Monsters

Chapter Six

I heard a sudden snapping of twigs, and where I'd usually think of it as the natural sound of the woods, I felt a twisting in my gut as I flashed a flashlight I had found in Luz's bag towards where the sound came from. I couldn't see anything but my gut knew better than I did most of the time so I knew something was wrong. I swallowed down my nerves and quietly made my way towards where Luz lay sleeping peacefully. "Luz!" I whispered worried as I shook her awake and she jumped, her hand gripping my arm tightly for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I forgot," I whispered looking at where her hand gripped my arm for a moment before looking back towards her. She must have seen the fear on my face because her expression shifted and her grip loosened.

"What's wrong?" She asked me with concern slipping in her tone leaving me to pause for a moment. I could see her eyes still looked tired making me feel a bit guilty for having to wake her.

"I don't know. I heard some normal sounds, but I have a bad feeling." I explained before looking towards the trees where the sounds had come from. It was still somewhat dark, though I could tell that the morning was going to come soon as it was a bit brighter out.

Luz closed her eyes and furrowed her brows as if she were listening in on the soundings around us. When her eyes opened, somehow, my gut knew something was wrong. I trusted Luz's face enough to know for certain that this was true.

I shifted to reach past her, picking up the bat from where I had placed it to wake Luz. I gripped my fist tightly as I trailed our surroundings with the flashlight. "Amity, turn that off." I heard Luz say in a serious tone and I did as she asked. With no light to help me see the world around me, I felt my heart drop with fear.

I heard some shuffling coming from beside me and I assumed it was Luz as I heard her bag being picked up. "Luz, I can't see," I whispered scared.

"It's okay Amity." She grew closer to me until she gently grasped my wrist and moved me to stand behind her. "Amity..." Luz started and her grip on my wrist grew loose. "I need you to turn around and I need you to run," Luz ordered me calmly.

"What?" My voice shook as the question slipped past my lips. That was when I saw multiple glowing eyes appear suddenly before us.

"Go now!" She shouted before turning me around and shoving me away. With that, I took off running as I heard the sound of multiple footsteps taking chase of Luz and me. How Luz knew they were there wasn't as important as us getting away from them. In my mind, she just had the same gut feeling I did.

I stumbled over sticks, kicked past long blades of grass, and jumped over holes as I ran across the field. The sounds behind me, the steps and groans of the monsters taking chase, I had to force myself not to look behind me. Keep running! I heard Edric's voice echo in my mind and so I did just that. My lungs were burning and my side began to feel swore as I ran into the side of a tree before pushing myself from it and rushing forward again.

There were so many that it had to of been the hoard. This is why Edric taught me to never stop, to keep going. And I stopped, why did I have to stop? Why did I have to throw everything I learned out the window because I felt like I could trust some girl I literally just met? I'm so stupid. How did I even make it this far?

Suddenly I heard gunshots coming from my left. Rapid and loud, drawing the attention of some of the monsters in the hoard. My ears began to ring yet I just kept running. I had almost made it out of the woods when I felt someone grab onto me pulling me back against them and behind a tree. I started to scream against their hands and attempt to fight out of their strong grip.

"Amity, it's me." I heard Luz whisper in my ear and I immediately relaxed back against her as she took her hand from covering my mouth. I turned towards her only to suddenly feel lightheaded, stumbling forward as I grew unsteady on my feet. I felt her strong arms go to catch me as she gripped my shoulders to keep me up. I went to hold my side as it became difficult to breathe. I tried to step back and give her space but she only held my shoulders tighter.