Adam Tomaszewski

Chosen by blood

The middle of a forest at night is truly an interesting place — in the most uncomfortable sense of the word.
Trees touched only by moonlight turn into demons of the strangest, twisted shapes, waiting from afar for the right moment to attack.
Their shadows, standing out against the already dark ground, seem to be everywhere, seeing even what hides deep within our hearts.The smallest movement — even one caught only in the corner of your eye — makes your heart freeze for a moment, then start beating wildly, while cold sweat appears on your skin.
An innocent breeze triggers an avalanche of sounds which, in the dead silence of the forest, carry more power than the loudest screams.The forest at night is truly terrifying, no matter how strong your nerves are, no matter how cold your heart may be.So how on earth did I end up here… completely alone?
Lying on the ground, in the middle of a spreading puddle of my own blood.The answer is simple — even if it only leads to more questions.
When I entered the forest, I wasn’t alone.There were six of us. And for each of us, the idea of walking into a forest at night felt at least uncomfortable.
But as always — the job wouldn’t do itself.So with extreme caution, we sank deeper into the dark parts of the forest.
Step by step, kilometer by kilometer, into terrain unaccustomed to human presence.
All in search of an explanation for the anomaly we were sent to investigate.
Unaware — and completely unprepared — for what awaited us.It started innocently.
Some small movement on the right.
A bush making an ominous sound.
A tree creaking its branches.Nothing unusual… until normality was buried in an instant.Kate was the first to find out.With a bone-piercing crash, she was thrown into the nearest tree.
The trunk, unable to withstand the impact of her fragile body, snapped and collapsed to the ground.We stared at one another and instantly pressed our backs together.
Carefully scanning the surroundings, we reached the place where Kate finally stopped.There was nothing to see…
except the twisted, lifeless body of our companion.Panic took over. We stood there, clinging to each other, searching the darkness with our eyes.Joseph broke first.Unable to bear the pressure, he ran straight into the forest, trying to escape what awaited us.
But all he achieved was an earlier execution.From the endless darkness between the trees, something the size of a city car flew out, weaving effortlessly through the plants, and struck him head-on.
Or rather — what remained of him rolled helplessly across the ground, stopping only at a distant bush.Four of us remained.Terrified and helpless, waiting for the moment the unknown being would also steal the breath from our chests.Jason and Valerie decided they wouldn’t wait for the executioner.
They broke away at the same moment, running in opposite directions.Martha followed the same impulse and ran forward, leaving me alone.Abandoned in this cursed night forest.Only seconds later, a woman’s scream echoed through the trees.
Moments after that, a man’s roar vanished into silence.I stood still, counting the passing seconds, waiting for death to come for me.I didn’t wait long.I only heard the faint sound of wind behind me, before a powerful stinger pierced straight through the center of my chest.Shocked, I stared at the foreign object lodged in my body.
Even when it disappeared — leaving behind only a gaping hole pouring blood — I kept staring.My legs held me only for a few seconds.
I collapsed onto the cold grass, not even feeling the impact.With every passing second, along with the drops of blood, life was leaving my body.With the last of my strength, I turned toward the clearing beyond the trees.There stood the monster — bathed in pale moonlight — that had slaughtered my entire team.It resembled a wasp…
only one grown to the size of a large van.It stood calmly, as if admiring its work.While I lay helpless, wondering why once again everything in my life had gone wrong.
Just like always — following the same curve.
Whenever I thought things were finally getting better, fate reminded me that life is not a kind lover.But, as I learned… it could always be worse.I could end up lying in the middle of a forest, thousands of kilometers from home, in a pool of my own blood.They say it’s pointless to feel sorry for yourself…
but at that moment, I had nothing else left to do.So I spent my final seconds remembering my mistakes.Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the sound behind me.Footsteps.
Soft, slow — yet unnatural.
Steady and uninterrupted.With the last of my strength, I looked up at the star-filled sky —
the only thing you can truly love about the night forest.
Stars piercing through the treetops, free from city lights, allowed to shine as brightly as they wished.For one final moment… I could simply admire the night sky.Then someone blocked my view.I nearly lost what remained of my breath.A young woman stood over me, watching for several heartbeats.Long raven-black hair fell toward me like an aurora.
Delicate facial features hiding quiet toughness.
And standing just meters from the monster, she showed no fear at all.She said something — but I didn’t process it, wondering how her green eyes could be more beautiful than the stars.“There’s a chance he’ll survive,” she said to herself, still watching me.
“I’ll need some help from you, though.”Without waiting for my answer, she dipped her finger into my blood.
It climbed along her skin as if waiting for her command.
Her black nails turned crimson.She stood and turned toward the monster.Without hesitation, she walked toward the clearing.Her fitted suit only added elegance to the spectacle unfolding before my eyes.For what felt like eternity, both figures remained suspended in anticipation.
Only her slow steps proved time still existed.The monster’s wings trembled, its body bending as it prepared to strike.She raised her right hand.
A crimson sphere began forming above her palm.The monster charged.In a blur, it crossed most of the clearing, stinger aimed forward.She stopped.
Thrust her hand forward.The sphere exploded into the charging beast, throwing it back like a ragdoll.It crashed into the ground, rolling to a stop meters away.She calmly began walking toward it again.One word escaped my lips.“Jormungandr.”The highest possible rank among the Anointed.
A title reserved for beings of unimaginable power.
Armies and fortresses mean nothing to them.
Not an official rank — not found in any records — but feared and revered across the world.Only a few are known publicly.
Each with influence equal to the rulers of great nations.The woman walking calmly toward the monster had to be one of them.She didn’t notice the dying young man staring at her in awe.
All her attention was on the creature struggling to rise.For the first time, fear appeared in its inhuman eyes.That small woman, compared to its massive size, had shown it what true terror meant.But she wasn’t finished.In her lowered hand, another shape began to form.
At first a thin red line the length of a man —
then thickening, twisting, becoming a breathtaking spear,
as if woven from living crimson vines.She stepped before the stunned monster.It tried to rise, to strike.She didn’t allow it.With one fluid motion, she drove the spear between its eyes.The wasp convulsed, screamed, and collapsed onto the ground.And just like that…
the monster that slaughtered my entire team was dead.Not after a long, heroic battle —
simply crushed by overwhelming power.She didn’t pull the weapon out immediately.
Dark blood flowed along the spear and into her hand, absorbed by her skin.Only then did the weapon dissolve back into her body.She watched the corpse for a few breaths, then turned to me.Bathed in moonlight, she looked like a distant god watching humanity.Her eyes — now blood-red — met mine.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.She said something to me…But before I could hear it,
my body finally gave in to fate.
The middle of a forest at night is truly an interesting place — in the most uncomfortable sense of the word.
Trees touched only by moonlight turn into demons of the strangest, twisted shapes, waiting from afar for the right moment to attack.
Their shadows, standing out against the already dark ground, seem to be everywhere, seeing even what hides deep within our hearts.The smallest movement — even one caught only in the corner of your eye — makes your heart freeze for a moment, then start beating wildly, while cold sweat appears on your skin.
An innocent breeze triggers an avalanche of sounds which, in the dead silence of the forest, carry more power than the loudest screams.The forest at night is truly terrifying, no matter how strong your nerves are, no matter how cold your heart may be.So how on earth did I end up here… completely alone?
Lying on the ground, in the middle of a spreading puddle of my own blood.The answer is simple — even if it only leads to more questions.
When I entered the forest, I wasn’t alone.There were six of us. And for each of us, the idea of walking into a forest at night felt at least uncomfortable.
But as always — the job wouldn’t do itself.So with extreme caution, we sank deeper into the dark parts of the forest.
Step by step, kilometer by kilometer, into terrain unaccustomed to human presence.
All in search of an explanation for the anomaly we were sent to investigate.
Unaware — and completely unprepared — for what awaited us.It started innocently.
Some small movement on the right.
A bush making an ominous sound.
A tree creaking its branches.Nothing unusual… until normality was buried in an instant.Kate was the first to find out.With a bone-piercing crash, she was thrown into the nearest tree.
The trunk, unable to withstand the impact of her fragile body, snapped and collapsed to the ground.We stared at one another and instantly pressed our backs together.
Carefully scanning the surroundings, we reached the place where Kate finally stopped.There was nothing to see…
except the twisted, lifeless body of our companion.Panic took over. We stood there, clinging to each other, searching the darkness with our eyes.Joseph broke first.Unable to bear the pressure, he ran straight into the forest, trying to escape what awaited us.
But all he achieved was an earlier execution.From the endless darkness between the trees, something the size of a city car flew out, weaving effortlessly through the plants, and struck him head-on.
Or rather — what remained of him rolled helplessly across the ground, stopping only at a distant bush.Four of us remained.Terrified and helpless, waiting for the moment the unknown being would also steal the breath from our chests.Jason and Valerie decided they wouldn’t wait for the executioner.
They broke away at the same moment, running in opposite directions.Martha followed the same impulse and ran forward, leaving me alone.Abandoned in this cursed night forest.Only seconds later, a woman’s scream echoed through the trees.
Moments after that, a man’s roar vanished into silence.I stood still, counting the passing seconds, waiting for death to come for me.I didn’t wait long.I only heard the faint sound of wind behind me, before a powerful stinger pierced straight through the center of my chest.Shocked, I stared at the foreign object lodged in my body.
Even when it disappeared — leaving behind only a gaping hole pouring blood — I kept staring.My legs held me only for a few seconds.
I collapsed onto the cold grass, not even feeling the impact.With every passing second, along with the drops of blood, life was leaving my body.With the last of my strength, I turned toward the clearing beyond the trees.There stood the monster — bathed in pale moonlight — that had slaughtered my entire team.It resembled a wasp…
only one grown to the size of a large van.It stood calmly, as if admiring its work.While I lay helpless, wondering why once again everything in my life had gone wrong.
Just like always — following the same curve.
Whenever I thought things were finally getting better, fate reminded me that life is not a kind lover.But, as I learned… it could always be worse.I could end up lying in the middle of a forest, thousands of kilometers from home, in a pool of my own blood.They say it’s pointless to feel sorry for yourself…
but at that moment, I had nothing else left to do.So I spent my final seconds remembering my mistakes.Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the sound behind me.Footsteps.
Soft, slow — yet unnatural.
Steady and uninterrupted.With the last of my strength, I looked up at the star-filled sky —
the only thing you can truly love about the night forest.
Stars piercing through the treetops, free from city lights, allowed to shine as brightly as they wished.For one final moment… I could simply admire the night sky.Then someone blocked my view.I nearly lost what remained of my breath.A young woman stood over me, watching for several heartbeats.Long raven-black hair fell toward me like an aurora.
Delicate facial features hiding quiet toughness.
And standing just meters from the monster, she showed no fear at all.She said something — but I didn’t process it, wondering how her green eyes could be more beautiful than the stars.“There’s a chance he’ll survive,” she said to herself, still watching me.
“I’ll need some help from you, though.”Without waiting for my answer, she dipped her finger into my blood.
It climbed along her skin as if waiting for her command.
Her black nails turned crimson.She stood and turned toward the monster.Without hesitation, she walked toward the clearing.Her fitted suit only added elegance to the spectacle unfolding before my eyes.For what felt like eternity, both figures remained suspended in anticipation.
Only her slow steps proved time still existed.The monster’s wings trembled, its body bending as it prepared to strike.She raised her right hand.
A crimson sphere began forming above her palm.The monster charged.In a blur, it crossed most of the clearing, stinger aimed forward.She stopped.
Thrust her hand forward.The sphere exploded into the charging beast, throwing it back like a ragdoll.It crashed into the ground, rolling to a stop meters away.She calmly began walking toward it again.One word escaped my lips.“Jormungandr.”The highest possible rank among the Anointed.
A title reserved for beings of unimaginable power.
Armies and fortresses mean nothing to them.
Not an official rank — not found in any records — but feared and revered across the world.Only a few are known publicly.
Each with influence equal to the rulers of great nations.The woman walking calmly toward the monster had to be one of them.She didn’t notice the dying young man staring at her in awe.
All her attention was on the creature struggling to rise.For the first time, fear appeared in its inhuman eyes.That small woman, compared to its massive size, had shown it what true terror meant.But she wasn’t finished.In her lowered hand, another shape began to form.
At first a thin red line the length of a man —
then thickening, twisting, becoming a breathtaking spear,
as if woven from living crimson vines.She stepped before the stunned monster.It tried to rise, to strike.She didn’t allow it.With one fluid motion, she drove the spear between its eyes.The wasp convulsed, screamed, and collapsed onto the ground.And just like that…
the monster that slaughtered my entire team was dead.Not after a long, heroic battle —
simply crushed by overwhelming power.She didn’t pull the weapon out immediately.
Dark blood flowed along the spear and into her hand, absorbed by her skin.Only then did the weapon dissolve back into her body.She watched the corpse for a few breaths, then turned to me.Bathed in moonlight, she looked like a distant god watching humanity.Her eyes — now blood-red — met mine.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.She said something to me…But before I could hear it,
my body finally gave in to fate.When I opened my eyes again, fluorescent lights blinded me.Slowly, my senses returned.

The steady beep of a heart monitor.
The horrible dryness in my mouth.
Cold air from nearby ventilation.
Numbness in every cell of my body.
And finally, daylight slipping through a hospital window.I closed my eyes once more…
and remembered the mysterious woman.Who, though she had looked like death itself in that forest,
had somehow protected me from it.