An Education by UnknownRandomness

Listening Is An Essential Ability

Prompt: Tenebrous - Dark and/or gloomy.

Word Count: 530

Kagome shook her head, digging her soles resolutely into the loamy earth in a vain attempt to stop moving towards her nightmare. 

"C'mon you stupid wench, the quickest path to Naraku is through that forest and we are not taking a detour!"

Her hanyou companion had tried to reason with her, understanding that she was scared of this forest ever since she'd had a dream some nights ago, but now she was just wasting time and he was quickly becoming incredibly pissed off. 

The others had all entered the day before, regardless of the miko's desperate protests, telling her that they would be fine and meet them on the other side.

But they wouldn't. Kagome knew without a doubt that there was nothing that could be done for her friends now; she had to save Inuyasha before he dragged them straight into hell. It wasn't a dream; it was a premonition. And she wasn't scared; she was terrified.

Before she could utter any other pleas, the half-demon had crossed the line, pulling her with him. The difference in atmosphere was as stark as day and night. 

Tall, dark trees loomed far above their heads, the thick foliage blocking any natural light from reaching the obscure forest floor. To Inuyasha, it was nothing more than a slightly creepy overgrown forest. That was an illusion. It was far more than that. In essence, this enormous woodland terrain was an elaborate living trap, designed for the soul purpose of keeping travellers from ever seeing the sky again. You would not die from starvation because the forest provided everything for you... Yet that wouldn't stop insanity from creeping in on silent feet to take root inside your lonely and hyper-aware mind.

"See Kags? Nothing at all to worry about. You're just overreacting. Look, I'll prove it to you."

Kagome whimpered in alarm as Inuyasha pulled his hand from her iron grip. The young woman reached forward to grab it before he could move away, but not quickly enough! He turned back to smile at her and her heart stopped as his red-robed figure appeared to evaporate before her very eyes.

She blinked. There was nothing left, no trace that he had ever set foot in this place. Her breathing escalated as her emotions ran rampant. Fear, anxiety, disbelief, loss, panic; they all swarmed in to buzz inside her suddenly blank mind.

Her hand was still outstretched towards the empty air. He was gone; taken from her a mere foot inside this maze.

She spun suddenly, she had to get out, save herself, leave before she went mad; it was horrible, she was going to die here she just knew it but if she could escape-

The miko felt tears escape her staring eyes, fixated on the trees that surrounded her for an eternity. There was no escape. She would never leave this forest, nor would she ever see another living creature for the rest of her life. All of her companions would meet the same fate. All because they hadn't listened. All because she had not stopped them.

Sinking to her knees, Kagome didn't try to fight when the darkness rushed in. She screamed.