Rescue Pursuit

chapter 1

Blazing wildfire can be seen at the corner of Grant's eyes, as he found himself in a burning cabin. Under the fallen logs amongst the fire were charred arms and flowing blood out of it. "N-No..." Grant struggled to stand his feet as it is bleeding, his heart pounding in his chest as he frantically looked around the burning cabin. The flames licked hungrily at the wooden beams above, casting flickering shadows across the walls. Through the haze of smoke, Grant's mind raced, trying to make sense of the chaotic scene.

"G-Guys..." Grant stumbled as he headed to the figure under the debris. He tried to push the log of the figure, groaning as he did. He hears a crack above him. He looks up to see a burning log dropping towards him. He raised his hands over him and as it hit him....

He gasped and abruptly sat up, fully awake with a fire camp crackling beside him. He heard a huff on his right and turned to see his companion, a massive lizard-like creature standing beside him named Willow, looking at him worried.

"Hey, buddy. I'm all right. It's just a nightmare. It's fine." Grant said, still panting from waking up from the dream, a memory from the past. That happened weeks ago but it still haunts him it will keep coming up as long as he engages in this journey. He looks down at his right arm, covered up fully with a cloth. He was about to open it a bit to look inside but Grant nudged him and let out an angry huff.

"Okay, fine. I know I shouldn't open it. I remembered what he said." He then was interrupted by a ray of light hitting his eyes, winced as it hit his eyes directly. He adjusted his sight a bit and looked to see the sun was rising.

"Hm. The sun finally rises. Let's move." Grant said as he immediately started to pack up his belongings.

The memories of the nightmare lingered, casting a shadow over his thoughts, but Grant pushed them aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. He glanced at his lizard-like companion, who remained by his side, a silent source of support and strength. With practised efficiency, Grant extinguished the fire, leaving no trace of their campsite behind. He slung his pack over his shoulder and checked his supplies. Ensuring that he had everything, he got on the saddle that he put on Willow and started moving.

The cold breeze of the morning hit straight to his face as the lizard galloped across the dark silt, heading to his next destination to cross over. The Verdant Woodland. As they were heading there, he noticed that his companion sensed something, and it took a while for Grant to finally feel a vibration from the ground through Willow's body.

"What the—WOW!" Grant screams when something comes out of the ground with a roar.

Grant turns his head a bit to see who it is. Emerging from the ground with a deafening roar was a massive creature, its scales glinting in the morning light. Grant's heart raced as he recognized the creature—a Sand Wyrm, a formidable beast known for its ferocity and power.

Instinctively, Grant tightened his grip on the reins of his lizard-like pet, guiding it away from the path of the charging Sand Wyrm. The ground trembled beneath them as the creature closed in, its jaws snapping hungrily.

"Fuck. Go, go! Faster!" Grant screamed and immediately unsheathed his greatsword from the holster that was hooked to the saddle.

Hold it firmly on the handle with his right hand, he swings overhead and shoots a surge of golden electricity towards the wyrm. It stunned for a while but quickly recovered. Grant cursed under his breath as he started to charge some power into the sword from his body. He turns his head a bit to see that he is still a bit far away from the border of the forest. He shifted his attention back to the wyrm to see it was very close to Willow's tail.

"Oh no, you don't." Grant snapped as he swung a wide overhead slash toward the wyrm and released a powerful wide electric slash. The wyrm let out an ear-splitting roar of pain, its massive form writhing in agony and desperately trying to dig back into the ground. Grant beamed and sighed with relief as he carefully sat back down on the saddle.