Worst Mistake:The Tribute (Book one)

Chapter Twenty-Two~Do I Rise Up or Stay Down

I wake up with a start. When I open my eyes it's still pitch dark. The tree I'm sitting in is wobbling around. I hear a growling noise. I look down the tree trunk and I see about five huge dog creators banging on the tree.

Instantly I'm wide awake. "Kinsley!" I shake her shoulder. She makes a noise. "Kinsley! Wake up! Now!"

"W--what?" she asks groggy.

"Get up!" I say and start untying us both.

"What's that noise?" She rubs her eyes. She looks down and her eyes go wide. "Oh no! What is that?!"

"The finale." There's only three left. So that means it's the end. The end of this whole thing. When I get us untied, I don't even bother with putting the rope back into my backpack. I look down the tree. There's no way we can climb down. "We have to jump." I say.

"What?!" she asks. She looks at me in disbelief.

"Kinsley, we have to."

She starts shaking. "No. No, I can't! We're like hundred feet up!"

"We have to Kinsley."

"No! We can't!"

"Kinsley!" I grab her by the shoulders. "Do you trust me?"

She nods and says threw tears of fear, "I trust you!"

"Okay, so grab my hand and do not let go. Do you hear me! Whatever happens, you don't let go of my hand. Okay?" She nods. "Okay," I throw the rope down. That detects at least two of them. That gives me the opportunity I need.

"On three. One! Two! Three! Jump!" On that cue we both jump. When we're almost in the range of the mutts snapping jaws, I grab a branch.

"Aww!" Kinsley yells.

"Remember, don't let go!" I yell down to her.

"I won't!" Her grip on my hand tightens.

It's hard to hold up both myself and Kinsley with only one hand but I have to do it. Slowly I start swinging her. When my fingers start to slip I yell, "Okay, Kinsley, I'm fixing to let go--"

"What?!"

"Kinsley listen to me. Calm. Down." When I say the words she does as I say. "Kinsley, okay, now... let go!" As the words leave my lips I let my fingers slip. Kinsley and I fall to the ground with a thug.

The wind is knocked out of me. My ears start ringing. I hear Kinsley moving and saying something next to me. I feel myself moving. Slowly my senses come back. When I can finally move again I see that Kinsley is dragging me away from the tree and the mutts. "Kinsley,"

"Johanna, are you alright?" she asks leaning down.

"Yeah I'm fine." I say while standing up. One of the mutts turn and looks straight at us. "And now, it's time to run."

We both get up and race for it. Kinsley stumbles over a tree root. I help her up and grab her hand. By now I hear the crashing behind us. I guess most of the mutts are chasing after us. It's still pitch black so I can barely see a thing.

Suddenly out of no where, a mutt jumps in front of us. Kinsley screams. It's so close I can feel its breath on my face. "Run!" I yell to Kinsley and push her.

We start running again but another mutt jumps in front of us. Kinsley screams again. And again. And again. Every where we turn another mutt traps us. Pretty soon we're surrounded. I pull out my axe. Kinsley grabs her knife. We stand like that... until a mutt comes charging at me.

I yell and swing my axe. It slices the mutt in the neck. Another mutt comes after me, I swing at it. My blade misses. The mutt swings at me with a huge wolf paw. But when my axe cuts into the mutt's leg bone a snaky tongue comes out and slices my upper arm. "Aa!" With that I swing my axe into its head. Blood gets all over my face.