Hunter

Chapter Twenty Three - I Talk to the Mountains

I was thrown back into that same airplane ride again. I felt nauseous and dizzy, even more so now that a knife was buried almost to the hilt in my side. Once I opened my eyes though, I was still bleeding out on the mountain. I had missed my marker and I had missed my chance to get home. I rested my head on the soft cushion of the snow and just lay there. It wasn't long until I heard the cries of the masses that were coming after me. I stood up, ignoring the sharp pain that coursed throughout my abdomen, and started moving. I wasn't gaining much distance, and I was leaving a trail of blood behind me.

"There she is!" I turned my head to see a man pointing at me, the Hulk by his side. He stalked me, drawing his sword, ready to attack. I moved as fast as I could, but it just wasn't fast enough. I started to bleed even more, my head was swimming. Taking a deep breath, and trying to keep my stomach in check, I dug my fingernails into the ground and focused.

I am the descendant of Poseidon. I can control the earth and seas. I can control all water. I can control the lands. This mountain is a giant rock. Therefore, I can control it. You can do it, Hayley. You can do it!

I felt a little niggling sensation on the base of my throat, and then I pushed. I pushed my hands into the dirt and then pulled them apart as if to split the mountain in two.

Please.

Nothing happened, but I kept pushing, harder and deeper, my arms flexing and bulging.

Please!

I pushed with all of my might, focusing on the feeling in my throat, focusing on the feel of the earth beneath me.

PLEASE!

I heard a sharp sound like a crack of thunder striking a tree. It was the mountain itself ripping in half. I pushed with all of my might, feeling the earth moving beneath me. At one point, I felt nothing, but it still felt as though I was pushing and pushing, exerting all of my energy. And then, something just snapped. The earth opened its mouth underneath me and swallowed me whole. I just kept on falling, deeper and deeper into the ground, with nowhere to go except down.

My body slammed into jagged rocks, the sharp edges crashing into my body. I fell like a ragdoll, my head slamming into the walls, my body cracking and aching the more I moved. My arms flailed and my legs kicked, the dagger still firmly wedged in my stomach. The walls of the cave stopped attacking, and I floated, for a second, before I landed on the blade, the metal now buried to the hilt. I coughed up the metallic taste that sat in my mouth, the blood dripping down my chin like expired milk

My head was pounding like the speakers of a club, lethargy taking over my body. I cringed and wheezed as I pushed myself onto my back. My lungs blazed, my body feeling broken all over. I pried open my heavy lids with much difficulty. I saw darkness and small patches of light. I blinked several times, the lights disappearing gradually. My head lolled to the side, my neck cracking and aching. I spotted my backpack lying several feet away from me. There was no way that I would've been able to reach it without help. So, I summoned help.

Gathering what little strength I had within me, I called on Midnight. I focused on her aura, her being, and with much difficulty, she appeared before me. Her wet nose touched my forehead as she whimpered, a small lick traveling across my cheek.

"I'm okay, girl." A lump of gravel sat in my throat, and no matter how hard I tried, the words could not dislodge themselves. I coughed, blood spurting in the air and landing on my shirt. My body got cold, goosebumps popping out of my skin like warts, my body convulsing violently. I focused on calming my body down. I focused on speaking. I needed to speak. Midnight paced restlessly around my body. She inched closer and closer before inching away.