The Inception (Book #1 of The Inception Trilogy)

chapter two

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CHAPTER TWO

EVELYN CAN TELL THE beasts are fairly newer because of how long it took for them to find the girls, and how easily the first went down. She's hit one in the neck before and watched it still try to attack until she shot it again, just beside the last arrow. You can't really see a difference in their experience just by their appearances, but you can always tell by the way they fight.

She calls the more experienced beasts "Old Ones." For no other reason than the fact that older people have always claimed to have more wisdom. She doesn't know how old they really are, of course. It's just a way for her to differentiate. It's a lot easy to fight when you know what exactly you're up against.

The beast remaining is clawing at the tree with his inhuman strength, and the bark is peeling off more and more. At this rate, he could have the tree thinned and falling within minutes. Delia is sobbing again up above her, repeatedly saying how she doesn't want to die, not like this, not by the hands of him.

"What's the plan?" she shrieks, looking hopeful at Evelyn.

"I told you," mutters Evelyn, pulling another sharpened stick back in the string. "I don't plan."

She lets the makeshift arrow fly, but with the beast alert, he catches it with unbelievable speed. It stops him from tearing at the tree, and he smirks wickedly up at her, snapping the stick in half with merely his forefinger and thumb.

Evelyn curses.

"How can you not have a plan?" Delia's pestering and fear is nonstop.

"Give me a minute," Evelyn snaps.

Her eyes try to measure the distance between the two of them and the ground. They climbed pretty high to stay out of sight, but now it's come back to bite them in the rear. Evelyn doesn't allow herself to panic, though. Panic distracts you from focusing and focusing is how you survive.

The beast has gone back to ripping at the tree. It's starting to swing back and forth just the slightest. Enough for Delia to lose her balance. Enough for her to slide off the branch, and enough for her to barely have time to get a grip around it.

She screams.

A sick part of Evelyn thinks about letting her fall. She'd snatch the attention of the beast for sure, perhaps for a long enough time for Evelyn to scurry to the ground and make a run for it. The image is easy, and she'd be on her own again, just how she likes it...

She groans, shaking her head to herself. Of course she can't let Delia be beast food. She can't stoop so low to sacrifice humans when they should be on the same side.

Evelyn grabs the above branch Delia is hanging from, pulling herself up. It's stupid to go higher when the tree is gradually swaying more and more. But Evelyn made up her mind, and she doesn't go back on decisions.

"Here," she says, reaching her arm down for Delia to latch onto. She does so rapidly, her nails digging into Evelyn's skin. Evelyn hisses. "I can't pull you up if you scratch my arm off."

Delia is too breathless and terrified to even attempt an apology.

Evelyn hauls her up just when the tree begins to shake violently. She looks down at the beast who is now gripping the tree, rocking back and forth with it.

She's never heard one of them talk. Doesn't think they can.

"No lady likes an impatient man!" she yells down to him out of spite, and the bitter humor relieves her stress only a bit.