Short Stories

Short Story #2

They were running. Running, faster then they had ever run before. Running from a great and terrible force, that was more evil that humanly possible. The four of them were tearing through the dense green forest from a ghostlike old hag chasing them through the trees with inhuman speed. One girl was light, with blonde hair and pale skin, like a summers day with the breeze gently rippling through the air but changing to a deadly hurricane in an instant. Another was an ocean, calm on the surface with many different swells and patterns underneath, stormy waters just out of reach. Her long, brown hair whipped around her as she ran.

The next was fiery and harsh, black hair and glowing brown almost red eyes glaring through the darkness, a flame burning through timber and ready to unleash its full power whenever needed. The last seemed quite at ease, but on edge at the same time, in her element, surrounded by the lush green leaves of the forest, her dark brown hair covering her soft green eyes, bending roots and branches out of her companions' path. All different, yet so alike.

After running for what seemed like a lifetime they stopped, taking huge, gasping breaths, while attempting to talk to each other.

"Do you think we lost it?" asked Brooke, pulling some water out of the air and gulping it down.

"Well, hopefully, because I doubt I could run any longer!" gasped Laura, twirling a miniature tornado around her fingers.

"Lets stop and rest for a while. Maybe we can make a camp around here or something." Interrupted Ivy, gathering some newly grown vines to bind a deep cut on her leg.

"Yeah, good idea!" Keira spoke up, pulling out and burning the leaves that had suddenly grown in her hair.

"Ok, if you, Ivy, can get some wood I'll make a fire. Brooke can see if there is a stream near here so we can wash the dirt off ourselves. I'll heat it up and she can purify some to drink. Laura, you can dry us off, cause I got soaked by the moisture from those leaves!"

Everyone was busy for the next few hours, completing their jobs and doing whatever they could to help each other. In the end, they had a small fire, dancing with red and purple flames, four sleeping bags, made with cotton and soft leaves, a cocoon of warm air spun around the area, making the clearing next to invisible and a wide hole in the ground, hardened to rock and filled with warm water. Each had eaten, from plants that Ivy had grown and perfectly cooked small mammals that had no name to the four girls. They were all so tired from running and the work they had done that day that they all fell asleep immediately.

Suddenly, Ivy let out a scream. The girls jolted awake and raced to her side. She was curled up in a ball, tears dripping down her ashen face, her hands on her upper arm. There were green lines traces with black spreading from a dart stabbed in her arm. Brooke and Keira glanced at each other and then Keira raced off into the forest. Brooke gently pried Ivy's hands from her arm and slowly pulled the long thin point out.

Laura shuddered as she watched it come out but quickly recovered and ran to help Keira. Minutes later they returned with bunches of vines, thin branches and leaves. They were dumped on the ground beside Brooke so she could bind the poisoned arm. By this point, Ivy had stopped crying and started convulsing on the ground. Keira nodded to Laura to restrain her and she whipped up the winds and pushed her down, forcing Ivy to lie still.

Keira had been glancing around worriedly at the forest for a while now, when Ivy abruptly let out a loud gasp and her eyes flew open, clear of pain. Brooke relaxed and stood up, brushing the earth off her soft jeans, and Laura released her hold on the winds, allowing Ivy to move once again. Meanwhile, Keira had gradually moved closer and closer to the edge of the clearing, when there was a soft whoosh, like a breath of air.

Laura's ears pricked up and she turned to see Keira leaping into action, pulling fire from thin air like a magician, and thrashing her newly made whip of fire lashing down on something, or rather someone. The yell of a deep voice echoed through the dense trees and Brooke and Ivy hurriedly moved over to where Laura was to see Keira dragging a dark figure through the vines. With one last heave, Keira pulled the man into the glade and strung a rough cage around him, fire tendrils moving in a hypnotising pattern around him.

There was a dark hood covering his face and hair and black robes smudged with green hung loosely on his body.

"Well, this isn't the thing that was chasing us before, it gives off a different aura," stated Laura.

"That's for the update, Captain Obvious. We can all feel it," growled Keira.

It was obviously a man as the bulk of his frame and the callused hands gave it away easily. He coughed twice, a twisted, sick sound that made the girls flinch and fell to the ground from his sitting position. As he dropped, his hood shifted slightly and fell off, revealing dark brown hair and green eyes, the colour of a forest. Ivy gave a strangled whimper and stumbled back away from the man.

"It can't be, it can't possibly be, after all these years..." she trailed off as the other three gazed at her with puzzled glances at each other.

"Ivy, what are you talking about?" Keira hesitantly asked, almost afraid of the feeling that she already knew. Ivy's eyes flickered to her, the terror plain to see.

"Guys... this is my father."

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Adrienne