A New Life - book one

Shots Fired

I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified, the iron jaws were still clamped around my ankle. The blood had stopped leaking out, and was now dried below where the trap had trapped me. The pain had mostly disappeared, but the wound still hurt in a stinging way. It reminded me of those electric sticks the humans used to poke me with. I can even recall over hearing part of a conversation a male human had with a female human. The male said, "we're just testing his pain limitations." Most of the humans did what they said and only tested my limitations, but some humans did it just for fun. Those humans I hated.

I was snapped out of my recollection of bad memories by what felt like the iron jaws snapping around my leg again. I roared in pain as I felt the teeth dig deeper into my skin. I looked down at Blue with a menacing glare, though she didn't seem to notice the glare, she DID notice my cry of pain. Well, that was obvious, I thought. Anyone could... have... heard my cry of pain. That's when it dawned on me, this was a human trap! That meant that there were humans around this area. My heart beat began to speed up, I could feel my body heat up, I began to see shadows moving around the bushes. Easy, calm yourself, Ivor said, his tone calmer than before. She wont be able to help you if your like this. I looked down to see Blue still struggling to pull the iron jaws apart. I wanted to tell her to hurry up, but that would probably panic her more and cause her to lose her grip of the jaws as she tried to pull them apart.

As time passed, I felt the jaws slowly part from my leg, taking with them bits of my skin while blood dripped down from the wound, staining the ground red. I craned my head up to see that it was a little lighter, the bright silver ball was fading into the sky and the sun was taking its place. Pink stripes began to appear in the sky, colliding with the bright oranges and dull yellows.

"Got it!" I heard Blue say. I felt the pressure of the trap leave my ankle, so full of joy to be free from that small prison, that I almost forgot that humans could be nearby. I was just about ready to jump out of the trap when Blue halted me. "Move slowly," she hissed. I tilted my head in confusion. "Why?" I said. "Because you might trigger other trap," she said, checking to her left and right. Reluctantly, I lifted my foot out slowly, being careful of my balance.

I touched my foot down on the floor and winced in pain. I didn't know why it hurt, only that it felt weaker, like it was going to snap at any moment. A moment later, I felt someone's presence near me. I tensed up, ready for a fight, before realizing that it was only me and Blue. She's stealthy, I thought. I didn't look at her or even glance at her, I just knew that she was looking at my new wound. A part of me wanted to move away. But the other part of me (namely Ivor) wanted me to stay. And I couldn't help but agree with my mind; to stay near her.

Suddenly, I picked up the scent of something, a very familiar something. HUMANS. I lowered myself to Blue's height, which was lower than before because she was inspecting the wound around my ankle. She slowly looked up to me, her eyes meeting mine. She could see the panic and urgency in my eyes.

"This is a h-human trap, isn't it?" I asked, my breathing shaky. Blue looked back at the bloodied bear trap. That was it hit her, it was a HUMAN trap. She turned back to face him and nodded, confirming my greatest fear.

Suddenly, a crack rattled through the air, causing a silence ring out. I didn't feel it at first - like the trap, I heard it first. A split second later I felt it, a burning sensation in my side. I felt it brake through my armoured scales and through my skin. I was used to the sound of gunshots, the sound ringing in my ears, and for a moment everything went silent. At least to me it did.

I felt wind rushing passed me, and it took me a second to realize that I had been launched to the side by the round exploding into my side. The trees, the bushes, and everything was all a blur as I sped towards... well... I don't know where I was going. That was answered for me not a second later as I felt my body collide with a nearby tree, the stopping force of my body hitting the tree through me back, almost like a trampoline. I landed on the ground, pain rattling through my body, or maybe that was the bullet.