The Scarlet Scepter

Chapter Eleven (Revised)

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, and I threw up what I had eaten on the way. A giant creature was stomping behind me, and all thoughts of food and eating vanished in my mind. I'm not eating anymore, and I'm not going to be eaten.

I don't even want to think about what I was really eating.

I managed to hide in the bushes, and that's when I saw my pursuer clearly. It was a man, presumably, with dirty brown hair that stuck to his head like a wig and rags that almost passed for clothes. He was holding a giant club, and ran clumsily, with his belly protruding. He let out a loud roar, just like a lion, and then he sniffed the air. Oops.

I started running again, but he noticed me instantly. I wanted to shout for the others, but I couldn't because I was catching my breath. I could run fast, but with his giant steps, I was barely ahead of him.

I decided to try agility and changed directions, but he only smashed the trees away. My adrenaline rush was at full power. I saw thick bushes nearby, and I also saw there were thorns on the surface, but I had no choice. I braced myself and jumped into the shrubs, biting my tongue in order not to yell as the thorns tore through my clothes and pierced my skin. I rolled into the ground, writhing in pain, and I saw that he was peeping through the bushes. He tried to clear the thorns, but the thorns stuck in his club, and later stuck to his face. It would hold him off but not for long.

I forced myself to stand up, and I painfully realized I was bleeding. The giant grunted in frustration. I had to keep moving. I ran, looking for somewhere to hide, when I spotted them.

"Cyrus!" I yelled. They turned in surprise, and I almost bowled Cepheus over.

They stared at me in shock. "Where have you been?" Cyrus said with usual indifference, but when his eyes roamed over my body, I saw concern behind the ice. "What happened to you?" he said.

Cepheus rubbed his head as he got up, but when he also saw my hands and my bleeding face, he instantly inspected them. "What happened? Why are you bleeding?" Cepheus said as he gently touched my face. He tore a strip from his tunic and wiped the drops of blood, and the sting of the wounds made me wince. Then I heard the giant's roar. Oh shoot.

"He's here."

"Who?"

"The giant."

"Giant?"

"No time to explain," I said as I clutched Cepheus's hand. My body was still hurting, but that was the least of my problems. "Let's go!"

The giant emerged, with the thorns still in his club. He bared his teeth and prepared to strike. "Time to go!" I said and scrambled off.

"What was that?" Cepheus said as we ran.

"I don't know either," I gasped.

I told you so, I could hear Carole say.

We tried to lose the giant, but it still followed us, even after we had ran to the second mountain. We tried to climb boulders, but it only smashed the rocks. We tried to outfox it using the cliffs, if he smashed it, but it seemed to know what we were doing.

"Cyrus, can't you kill it?" Celia shouted desperately.

"I can't!" he shouted back. "I'll be dead before I can get a clear shot!"

My adrenaline was already wearing out, and I knew the others were already tired, but the giant wasn't. We had to keep running. Cepheus suddenly turned back.

"Cepheus! What are you doing?" I yelled.

"I'll try to outsmart him! Keep running! I'll catch up!"