Rangers

Part 4

I close my eyes tight and take a deep breath. Suddenly I stormed up with all my strength. I turned and ran, and for a moment no one followed, too shocked to comprehend quickly enough what had just happened. I ran to my little hiding place under the overhanging dirt roof in the middle of the square and crawled through the small tunnel and crouched back in the shadows. Luckily I was fast enough that they didn't see where I was going. I sat, ears pricked, waiting for the scream that would announce they had found me. But it didn't come, instead the ground above my head began to rumble and dirt spilled around me. I coughed as I inhaled the dirt. I quickly covered my mouth to keep quiet. I heard voices and knew immediately these were monsters, hence deep, angry, demanding voices.
"You said there's someone here with magic we can use to kill the rangers," one of them yelled.
"She was just here," the other said, and I recognized the voice of the monster that had been fighting the teenagers, or the rangers, as the monsters called them, a few minutes ago. Then I took a shuddering breath, they're after me, I realised. I breathed as quietly as possible, careful not to make any noise. My breathing quickened when I heard a scream from above.

"Hey, the rangers are right over there, for some reason they're looking around like startled chickens. Finally they noticed us, from the attention they were giving us you'd think we were an inch tall." The second monster exclaimed again. I crawled the few yards to the tunnel entrance and peered out. The teenagers, or rangers I guess, were lined up in a fighting stance. Given the monsters I could only assume were still on the hill. I heard the monsters crash to the ground. I saw them stop a few yards from the Power Rangers. Nobody looked for me anymore. They were all distracted. her eyes on her enemy. Quietly and quickly as I could, I crawled around the hillside, trying not to notice myself. I looked around, but there was no cover for a while. It was open country from here until I reached the forest. That is, if I went straight. There were buildings to my left. That's not possible, I thought, I'd probably just come to a dead end. To my right was grass, a stretch of beach, and then the sea. I panicked and took a deep breath. That wouldn't work either; I would be trapped, the sea would block my way as a barrier. The only way out here was across, I'm sure they'll notice me, I knew that. Then I realized the only option I had. My only option was to run for it. I took a calming breath, then pushed off the rock and sprinted forward so fast I felt the resistance of the air. I forced myself to ignore the noise behind me instead of concentrating on the forest in front of me. I doubted I'd slip away unnoticed, but I could hope. Then I heard faint sounds of running feet and knew my luck was about to run out. A log was right in front of me and I jumped over it. When I landed the ground swayed violently under my feet and I was thrown forward face first. I opened my eyes and sat up on my knees. The ground shook again and I sprawled. I glanced behind me and saw the teenagers lying flat on the ground. The one in the blue shirt held his nose. I couldn't tell exactly, but I thought I heard him moan. They were far behind and there was no sign of the monsters. I felt like if they started chasing me right away, they would probably be right behind me. I assumed they dealt with the monster first and then came after me. The earth was shaking and I wondered if the earthquake was a blessing or a curse. Working with or against me. Then I got my answer. Suddenly, a cracking sound filled the air. I jumped up and watched a jagged line spread across the grass. I backed up a few steps and stood next to the rangers as they got up and caught up with me. The earth rocked beneath our feet and I realized a few seconds too late that I should have turned and run away. I think the other kids came to that conclusion too because they were starting to back down, but the damage was done. We ran out of time. With a groan that seemed to come from the center of the earth, the ground split open. A cracking sound surrounded us and then the floor gave the most violent jolt of all.