quickly. Her quiver clattered to the floor. 

Unintelligible words came from her lips. The Beast didn’t recognize them at all - but the voice inside his head did. She’s saying sorry. Can’t you find it in your heart to spare her? 

The Beast faltered. For a split second, he began to wonder if what he was doing was actually the right thing. Maybe the voice was right. Maybe he should let this girl go and let her live… 

No. What was going on? She had to die. 

The Beast charged forwards, sword pointed forwards. The girl’s eyes became wide and her lips trembled. But as he approached, her facade crumbled. 

She sidestepped with a flourish and snatched the vial that was in his belt. 

“Come and get it, you monster,” she yelled, her voice hoarse.

The Beast snarled. There was no way he was going to let his prey play with him like this. He charged forwards once again and the girl through the vial. It arced through the air, soaring over his head. The Beast watched it spiral through their air until it hit the wall and broke into a million pieces. 

The maroon light that had been inside the bottle shot towards him, hitting the Beast square in the face. He staggered backwards, momentarily blinded. 

But within a minute, his vision had returned. 

And surprisingly enough, the girl was standing right in front of him. She didn’t look scared, just tired. 

The voice in his head begged for mercy and to spare the girl’s life. 

The Beast faltered, hesitating. What had the girl done to deserve this? He wasn’t sure. Maybe this was a bad idea after all… 

Full bloodlust overcame any second thoughts the Beast was having. 

The girl would die. 

He let out a feral cry and ran straight at her. The contact was cool as the girl pressed herself closer to him. 

The world ignited in flames, burning away the Beast and leaving Forrest with control of his actions. All he felt was Coral’s lips on his and the intense passion for someone he loved. 

With a start, Forrest realized that the sword was still in his hand. 

The other end was buried in Coral’s stomach. His stomach sank like a stone and Forrest slumped to the floor, Coral’s limp form beside him.

Her hands gripped at his desperately. 

“Forrest?” Her eyes were unfocused, glazed over. Forrest took her hands in his and guided them to his face, letting her delicate fingers trace over his cheeks. 

It’s me. 

“Forrest.” This time she knew who he was. “I love you.” 

He knew he couldn’t let this go any longer. You’ll know when the time is right. The time was right. 

“I love you too,” he whispered back. 

Her face was so beautiful when she heard his voice. Her smile radiated more heat than a thousand suns ever could. 

“Please don’t go,” he continued. 

Her smile faltered. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry, Forrest.” 

He wanted to fight, to give her the proper life she deserved. But Forrest knew it was too late - and Coral knew it too. 

“I love you.” 

He held her to his chest as her lips parted and her eyes closed. For the first time in his life, Forrest cried hard. He sobbed until his chest hurt. 

He was fractured and broken and the only glue holding him together was gone. 

A million years seemed to pass as Forrest hugged her body. The world dropped away, leaving him alone. Truly alone. 

Except for Racke. 

“How unfortunate,” she muttered. “I really was starting to like her. What a pity too. At least she-”

“Shut up!” 

Forrest was on his feet. He didn’t know when the change had happened or when he had grabbed his sword again. The blade was bloody. 

Racke blinked at him in surprise. 

“Go away!” he shouted, louder this time. The goddess didn’t flinch. Forrest hated her for it. For the way she could just frown and pretend that Coral’s death didn’t matter. “Go away or I’ll kill you, too.” 

“Forrest, child, isn’t there enough blood on your hands? I can help you clean-” 

“I don’t need your help. You’ve never done anything for my good, and I certainly don’t need your assistance now. Just shut up and go away.” 

Racke didn’t leave. Anger pulsed inside of Forrest, but this time it wasn’t his Curse.

He ran at Racke on his own accord, his sword levelled at her head. Racke waited there, not even moving as he attacked her. She expected nothing to happen because she was a goddess. 

But something did happen. 

Forrest’s blade broke on impact with the goddess’s skin, but there was just a tiny trickle of blood that dripped down her cheek. Racke wiped it away with her hand, staring at the tiny drop of red. 

She looked terrified. 

“Forrest, you can’t let this define who you become. I know she was important-” 

“She was my everything! My only reason for fighting! And now she’s gone - all because of you.” 

“Forrest, this isn’t the end-” 

“You’re right,” he spat. “This is only the beginning.” With that, he turned tail and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. 

He ran. 

Somewhere along the line, Forrest must’ve collapsed into an exhausted heap and fallen asleep. He woke who knew how much longer later. His face throbbed where Coral had kicked him. 

He felt as though someone had torn his heart in half and destroyed one piece entirely. 

It probably wasn’t a good state of mind, especially considering he needed to make a decision. Would he go back to his friends in Dinrali? Or would he flee? 

If only Coral were here… 

The ache in his chest worsened and Forrest felt tears spring to his eyes again. 

He was reclined against a tree in the middle of nowhere, entirely alone. Racke was gone and quite frankly, Forrest hoped he never saw her again. 

Besides, it would be easier to blame her than himself. 

After all, it was your sword and your hand that ultimately killed her, the voice in his head reminded him. 

Forrest straightened. He’d completely forgotten about the voice and what Racke had said about it. 

“Go away,” he said aloud, as if to chase the voice off. 

Ha, you really think you’re going to get rid of me that easily? Even the girl was smarter than that… 

“You really wanna rub salt in the wound?” 

Kinda. Seeing you angry reminds me of how powerful I once was.

Forrest wrinkled his nose. Anger flooded through him again, but it wasn’t the Curse either. It was his own emotions, not controlled by a goddess. “I know who you are, and I know what you want. You’re not getting it.” 

You wouldn’t help a poor, pitiful man- 

“I wouldn’t help the very father who tried to murder my mother.” Forrest surprised himself with how harsh his words sounded. “I’m not bringing you back, even as a Guide, Brooks. So go and bother someone else.” 

It took you long enough-

“I said go! I’m not helping you!” 

But you already have, haven’t you? By killing your girlfriend, you accomplished what I couldn’t with my own wife. You’ve already become just like me, Forrest. Like father , like son. 

Forrest’s mind crumbled. He was just like his father. His biggest fear was to become a man like his father had been, so heartless and cruel. He’d done everything in his power to avoid it. 

And here he was, his girlfriend’s blood on his hands. 

Like father , like son. 

“Your legacy ends here, Brooks,” Forrest spat. He wasn’t thinking straight anymore - he wasn’t thinking to begin with. 

His sword was out of its sheath, pointing directly at his stomach. 

Brooks’s voice hesitated before continuing. Forrest, my boy, put down the sword. You don’t know what you’re doing- 

“I’m done being a pawn.” He turned his head skyward. “Do you hear that, everyone?! I’m doing being a player in one of your games. Fight your own battles, because I’m not doing it for you anymore.” 

He turned his thoughts inward, Brooks, this is my message specifically to you. I’m done playing your pathetic games with you. You saw what I did to Racke, right? Well, I’m not afraid of who I am anymore. I’m afraid of what you want me to be. So I’m giving you one minute to leave me alone or I will end both of us right here on the spot. I won’t hesitate. 

His voice was steely, devoid of emotion. Forrest wasn’t sure if he’d ever feel again. 

We could’ve been great, Brooks replied bitterly. We could’ve destroyed the goddesses who made us live this terrible life. 

Yeah, that’s the thing though. I wouldn’t trade this life for anything. Forrest meant it too. 

Brooks gave a small sigh. If you ever- 

I won’t be your pawn, father. Begone or I will make you wish you never raised me to be such a strong fighter. 

Brooks was gone. Just like that, Forrest was completely and utterly alone. 

It felt … refreshing, in a way. His life was his now. He wouldn’t do the goddesses’ bidding, nor his father’s. 

He was just sheathing his sword, figuring out where to head next when a group of five appeared from the bushes, panting for breath. A familiar, sweaty Morgan was leading the group. 

His expression was one of relief when he took Forrest in. 

It shifted to shock, confusion, and then a small bit of fear as he realized who was missing. “Forrest, where is Coral?” 

Author's Note

Just a quick note, this chapter officially makes 100k words! I'm super excited that I managed to get this far, so I'm super happy. Also, please give feedback on the chapter as a whole (you know what I'm talking about - no spoilers!!)There are a few more emotional scenes that I have planned, but this is probably the worst one that I have. Thanks!