The Unknown

Chapter Five

(Kat's POV)

That scream.

"Kittai!" I yelled, racing ahead of the others.

As fast as my legs could possibly take me, I sprinted to the sound. Hunter was right behind me. If it weren't for the terrifyingly dangerous occasion, I'd mentally commend him for sticking to his words and for protecting my sister.

A moment passed of running.

A tree branch was what slapped me out of my thoughts. I'd run right into it, and the soft green leaves whipped my face as I did. I let out a startled yelp, as that hadn't been what I'd expected.

Hunter glanced at me for a moment before running ahead of me while I was distracted by the tree.

A few seconds later, I heard a few low muttering sounds before bursting into a clearing. I half expected to see both my friend and my sister dead, but that wasn't the case. Instead, I noticed the creature standing on its hind legs, towering over Hunter while he glared up at it.

With a second glance, I noticed something else.

Kittai was no where to be seen.

But.. Hunter wouldn't be defending nothing. He wouldn't risk his life for someone who wasn't in danger. Right?

Right, I tried to reassure myself. By then, Max and Ash had caught up to us. They stood at my sides, both seemed just as frozen and scared as I was.

The creature suddenly lifted a giant paw, I snapped out of my rising panic to see Hunter's eyes widen.

He took a step back, as the creature began to lower its heavy forepaw at him. It was aiming to squash him with its enormous amounts of weight.

I wouldn't let that happen.

I abruptly charged at the beast, yelling as I did. It paused and glanced over at me, looking just as confused as Max and Ash probably were.

Their confusion didn't bother me. I kept running at it, even though I knew that if I did get the chance to hit it, it wouldn't do a thing.

"Stay away from my friend!" I yelled, as loud as I could, hoping that I would at least get its full attention to give Hunter a chance to get out of its reach.

However, instead of gaining its attention, I only caused it to turn and hurry off back into the forest. I stopped running, not going after it.

I was now the confused one. The others were now celebrating and Hunter had turned to a mass of tree roots that was slightly raised from the ground behind him. Ash and Max kept praising me, as though I'd done something good and grand, when really I didn't do much.

I ignored their praise, deciding to focus on Hunter. He seemed to be doing something important. He was talking to someone.

"Hunter?" I asked, making my way to him, "What are you doing?"

He didn't even look at me, "Kittai's under there. But she doesn't want to come out."

A small whimpering voice was heard from under the tree roots, "G-Go away!"

I opened my mouth to say something, but Hunter gave me a look that told me to keep quiet, so I shut it again and did so.

Hunter then spoke softly to Kittai, his voice smoother than normal. He sounded almost brotherly, "Hey.. I know you're scared.. And you feel bad, but it doesn't do much good to stay there and make us worry.."

"But I got us in here in the first place!" She cried.

So that's what this was all about.

"It was my stupid dare that got us lost!"

Hunter shook his head, not saying anything regarding Kittai's blame, "Well.. If you stay down there forever.. Then no one will get out of this mess, because we'll all be stuck here waiting for you to come back to us.."

I heard a few small scooting sounds after a quiet, "Oh..." And next thing I knew, Kittai was in my arms with her head buried in my chest.

"Kitt...?" I whined, "Kitt why'd you run away like that..?"

She didn't answer. Only gave a whimper.

I decided it to press it anymore, and Hunter decided to take watch. He stood up and went to sit a little ways from the group, so that he was still in sight of us but he could see out better to make sure that nothing was still after us.

Ash and Max came over to me and sat beside me, though Ash seemed to keep his distance. He usually did, though, so I wasn't worried.

I held Kittai close to my chest as a few long moments slipped past. I could feel her small body slightly shaking as she cried softly. I tried not to focus on that, or the tears that were beginning to stain my shirt.

When Max spoke up, it became hard to focus on anything but fear.

"Uh... Where are the other two..?" Max asked.

"I... Don't know.." I responded fearfully.