Wonderland || Gonzalo Higuaín [On Hold]

The Survivor

It would be so nice if something made sense for a change. 

-

It all went by in a blur. 

They ran.

Oh boy, they ran like they never had in their lives, thorned branches getting in the way and cutting their skin. Amira would have stopped, would have at least turned around and looked back if it weren’t for Ezequiel running behind her, his laboured breathing and constant shouts of, “Run!” urging her on. 

Every odd moment she would feel him turn around and wield his sword, and whatever it was that was chasing them would let out a horrendous screech, just before proceeding with its pursuit. 

Without really watching where she was going or what she was stepping on, she could feel herself starting to loose balance and coordination. The robe she was wearing was too long, and she kept having to pull it up so that she wouldn’t trip. However, she was not expecting there to be so many tree roots embedded in the soil, and in a moment she found herself falling to the ground.

“Get up!” Ezequiel grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward, giving her a strong push. The creature had gotten much closer now, any advantage they had previously had over it was now instantly gone. As she got up she could feel its looming presence over them, and in the split second she decided to turn around, she could see it lashing out at Ezequiel, who cursed as she turned around and kept running.

She would have been on the verge of tears if it weren’t for the fact that she was more focused on their survival. For a moment she thought something might have happened to Ezequiel, but then she could feel him running back beside her, accelerated breathing adding to the urgency of the situation. 

They had no real sense of direction, just a single goal in mind which was to get away from this creature as fast as they could. Amira was starting to run out of breath, her lungs aching just a little more with every stride, but she would not stop. 

That is, until she felt herself suddenly falling, and landing hard on her back. The edges of her vision went dark, but she could hear the moment when Ezequiel fell beside her. A searing pain was shooting up her back, and she grunted as she laid back down on the moss-covered floor. 

“Ezequiel?” He was lying next to her with his eyes tightly shut, grimacing and holding his side. 

“It got me.” It took him a tremendous amount of effort to get the words out, and when he opened his eyes and saw that he was bleeding, the colour drained from his cheeks. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt, hands trembling so much that Amira had to lean over and help him out. Once the shirt was undone, he sighed in relief. 

There were several gashes on his torso, but they were not deep, just open. 

“Hell. I forgot just how much an Everstring’s cut hurts.” He was putting pressure on the wound with his hand. He grimaced once again, before looking up at the sky.

Only, there was no sky. Just a cave made of rock and covered in moss, with a small opening at the top through where they must have fallen through. Ezequiel, despite the circumstances, laughed. 

“Well, now you know why they tell you to stay away from this place.”

“What?” Not only was she confused about the thing that was chasing them (Everstring? Was that what he had called them?), she also had a pounding headache once more, due to the fall, most probably. 

“They don’t call it Crevasse Hill for no reason. In the winter, when all this freezes over, the fissures that form here can be astounding.” He looked around once again, one hand still pressing into his open wound. “The problem now, is how we get out of here, and if that thing is still-” He was cut off by an arrow flying through mid-air, embedding itself in a tree trunk right beside him.