Nalu: The Siren's Song

Chapter 13

Loud, thunderous steps charge after me as the relentless spiders refuse to give up the chase. Whether they are hungry, territorial, or stubbornly angry, I am not quite sure, but one thing is certain and that is that I am going to get rid of them.
   As I follow the scratched up trees leading me deeper into the eerie forest, a low growl seems to surround me and the shrubbery opens up, revealing a large cave within a strangely-shaped rock formation.
   Inside the dark hole, two glowing yellow eyes snap open and stare out into the surrounding forest. A grumble echoes off the walls as the creature hobbles to its feet and slowly emerges from its cave.
Its body stretches about twelve feet tall with thick, tangled black fur. At first look it appears to be a ginormous black bear, but upon further investigation I find that it also has some cat like qualities such as pointy ears and a long tail and several brown cheetah patches cover its back as well.
Before the bear like creature can catch sight of me, I dash into some nearby bushes and duck down behind them. Just after I am fully hidden, the giant spiders emerge from the shrubbery in pursuit only to come face to face with an angry black bear.
The territorial, and hungry, giant lets out a thunderous growl as its front paws stomp down onto the first two-foot spider. Spreading out around it, the spiders prepare to fight, completely forgetting about their former pray.
While they are busy fighting, I carefully sneak away through the bushes and begin searching for the girls. "Lucy! Wendy!" I call but receive no response. "Happy!"
The trees and shrubbery surrounding me are much denser than before and due to all the running I cannot tell which direction I came from. So I wander down what almost looks like a path, hoping it will somehow lead me out of here.
As I trudge through the thick shrubbery, the wind starts to pick up, howling a haunting song that rings inside my ears. A voice seems to be mixing in with the wind, carried on by the breeze and after a few minutes, I realized that the voice belongs to Lucy.
   Though her voice is carried through the breeze that's currents are mixing and twisting all around me, I somehow am able to locate exactly which direction the sound is coming from. It is almost as if a small voice in the back of my head is telling me clearly where to go.
   As I follow after her voice, the rhythm and flow of her song softens, altering into a tune as sweet and smooth as honey. There are no words to her song, almost like an open-mouthed hum, her lips swiftly carry one note that dips down low and lifts up higher and higher in a rhythmic pattern.
   The song fills me with hope and determination, sending me into some sort of merry trance as I venture forward without a worry or fear.
   Finally, the dense tree branches and shrubbery give way revealing a pearl-white beach of pure sand dancing with shimmering, clear turquoise waves. And gracefully standing on the beach with their long skirts gently fluttering in the wind is Lucy and Wendy with a small blue cat next to them.
   As they turn around, taking notice of me, the singing stops and two voices take its place. "Natsu!"
   "Natsu, you made it." The girls yell as they rush to my side. Happy runs along with them and brushes his fluffy fur against my legs.
   "Hey, bud, I missed ya." I tell the cat as I crouch down and pat his head, raising a purr from him.
"Don't do anything like that again!" Lucy scolds me. My arms reach to scratch the back of my neck.
   "You scared us!" Wendy adds, folding her arms to mimic the angry girl.
   "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." I say and Lucy just looks away with a small, frustrated huff.
"Whatever. Lucky for you we found your boat while you were wandering in the woods." She says.
   "Really? Where is it?" I ask.
  "You are always in such a rush." She sighs, mostly to herself.
   "This way." Wendy answers as she strolls off down the beach with the rest of us in tow.
We walk the length of the strip of sandy land a few paces until Wendy reveals a hidden rusty, old dock harboring a small sailboat. "Good job, girls!" I say as I rush across the moldy wood and into the boat.
The girls follow me onto the boat as I raise the sail and prepare to set off. Being her first time on a boat, Wendy is skeptical of the wooden contraction and carefully steps aboard with her arms wearily outstretched for balance.
As we depart from the dock, both girls cling onto my arm to secure their balance before slowly letting go as they grow more confident and comfortable. I set our course away from the island, looking over my shoulder here and there to make sure we are not being followed.
"Finally, we're leaving the island!" Lucy celebrates, letting out a sigh of relief.
   "Not quite yet." I say as I change our course towards the eastern part of the island. "We have one last stop to make."