章節 2: Prey
Emile closed his eyes and concentrated on whatever noises he could hear around him. He heard his sister's breath, slow and steady. He heard his own breath too, along with the natural sounds of the forest: crickets rubbing their legs together, the rustle of the trees as the wind blew through them.
And suddenly, another snap. Again closer than the last. Emile guessed that whatever was making the ruckus was just beyond their tree, on the opposite side.
Emile held his breath. He had no way to know what was making the sound. On the one hand it could be a rabbit or a squirrel, but on the other it could be a wolf or some sort of large cat.
Emile was distraught. Should he remain still? Hoping that the creature was a pacifist. Or should he react and flee under the presumption that he and Emma are being hunted? And even if he chose to flee, he cannot see. Should he tell Emma to run while he stays behind to face the creature? Should they run together?
There were too many variables. Too many unknowns. Adrenaline started to pump through Emile's veins.
Finally, another snap right beside Emile's head. He rocketed his head in that direction and, at eye level, stared directly into fierce, golden eyes much larger and higher than any rabbit could possess.
Emile gripped Emma's arm with all his strength and threw her away from the beast.
"Run Emma!" He screeched, alerting the whole forest of their presence.
Emile raised his arms above his head and dropped down to the floor. The golden eyes pounced just a moment too soon and flew above Emile's body. The beast reacted to Emile's movement quick enough to alter its claws low enough to tear at the boy's back.
"Emile!" Emma screamed.
Emile's shoes dug deep into the dirt as he pushed with all his might. Using his hands to push himself all the way up, he started sprinting in the direction of Emma's voice.
"Run damn it!" Emile yelled.
He sprinted forward with his arms held out. Luckily he felt Emma's arm in the dark and grabbed it tight. Pulling her along he sprinted ahead, praying to any and all Gods that he doesn't run right into a tree.
Behind him the beast dug its claws into the dirt and roared towards the sky before continuing its hunt of the two youths.
Emile and Emma sprinted as fast as they could while holding each other. Emile held his other arm out in front of him. First to block all of the branches he was running into, but also because he would rather his hand hit a tree before his skull collided with one.
So far the two of them had been pretty lucky. The branches were cutting and scraping Emma's bare arms, but they had yet to run into any trees or stumps.
That was until Emma stepped right beneath an exposed tree root and was snagged down to the ground. Emile felt his shoulder pop in and out as he was thrown backwards. Catching his balance, Emile sprinted back in the direction they came from while pushing his shoulder out ahead of him.
Like clockwork, Emile's shoulder slammed into the body of the beast that was just behind them, but his body was no match for the beast and Emile was blown back onto the ground.
Meanwhile, the beast never expected its prey to turn back and launch themselves at it. Caught off guard, Emile's shoulder hit the beast right between its eyes, and although Emile is much weaker than the beast, the beast was left disoriented as it toppled over the boy.
Those few seconds of disorientation were enough for Emile and Emma to get back on their feet. Grabbing Emile's hand, Emma led this time and sprinted away from where she thought the beast was.
A few moments later and the two were once again sprinting blind through the forest. Seconds passed. And then minutes. Unease and anxiety grew between the youths as if they were sludging through a leech infested swamp.
Emile's mouth was dry. His tongue stuck to the bottom of his gums like tape. His back stung while waves of pain assaulted him in resonance with his heart beat. His shoulder was bruised and numb, probably dislocated. He was nearing his limit and he knew it.
"Em—" but before he could call out, he felt the pull of Emma's grip drop beneath his waist.
Then his foot lunged forward to take his next step, but it didn't connect with the soft dirt they had been running on. Instead, it dropped and continued falling.
Finally, Emma broke the silence as realization struck her and she screamed as she plummeted into the unknown abyss dragging Emile with her.
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