The Inception (Book #1 of The Inception Trilogy)

chapter four

(early update & kind of short, but you get to meet Harry ^-^ thank you for reading x)

CHAPTER FOUR

PRACTICALLY DRAGGING LITTLE ROBBIE alongside her, Evelyn is fairly surprised at how well he's managing to keep up. His dog, Poppy, sprints close behind. Robbie asks if he can stop to pick her up, but Evelyn doesn't let him have the chance. She can hear they're being followed, even though most had lingered around Delia.

Poor Delia...

When they get to a tree similar to the one Evelyn and Delia climbed yesterday, she stops and Robbie hunches over to catch his breath. Evelyn quickly tests it's sturdiness, daring a quick surveillance of the area.

"Hurry up," she says, squatting and lacing her fingers together.

Shockingly, Robbie catches on and places his foot in her joined hands. She heaves him up and he reaches for the lowest branch, latching onto it tightly. He pulls himself up and straddles the branch, his wide eyes meeting hers.

"Don't move from there, okay?"

"What about Poppy?" he asks. "What about you?"

Evelyn scoops the pup into her arms. "I'll keep her safe, and we'll circle back. Don't move," she repeats.

Frantically, the boy nods and climbs a bit higher, out of sight.

Then Evelyn is running again, the pup curling into her.

Her hope is slim to nonexistent. She saw at least six beasts hovering near the woods, and even if only half of those followed her, she'd be in big trouble. Taking on one is easy enough, but multiple is too much. It'd be nice if it were like in the movies where the numerous opponents allow the fighter to take on one at a time, but that's not how the real world works. They'll all pounce at once to ensure your defeat.

Her legs are cramping, and hunger twists her stomach. She wishes she would've kept one of those protein bars, but she had given the last two to Delia to keep her sobs at bay. It was practically a waste, but Evelyn didn't want to think like that.

She tries to find a hollowed tree or hole in the ground to set the dog in, but to no avail does one come in sight. So she keeps her grip on Poppy and speeds up.

She can hear them now, hissing and snarling and cackling in the most sadistic way. She's sure she would bump heads with one if she were to turn around. She keeps her eyes forward, weaving this way and that but it doesn't seem like she's losing them.

One dives for her, grabbing either side of her hips. She lets Poppy go so she doesn't crush her on the fall to the ground. Evelyn lands hard on her stomach, but she had braced herself for it and spins over before the beast can pin her down. She kicks him hard in the chest to give her enough time to get back on her feet.

Then she notices something odd.

This beast isn't like the usual ones. He has the canines and the glowing eyes, but he almost looks... diseased. He only has his right ear, the other looking like it had been viciously ripped off, and his face is drooping on the left where the ear is absent, yet looks fairly normal on the other. She doesn't have time to observe the other three catching up, and she pushes the strange appearance out of her mind the best she can.

Maybe he just got into a really bad fight?

When he lunges, Evelyn slips out of the way and brings her dagger down into the back of his neck. Typically, he would have fallen and maybe groaned a bit, but he doesn't do that. He whips around and bares his fangs at her, his head tilting too far to the left to be normal. He almost seems like he's grinning.