A filler chapter more than anything. Not action packed or anything especially intersting. Ah well. Enjoy it regardless! You guys are going to get plenty of action soon. I think the end may be drawing near.
I uploaded a random picture I found off the internet that I think looks like Senrid when he's a wolf. I did this so that TheMiddleChild can have an easier time imagining wolves instead of regular dogs. She earned her dedication this way. Also, she told me I was a good writer the other day, so there was that. ;D -FO97
Leof ran wildly, as fast as he could, without looking back, his bag flopping jerkily on his back in his haste. His lungs flared in his chest with every breath and the muscles in his legs screamed in their straining. His heart pumped madly to keep pace with his fear and adrenaline. He was sure something was following him, though he could not risk stopping to find out.
He crashed blindly down a slope that broke into a clearing. He had entered into a shallow valley where in the center a scattering of tents rested, almost peacefully, in the cold.
“Hey!” he screamed. His cry echoed in the eerie silence. “Somebody help!”
Leof ran breathlessly, floundering over sticks buried halfway in snow, and approached the tents with complete disregard for his own safety.
“Please help!” he screamed, his voice hoarse, tears of fear threatening to crack his voice.
Halfway down the hill he tripped over something hidden in the snow and tumbled down the slope, scraping his hands and knees and soaking his clothes. He rolled until his momentum was depleted and then he lay there for a moment, his head reeling.
He tried to stand, stumbled pitifully, and fell to his knees, crumpled on the inside, confused and shocked, more horrified than he had had ever been in his young life.
“Stand, stranger. All is well.” Leof looked up to see a giant of a man standing above him, offering a hand. The man was had curly dark hair and a bold face. Though he looked fairly young, he had a vibe to him that spoke of power. He also had a number of men standing behind him, most of them shirtless, all of them barefoot.
Leof grasped his hand, feeling the strength there, and the man pulled him up.
“What is your business here, stranger? You are a long way from home, surely,” the man said.
Leof, still shaken, glanced nervously at the other men, and answered, “We are looking for werewolves. I mean, we are looking for the good werewolves.”
The man frowned. “We? Unless my eyes mistake me, I count but one of you. Where are the others you speak of?”
“They were attacked in the forest. That way,” he said pointing. “Are you. . .them? Did I find the rights ones?”
“Peace, my friend,” he answered, seeing the boy’s distress. “This is the right place.
He nodded toward his men. Five of them broke away almost instantaneously and ran into up the hill and out of sight.
“Come with me. . .?” the man trailed off, giving Leof a chance to introduce himself.
“Leof,” he said. “My name is Leof.”
“Good to meet you, Leof. I am Cynd.”
-------------
I chased violently after Senrid, dashing through the trees at reckless speeds, self preservation dying like a strong wind dies at the end of a storm.
It was fantastic. It is so hard to describe the experience if you have not felt it yourself.
It is like. . .it is like falling, but never landing. It is like dreaming, but never sleeping. It is like the weight of humanity had fallen off my shoulders. The discrepancies of human nature, the fear of self-image, the burden of shame, the lies, the lust, the jealousy. . .it all melts away leaving nothing but the ecstasy of simply being alive.
YOU ARE READING
Running Red
幻想My heart hammers in my chest. Fire trails down my spine. My shoulders contort, my back stretches, my face breaks... I fight him. I struggle. I rage. And still I am being taken. My sight fades. The sharp tang of blood is an endless. The world around...
