The Fearless One [discontinued]

Chapter Three

The head of a wolf, the heart of a monster comes creeping towards her. Grey backs hunched as if it's a firestorm about to hit with thunder and lightening. Their eyes glow with a dark, flowing red reminding Steph of her own fast pumping blood.

Her mind is muddled between right or wrong. She can't whisper anything into their heads. It's more like they are whispering to her. They sense her fear and she senses their danger and threat. She wishes to bury her fear, but the increase in her heart rate makes it harder to lower. Her head is throbbing.

She hates it.

Her horse is unsteady as Steph eyes the wolves one by one. She only has little but only this much control over them. Steph has a few seconds to escape.

"Am, steady..." Steph says as softly as she can, her voice shaking a bit. She feels her horse already having the idea of taking off and she can't control all of them at once. It's just too much.

The sickening silence is killing Steph slowly, a painful treatment that's ripping her into pieces. The only noise is the beating of her heart, punching against her ribs. She inhales a shaky breath, the oxygen is not enough for her.

The horse can no longer take the tension, when a grumble is made by those beasts, the horse takes off without Steph's awareness.

Steph feels herself slipping off the horse, ignoring the burn of her hands she grabs hard on the reins.

"Am! Slow...down!"

The horse charges with full force and Steph slips.

She rolls on the ground for a few moments before she stays with her arm elbowed to the ground. She tries to get up, but the dizziness only gets worse.

Great. Steph thought. She's going to be the first one dead today, like those characters that die first in books.

She tries to stay calm, but nothing inside allows her to stay calm.

What would the characters in her book do? She thought.

She gets up to her feet and runs, like those characters in adventure books. Fearless and strong hero and heroines.

She knows that she can't outrun the wolves, she's only trying to be strong. She feels those bloody eyes everywhere that it's as if they're giving her holes on her back and her legs, hoping she would collapse again.

She follows her gut or whatever is still sensible at giving her commands.

Left, keep running and right!

Suddenly, she feels something grabbing her legs, tripping her over.

Those wolves fur are not ordinary. Lines, layers of them that makes them seem unreal, an imagination. They can be planted into the ground and pop up where ever those beasts wish them to be.

She struggles under the tension, but it gets tighter. The warmth of their fur is burning her legs.

She pulls out her dagger and cuts it, earning a deafening roar.

The wolf is so close to Steph that she's surprised that she didn't notice it. She's too focused on her ankle.

Her breath gets stuck in her throat as she gets up slowly, her hands already reaching to her arrow. There were ten of them or more, Steph doesn't have the time to count and she doesn't need to.

She must've been joking to herself to think she is going to be alright. She isn't even with her group now! There's more risks to take..

As quick as lightening, she puts her arrow on her bow and shoots. A white light zaps through, with the arrow carrying a white aura pierces through the wolf's body. The others rage in anger and Steph earns a slash from one of them.

She curses under her breath, while holding her wound, warmth pouring in her hands. What a disaster...

***

She's trapped, surrounded and alone.

No ones here to help her and she knows that fairly well.

Like what the authors in her books describe, she rips out a piece of clothing later and wrap it around her arm to stop the blood.

Again, she tries to stay strong, steading her breathing she pulls on the strings of her bow.

It stretches all the way to her dirty cheek, feeling her pieces of hair pulling out of her pony tail. Another silence. This time Steph needs the silence.

Holding her breath and holding her pain, she shoots.

The wolf jumps at her, but didn't get to her in time. The arrow with white aura flies cuts through the air. Her symbolint of a rabbit runs with the arrow and pierces right through the grey body.

It yells in pain and the others rage in anger. Steph feels around for her second arrow, placing it with shaking hands on the string before raising the bow and pulling the string to her cheeks again. The warmth of her hands leaves as her face sticks closer to her fingers.

She shoots again.

In a sudden roar, the wolves gather together forming a waving bond. The whispers haunts Steph's mind, travelling through her ears making her legs go weak.

Those furs suddenly chase after Steph and out of panic, Steph stumbles backwards. They catch her and tangle around her.

They feel her way up her legs, a terrifying tickle to the skin. Steph yelps from disgust. Before she can grab her dagger, her hands are tied and then it's the neck. Her air hole is getting narrow and she gasps for air.

Crimson red orbs settle in the shadows of that form. Silks and lines are pulled apart as it speaks.

"You..." It says as it comes closer. Steph kicks her legs to shuffle back, but where can she go. She's almost lifted in the air.

Her eyes meet with those cherry red ones, they widen as they get closer to her. Her head is dizzy from it's tentative touch. The glow flickers with uncertainty and it's as if it's never seen anything like this — like Steph.

Then, he emerges from the dark pile. Luscious golden hair flowing naturally as the wind picks up around Steph, bright blue eyes that causes Steph to gasp.

He reaches out his pale hands that matches his pale face. It's so gentle and soft. How could a monster become something so beautiful as this?

Steph thought she must've been dreaming or maybe she's already dead...maybe it's all a trick, but it didn't seem like a lie. His blue eyes is as honest and innocent as a child.

His smooth gesture feels Steph's cheek, she shudders at the cold touch. The tension around her neck loosens.

"Am I hurting you?" he asks, his voice echoing away as if he's just a floating imaginative figure. "Are my hands cold? Oh I didn't mean them to be cold..."

Steph feels her blood running away from her face and jumps when she hears someone yell from afar. The blue eyes flit to the side before retreating away from Steph. His wolves escorting him away in to the shadows where he belongs.

An orange light shines at the corner of Steph's eyes as she slowly slides to the floor from shock. Someone trots over to her with a horse and she doesn't lift her head up.

"Get on the horse." He says sternly.

That someone is Cody.

Steph hesitates for a short moment before she looks at him, a face of relief and gratefulness which Cody seems to take it for granted.

"I don't have all day." he says with a grim expression.

Steph stands up with weak legs that seems to want to buckle. She doesn't allow them.

Taking Cody's hand she swings on the horse. Through the dark woods with a low layer of mist, the intriguing feeling has left Steph's shoulders temporarily with Cody here.

Without warning Steph, he kicks his horse and it gallops off in a direction. Steph quickly wraps her arm around Cody and he doesn't even twitch at her touch.