Intent

Chapter Six: I Fell

I burst out through the underbrush. Small thorns were getting hooked on my jeans as I ran through briar bushes. Little holes were being torn into them, and I could feel trickles of blood running down my leg as they scratched the skin. They stung, but keeping my life was worth the pain. I thought to myself, "As long as I keep running, I'll be--!" I was pushed to the ground by something large and heavy. The breath was knocked out of me as dirt and thorns hit my face. Blood ran into my mouth and I spit it out along with some dirt. I huffed air into my lungs as quick as I could so I could start running again, but something pressed down on my leg and made it impossible to get up. I glanced over and saw a large white paw with two-inch claws on each toe. The claws dug into my skin lightly and the weight of whoever this was kept me grounded. I decided it was better to face the problem at hand rather than run from it. I slowly turned to face the creature, and when I looked up, it was undeniably one of us.

A Grim.

I immediately hung my head low. The sight of me being submissive will probably save me from being killed. If I had known it was one of the Herd instead of a cougar I probably would have had a better chance of survival if I had climbed a tree instead of running. She could have pushed the tree down though. I didn't know I was rambling in my thoughts until it snorted through its nose. I looked up and saw that it was making a motion for me to stand. It took its paw off of my leg and backed up a bit. I didn't understand why it wasn't killing me right now. I noticed that it kept staring at my chest, so I looked down and saw my medallion. "It's afraid.." I stood and it backed up more, and when I took a step forward it bolted off into the darkness.

Something isn't right this year.