I ripped open the door of the stable and climbed onto Maydire’s back not really having a plan but all I knew was that I needed to get away from here. Maxwell obviously wanted to leave which is why I offered my help. We would be okay for a while with the payment from his parents but two people meant we can ask for more money when we took another job. The thunder like growl was growing louder by the moment. “Maxwell, if you are positive you want to leave get behind me now!” I yelled while grabbing my bow.
“If I come with you. We will be on the run until we die.” He replied while stepping next to Maydire.
“I’ve been running my whole life. I like it that way. Makes life a little more interesting. Now hop on before I change my mind.” My voice was becoming more urgent now that the growl has become so loud that I could feel it in my chest.
Without saying a word he swung himself up behind me and grabbed my waist as Maydire took off sprinting out of the stables.
I squinted into the woods as Maydire carried us across the large open field back the way we came. The large trees were bending as some giant creature moved in our direction. All I could see is a dark outline that was too large to be a bear or anything else that I’ve been. I caught a glimpse of the creature’s face and the eyes made me physically cringe with fright. What the hell? I looked at Maxwell to see if he is seeing what I’m seeing and I could tell from the look of disbelief on his face that he was. When I looked back at the creature it was gone like it was never there in the first place. “What the hell was that?” I demanded after we had made it far enough away without any sign of the creature.
“It must have been one of the mutated creatures. I never actually saw one until tonight. I wonder where it went?” He mused while resting his forehead against my back. “Do you mind if I get some rest?” He added.
“Be my guest. I still have too much adrenaline running through me so I’ll be up for a while. Madire knows where to go anyways. Will it follow us?” I assured him while keeping an eye out for any unusual wildlife. Honestly, I thought had seen it all because I have seen far too much in my short twenty-four years. I didn’t want any part of whatever creatures lurked around Maxwell’s family’s property.
“No. They stay on the property my parents own.” He stated with a yawn.
“I sure hope you’re right.” I replied as I felt the weight of Maxwell’s torso push against my back and his cheek resting on my shoulder as he slept. I can’t explain why I spontaneously invited him to leave with me. It just felt right plus it’s not like he’s going to be staying with me forever.
I must have nodded off eventually because I bolted to attention when Maydire suddenly stopped and started to snort and paw at the ground. “Woah what is it?” I whispered while looking around at the empty path. The light hadn’t made it through the trees yet so it was difficult to see what lurked in the darkest parts of the forest. I could feel something watching us. I just couldn’t see it.
“Why did we stop?” Maxwell groaned while waking up.
“Be quiet. Something is here.” I hissed while keeping my breathing silent. Every single hair on my body was standing straight up. There was too much silence as I listened for any sign of wildlife. My heart was pounding so hard against my ribcage that I was afraid that whatever was out there would hear it.
“I can feel us being watched but I can’t see anything.” Maxwell uttered so quietly that I almost didn’t hear him.
Snap! Pause. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Silence.
I slowly turned my head towards the sound and saw a glimpse of the unmistakable archaic head of a crocodile only much larger than anyone I have ever seen before. “Maxwell, look where I’m looking very slowly. Maydire get us the hell out of here now!” I whispered urging her onwards.
Snap. Snap. Crunch. Scrape. Crunch.
“Holy shit! Is that a crocodile? I’ve never seen one get to that size before.” He replied in awe as the creature peaked its head out from the foliage.
“Sure is! Maydire can out run it though.” I said mostly to reassure myself.
SNAP! CRUNCH!
As the sounds of branches being broken continued I watched as a massive scaley tail came crashing down in front of us. When I say massive I mean the tail was as thick as an actual tree trunk where you can’t wrap your arms around. I could feel Maydire pick up speed even without me telling her.
“Is she going to jump over the tail of the unusually large crocodile?” He asked while holding onto me.
“We are about to find out.” I answered while leaning forward as much as I could. I watched as we lifted off of the ground and flew through the air over this creature’s tail. There was enough adrenaline running through Maydire that she was able to land well enough to keep running. She ran off the path we were on and took off into the forest. I didn’t need to look behind us to know that we were being hunted. I could feel the ground shake as the creature started to pursue us. Once I started to get used to the rhythm of Maydire’s gallop I was able to pull out my bow.
“You trust me, right?” I asked while looking him in his gorgeous eyes.
“Yes,” he replied giving me a curious look while eyeing my bow.
“Good. I need to borrow your shoulder for a moment.” I spoke calmly while carefully placing my arrow on his shoulder.
He nodded and straightened his back so I could take my shot. I took a deep breath and aimed for the eye of the crocodile. “Lean a little to the left,” I directed him. Once he was in the correct position I let my arrow leave my fingers. I watched as my arrow arched through the air and sank into its eye. The ear piercing sound that came out of the creature’s mouth made Maxwell and I cringe. It turned around and crawled back to where ever it came from in the first place.
“That’s all it took?” Maxwell remarked.
“That’s the way it seems, but I’m not sticking around to find out if it has friends.” I replied while putting away my bow. I noticed that I was getting low on arrows and made a mental note to make more the next time we stopped. “Maydire, you can ease up on the running it ran away once we injured it.” I tried calming her down because I could start to feel the sweat coming through her fur.
She snorted at my words but did not slow her pace. Maydire continued to run until the sunlight had broken through the canopy of leaves. She eventually slowed her pace to a trot out of sheer exhaustion. I spotted a small waterfall with a pool of water underneath it. “Maydire, please stop. You deserve a rest. There’s even fresh water for you to drink. We are safe. Thank you.” I whispered to her as I hugged her sweaty mane I could hear her panting.
After she glanced around once more Maydire stopped next to the waterfall. Both Maxwell and I slid off her back and I removed the blanket so she could rest. She paused for a long time to take a long drink out of the pool of water. Then she collapsed onto the ground and immediately fell asleep.
“Well that could have gone much worse between Maydire’s jumping skills and your perfect shot I feel quite lucky to have friends like you.” He spoke with a smile as he sprawled out on the ground next to Maydire.
“There’s no way I would’ve been able to make that shot without your help. It was a team effort.” I replied with a smile. “I’m going to get a few hours of sleep now while it’s quiet again.” I added with a yawn while leaning against Maydire.
“Of course. Sleep as much as you need.” He assured me. “Before you go to sleep though do you know where we are?” He added while looking around.
I peaked open an eye “No but something about this place seems familiar. Do you?” I replied with a shrug.
“No, which is strange because I’ve explored most of the forest around here.” He answered. “Anyways, sleep well, Safire.” He added with a smile.
I was so exhausted that I wasn’t even worried about not knowing exactly where we are. Before I knew it I was drifting off into unconsciousness while listening to the birds chirp and the squirrels and chipmunks scurry up and down the trees as the early morning got started.
To be continued…
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