The Chronicle Keeper (Formally - Destiny)

CHAPTER ELEVEN | aislin - part III

Okay my Forever followers, here is the final part to chapter 11. Again, I am sorry I had to split it. But it seemed to work out for the best :D

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Successfully undoing the snare, I hid the rope in the bushes. The, carefully walking through the narrow passageway, between the two bushes, I did the best I could to hide myself behind the tree, while beginning to work untying Nolan's hands. For two dimwits, they had tied the rope almost with the impossibility of untying it. How had they, themselves, planned on escaping, if the situation had prevented it? Letting out a low, frustrated huff, I felt Nolan lean closer to me.

"Don't do that, Nolan!" I hissed through gritted teeth. "It makes my job impossible because your taking away all the extra slack I could use right now."

"Sorry.... Sorry for making you come and save me. Sorry, I wasn't better at protecting you. Sorry, I..."

"Shut up! You'll draw attention to us!" I wanted to slap him so hard it left a hand print, big and red on that pretty face of his.

"Sorry."

There was a moment of silence, then, as an afterthought, I added, "are you drunk?"

"Why would you ask that?" Nolan responded defensively, jerking his head back.

"Because you're sure acting like it." I mumbled.

I can't be sure how long my cover had been blown, but I was almost done and was working on loosening the last of the knots, when I heard the leaves rustle against the ground. Snapping my head up, I saw the two burly guys making their way towards me. Darn it! Dropping my progress without a second thought, I was up on my feet, jumping over Nolan's legs, in an attempt to place the fire between the trackers and I. Cutting me off, they forced the fire directly behind me, while they stood in front of me, only a few yards away.

"Well, well, well, looky who we have here. Finally decided to show up deary, huh?" Bart said, taunting me, as he inched closer. I could smell the stench of whiskey emitting from him like the pungent odor of an old man's cologne.

Call me a procrastinator if you will, but having a plan of attack would probably have been a good idea and very helpful at this point. And I had nothing. I was frantic to find anything I could use to my advantage. My thoughts traveled like neurotransmitters, jumping into the safety of their receptor sites, caused by the electrical impulses, sending them to their fate.

It wasn't until I glanced slightly above Bart's head, who blocked my view of Nolan, that I saw the darkness shift ever so slightly, and then I heard the buzzing. How could have I missed the bee's nest! I couldn't exactly see an immediate use for the bee's nest, as Bart was in the way. I wished I could move him telepathically, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

There wasn't much more space for me to back up, without falling into the fire. But Bart and his minion kept inching closer. They were being careful not to spook me, treating me as if I was an animal of flight intinct. Oh, but wait, I was... Drat! I thought.

Everything happened so suddenly; it played out like a slow motion clip. It was my last step backwards, as I lost my balance. My right foot landed hard on the corner of the unstable cooking rack. Instinctively, I tried to duck out of the way of the flying pot, as it sprayed the hot, leftover liquid all over Bart's sidekick, burning his face and seeping into his eyes.

I don't know how it all happened, but everything was working like clockwork and dominos. As I regained my balance, Bart was already launching himself at me, somehow managing to trigger a militia of bees to swarm from their nest, directing their anger for the slightest second towards him, as the burly man swatted at them, trying to back away in haste.

I didn't know if these were killer bees, hornets, or yellow jackets, as the night of the forest hindered my ability to discern their species, but all I could think about, for that millisecond that seemed like an hour, was Nolan. As my plan was unfolding, the one I never planned in the first place, I watched as Bart stepped back onto the end o the rope, still holding Nolan to the tree, and watched dumbfounded as it unraveled like a quick release knot. I was too full of adrenaline to stay and gawk at my fortune. This was almost too good to be true.

I rounded the fire, circling back towards Nolan. He was in absolutely no shape to defend himself. But I was surprised to find him just reaching Lady's side, attempting to slip his foot into the stirrup, to mount her. I reached Lady's side as he was just settling himself into the saddle. Without thinking, I grabbed the lead rope that had kept Lady stationary and pulled down, like I had seen Bart's foot do with Nolan, and to my shock and delight, Lady was free.

Nolan didn't miss a beat as he slipped his fingers around my upper arm and gracefully swung me onto Lady's back. Straddling him from behind, our movements were fluid and seamless. Lady's lead rope was no longer in my hand, but Nolan's, and my arms were tightly wrapped around his waist. When he asked where Belle was, I pointed almost in the opposite direction we were facing. But that didn't interfere with Nolan's expertise in his horsemanship skills.

A few of the aggravated bees followed Nolan and I as we raced through the forest, back to where I had left Belle. I was ready to jump onto her back, like I had witnessed in old western movies, but with one hand, Nolan placed it firmly on my leg and with a quick out stretched hand, he freed Belle, but held onto her reins as we took off into the dark abyss of the forest.

*****

YAY!!! So now Aislin is a hero! What did you all think? I had tremedous help from @njgreenfield, @TerryP, @Kerriimlay, and fellow campers over at campnanowrimo :D So thank you bunches :D

Also, thank you to all my supporters who have kept me accountable with posting :D It means a lot to hear different variations of how I am accomplishing by making Forever unique and different.

And one more thing, I have now REASSIGNED Forever's genre as Adventure. It fits the description better than Fantasy did, as Forever does not take place in a fictitious world. But it will and does hold some fantasy aspects, just not sci-fi type of stuff ;)

Lindsey Stirling | Spontaneous Me

Dedicated to @Nicknicky17 for the wonderful support and still mnaging to find the time :D