Chapter 4:

Bile

Gnar woke up to the shrill of his sister's voice. Looking around to where he thought she was and noticing that she was missing, Gnar frantically jumped up to his feet and ran to where he had heard her as quickly as he could.

Just in time, Gnar saw the thing that was on top of Gnar. With his quick reflexes, he immediately threw his boomerang and it headed towards the creature that pinned his sister down on the ground. In a flash, her sister was lying on the floor, breathing irregularly and the creature at her side twitching as it tried to remove Gnar's weapon off of its side.

"Are you okay?!"

Nara nodded and she threw a rock that she picked up near her at the creature's body and Gnar made sure that it was dead by stabbing the voidling once more. Gnar then took his sister's hand to get her away from the monster that just attacked her. They both ran back to their house and hid there until their dad came back.

After an hour of hiding in resolute silence, Gnar's something or someone had barged in. Gnar had to cover his sister's mouth to keep her from squealing in fear. He then told her to stay put to make sure that they weren't in danger.

Gnar opened his room's door as quietly as he could. He crept out and held his weapon tightly, readying it in case of another one of those voildings show up. Going through the largest room, Gnar was able to see who was disturbing their house. It wasn't anything he has seen before. Gnar had to made sure that it was not a voidling. He went in closer, making sure that the thing that was in front of him did not notice him. As he got a closer look, he realized that its eyes were glowing very dimly in the dark and its structure was not any he has seen before. It waddled around the place while leaving its acidic bile.

Terror had instilled to him as the creature had lingered longer. Instead of going any closer to the creature, he started backing away very slowly as he realized how dangerous this creature could be. While shuffling back, Gnar accidentally bumped a chair. Suddenly, the creature turned its head towards Gnar and spat out its bile. Gnar dodged out of its trajectory. He quickly ran outside where the new creature followed him.

"HUNGER!

The little yordle could only run. All he could've thought was to lure the monster away from their house and somehow try to make it back alive to his sister, who is probably crying and alone in the shadow of their home.

He ran into the forest where he saw Nara got pinned down by a voidling. It wasn't safe but he knew he had to get the creature far from their only home.

Gnar ran as fast as he could but it only seemed that the creature was going to overtake him any minute as if it never rested. Not only was he running from the monster, he was also evading the acid that the creature shot at him. As he ran deeper in to the forest, Gnar started to get lost. He had never ventured this deep into the forest. Despair brought him to stop although he was aware that the creature was still chasing after him. He stood his ground and gathered up all the courage he would need and unsheathed his boomerang in front of him.

Waiting for the thing to get closer to him, he tried to recall everything his father had taught him when he was still a little yordle. Everything from making simple traps to hunting for several weeks without food. He knew he was strong but he thought: What could a small yordle like me do?

Gnar tried to calm himself down and readied his arm for throwing as he was to face the monster that was chasing him through the forest. There is no other way, he thought. The creature was getting nearer and nearer as its grumbles and broken screams sounded louder. He tried not to get angry so he wouldn't destroy anything. He resorted to taking deep breaths to calm himself more.

The creature came into Gnar's view and he immediately threw his boomerang at it. At the same time, Gnar hopped at random directions to confuse his assailant. The little yordle threw his boomerang as many times as he can and making sure that he could retrieve it back. Like Gnar, the creature was relentless at its attack. Spitting acid from its mouth and launching it at the air. Though it fired at the air, it fell down with near accuracy. In one point, Gnar was successfully able to land a hit on the creature but it only retaliated and nearly missed Gnar had he not hopped in the opposite direction of the monster.

The fight continued on for minutes while Gnar getting on the point of exhaustion. The creature, on the other hand, was not showing any signs of wear and kept talking about hunger.

Is he really going to eat me?

"Dad!"

"Nara, where's your brother?"

Nara shrugged her shoulders and stayed where she hid under her brother's cot. Her dad told her not to go anywhere to open the door for anyone until he came back.

Gnar kept himself from moving while in the bush. He was lucky enough to get away from him. But the creature still stayed close as if it could smell Gnar. Holding his boomerang at hand, he repositioned himself to react at the moment that the creature had found him. But not yet.

The little yordle waited for a minute, already have seen the creature pass by the bush where he was hiding multiple times. Sweat trickled down his furry face as fear settled in. With no hope left other than facing the creature in either getting killed or killing the monster. The monster passed by him once more. Gnar thought to himself that if he had lived, he would swear to protect his sister's life no matter what the cost. Feeling satisfied at his own unspoken promise to his sister, Gnar recovered some of his hope that he would live through this.

The monster passed by him once more.

Gnar feeling less scared at the point of certain death, he got too comfortable, a mistake he often made. He accidentally brushed the leaves where he was hiding making subtle noises that could be heard for a couple meters. It caused the creature to turn its large head at the shrubbery where Gnar was hidden. Without hesitation, the thing rapidly shot acid to where Gnar was. Gnar hopped out from his hiding place when some of the acid had landed on his small area by his chest. He then threw his boomerang and it bounced off and flung up high in the air after hitting the creature's hard bone-like structure. Gnar hopped on top of the creature making it grunt in irritation. As he rebounded from the creature enabling him to retrieve his weapon, he looked down and saw that the creature had reacted quickly and aimed its mouth at his body. He tried to sway his body to avoid getting hit by the acidic bile but he was too slow. Gnar winced in pain as he fell from the air straight to the ground.

Gnar clutched his hips as the burning sensation of the bile seeped throughout his whole lower abdomen. He looked back and saw the creature waddling towards him. One hand on his side, he raised his other hand to throw the boomerang, hoping that it would hit the thing and make it go away. The weapon flew through the air, going around in circles, before it hit the creature in the eye and then, the boomerang switched its trajectory back to Gnar.

The creature screamed in pain while trying to reach to Gnar. At this point, Gnar was pulling himself away from the creature very slowly. Then he remembered something that should never have happened. Nako had died the same way. He then saw familiar images of his family especially his sister. Am I going to die?

Out of nowhere, he saw someone jump from one the bushes that surrounded the forest. The yordle had bone boomerang, almost like his, wrapped with leather at the hilt. Only one yordle could have such said weapon. Still in pain, he saw his father beat the living daylights of the creature before it retreated somewhere in the forest.

"Are you okay?"

"Dad?"

Gnar passed out right when his dad approached him.

Gnar woke up with the sun's bright light passing through his room to his face. His first reaction was too cover his eyes with his paws. Upon realizing that he was somewhere different, he sat up only to be stopped by a severe pain where the creature had shot him with its bile. The only difference there was before he passed out was that his whole abdomen area was covered with makeshift bandages made of herbs and long flexible twigs.

Gnar found his boomerang laying on the side of his bed but he couldn't reach with the pain temporarily crippling him. He plainly sighed and already felt bored.

His dad had given him some food for breakfast to sustain him since he wasn't able to eat lunch or dinner. Gnar gave his lunch to his sister the day before. Feeling very hungry, he finished his meal quickly. After eating, he placed his stone-carved plate into the floor where he could barely reach. Gnar's dad had not allowed him to go anywhere until his body healed so he was stuck in his bed for a couple hours with nothing except his sister playing with her doll by his side. This time, their dad had not gone out collecting supplies they would need to survive the incoming winter—such as dried wood, dead leaves, and sticks for fire—because he found a large surplus left by healer's hut.

Gnar tried to recollect what had happened the night before. All he remembered was the creature trying to chase him in the middle of the forest. If I was able to hide from the creature when he hid between a bushes, why wasn't I able to outrun the creature in the first place? Was it toying at me?

Gnar's questions returned no answer as his dad checked on him and replaced his bandage.

"What's on your mind, son?"

"I don't know." Was his simple answer. He couldn't explain why it didn't find him when he was hiding in that bush.