ONE (Book 1 in the Amnesia Archives)

Chapter 16

I yelled out and dropped my dagger. Senka rolled off me and fell to the side whilst both of my hands were around the creature which was attacking me., It was licking me and biting me, leaving pretty large wounds for something which seemed rather small. They were powerful and strong, nimbly avoiding my grip as they aimed for my chest.

"Acer!" Aknon and Sarphi both yelled whilst Senka's tiny body was crawling towards me, wrapping her arms around my ankle. Prin was frozen with her eyes wide, remaining where she was as Sarphi and Aknon rushed towards us. I didn't have time to consider that maybe Prin recognised this creature, and that was why she was standing still.

I tried to keep the creature focused on my shoulder rather than my chest, where more vital organs were located. Turns out that the creature was rather light. It didn't take long for Aknon to tear the creature off me.

It was thrown into the tree behind it, but it quickly got back up and darted back at me. I rolled around on the floor and got into a kneeling position. I ducked quickly as it darted at my head, and I was forced to jump to my feet and spin around.

"What is it?" I asked hurriedly, backing away and into a tree. "It is not friendly or cute. Most furry things are cute."

Sarphi gave a laugh as she sliced at the creature, which had jumped out of the way, aiming for Aknon instead. "I don't think that this is any kind of cute Acer."

"Maybe if it stops trying to kill you!" Senka added, jumping from foot to foot. She couldn't really do much. "Sarphi, use your rattle!"

I wouldn't have bet all the money in the world that I would hear a ragdoll tell my sister to use her baby rattle whilst being attacked by a carnivorous ball of fluff. I wouldn't have bet money on anything that we'd experienced over the past few days.

"My what?" Sarphi asked in shock as she darted forward, slashing at the creature's back.

Prin rushed over to us, making noises of distress as she picked Senka up gently in her hands and cradled her, trying to keep her still due to the tear in her side. She was trying to gesture wildly, trying to tell me something, but I couldn't understand what she was trying to say. I'd rushed over to aid Sarphi get the creature off Aknon, despite the pain growing in my shoulder.

"Just do it," I hissed as I got the creature off Aknon, throwing them into the tree behind me. "She knows what she's talking about." More than we do anyway.

Sarphi looked around the forest floor frantically, and that's when I noticed that her bag wasn't on her shoulder like it usually was.

It was like playing a game of catch with a deadly hairball. As soon as one of us got attacked by the sharp teeth, the other two were there to get it off them. All the while Sarphi was looking for her bag. I also looked, and I'm sure that Aknon and Prin did as well, but I doubted that anyone, but Sarphi could use her rattle for what Senka intended.

After a long while of deadly catch, Prin clapped her hands loudly. The creature got more aggressive as she did this, but she then stomped her feet and made vocalisations. So, it had to be serious.

"My bag!" Sarphi cried out in thanks as she rushed over. But then the shadows near her bag began to move. Another furry creature leaped out, causing her to yelp. The bag was in between her and the other creature. It looked as though they were having some kind of standoff. The tension was thick, as though they were waiting for the other one to leap.

The one which Aknon and I were tackling wasn't losing any energy, whilst we were growing tired. The pain from the bites were slowly increasing to the point of annoyance, and I was beginning to lose my temper. I tried to keep an eye on Sarphi and Prin, but my vision was obscured as the furry creature lunged at my face.