The bird soared through the sky, holding onto Branch by the back of his vest.
"Let go!" he yelled, struggling to get out of the bird's grasp.
He looked down, his eyes widening at how high up he was.
"Don't let go!" he yelled, clinging onto the bird's leg.
Suddenly, the bird released Branch, causing him to fall towards the ground, screaming.
"AHHHHH!" he screamed, as he plummeted towards the ground, right towards a pile of leaves.
He closed his eyes tight, as he was about to hit the ground, but as he fell through the pile of leaves, a hole was revealed.
Like a slide, Branch slid down the hole, finally being spat out at the bottom.
He rolled onto the ground a bit, finally laying still on his stomach.
"Branch!" he suddenly heard.
He looked up, seeing Poppy running towards him.
"Poppy!" he yelled out in joy, jumping up to his feet, and hugging her tight. "Are you ok?"
She nodded, hugging him back.
"I'm fine," she assured. "And you?" "I'm fine."
He looked around, noticing they where in some sort of cave.
"Where are we?" he asked. "It looks like a cave," Poppy said. "Well I see that," Branch said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
Poppy looked at him, shocked.
"You... you see it?" "Y... yeah. This weird creature threw something into my eyes, and then I could see again. Wait... weird creature... we have to get out of her, Poppy! Quickly!"
He grabbed onto her wrist, ready to lead her away, but before they could move, the creature came sliding down the hole, looking at the two of them.
Quickly, Branch got in front of Poppy, holding out his arms to block the creature from her.
"Stay back!" he yelled. "I'm warning you! I know hair-jitsu!"
The creature slowly approached, as Branch gently pushed Poppy backwards, protecting her from this threat.
"Go away! Leave us alone!"
As they backed away, Poppy suddenly tripped, falling to the ground.
Branch wanted to help her get back up to her feet, but he had to stand his ground. He had to protect Poppy.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Leave us alone!" Branch yelled, still blocking Poppy.
"Move..." the creature said in a raspy voice, staring past Branch, so it was looking right at Poppy.
"No!" Branch yelled. "I won't let you hurt her!"
He whipped his hair forwards, trying to whack the creature away, but it just dodged the attack, swinging it's stick at Branch.
The stick slammed into him, one of the growl beast teeth jamming right into his stomach.
"Ugh!" he yelled out in pain, collapsing to the ground.
"Branch!" Poppy yelled in fear, as she tried to run over to him, but the creature quickly grabbed her wrist, holding her back.
"N... no..." Branch whimpered in pain, as he tried to get up. He had to save Poppy, but the pain was just too much, and he fell right back down to the ground.
"No! Branch!" Poppy cried out, trying to pull out of the creature's grasp, but it held on tight, gazing at her.
"L... let her... go..." Branch said weakly, panting heavily, as he lay on the ground, unable to move.
"Please!" Poppy begged, looking at the creature, crying. "He's hurt! You have to let me help him!"
The creature gazed at her a little longer, and then finally let go.
Quickly, Poppy ran to Branch, dropping down to her knees beside him.
"Branch?" she said, softly.
She lifted his head, holding him close, as she rubbed her hand across his cheek.
"You're gonna be ok," she cried, softly. "You have to be ok."
Branch looked up at her, weakly, his breath slow, as he grasped at his stomach, blood seeping out from under his hand.
Gently, Poppy moved his hand to see his injury, gasping at the sight of it.
"Oh god..." she gasped, softy, seeing the massive hole in his stomach.
"P... Poppy..." he said, softly, struggling to speak, as he gazed up at her. "R... run..."
She shook her head, tears pouring out of her eyes, as she looked down at him.
"No, Branch..." she cried in a whisper. "I'm not leaving you."
His eyes blinked slowly, as he struggled to stay awake.
"Stay with me, Branch... stay with me," Poppy cried, placing her hand on his chest.
She could feel his heart beat, but it was going so slow.
Branch struggled to focus on Poppy, as his eyes opened and shut. He could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness.
"Poppy..." he said, softly, slowly lifting his hand to put on her cheek. "I love you..."
Slowly, his hand fell away from her cheek, as he took one last shuddering breath, his eyes falling shut.
His heart beat grew slower and slower, until if finally stopped completely, Poppy no longer being able to feel it.
"Branch?" Poppy cried, softly, looking down at him in disbelief. "Branch!"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She hugged him tight, as she cried into his chest.
"Wake up, Branch..." she whimpered. "Please wake up..."
