Elliot got his things in order; straightening a picture frame and flicking off the lights, lifting his occasionally to look at the clock as its hand approached one o'clock. His fingers arched against the side of his thigh. While he'd been making th...
My eyes flicked open. A distant noise had roused me from my sleep. I reached for my special blanket, the one Mama had made for me, to find that it was not there, and that I was not in my bed. I always tried to hold on to something, anything, but I moved a lot when I slept. And so nothing could keep me home, not this night, not last night, not any night in a long time. I sat up and rubbed my bare arms, where goosebumps tickled my fingertips. The wind nipped at them, and I regretted not wearing a shirt to bed--I'd been counting on Mama's blanket to keep me home. I'd just have to pretend Mama's blanket was there.
But it was still cold, and dark, and scary. My shoulders tightened. I put my head between my knees. I could see the violet grass growing between my toes where my head didn't block the moonlight. "It's just an hour," I said to nobody. "It's just an hour." Inhale, exhale; a roll of the shoulders.
The ground beneath my feet pulsed like a heartbeat.
I popped my head up.
The horizon was moving.
It was moving, and fast. Snowy white figures charged in the distance, rising and falling like waves. I stared until they were just close enough to make out. Great big horns; odd dark eyes. My eyebrows knit and I leaned forward slightly.
"...Goats?"
Enormous goats, bigger even than horses. And like waves, they showed no sign of letting up. Whatever had spooked the poor creatures, would probably pick off those from the back of the herd. I wouldn't have to outrun them. I would have to outrun a stampede.
Good old fashioned stampede music...Sound familiar? Suits Black Friday clips quite well! Be a lamb and listen while you read this part of the chapter?
Something I should have considered earlier. I had looked too long, too long! My feet shuffled, carrying my frozen body a step, and another, and another, until I brokeintoarun.
I would just run until I could hide. I always did that at school; it could work! Right? Nowhere to hide so far. I ran faster. The grass made my ankles itchy. The packed dry earth hurt my feet with every footfall. The cacophony of the herd approached steadily.
It was just quieter than the sound of my breathing. Chest heaving, I pumped my legs further and further. A burning sensation wormed its way under my ribcage and gnawed at my heart.
I looked around for cover again. Violet grass as far as the eyes could see, illuminated by the idle moon.
Nothing!
My nails bit into my skin, but I didn't feel it. My heartbeat slammed against my chest. My throat was raw and aching.
The bleating and trembling grew louder as I grew weaker. I trusted my instincts to keep me going, but it was getting hard. Real hard.
A white mass crashed into my shoulder and I fell to the ground. I knew I would feel the pain later. As I pushed my body up, a wide gray hoof crushed my hand. A scream tore out of my throat as the red mixed with violet.
My other hand gingerly clasped my other wrist, rubbing and squeezing. The noise had surrounded me, and my ears rung.
A second hoof clipped the side of my face, narrowly missing my eye. It trickled down into my mouth and clouded my already-hazy vision. I pressed my face into the dirt, using my free hand to guard my head. I shut my eyes and hoped to escape this place. I had never been able to force it, but now was the time for a miracle. It was just an hour, but it could have been my last.
No miracle came. My side was grazed, my toes were crushed, and I was losing blood.
I whimpered. It wasn't fair that i was going to die in this place! I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up. I wanted to make a friend. I wanted to maybe even meet the faeries, even though everyone else here always said they were trouble. My salty tears burned my wound so I blinked them out of my eyes.
It exists, you know. These things are about 8 feet tall.
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