THE WATCHER'S;BEGINNING

CHAPTER NINE;DEMONS OF ASKEN!

The deafening silence, the oddly shaped trees and the constant growling noises followed by dozens of other unfamiliar sounds was starting to creep me out but I just kept on walking. I had to find him no matter what. I tightened my grip on the sword when I heard rustling of leaves. The moonlight was shining through the breaks in the trees providing me with some bleak lighting of the undergrowth but I kept on walking endlessly and it dawned on me that I was not making any progress, I had to find a way to pinpoint him. After racking my mind trying to figure out what to do I remembered something Benid taught me, the Teryan tree. It was the tallest tree in the forest and therefore at the top provided a full overview of the forest, now all I had to do was find it. I kept walking on and on, deeper and deeper into the forest.

 I was about to lose hope  when i finally saw it.  It was unmistakable, it being tall and all. I ran to it without a second thought and started climbing. After some effort I was at the top. Then ran my gaze all over the forest but there was nothing, I ran it twice then thrice but there was nothing just a vast expanse of evergreen trees. I did it over and over again without despair but still there was nothing! Finally I sat on the branch and thoughts started flooding my mind, what if he is dead? What happens then? Why did he have to leave alone? Why!? I sunk my head desperation finally getting the better of me and was about to give up when I decided to raise my head once more to get one last glimpse of the forest and it was then that I saw what seemed like a bright flash but it only shone momentarily. My head registered only one thing, Benid. I climbed down in a hurry and started running as fast as I could to the source of the flash. My heart was racing, my breathing shallow and my eyes twitching from side to side. I was getting close as I saw yet another flash, “Hold on Benid, I am coming!” I whispered as I kept on running and just as I was about to enter a glade that was before my eyes, something suddenly speared me out of nowhere. My body hit the ground with a thud as I frantically tried to register what just happened. I staggered to my feet groaning but there was no one there. So I did what anyone else in my positon would do, I held onto my sword my heart beating more furiously than before. 

“Show yourself whoever you are!” I barked but there was no reply. Then I heard a growl and something ran past me in a flash and into a bush, I kept asking myself one question, “What was that!?” I knew no animal or cat ran that fast. It whisked past me once more and i turned so fast risking whiplash, just to get a glimpse of it. It resembled a shadow or maybe it was just the darkness. I wasn’t sure of anything but I had to remain calm in the face of danger, it was what I was taught to do. I took deep breathes in and out and closed my eyes. Instead of using my eye I had to use my hearing as Benid once said, an enemy you cannot see, you can definitely feel. I took in one more deep breath and listened and afterwards placed my sword in my sheath and instead got a hold of my bow and an arrow.

         I heard its footsteps made clear by the rustling it made. I took my aim and released. The next thing I heard was a loud growl. I opened my eyes as the growl died down, I had done it! I stared in the direction of the growl and nothing was moving. I leaned forward and all over sudden it came running at me, jaws wide open. I leaned backwards in the nick of time to see its jaw flash past me. It almost had my head. What the…….what kind of an animal was this? It had a dogs shape with black fur and countless carnassial teeth, on its feet were scales and some horrific claws. What kind of animal was this? Oh no does this mean it is a……….

   It glared and growled at me with my arrow stuck on its fore limb then circled me possibly looking for a point of attack. “Okay no matter what you are, I am not dying today!” I said more to myself than to the creature but it just kept growling at me. Maybe this is what attacked master Benid. I had to get out of this no matter what, I was Benid’s only hope. I readied another arrow. It ran at me but I released my arrow and it went straight into its shoulder but that did not deter it, its jaws opened it went for my leg but I lifted it in time as it went sprawling across the ground. I took out another arrow and took my aim. It came running once more. I released and straight into its skull it went! The thing fell and its body laid still. Finally it’s dead! What a relief. I turned to the glade and back to the thing once more, what! It was gone. My jaw dropped, my heart raced as I frantically ran my gaze all over the forest, no sign of it. As I turned to the glade once more, it suddenly jumped on to me. I held my hand out just in the fraction of a second as I fell to the ground. My hand was on its neck as I tried to keep its mighty jaws from tearing through my face. The arrow was stuck in its skull, how is this even possible!? Well if an arrow through the head does not kill it maybe a sword to the heart will. With my left hand on its neck keeping the jaws away from me, I grabbed the sword with my right. Its drooling saliva was all over my face. I took a breath and ran the sword right through its heart. It growled and whimpered in pain but its jaws were not shut yet. Blood gushed onto my chest as the beast fell on me. I heard it give a soft whimper and finally shut its eye. Without a single hesitation I tossed it away from me taking to my feet, wiping the saliva off my face and  took a glimpse at its lifeless body or not. I had to ensure it stayed dead.