Ortan's Journal

Entry 3

Today... I saw a few of the things... and... something else. This has been a horrible day. Now I'm starting to get what's happening, though not why. I'm starting to grasp what these things are capable of. Well, here we go.

When morning came, I took another look and saw the smoke still rising from about seven miles or so away. With that, I eased back down the tree, back into the darkness. I took a gulp of water from my canteen, and was shocked to see only a third of it still filled. I'd have to find a river soon, but it was more important to catch up at that point. So once again, I started off on the beaten path, carefully examining the unfamiliar tracks. I'd confirmed yesterday that these things walked on claws, and every mile I walked there would be a few tracks that had left the ground singed.

After walking several hours, I started hearing louder whispers. This forest was already filled with demented whispers as it was, but these were louder and in a different language. These were coming from something, not the wind. Suddenly the smell of smoke wafted to me, and I realized I'd reached the campfire. There was a small clearing just ahead where the smell originated, so I went prone and silently crawled up to a fallen tree. Not ten hooves in front of me were two of these... things. Ghastly beasts. They did indeed walk on claws, and seemed to drip acid that dissipated on contact with the ground. They were like nothing I'd ever seen before. Black skin, red eyes, my height more or less, one noticeably taller than the other, and rather buff. I thought them to be changelings for a few seconds, but it became apparent that they weren't. Their voices were syrupy sounding, and they had small horns protruding in rows on their sides. They were obviously carnivores, with teeth larger than I'd ever seen.

I was about to risk death to make contact with them, but as I was moving my arms to lift myself off the ground, I noticed her. A mare. Dead in the blood spattered grass. She was covered in burns in the shape of whip scars. The flesh of her back was torn off, as was her spine. Her eyes where still frozen in a terrified and confused expression. I was shaken for a moment, this helpless mare was murdered by the beasts, probably with no provocation. They just took her life. I was greatly saddened to say the least, she could've had the rest of her life, but it was taken from her by these things. And then it began to build. Anger. Blistering fury arose in my very soul, nearly making the vessels in my eyes pop. An unholy rage consumed my essence, blurring my vision with red. In a period of two seconds, I stood, drew my shotgun, and fired twice.

The first shot riddled the taller one's body with lead, spewing blood in small streams onto the already stained grass. The second shot hit him directly in the face. His head exploded, sending pieces of brain matter everywhere. It covered the beast next to him with the pinkish red glop, and sent some upon me as well. Skull fragments flew in all directions, embedding themselves deep into the surrounding trees. His body stood for a moment, his neck now a blood fountain, and slowly fell to the ground. Before the other could react, I had holstered the sawed-off, drew my knife, and lunged. I buried the serrated blade into his stomach, knocking him over with the tackle. I twisted the blade a full turn, and sliced it out through his side, sending streaks of the red fluid in a near straight line. In a split second I had it against his neck, ready to slit it open. I looked him in the eye, tightened my grip on the blade, and split his neck in two, showering my face with blood and tissue. He began shaking and gargling, drowning in his own life fluid. I wiped my knife clean on the grass, put it back on my shoulder, and stood up.

The clearing was now covered in gore. Three lay dead around me, one's life viciously taken by the beasts, the other two's lives ripped and shot from them by me. I walked over to the mare to try and identify her. After looking her over, I concluded that I did not know her. She was a small thing, with light red hair and a grey mane and tail. Her eyes were light green, still gazing off in space. The hide from her flanks were ripped away, stripping her of her mark and leaving me no way other than blunt description to find out her identity. With a heavy heart, I closed her eyes, and began digging with a small collapsable shovel I brought. After an hour of digging, her grave was finished, a three hoof deep hole in the ground. After collapsing the shovel, I spotted a bit of pink. There was a rose, the only flower I'd seen in this evil place, on the edge of the trees. It was a small sign of happiness in a sea of dementia. I walked over and gently pulled it up by the roots. Picking her up, I gently put her down into the hole, arms crossed on her chest, and covered her body with rocks before burying her. After I had pat the ground smooth, I planted the rose on top of her grave and took a complete mental image of the clearing, to be able to find the place again if needed. It was time to move on.

I walked away from the clearing, reloading my shotgun on my way out. The path continued through the forest, and I would follow it until I found them. The sound of the gunshots had most likely alerted the beasts of my presence, and they would have picked up speed. By now I might have lost quite a bit of ground, but I couldn't just leave the poor mare lying dead in the open. After I'd walked a ways, I realized I was slightly burnt on my face, where it had been touched by the blood. I realized that these things' blood was highly acidic, but not acidic enough to burn all the way through flesh. I decided to be more weary of the painful sap flowing through the beasts' veins. If it got in my eyes, I could be blinded for all I knew.

After a while, night fell, and I hadn't caught sight of the others, though I was and am sure I'm regaining my ground. I found another tree to rest in, not tall enough to clear the canopy, but tall enough to keep me relatively safe. I'm currently planning my course of action for tomorrow, and I'm starting to wonder what these things have in store for everypony. Why would they abduct so many? What are they trying to do? I hope I'll get the answers when I catch up. It's best now that I sleep. Although I'm sure I'll dream of the mare. What a shameful waste. As for the burn marks resembling whip scars, it would seem these beasts are able to use magic, and can conjure fire whips. I'll only know when I find them, and I'm sure I will.