The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 26

We turn around, and I really hope I'm wrong and it's not really close to us. The Pauna is at the edge of the clearing, stepping on some of the bones that line the clearing. It makes a sickening crunching noise as it steps forward. It stares directly at us, its nostrils flaring. Of course one of the few things I'm right about is this.

With a yell that's so intense it actually shakes the ground, it charges at us. My eyes widen because holy crap, it's bigger than I thought. And that's saying something. Lexa gets into a fighting stance and I aim at it, firing as rapidly as I can while being accurate.

Despite the arrows sticking out of it, it doesn't slow down, it just looks even more pissed. It gets too close and leaps into the air aimed straight at me. I dive out of the way so I don't get flattened. I spit the red dust from my mouth. It crashes to the ground and I notice with relief that Lexa's okay, just doing another stupid thing.

She's swinging her swords wildly, hitting every bit of Pauna's flesh she can. Like my arrows, it only annoys it further. But she's good, it does seem to be slower as it lets out a ferocious roar and gets back up. My eyes widen as it swings it's arm, letting out an anguished cry when it hits Lexa. Her back hits a tree at the edge of the clearing, and one sword flies from her hands. She groans lowly, a sound that alarms me because I can hear it even though I'm not that close to her.

I watch in horror as the Pauna charges toward Lexa. I don't know what to do, so I just start firing arrows at the Pauna until it turns around to glower at me. By that point, I only have one arrow left. I silently curse myself for not bringing enough. It runs at me and I aim, my arms shaking in fear. If this doesn't work, we're both dead. I let out a breath and let the arrow fly, watching as it hits it's mark: Pauna's eye.

I let out a whoop as it crashes to the ground, it's eyes open and unseeing. Well, eye. The other one has an arrow sticking out of it. It's a pretty nasty sight, to be honest. I'm glad I'm not squeamish. If I were, I would've puked.

Just to be sure that it's dead and won't reanimate (which I don't think is scientifically possible, but on Earth you never know), I take out my sword and slit it's throat.

Once I've done that, I rush over to Lexa, frantically checking her out. She's sitting and resting against the tree so I kneel before her.

"Are you alright? How's your back?"

"Hurts." Lexa says, a stoic look on her face. It's the one I rarely see when she's with me, and I never see it whenever we're alone. I give her an unimpressed look and Lexa grins, which makes me automatically smile too. "I will be okay, Clarke. Ai gonplei nou ste odon (my fight is not over)."

"You bet it isn't. Remember if you die on me, I'll kill you." I warn, both teasing and serious.

"I am uncertain how that would work." Lexa teases back.

"You die and then I'll bring you back so I can kill you for dying."

Whatever response Lexa might have is cut off by a load groan. Oh right, there's someone in that hole. Dang, I forgot all about that.

"You stay here." I urge Lexa.

She raises her eyebrows and I sigh, knowing this will be something she won't budge on. She's as stubborn as I am sometimes. I help Lexa up and she wraps an arm around my shoulder to hold herself up, grunting in pain. Ignore how right her touching you feels, she's injured and hurting. I take a deep breath and begin moving toward the hole with her slowly.

I keep my eyes on her, unable to keep my worry at bay. It takes awhile for us to get there, and I keep making us stop for a moment or two because her face will screw up in pain and she'll let out little whimpers but she won't ask to stop. I help her sit a safe distance from the edge of the hole, making sure she's semi-comfortable before turning my attention to the person in the hole.

"Hey," I call. "Can you climb out?" I hope they speak English. Er... Gonasleng (literally translates to warrior language, but it means English).

"No," a raspy voice says. "My ankle is twisted from when that beast threw me in here. I cannot hear it anymore. Is it dead or gone?"

"It's dead."

"You did good, Clarke." Lexa murmurs.

"Mochof (thank you)." I give her a smile before turning my attention back to the person (who from their voice, is most likely a woman). "Do you see another way out?"

"There is an old door, but it's locked. I think it locks from the other side, so if you could find where it locks..." She trails off, coughing. "Moba (sorry), I have spent three nights down here. It is cold and I fear I may have caught an illness."

"It's alright," I reassure. "I'm a healer." I turn to Lexa. "Stay here."

Lexa lets out a soft sigh that makes me want to wrap her in my arms and never let go and nods. "Go save another person." She gives me a lopsided grin.

I glance around, trying to see if there's a visible entrance somewhere. There's a flat, rusty sheet of metal sitting on the ground. It almost looks like it's coming out of the ground. I move closer to get a better look, dusting it off. It's a covering, so I pull it off. It's heavy, which makes me glad Anya pushes me so hard. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to make it budge at all.

I peer down, squinting against the darkness. The fact it's getting closer and closer to night isn't helping. It's an old metal ladder, leading way down until I can't see anything. At least I'm not afraid of the dark. I take one last breath of fresh air and begin climbing down.

Aww, Lexa's hurt... No worries, other than some bruises she's okay. And bye, Pauna. So who's this random girl? And why did the Pauna throw her in a hole? Hmm... :) Thank you all for reading, and stay awesome!