The Beginning of the End

Chapter twelve, Dead men tell no tales

»»--⍟--««

-. --- / .-. . --. .-. . - ...

We run. We run as fast as our legs are willing to take us. The wind whips against my bare chest; I have forgotten my shirt in the process of fleeing this deadly creature.

Haylee is right in front of me, she is surprisingly faster than I am, though I assume she has done this many times before.

I can hear the Thrall directly behind us, its deep growls echoing through the night air as it chases us down. I can practically feel the pounding thud of the Thrall's feet hit the forest floor, it makes me wonder how much the beast weighs.

I get the shivers, not wanting to look back at the monster behind me. So I just keep running. I try to urge my legs to pump faster, but I've reached my maximum speed. I won't be able to keep up this speedy pace for long. But then again, the adrenaline and fear of getting eaten alive makes me forget about everything but survival.

Even though running from creatures has become a daily routine for us, it still takes a toll on my legs. I haven't realized how sore my legs are until now. My quads are throbbing with every step, my feet shaking underneath me.

We run into complete darkness; the shade of the tree limbs blocking the glowing moon, our only source of light. My heart races in my chest. I hope that nothing else will jump out of the shadows and attempt to feed on our souls. Though, with our luck it's bound to happen.

I lurch forward as I feel the Thrall's razor-sharp claws try to tear through my bare skin. I give a pathetic scream at the feeling, a strong sense of déjà vu sweeping over me. I have done this before.

Haylee grabs my left wrist and pulls me along even faster than before. She urges me forward even though I'm on the verge of losing the will to keep moving. Maybe dying would be better than all of this.

She yells at me, a hint of agitation in her voice, "Come on! I think if we could scale up a tree it would get lost!"

"I don't know how to climb trees!" I shout the truth. Sure, I've climbed many ladders before, I've even climbed a few rock walls in my lifetime; but never have I climbed a tree. I know it sounds ridiculous. Haylee is most likely rolling her eyes at me right now.

"Well then, I guess right now is the perfect time to learn," she spat the words out at me. I want to shoot some witty remark back at her, but now is not the time.

The Thrall lunges at me, I can feel its claws skim my back. I scream, rolling forward to the ground on impulse, just trying to avoid the hungry teeth of the horrifying creature.

I scramble to my feet almost immediately. My first instinct is to bolt towards the nearest tree.

My back stings. I'm cut. An aching pain surges through me from the scratch on my lower back. I try not to focus on my injury, knowing I'll take care of it later. If there is a later.

I look over my shoulder. Haylee was already halfway up a decent sized tree nearby. The Thrall was currently miserably failing at attempting to claw its way up the trunk of the tree.

It's busy trying to kill Haylee. I guess she is unintentionally buying me some time.

I wrap my arms around the trunk of the tree that I had randomly chose. I place my feet against the bark to give me some leverage. This is the only position that feels somewhat right. So I climb; my arms moving up the tree as my legs slowly but surely walk up the side of the trunk.

Sure, my exposed upper body and arms are rubbing against the rough surface, but I would rather a few cuts than whatever the Thrall has planned for me.

I inch my way up the tree. I know I'm not going fast enough. Sooner or later the Thrall is going to get bored with Haylee. I'm the easiest target at the moment, and it makes me uneasy.