[Avira]
My heart banged heavily against my chest as I ran deeply into the woods, looking for a perfect hide out, until I suddenly felt an unusual coldness and a shortness of breath. My feet slowed down until I was no longer running or walking either.
This was no ordinary coldness, I said in my head, and at the same time, I wished it was not anything close to what I was thinking.
I looked around the place, still breathing uncontrollably. It was dark and I could only make out the trees, I mean what else would surround a forest, and be so tall?
I could still hear the howling of the other members of the pack but faintly from a distance, and even though it meant more time to locate a hideout, I still could not help the fine hairs that was raised in my skin out of fear. Soon they would stop howling, and start hunting... For me.
Aside from the howling made by the others, the whole atmosphere was awfully quiet, and greatly added to my fear. My breaths which came out in heavy pants now was the only sound I heard from around me, not even the usual chirping made by crickets. Maybe it was because it was day despite the darkness, or maybe the forest was enchanted too. Alpha Demian wouldn't mind doing that if it would mean making my last few hours as horrible as possible, I was sure.
Then I heard it. A distant thud, growing louder as a wolf closed in on my direction. It was a single wolf I was sure, the thud would be way louder if there were more wolves approaching, and besides I could still hear the others howling.
It was definitely the Beta. He must have come out here before the others to have me killed himself, I thought.
Panic seized me, and my heartbeat which had slowed down only a little immediately accelerated. I turned towards the opposite direction to continue my race but the sudden pain I felt on my left leg stopped me. It was sharp, and stinging, and I could feel myself already bleeding out.
No!
I said in my head as realization hit me. I felt the cold body of the snake which had just bitten me sliding off my foot, and getting away into the darkness, leaving behind the sting of its bite, and the chill of fear. The wolf was closing in, and my limbs had suddenly become numb, following the snake's bite.
I took a few steps ahead, sucking in a breath as pain shot through every of my muscle, sending a reasonable amount to my brain. Running at this point was not possible as I could barely stand now, or keep my eyes from shutting on their own. Surviving wasn't as difficult as I thought after all. It was simply impossible.
But what was I thinking? That I could outrun the entire pack on human feet? The venom from the snake was slowly traversing upwards, and I could feel it in the lowest part of my shin now. Maybe it was the venom that was controlling my thoughts now, I mean, why else will I suddenly become pessimistic?
In a few seconds, Beta Maverick would be unto me, and I could barely move my leg. The thought of what would become of me when he gets close was so scary that I lost hold of myself and the ability to continue fighting. I could not fight to keep my eyes open or to keep standing. What was the whole point if I would end up being devoured by the same wolf who had lied against me in a matter of seconds.
Fuck it all!
I soon felt myself falling to the ground, and a few seconds later, my body hit the warm ground with a light thud, just as the ferocious beast emerged from a corner, growling. I couldn't tell if it was Beta Maverick or not because my eyes had gone weary, and were quickly drifting close, and no amount of pressure I exerted on them got them open any more than they already were.
My eyelids shut against each other on their own as the beast closed in on me, leaving me in total darkness. In the next few seconds, I wondered what fate had to do with all this, and karma too. Here I was, about to be devoured for a crime I didn't commit, and to make matters worse, by the same wolf who had committed the Beta Maverick was only a few feet to getting to me, and I could feel myself quickly fading away into unconsciousness. Infact...
Fuck it all!
**********
For a few seconds after I woke up, I wasn't sure about anything. This must be the afterlife, I thought as pictures of my last few seconds of consciousness flashed through my memory. The Beta must have devoured me, I added.
I was lying down on a floor that looked nothing like a forest. The sky was caught up between day and night, leaving me unsure if darkness was fading or just beginning. I peered around me, and noted that there was no tree around, or was it too dark to make out the trees?
A tiny piece of cloth was tied around the upper part of my left shin, and in the position I was in, I didn't feel a single pain.
Was it that this was not the afterlife, and I had somehow escaped the ferocious Beta? But how is that possible when I had only slipped out of consciousness at the sight of him? How did I get my shin tied? How did I do all these, and not remember any of it?
I pushed myself up, and quickly corrected my initial assertion. Not all of the pain from my leg was gone but some of it because I felt a stabbing pain on my left leg the instant I moved it.
What is this place? I asked in my head as I squinted my eyes to take in the actual environment for the first time. This was not anywhere in the forest, at least not anywhere I had seen in the few times I have hunted with the pack.
How did I get here? I asked again, looking around, while the fear in me increased somewhat. I remembered the cold sensation I felt which had made me stop running, just before I was bitten by the snake, and I shuddered fearfully as my mind made the connection.
I couldn't have gotten in there while I was unconscious, and no, this can't be the pack's sacred cave, I added in my head, wishing desperately for it to be so but a sudden movement from behind me prompted me to spin around so quickly that for a moment, I thought I would fall because of how dizzy I suddenly became. I was ready to scream my lungs out but decided against it when I saw who it was.
"It's alright, it's only me." It was the stranger. His hands were stretched out in a soothing way to keep me from screaming or making any sound. I waited for my breath to calm down before I faced him.
"What time is it?" I asked in whispers. I was still not sure what was going on or how he managed to find me here. I was not sure why Beta Maverick had spared me or where he was now, I wasn't sure about a single damn thing.
"It is a few minutes past eight PM," he replied, and I nodded slowly, while trying to keep my thoughts as straight as possible.
"Do you know what happened?" I asked him, and adjusted my question immediately. "How did you know that I am here?"
"I know everything that happened, including where to find you because I brought you in here myself." He replied casually, and placed the black colored rucksack I did not realize he was holding on the floor beside me while I batted my eyes in disbelief. It was he and not Beta Maverick who had emerged from a corner a few seconds before I blacked out, and instead of devouring me like I had feared, he had helped me escape, or rather hid me from the others to devour me alone.
I took a fearful step backward, but he was quick to notice the fear which had suddenly come upon me.
"I mean no harm," he stared quickly, and I sighed in relief. There was no time to doubt or consider believing him or not, and besides, I desperately needed him to be telling the truth at the moment but... What is this place?
"What is this place?" I asked, voicing out my thoughts.
"A sort of cave," he answered. I saw his shoulders raised in a shrug in the darkness, as my eyes flung open in fear.
I had wished in the most desperate manner that this was some place else, any other place but the cave but it seemed my wish, like always, was nothing but a mere wish.
"Is something wrong?" The stranger asked, genuinely concerned. He must have sensed my distress but how do I tell him that his attempt to get me to safety had only brought us to the brink of danger?
One way or the other I was going to die tonight, as it seemed.