Drakan (The Chronicles of Eli) [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 2 (Edited)

The valley of bones was a wide arid area with mountains on each side leaving the black forest at its rear. There were Sarsen stones scattered throughout, while some were grouped together as if someone had an idea of building a monument but never got around to doing so. There were weeds and hay-like leaves surviving the dry texture. The gentle rises of the hills were almost enough to make you forget about the Faolan that inhabited there. Looking at the scenery Eli knew once upon a time this valley was truly an extension of the forest.

            “So your sure you saw it” Liam said.

            “Yeah I’m sure. I was out on the patio putting a coat of polish on my bow when I saw him. I rushed and grabbed my binoculars, looked threw them and saw him out here”.

            “No stripes right?”

            “No stripes” Eli confirmed.

            “Was it with the pack?”

Eli shook his head “No”. Coming up on a burrow Eli’s heart thumped out of his chest, he hadn’t been this close before. He usually stayed at least 3 feet away just in case anything happened he’d have a head start.

            “Alright Eli, go behind that Sarsen stone over there to the right while I check out these 2 holes”.

            “No man, I want to go check one this time” Eli boldly said.

            “It’s not safe for you dude. So just….”

Raising his voice Eli said “I’m tired of people singling me out like I’m more fragile than everyone else. Stop treating me like I’m different!”

            “I meant because you don’t have your bow” Liam laughed “And with you being that loud you probably took away our chance to sneak up on them”.

Being quiet slipped Eli’s mind during his outburst. Realizing he made a mistake eli lowered his head slightly “I’m going to check that one, the one close to the forest” he said pointing further west of their current position.

            “Good luck” Liam said smiling as Eli hurriedly walked away before changing his mind.

What am I so nervous about? Everything will be fine. Nothing will happen. Eli stopped in mid stride and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I’m not different. I can handle myself just like everyone else can. Eli proceeded with caution taking as little steps as possible as he approached the burrow. He popped his head in just barely enough to listen for any sleeping sounds. When he heard none he whistled softly thinking maybe they were light sleepers. The wind blew something past Eli’s peripheral and made him cover his mouth before letting out a screech. With his heart racing again Eli looked down at his feet and found strands of white fur brushing past. He lives here, Eli thought. Seeing nothing else Eli turned and started walking back to where Liam was. After taking his fifth step Eli heard noises coming from behind him. Slowly he spun around and directly in front of him was the thing they were searching for.

It had a small head with black spiked hair aligned with its spine, starting from his forehead ending at its lower back. All the other fail had matching stripes on their sides but this one had none. Its tail was half the length of its body with straight black hair coming out the end. It walked on all fours with its front wrists bent, claws inward. His body arched leaving his hind legs shorter than his front.

The Faol snarled, treading slowly toward Eli while he equally walked backwards never breaking eye contact. In that instance Eli tripped over a rock and fell flat on his back. Eli used his right arm to push himself up but was interrupted by the Faol pouncing on top of him. With the Faol standing directly over Eli, he found himself incapable of breathing. The fail stared down at Eli, then started sniffing at his shirt. It tilted its head up and backed away from Eli.  BOOM. Eli looked to his right and saw one of the stones nearby. Eli turned his head and saw Liam launching another stone his direction. While in the air the fail scurried away from Eli and this time it landed on Elis opposite side. BOOM. “Eli! Run!” Liam yelled. Eli laid still for a second still in shock, trying to recover from what was happening. He shook his head, sprung to his feet and fled to Liam’s side. Once there they both ran straight for the dirt road leading to the market.