Frontier Online

A Start Part 13

My plan is stupid. Nothing else summed up how Rydr felt more than those four words once the rock left his hand.

Half an hour after, their team decided on a plan found Rydr a hundred meters away from the pack of wolves. He preferred to be much farther away, but a hundred meters was the maximum distance he could stand at and still have a clear shot at the pack of wolves. 

The distance seemed tiny once the plan began.

So, Rydr carried a large rock, about the size of his own head, in each hand. The first rock left his hand as if his arm was a canon instead of flesh and blood. It blurred across the clearing, shredding leaves and small branches in its path. 

The large, dark alpha looked up like it sensed what was about to happen. That minute shift in position made the flying rock miss its head, brushing past the whiskers on its snout just before it slammed into the wolf lying behind it.

*40 damage*

The rock struck the wolf with such force it shattered on impact. The wolf flew backward, releasing a strangled yelp audible across the clearing, into the underside of the rock outcropping the pack used as a temporary den. 

The alpha's head snapped around to follow the short flight of its comrade before it turned and, with unerring accuracy, met Rydr's gaze through the dense foliage at the edge of the glen.

Rydr hefted his second rock and fired it off as hard as he could. It soared across the intervening distance at a blistering pace, the wind howling. This one was thrown wildly, without care for aim, but even as Rydr turned to run, he was gratified with a second yelp. He managed to hit something through sheer luck.

Then Rydr flew through the forest as fast as he could. There was a brief debate over who should play bait; Syrna believed that her bow would offer the best advantage. 

Urginok suggested that Rydr chuck a rock at the alphas head, but his reasoning proved itself once Rydr started to lead the wolves to their trap.

Rydr was strong enough to bull rush his way through the thick plants, even bowling over small trees in his haste with his arms crossed in front of him to protect his face. 

The giant imagined Syrna bogged down, trying to find a usable path without more time to prepare. Rydr abandoned all concepts of grace and silence to create his own path.

Rydr risked a glance over his shoulder to see if the pack was following him. Oh boy, were they ever. 

The alpha closed the distance Rydr's surprise attack put between them. 

The rest of the wolves traveled in a tawny brown wave a ways behind their alpha, rushing over fallen trees with fluid motions only a quadruped could use. 

Rydr realized his mad dash through the forest made a super easy path for the pack to follow, but if he traveled in anything other than a straight line, they would have caught him already.

Perfect. Only a bit farther...

Confident that their aggro would hold, Rydr put his head down and focused on running. Each footstep thundered underneath him, shaking leaves from nearby trees as his bulk tore through the forest. 

Rydr learned something then, once he put the pedal to the metal. If all he had to do was travel in a straight line, Rydr was fast. 

He lengthened his stride and put everything he had into kicking off the ground, almost trying to shove the dirt backward. Each footstep ripped clods of earth and vegetation from the ground.

Then he burst from the trees, bright light blinding him for an instant. In that moment of searing light, he heard air splitting by his head and the meaty thud of Syrna's arrow hitting something right behind him.