The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

174

1 Week Later

    "Shush, up ahead. I've got him. Just hang on." Tahli whispered as she drew her bow.

"I've got my eye on the others. Take your shot." I replied with a whisper similar to Tahli's.

Amy and Bailey stood alongside me as Tahli silently held her bow up, aimed into the trees ahead. The sun was slowly dropping, only occasionally showing itself through the lush green foliage of the forest, the cool wind from the mountain tops brushing over my skin sending shivers down my back. Only the sound of the breeze and the leaves swaying back and forth spread through the otherwise silent forest as Tahli's target stood just ahead, only occasionally popping his head up from the grass, with the company of several doe's grazing nearby. The glorious antlers were glimmering with the suns light bouncing off of their surface. The tension was growing by the second, as the forest seemed to go silent, before the sound of a bow string snapping back to its original position, followed immediately by the sound of a deer shrieking, the running off into the trees along with the others.

"Let's go. He won't get far." Tahli sad in a much louder voice as she put the bow to her side and took off into the trees.

we followed Tahli as she tracked the deer through the trees, stopping to examine spots of blood splattered on low lying plants and grass. Finally, with just enough day light left to make out the outline of the forest elements, the body of a medium sized buck lay comfortably in the thick grass. 

"That explains how he got so far. Hit him in the gut, and missed the heart. Didn't put him down right away." Tahli uttered as she formally pulled her arrow from the deers body.

"It was still a good shot. Now we've got enough meat for a while. We'll get a fire going and eat as much as we can, and we'll take along as much as we can without it slowing us down. The rest will be left for predators." I said.

As Amy and Bailey got a fire going, Tahli and I began pulling the deer apart and tossing aside the best parts to eat, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched, but, I'd learned to push that feeling aside as in recent months, it had been nothing more than me being paranoid most of the time.

Later that night

The crackling flames coupled with the intense light from the fire numbed us all to our surroundings, as we filled our stomachs with as much meat as we could without making ourselves sick or immobile. The sound of the night was much more prevalent and obvious as I turned to look behind me, scanning the trees for any sign of danger. The remains of the deer were sitting off to the side, a fair distance away from the fire in order to not draw any predators to our feet, giving us a fair chance at fighting off any that may venture to close. Bailey's eyes started to become heavy, and for a moment, she slumped over and collapsed to the ground before snapping her head up, looking around wildly as she stumbled to her feet.

"You alright there?" Amy said as she chuckled through her meat filled mouth.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just a bit tired." 

I swallowed before before speaking, unlike Amy a moment before.

"Get some sleep. We'll take shifts again. same as usual. In fact, why don't you both get some rest as well. Amy, I'll wake you in a few hours." I said.

"I'm not complaining. Night all." Tahli said before taking one last bite, then rolling over to sleep.

"Keep your eyes open, I've got a strange feeling." Amy said before she did the same. 

I looked over to Bailey, but she had already fallen asleep in a rather humorous position with her legs spread apart and her face in the grass with her arms spread out like the wings of a bird. I chuckled, before picking up my bow and starting countless back and forth paces around the fire.

I was beginning to feel mildly tired, with my eyes beginning to feel heavy, and my limbs starting to feel weak. I was considering waking Tahli to take my place, but just before I turned towards her, I heard a twig snap somewhere in the trees. I sensed something was wrong, and began scanning the trees, trying to see through the darkness. I debated waking the others, but decided against it, assuming it was just me overthinking, but suddenly, I caught a glimpse of something reflective in the trees. It was a pair of eyes staring back at me. I froze in place, as more eyes began appearing through the darkness, all from the same direction.

"Guys! Wolves!" I exclaimed in an urgent whisper, in order to not provoke an attack.

The others scrambled to their feet, with Bailey clinging to my side as Amy and Tahli drew their bows.

"How many?" Tahli asked quickly.

I counted the pairs of eyes a few times to confirm that I hadn't miscounted.

"eleven." I replied.

I pulled back an arrow and stood between the wolves, and Bailey as she stayed by the fire.

"What the hell do we do?" Amy asked frantically.

"We fight them off. Simple." Tahli replied sarcastically.

"How in the hell are we supposed to fight off eleven wolves?" Amy replied with an irritant tone.

There was a disturbing silence between us and the predators, with only the growls of the carnivores piercing the otherwise peaceful forest. Their glowing eyes fit in with the brilliantly lit sky, appearing as stars fallen from above. I locked my eyes on one of the sets of eyes and pointed the tip of my arrow to land between them. But, just before I released the arrow, another arrow flew between Tahli and I, and seconds later, one pair of eyes disappeared. The three of us turned around to see several more arrows flying past us, taking down several of the now charging wolf pack, with the remaining five wolves not killed turning and running back into the trees. Bailey slowly stood up from her protective crouch, and just as she did, a face appeared from the darkness, lit up by the light of the still burning fire. The four of us remained silent as several more people emerged through the darkness. There were fifteen men and women surrounding us, drawing their bows and spears towards us. I examined their weapons from a distance, and quickly realized that their bows and spears were far more primitive than ours, and their clothing made the torn, old clothing the four of us had look like something royalty would be glad to wear. An older man stepped forward, his hair long and curled, his skin somewhat wrinkled and scarred.

"Do not fear, we are not here to harm you. But, should you prove to be an enemy, you heads will hang from the trees." He said.