Shadowed

1

Edited; 1/09/2017

I lay back in the grass quite content; a summer breeze gentling stirring the long blades of grass around me. My nose twitched as a small green bottle fly landed on my nose; my tail flickering I gave my head a shake and the fly buzzed off. It had been a long time since the accident, and a long time that I'd been on my own. I'd been but 16 when I'd lost my parents and when I'd shifted for the first time. I'd been inexperienced at living on my own in the wild, there was no hot showers, no tent or shelter, and no pre-made meals. But since then I'd learnt, I knew how to pounce and how to kill, I knew how to protect my prey, and to run with the deer. I'd never come across any of my own kind before, I'd seen three large cats in the forest once, but I'd stayed hidden. They could have been just normal wild cats, but I didn't know, and I hadn't stayed to find out.

I let out a long contented yawn, before closing my eyes ready to have a nap, but then I heard the light stepping of paws and a slow breathing coming from my left. Eye's snapping open, my senses awake I shuffled lightly onto my paws. Listening intently I counted the slow paw steps behind me and then also caught the sound of two more sets of paw steps. There was one cat behind me, coming up on my left and the other coming up on my right. They were boxing me in like prey. I gave a low snarl before I leapt up and sprinted forward. Catch me if you can. I focused on stretching out my body and then coiling it back and letting it loose, and concentrating on making my limbs pump faster and faster. I growled angrily as I heard the cats catching up to me, but if they thought that sprint was my only talent they were wrong. Rearing to the right I ran in that direction with the cats behind me following, if my calculations were right there should be a wide gorge, and with luck, they may struggle to follow me.

As the gorge approached I put on another burst of speed preparing for my jump. I sprinted up to the edge of the gorge and coiled my body back and sprung; launching myself into the air. As I came to mid jump I stretched my body out ready to land on the other side. After my paws had hit solid ground I ran a little further before glancing back. Impossible...

They leapt across the gorge with what looked like the minimum effort. My eyes widen in shock, they weren't wild cats they were shifters. Shit.

I set off again at speed pushing everything I had into powerful strides. Faster...faster

Thick pine trees now stood to my left and through them a sharp cliff face. Skidding through the dirt I change direction and speed towards the cliff. With blood now throbbing in my temples, I leap up onto the nearest ledge and spring up the side of the cliff. My muscles are screaming as my claws dig into the dry crumbly surface and I cringe as the ledge began to crack. I leap as fast and as far as I can gripping to the harder stone and pulling my weight further up the cliff. It was a dangerous climb, but I had no other choice. When I finally pull myself over the lip of the cliff I am panting and my heart is racing. Glancing down I see the black muscled bodied of the shifters clawing up behind me.

Taking in my surroundings a bubble of nerves flurries in my stomach, I hadn't been up this way before. What I'd thought was just a small cliff, was the beginnings of a rocky terrain leading to a mountain. I had to be reckless, only fools would follow me.

I ran down a small gap in between the rock with luck they wouldn't be able to fit through. My heart is leaping at my throat and as dancing shadows flicker above me I know they're following me. Ohhh shit. I watched as two long shadows dropped into my pathway a couple of meters in front, and I skid in the dirt before shooting up a side passage back up to the ground level.

Glancing over my shoulder I can only see two of the shifters and I dodge just in time as the third shifter sprung out at from a ledge above. Too close. I had two large cliff faces on either side of me the only directions I could run in were forward or back. If it had been smaller wild cats I could have easily taken them on, but these weren't just ordinary cats they were shifters. They were much larger than me and would easily over power me. I was running out of options. There was only so far I could sprint before I would eventually run out of energy and that was if they didn't catch me up. They were getting closer and closer.

Soon they would be close enough to pounce.

Breathing hard my chest began to ache as my muscles silently scream. I couldn't keep up my sprint for much longer. As I rounded the corner my heart sunk, it was over, it was a dead end. My eyes desperately search for a ledge, anything which would allow me to climb, but there was nothing but a smooth face of the hard stone. I came to a stop at the base of the cliff and the fur across my back prickles to standing as I turn with my teeth bared. The shifters have slowed and are now stalking towards me. "And you thought we wouldn't catch you?"

The gruffness of the voice concluded my suspicions, they were male. "Who are you?" I snarl my lips peeling back tightly across my teeth.

"We're juuuust like you babe."

"Fuck off we are nothing alike."

"We merely wanted to, talk," He said stepping closer his eyes gleaming with confidence.

A growl rumbles from my throat.

"Or not." He chuckled at my growl.

It was only then that another scent wafted by my nose. Looking up I see a grey truck and a guy aiming the barrel of a black rifle directly towards me. My body tenses and I am ready to leap out of the way, but recognising the faint prickle of pain in my side my head snaps away to look at the red fluffy end of the dart which is stuck in my backside. I hiss angrily attempting to swipe the dart away. But my body is already beginning to feel heavy and my vision is blurring. I hit the ground as a tingling numbness begins to sweep over my body as my vision fades. I fight to stay awake as I hear the shifters walking calmly towards me. As a heavy paw is placed on my stomach I manage one last growl as I swipe out with my claws. Then my eyes closed and I fell away into blackness.