Run! (COMPLETED)

RUN! Part Two

    

      Fear grasped my heart as the thing before me stood up. At almost eight feet tall, this creature loomed over me and the others. It had a whip like tail, and a furry, black body. Red eyes blinked and stared us down. From its fangs dripped a green, stinky slime. The creature itself had a rancid smell to it. All around me I could hear popping of wood as the forest burned to ashes.

     As the wind picked up, throwing ash and embers into the air, the creature moved from his spot behind the wall of smoke and took a step towards us. I felt paralyzed. What was this creature going to do? Suddenly, a loud roar filled the sooty air as the creature went down upon four legs with an audible thud. My heart dropped into my stomach as I realized what this creature's intent was. A low growl escaped its throat as it took one step forward, and then another, then another and soon this creature was upon us!

     Unable to move due to fear, all I could do was scream and stare at it as it came face to face with me, its breath making me choke, vomit raising into my mouth. The creature's face was that of a dog, with black eyes and razor sharp teeth. But its body was that of a bear, hunched over and massive. I could feel its snake like tail warp around my feet, and slowly making its way up my legs and then around my waist.I stifled a scream...I didn't dare make a noise. The creature stared straight into my face. Looking closer, I noticed that this creature was blind!

     The moment seemed to last a life time as the creature sniffed me. I was sweating profusely now as the fire around grew more intense. I could hardly catch my breath with the creature breathing on me. The group of people stared at the creature as it held me. I knew what they were contemplating...leave me? Or help me?

     "Oh God no, they are coming back!" a woman screamed and pointed up to the sky. I could hear it now; the roar of the Fire Breathers. The creature roared loudly, and suddenly whipped around. I felt a sharp pain go up my leg, heat exploded up my leg and spine. The creature that was before me just seconds ago, had vanished into the inferno. I fell to the scorched ground, my hands and knees singed at the sudden impact of heat. I felt dizzy, and put my hand on the back of my leg. I felt something protruding from it, something sharp. I cringed and clenched my jaw as I pulled it out. Bringing it forward I gasped as I looked at the spike that was in my leg seconds before. Blood dripped from it. I threw it to the ground and felt as though I was going to vomit.

     "C'mon!"Someone said and grabbed my arm, "You need to get up!"

     I felt my head spin as I stood up. I held on to the woman who helped me up. The roar of the fire breathers were all around us now. Blasts of fire filled the forest with yet another wave of heat. Sweat ran down into my eyes as the small group walked on, as quickly as we could. The scenery was all the same. The forests burnt to a crisp,the lakes and rivers gone...towns melted down. There was no hope...nothing left for the human race anymore. The Fire Breathers were going to win back their land.

     "A town is up ahead! We can rest there for the night." A man shouted as they neared yet another river of asphalt. I looked up towards the sky. Because of the glowing orange of the fire, you could hardly seethe black sky. No stars, no moon...just an orange glow silhouetted by the black sky. As I looked down, I could see the tops of buildings.Something caught my eye though...a bird? I narrowed my eyes, not believing what I saw. Within a second, I saw another black dot join that one, two birds? As we walked, I felt something on my arms. Something I had at one point felt before. Back when there was no Fire Breathers, people would get little bumps up and down their arms when they were nervous, excited, or...cold.

     The pain in my leg suddenly got worse. I looked down, cringing. The thumping in my head started to give me a migraine. I needed to stop.The woman looked down at me and pulled me back up, "You have to keep going. We will stop when we are safe." She looked worried and I was thankful that she was there.

     Walking along, the heat started to grow less intense. I could feel those little bumps grow up and down my body now. My headache grew more intense. I looked around; something was off again. I didn't feel as though I was in danger, but I felt as though I was being watched.Suddenly my bare feet stepped on something prickly. Looking down I gasped and stepped back. The woman also stepped back and looked at me. The small group now stood on a border line. There was singed ground with embers and fire, and the other side, there was grass. We looked into a world that was foreign to us. I know understood why I was feeling little bumps all over.

     "W-What is this place?" Someone asked.

     How had we gotten here? Where were we? Thoughts raced through my mind as we stared into a lush green forest, with birds chirping and water running. What was this place? Was this a trick? No one dared utter the words Are we dead? But it was a thought that crossed our minds. I let go of the generous woman, and limped forward. I stuck my hand out. Instantly, a wave of coolness washed over me. I closed my eyes and grinned widely. It felt so good. There was no fire in this place. I turned around to face my group.

     "We must keep going." I said.

     The group looked at each other, thinking about what to do. In the end though, it was obvious. Behind us, there were Fire Breathers. In front of us, there was water, and most likely food. We trudged forward into the forest. Not knowing where it was going to take us,and not really caring. Here, we weren't burning up. Here we were away from the Fire Breathers. We were out of the danger that had constantly loomed over our heads for months.

     Or so we thought.