Fallen

Chapter 43. The oversized Kitty-Cat [Caleb]

The nightly sound of wind brushing against leaves and the creaking of trees is quickly drowned out by the thundering in my ears.

I can feel the panic rise inside my chest. It's pulling at my lungs with its tight grasp, making it hard to fully breathe. Closing my eyes, I let my fingers slide over the cold patch of skin on M's neck. Desperately searching for the faintest hint of a pulse.

I stop at the feel of a stuttering rhythmic beat.

Suddenly, M jumps to life. Water gushes out of his mouth as I help him onto his side while he heaves for breath, precious air filling his lungs.

I let out a relieved sigh, cradling M's face closer to me as I let my hand tangle in his matted hair. I don't even notice I'm crying until my tears fall onto his skin, which I dry away in mortification. I shouldn't be crying or freaking out, really. Not when we're still not out of the woods, not yet.

He's staring at me with droopy and unfocused eyes. It scares me how weak he looks at the moment.

"You idiot," I whisper, voicing my pent-up fear. "You can't just scare me like that, not anymore. I hate it."

I see how M's eyes start to close, his brown eyes dropping lower and lower, not on me anymore. "Hey, don't close your eyes," I lightly tap his face with the palm of my hand to keep his attention. "M, we need to get you out of here. I can't carry you on my own." We can't afford to give in to exhaustion as much as that might sound appealing. Knowing our luck, we still didn't get rid of the blood-hungry beasts and Luke, or Mørke as he calls himself.

There's a twig that snaps in the background, capturing my attention. I look towards the sound alarmingly. My eyes still haven't fully adjusted to the dark yet, although the glow from the moonlight seeping through the trees helps me scan the area. There's something a bit further away, hiding among the trees, but the glowing eyes give it away. A growling follows as a looming, shadowy shape unveils itself behind one of the tall trees. For now, it looks to be alone, but it might not be for long.

Analyzing the situation, we are absolutely screwed, but maybe not completely, at least not yet. I might be able to handle one. I've done this before, sort of. Looking around for anything to defend us with. I spot a thick and sturdy-looking stick further away. I fall back on my ass, crawling backward until I reach it, not letting the beast get out of my sight.

The beast bares its sharp teeth, jumping into action as soon as I move.

I get a good hold on the stick and quickly stand up, digging my feet into the ground. I prepare myself, pulling it above my shoulder like a bat. When it reaches me, I swing the stick, and it connects with its jaw with a loud crack. The blow catches the beast by surprise. And with a loud whine, it thumbs into the ground with a thud.

"Stay back!" I yell out. I'm ready for a second shot, pointing the stick at it threateningly or as threateningly as I can be, which isn't a lot.

The beast finds its balance again, shaking off the surprising blow to its ugly head.

I take a few steps back to create distance between us, but my back connects with a tree. I barely manage to duck in time as the beast soars through the air towards me. Throwing my entire body to the ground, I narrowly escape its sharp claws as it reaches for me. Instead, I fall face-first into the mud with a groan.

I hear a loud yelp as the beast smacks into the tree. Totally as planned.

I quickly stand on my feet, grabbing my trusty stick once again. The beast lies still, unmoving on the ground. "Is that all you got?" I ask as I poke it with the other end of the stick. I can't help but let out a low chuckle with the gain of confidence from finally defeating one of those beasts. If just M was here to witness it.

I look over to where he's lying, still prone, before returning my eyes to the beast's still form. "You're not that scary after all. You're just an oversized kitty-cat."

Speaking all too soon, the beast lunches, grabbing my stick with its jaw and breaking it in half with a sickening crack.

"Nice kitty," I say as I take a slow step back, hands in front of me, trying and absolutely failing at calming the angry beast down. Sometimes I really should just keep my mouth shut.

"M now would be a good time for you to come back," I try, but there's nothing except the angry growling and the incoming agony of my flesh being torn to pieces.

I yelp as something hard slams into me. The air leaves my lungs as I connect with the ground roughly. Leaves rattle under me as I struggle with the beast. It snaps its teeth right above my face, and drool falls onto my face in heavy amounts.

"M, please wake up!" I yell out, straining to keep it off me. I look over at M, or where he should be lying. Instead, there's an empty spot, a trail of mud the only thing left behind.

Before I can react, there's a flashing light, bright enough so that I have to close my eyes shut. The beast lets out a blood-curdling scream before the weight on top of me disappears. There's a heavy thumb next to be on the ground before the sound of dust seeping into the forest floor makes itself noticeable.

I open my eyes to M's hand right in my face. I'm in desperate search of words to say. One second ago, I was prepared to die. I take his hand in mine as he helps me up. Pulling me close and tight to his body.

"You look awful," M breaks the silence as he gives me a very obvious once over.

I roll my eyes, pulling him into a tight hug, not caring about the sweat and grime that we're both covered in.

"Thanks for saving my life," I say before softly hitting him in the middle of his chest. "And please remind me to never fly with you again."

M chuckles before wrapping his arms around my shoulders, hugging me just as tightly.

"I should thank you, as well, for pulling me out of the water and for fighting one of those beasts to protect me," M says, breaking the hug to look down at me with his familiar frown. "As hot as that was, we should really get out of here now."

There's a slow and monotonous clap going through the trees. The wind picks up before a voice booms out from the dark. "You guys make me want to vomit."

We both look over in the direction from where the voice came from. A few seconds later, Mørke reveals himself from out of the shadows. Tina, standing right next to him, hands bound and tear marks trailing down her face. "Surprise," Mørke says, all joy-filled.