The Hybrid [malexmale]

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

It was hot and dry in this forest as opposed to the mainland.

The air was dry, the sun beating down on me even through the trees, and threatening to boil my skin and melt it off. Even worse, my wounds were beginning to slow me down. While the bleeding had stopped, I didn't have my healing abilities to fight off any possible infections and with a body that was only working at the rate of a mortal's, it was taking all of my strength not to keel over.

I couldn't chance it. Even though I was sure I had lost Drak and the others a few hours ago, I wasn't going to risk taking a break to recover. I had to keep going. Where, I had no idea exactly. Dexius had simply told me to stay on the island and wait until the full moon to trigger the portal's opening. At that point, I would have to focus on a destination and I would be taken there.

Now if I could just concentrate on something that didn't involve my ass throbbing in pain.

I sighed miserably, pausing to lean against a tree, breathing hard as sweat poured down my face. I pushed off the tree for a moment, stumbled, then hit the ground, grunting in pain. I sank my fingers into the hot dirt, trying to heave myself up onto my hands and knees, but my body refused to obey and I slumped back down to the ground, my cheek against a scatter of leaves that prickled my skin.

Pain pulsed dully, nearing a numbing sensation. Certain cuts and gashes tingled and burned, bruises throbbed as they spread out across my skin. The sun darkened my skin mostly, but my cheeks were already burnt and red and peeling. I could feel similar burns starting on my shoulders and feet from walking around on hot ground.

I tried to lift myself again, but once again got nowhere and fell back to the ground, breathing raggedly.

My vision tilted and dimmed near the edges and I cursed myself, clenching my fists in frustration.

Get your fat ass up, you son of a bitch.

I tensed my muscles, but it was so hard. It was like that feeling in the morning when you first wake up and you feel weak and rubbery, or after six straight hours of working out and getting your ass handed to you by an angel on a bender. I reached up to brush my hand over my face, taking deep shaky breathes as I struggled to get up again. I barely managed to crawl onto my knees, leaning against a tree for support, my vision blurry.

I swallowed against the dry rawness of my throat. My stomach cramped and tightened with hunger pains and I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth in frustration. I scanned the plants around me, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out if any of them were edible. While it didn't matter if it killed me or not since I would wake up the next morning, I couldn't risk sleeping through the night and missing the portal.

I laid against the tree, staring up through the forest canopy at the hot sun that poured in through the leaves, making a golden trail through the woods. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of birds chirping around me, the sound of a phoenix singing in the trees before taking flight, its shadow passing over my face, and the insects clicking and chattering, the distant sound of a large cat roaring and growling. I could hear the sound of rippling trickling water, like a gentle stream nearby.

Wanting to sooth my sore throat, I used the tree to drag myself onto my feet. My knees almost buckled, but I managed to catch myself on a loose stream of vines and pulled myself along until I broke the trees and came to a stream. The stream was flanked by cool dark soil and several feet of bright green moss, a dead tree falling across part of it where the water was trickling through it and continuing its way through. Several frogs sat on the moss, sunbathing, and a pair of large cranes with black beaks and red and white feathers were lounging nearby on tall legs.