𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤

30. "In the midst of darkness, light persists."

30. "In the midst of darkness, light persists." 

☆:*'¨'*:..:*'¨'*:.☆

A howl shattered the eerie stillness of the night, reverberating around us. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge at the sound of approaching wolves growing louder and louder, amplified by the chasing wind that whipped my hair into my eyes, momentarily obscuring my vision.

Gabriel continued to carry me silently, barely jostling or shaking me as he ran. Despite the overwhelming sense of fear and urgency that gripped me, he remained unruffled, his calm demeanour reassuring me that he could outrun our pursuers. But fear relentlessly held me captive as the snarls and growls echoed ominously in the darkness.

Gabriel was still faster and managed to stay several feet ahead, even on two legs, and burdened with a hundred and forty pounds in his arms. If we had been in wolf form, we would have been much further ahead, but we had no time to stop and phase; time was on our pursuer's side.

The woods were strangely empty throughout today. I wondered if that was intentional.

The growls and whining howls grew louder and closer, closing in on us on every side and threatening to swallow us whole. We were being cornered. I choked on my breath as I buried my face in Gabriel's neck, awaiting whatever fate had in store for us.

Hope of escape seemed distant.

We were going to die here.

"Gabriel," I gasped into his skin, holding him as close as possible. Gabriel remained composed - his breathing steady and rhythmic, reminiscent of a seasoned marathon runner. He was calm even with death fast approaching.

"It's okay, I've got you." He pulled me tighter against his chest, as he kept a steady pace, running through the trees.

I didn't like having his arms wrapped tightly around me and his face was closer than I wanted it to be, but there was nothing I could do.

For some time, an eerie silence enveloped us, only punctuated by the sound of his controlled breaths and the distant howls and growls that seemed to emanate from the wind roaming high above us. To our right, a sheer cliff face loomed, its rough stone surface seemingly unscalable. We proceeded to follow the base of the cliff as it curved upward and out of the forest.

The route he chose became increasingly steeper, but it did not impede his progress. With the agility of a panther, he effortlessly pounced from one rock to another, without the use of his hands, which remained firmly wrapped around me.

The harsh wind picked up momentum and began to howl and swirl through the trees in a frenzied dance. The chill it carried sent shivers down my spine. The sound of the enclosing wolves reverberated across the mountain, carried by the force of the wind.

Soon rabid snarls surrounded us. Gabriel muttered something unintelligible and took a hard left, weaving through the trees.