Cain-Master Mahan

The forest was quiet, yet the silence pressed against me, thick and expectant. Petie padded ahead, nose twitching, tail curled. Then it hit me: a stench like nothing I had ever smelled before. Not death of an animal—worse. Deep, rancid, human. My stomach lurched.

On the pallets we often used to rest, a figure sat. At first, I thought it was a corpse, but the posture was too deliberate. The flesh hung in tatters, gray and rotting, yet his eyes gleamed—sharp, intelligent, alive. He hissed like a snake, and Petie whimpered, retreating to my side.

“I am the first murderer,” he said, voice low, smooth, yet cutting. “Cain. Hear me, human. I roam the Earth, and I have no home.”

I froze. The stench clawed at my senses, my heart pounding.

“Run, if you must,” he continued, “but know this: I have seen empires rise and fall, watched humanity stumble for millennia. I have learned your languages, your ways. English, Hebrew, Latin… I speak the tongue of the one who listens.”

Petie growled, pressing closer. My hand trembled as I reached for him.

“Do you not wish to hear my tales?” Cain’s grin stretched over what remained of his teeth ."“Tales of the will of Satan, of power gained through blood, of Master Mahan’s work carried across centuries? Do you not wonder how one who has lived since the first murder walks unseen among your kind?”

I swallowed hard. “We… we must leave. This forest isn’t safe.”

He chuckled, a sound like dry leaves scraping stone. “You think yourself safe because the world has forgotten me. But I remember. I adapt. I wait. And today… you see me.”

Petie whined, nudging my leg. I grabbed him, pulling toward the path, but Cain’s voice followed, echoing in the open forest:

“Run then, human. Master Mahan, the Master of Murder, bids you adieu.”

I sprinted, branches tearing at my clothes, stench and dread chasing me. Behind me, I thought I heard him laugh—but whether it was him, the wind, or the forest itself, I could not tell. Petie and I didn’t stop until sunlight touched my face. The memory of him, his gaze, and that terrible knowledge burned into me like fire.

Even now, I know something timeless, intelligent, and patient watches, waiting for the moment I step too far into the forest again.