Veiled Horizons

Chapter Twenty-Five: Cassie

Aaahh!  Cassie's voice echoed through the forest, as she ran, stepping on dry branches and dead leaves. A creature which had a tiger's head and a panther's body —fixed together with robotic parts— was not too far behind, chasing her with it's swift and steady movements. While Cassie ran shivering and almost tripping over grown out, huge roots of the twisted trees around her.

The night had came and only a tiny sparkle of moonlight was her only source of sight, adding to the terror of the forest. Cassie took several turns before finally settling behind a huge root that covered her completely from the vision of the creature. Cassie's teeth chattered together, as she sat hugging her own knees, tears of fear rolling down her cheeks.

Click... Click... Click... Each step of the creature, made Cassie's heart beat faster. Feeling a presence just behind her, Cassie bent her head down and kept it between her knees, tightening her grip around it with her hand. She knew the creature hadn't seen her yet. But knowing that the only thing standing as a barrier between her survival and the creatures claws, is the thick root behind her. Which sent a shiver down her spine. Just after a second, Cassie felt the sound of sniffing, then hard steps that faded away into the distance.

She slowly lifted her head up, sighing but not entirely relieved, then stood up. Turning her head around and made sure there were no signs of the creature. She started walking, not knowing where she was going. Half her mind wanted to return to the group, admitting it was all a bad decision. But the other half wants her to find Finn and get out of the island as she planned. She glanced up at the half-moon, which had dim light but  a shade of blue which made it stand out from the dark clouds around it.

Cassie continued walking and she could hear another sound from a distance. Her heart started to pick up pace again. But she realised it wasn't the sound of danger. Her ears tingled at the whoosh sound of the huge waterfall. She ran to it, her legs hurting but still managed to get near the water flowing from the waterfall. She sat hurriedly on the ground near it. Then dipped her hands in the small river to take water, but she pulled back just as quickly, when her hand stung. After checking, she realised her palm was wounded, but she didn't give it a mind when she dipped it the second time. Clenching her jaw and gritting her teeth, she scooped water and washed her face. She shook her head, feeling refreshed of the cold water against her burning face. Then she drank some of the water, filling both her mind and her thirst.

A glance at the waterfall changed her mind about the island. The drops of water glowing with the dim-light of the half-moon, and the fog getting the shade of blue, making it a mesmerizing sight, she'd never seen in her life.

‘Only if this wasn't some brutal experiment...’, Cassie thought, as she stood up and admired the view. Then she searched for the tins and cans which might've been left by the group when they left the place. But she couldn't find any. She got back to finding Finn. Since she wasn't hungry, she ignored the search for food.

The night was darker than ever, the moonlight wasn't helping, either. The moon seemed to become more dim and the light slowly started to fade. Cassie tried to walk faster, but hit her head on the tree in front of her, as she couldn't see much in the dark. She reached out her hand and felt the trunk of the tree, and turned slightly and made her way through the dark, slowly. Her hands stretched forward for any obstacles. After a few feets, her legs tripped over something and Cassie fell down. She felt a wince of pain from her angle, while trying to get up. She let out a muffled scream, with her hand covering her lips, making sure no creature or zombies heard her. She lowered her hands and waited for her breathing to be stable.

But as she kept her hand down, she couldn't feel the ground, the broken branches, the leaves, or the grass. Her hand felt something soft. Then the hand started to shake, shivering as she moved it slowly to determine what it was. As her hand moved to the top, she could make out a figure of a human face, but felt she was wrong until she felt the hair. Her heart stopped beating for a moment. On closer look, she could slightly see the colour of yellow on the hair and she was sure...

“Finn!” She broke out, tears flowing as if it won't stop forever. Hugging him close, she kept her head on his chest. She cried out loud, not caring about any creature hearing her. She wanted to tell him that she loved him but even if he could hear her, she wasn't sure if words could describe how much she did.

Lying beside him, with her head on his chest, she couldn't feel more broken. She glanced at the moon, and watched it get eaten by the dark clouds. Just like how her shining light of hope was swallowed by the darkness.

---

The sun came back up to the sky again, casting it's shining rays of light onto Cassie's cheek, through long branches and leaves of the trees. Cassie woke up, Finn didn't. In the morning light, Finn looked more terrifying. With huge wounds on his stomach, marks of claws and parts of his flesh gone from his guts. Cassie felt the horror just by thinking what the creatures had done to him. Her gaze moved up to his face, his blonde hair exactly the same, just messy and not neatly combed like he usually did. His eyes were closed. If it weren't for the wounds— or how she knew he wasn't going to wake up— Cassie would've thought he was just taking a nap. But as much the truth hurt, Cassie didn't want to live with a lie.

She got up, wiping the tears and stiffening up her lips and nose. She started to walk, sparing one last look at Finn's body. Cassie couldn't admit but she kind of felt relieved that she found Finn, even though not alive. Because then she knew what she had to do next. She took out the keys Ash gave her and smirked at it, curling it up in her palm and keeping it back in her pocket. She decided not to get out of the island— Not alone. Finding Finn was fate's way of showing it wasn't time to go home. Not yet.

But the moment was cut short by the sound of footsteps. Hard, mechanical sound of footsteps. Cassie just knew what it was. She glanced forward to face three creatures similar to the one that chased her yesterday.

“You went to get your buddies, huh?” Cassie smirked, an unknown energy forming inside her. A vision of the group waiting for her formed before her for a moment and then suddenly, All her fears were gone. Then, all she wanted was to get back to the group, and even if that meant getting past those creatures alive, she was ready to do it.The creatures were determined on catching her, taking small steps forward. But Cassie was confident.

She remembered a time in her school, when some girls who used to bully her tried to catch her, but Cassie slipped past them easily. From that time on, Cassie felt interested in running. What others would feel as a weakness, Cassie turned it into her strength and that was when she realised one thing— She was good at getting away.

“Goodbye, Finn” She whispered, her head over her shoulder. Then she stepped forward, getting ready to slip past the creatures.

“I will survive this.” She whispered to herself, a confident but challenging smirk playing on her lips.