Regeneration

Chapter 25 - Out of the Woods

We darted through the forest, picking up several bruises and small cuts. The growls and snarls of the hunters grew louder as they moved closer to us.

They were now running alongside us, their shadows flickering on the moonlit floor of the forest.

My legs burned from exhaustion. I felt a tinge of pain at my wound.

I was slowly falling behind.

Ahead of me, I saw Romero leading.

"Hailey, come on!" He shouted as he jumped over a tree root.

 I pushed on, trying to catch up with him.

I ran faster hearing the sound of rapid footsteps thumping the moist earth as we crunched twigs and rustled dead leaves.

My pores rose as I heard a haunting howl call out to the moon.

Trying my best to shake off the dread that was building up within me, I kept eyes on Romero.

A hunter was on his trail; he looked over his shoulder, perhaps gauging the distance between them.

Neither of us could afford to slow down.

I watched as Romero ran up the trunk of a tree and back flipped, shooting the hunter mid-air atop its head.

As soon as his feet landed on the ground he balance and was running again.

We ran almost side by side, about two meters of trees between us.

I focused on navigating my way through the jumbled trees when I heard rustling and heavy breathing behind me.

I threw a glance over my shoulder, quickly turning my head back in front, not wanting to stumble especially now that a hunter was gaining on me.

I zig-zagged in between trees trying to lose him but he was relentless, determined to have me.

He was so close I could feel the hunter's presence near to me now.

My eyes darted in every direction. I sped up, leading the hunter on.

He was foot to foot with me and at the last second, I spun, tucking myself behind a tree.

The hunter ran forward and I fired a shot behind his head.

My body was now covered in a layer of sweat, my chest rising and falling as I tilted my head back against the trunk of the tree.

I filled my lungs with oxygen preparing my body to take off again.

Romero was a bit ahead now, two new hunters blocking his path

One threw itself on him which he kicked over him as they fell. He planted two bullets into it. I took the shot quickly as the other approached, prepared to lunge, stopping it in its tracks.

My head snapped to the right when I heard the crunching of twigs.

A hunter viciously snapped as it ran up to me, catching me off-guard. I kicked it in the stomach. The blow pushed the hunter back making it snarl in rage.

I aimed between its eyes and pulled the trigger, the bullet finding a home in its cranium causing blood to splatter on me.

I jumped over the body another hunter on my tail.

I ran under a branch Romero had climbed up, the hunter still following me dropped as Romero shot him from behind.

Snapping my head back to the front I halted so suddenly, my feet skidded in the mud, almost making me lose my balance.

I was met with a pair of glowing icy blue eyes.

I froze under its frosty stare; the creature peeled back its lips as its mouth twitched, displaying sharp canines.

It snarled foaming at the mouth.

Romero carefully dropped from the tree slowly approaching the scene before him.

"Hailey... Don't move."

His words came too late, I was already bringing my gun up when the silver-grey wolf leaped at me, it's paws pushing my chest to the ground.

The gun knocked out of my hand from the impact, sliding away.

"Ugh," I groaned under its weight.

I felt the wolf's sharp claws sinking into my skin.

It lowered it's head closer to mine, its razor sharp teeth now centimeters away from my face.

I could feel it's warm breath rolling against my cheek.

The wolf growled loudly, drool dripping onto my face.

I winced, squeezing my eyes shut for a brief moment.

I heard Romero shift where he was, he carefully inched closer and closer till he was a meter away.

The wolf's threatening stare latched on to him and he froze.

Romero held the wolf's gaze for an intense couple of seconds until we heard reckless quick footsteps approaching. We already knew whom they belonged to.

The sudden movement captured the creature's attention, making it shift its gaze from Romero.

The hunter continued to run towards us.

The wolf growled at it but the hunter paid no attention to the warning.

The wolf pounced, it's entire body soaring over my head.

Immediately Romero pulled me up from the ground and we dashed off once again.

Behind us was a gory chorus of growls, thrashing, and flesh being ripped apart.

We kept running as far as our legs could take us.

The forest had begun to thin out as we were nearing its edge.

A single gunshot echoed through the trees.

"Aaugh," I heard Romero grunt beside me.

~~~Author's Note~~~

Would you have made it out of that forest? 

Romero has some explaining to do.

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Copyright © 2022 by Kimberley & Amanda Woodroffe