The Inheritance Book 1

Ch 34 The White Hawk: Kellyn Stanley [Monday, Week Three]

A deer fly dipped down and threatened to fly right into Miss Sarah's open mouth.

"No! Get outta here!" Kellyn swatted it away. "Shoo!"

The ugly triangle-shaped, black and yellow pest buzzed away, but Kellyn knew it would be back and would probably bring friends.

"Please let them find us soon," Kellyn whispered into the air. She didn't know how much longer she could stand it without going crazy. Maybe if she slept the time away? Kellyn rested her head on her knee and closed her eyes.

A thousand pins and needles poked Kellyn's backside. She had been sitting so long in the only position tolerable to her hip that her butt cheek had fallen asleep. Pressing her hands into the hard dirt and stickery pine needles underneath her, Kellyn put all her weight on her arms, hoping to get some relief for her butt and hip.

She suddenly realized Miss Sarah was oddly still and silent. Her chest didn't seem to be moving. Kellyn forgot about her pain and dropped her hands.

"Miss Sarah! Breath! Wake up!" She shook the teacher's stomach, as a terrible sense of dread filled her. "Please!"

The once-bubbly teacher lay there with her eyes closed and drool oozing down her cheek. She looked so young! And it was true, she was only a few years older than Kellyn. Her parents and siblings would be devastated if she died. As soon as the thought formed in her mind, she regretted it. Miss Sarah was not going to die like this!

Miss Sarah shuddered and coughed.

Kellyn cried with relief.

Blood matted Miss Sarah's curls and dripped down the blades of grass, darkening the earth underneath.

Despite her own injuries, she had to figure out some way to help Miss Sarah. Maybe she could stop the bleeding. The only thing to use was her own shirt. She took it off. Luckily, she had worn a tank-top underneath.

A sharp jolt of pain shot through her hip as she twisted and scooted closer. She squeezed her eyes shut until she was settled more comfortably again. Being very careful and gentle, she held the teal-blue shirt to the gash on Miss Sarah's head.

Kellyn's heart sank when she felt a massive bump the size of a goose egg. Not wanting to cause Miss Sarah any further injury, she only lightly touched her shirt to the wound, hoping it would help stop the bleeding.

She lifted her eyes upward. The sun was straight overhead, but the thick cover of evergreens and aspens practically blotted it out. Never before had she felt so small, so powerless and so alone.

The sparse grasses, mingled with pine needles and long-dead leaves irritated her skin. Her hip was throbbing and she knew she couldn't walk.

The waiting and uncertainty was torture. It was taking so long. Kellyn wanted to scream, anything to release some of the anxiety and pressure.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, there was a strange rustling sound above her. A huge white hawk glided down and landed on the ground nearby.

"Go! Fly away!" Kellyn yelled. She liked birds ordinarily, But when they were that big and that close, not so much.

The bird studied her and flap-hopped closer. Didn't large birds peck out people's eyes? Kellyn was sure she had heard that somewhere. And didn't they also sense when a living thing was about to die? No! Panic and dread seized her again.

The hawk, with a terrifying whoosh of flapping wings, flew right at them.

The scream Kellyn wanted to release finally burst from her lungs. She attempted to shield Miss Sarah's face along with her own, but she froze at the stabbing pain in her hip. Holding her breath, Kellyn threw her arms over her eyes and braced for a slash of beak and claws.

Tips of feathery wings brushed lightly across Kellyn's hand. She pulled her head in tighter and waited until the forest was silent again. When she knew the bird had flown away, she cautiously raised her head, terrified that in place of Miss Sarah's eyes, there would be ragged, bloody sockets.