The Betrayal of the Guardians

~ (22) Ice Dragon ~

As the white eyes shone through the darkness, the sound of something moving broke the atmosphere. Before they could conclude what was standing in front of them, the team ran as fast as they could, back to the entrance of the cave.

As they ran towards the way out, Arisa could feel the ground shake, followed by loud stomps. A piercing roar joined the stomps that were quickly approaching.

"I was hoping we could have a rest from these monsters for today," said Thelma. "Hopefully we didn't disturb the sleep of a big one."

"Seriously?" asked Train, running by Thelma's side.

Although Arisa understood Thelma's attempt to lighten everyone's mood, she comprehended Train's complaint. The timing for that joke wasn't right.

With her heart hammering and struggling to keep her team's pace, she smiled when her eyes met a triangular entrance exposing the violent wind that was awaiting them.

Between facing the raging weather and facing whatever was chasing them, the team didn't hesitate and joined the freezing wind outside the cave.

The white moon tried to display itself through the dark clouds. The team kept running. None of the members felt the cold temperature biting them as the adrenaline got the better of them.

The piercing roar cut the wind. Arisa dared to look behind to see what was chasing them. Her eyes widened as they saw a giant lizard-like creature. It had a silvery blue and scaly skin. On top of its head and upper part of its body, there were sharp blades of ice scattered around it.

As the team ran as fast as they could, the heavy stomping shook the ground, forcing them to fall on the snowy soil.

"We should run in different directions to distract it," suggested Bastian, shakily standing up. "Then we'll see what we can do."

"I don't think we can do anything," said Thelma as they resumed their escape. "In the situation that we are in, we would have to pilot a robot or have some kind of superpower. Our weapons won't even tickle a creature of this size."

"Well, we just have to run in different directions to distract it," persisted Bastian. "We'll find a way to hide from it."

The creature roared as it drew near to its target.

"I don't think we have any other choice," said Arisa. "We'll see what we can do to help the one it chooses to attack."

Before her friends could reply, a claw tried to smash them. They instantly jumped forward before the sharp iced-covered claw could crush them.

Before the creature could regain its posture, Arisa stood up and ran forward while her friends ran to different sides.

As she ran, she hoped that the creature would target her. Since she could run faster than her companions, she had a chance to shake the monster off her track.

"No!" yelled a female voice.

Arisa glanced at her right side. Through the howling snowy wind, she spotted a creature chasing Nina.

"Nina," she whispered, her tone shocked.

Sorrow crushed Arisa as she realized that whenever she planned to be the bait it never worked. She ran towards Nina, who suddenly tripped and fell. Arisa witnessed the creature release a strange white icy breath.

"No, Nina!" the rest of the team called.

Arisa was soon joined by her companions. They somehow wanted to help their fellow candidate. As they approached the area, she smiled as she noticed that Nina was able to escape that attack.