I'm starting to get tired. We've been dashing through the woods for a good five minutes now. I look up at Ian, who hasn't let go of my hand. He seems to be worn out as well.
"How much longer?" I shout to him.
"No idea." He tosses the words over his shoulder, glancing at me. He slows down a bit when he takes in my exhausted state. "I think we lost it. Do you want to take a break?"
I nod and plop onto the ground gratefully. Ian leans against a tree.
"Should we keep going?" I ask him.
"We can walk from here. I don't see that thing anymore." We sink into a comfortable silence. Now that I've had time to catch my breath, I start paying attention to my surroundings more. We seem to be quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The forest stretches on in every direction. The only other sound I can hear besides my own breathing is the birds. With a start, I realize we are no longer in the Whispering Woods.
"How did we get here?" I wonder out loud.
Ian lets out a low whistle. "This Cronan guy really has some messed up ideas for a test."
I nod with a chuckle. "He really does." After another minute of listening to the birds chirping, I ask a question that's been bugging me.
"Ian, where did you learn to dance?" He seems surprised by my question.
"My older brother took dancing lessons. I asked him to teach me." He says after a moment. His eyes are sad. "I miss him."
Sometimes it's hard to remember that we all left something behind. Not just me, but all of us. Audrey, Zero, and Ian have families they miss too.
"I miss my mom," I confess. "And my dad. My little sister too, although she was a brat sometimes." I laugh shortly. Ian nods along.
"All siblings can be like that." he agrees. A twig snaps behind us. I jump to my feet, staring into the trees. More crackling noises come from the one I end up staring at.
"Please don't be what I think it is. Please don't be what I think it is." Ian mumbles. Lo and behold, crawling out from behind a tree trunk emerges a figure in a tattered red dress.
Ian groans. "It is what I think it is." Once again, we turn tail and flee farther into the woods. This time we have to dodge tree trunks and overgrown roots. I hear a shriek.
"What is it with Cronan and creepy things?!" I yell, blaming the Lord of Nightmares for all our problems. Heck, he even had the bleached eyes down pat. I think, remembering my encounter with the strange man.
After who knows how long, I see a clearing up ahead.
"There!" I point. We emerge from the trees and into the sunlight. We keep running, slamming straight into...Zero and Audrey? We all crash into each other, resulting in everyone falling down.
"Audrey! Are you okay?" I ask, helping her up.
"I'm fine, what about you? That didn't seem like a soft landing."
"I'm alright."I look over to see Ian patting Zero's back.
"Hey dude, good to see you again," he tells the white-haired male.
"You too," Zero responds. "It feels like it's been forever, but it's only been a few hours."
A wailing noise interrupts our reunion.
"What on earth was that?" Audrey asks, eyes wide.
"That," I say, pointing in the direction of the creature that was steadily crawling closer.
"What do we do?" Zero asks us.
"We run," Ian says simply. We take off, following his advice. Another noise fills the air, coming from the direction we're headed. A faint roar. The air begins to pulse, almost like wingbeats.
"Oh crap," Zero says, looking to the side.
"Uh, Zero, do you know what that is?" I ask.
"Well, you see-" A blast of fire cuts him off. I look up into the trees.
"Dude, are you kidding me?" Ian stares at Zero, who laughs nervously.
"Yeah, we uh...we kinda picked this thing up on our way here." More fire gets blown in our direction, and we just barely dodge. I get so close I can feel the singeing heat. I force myself to take deep breaths. Okay, this is happening.
My regained calmness shatters as soon as I see what we're up against. When the dragon rises up from behind the trees I almost scream.
Word Count: 748
MWAHAHAHAAA. I added ANOTHER OBSTACLE >:)
Something about being an author can make you feel so evil sometimes...
-RS <3
YOU ARE READING
When Blackbirds Fly
AdventureA fourteen-year-old girl by the name of Merle Raven gets called on by fate to join three other teenagers her age on a quest to find the lost Seer Masters.
