The Ghost Forest

Chapter 6: The Beast's Cave

She ran with long steps. It had been hours since her last good break, and she felt pain through her throat every time she breathed, her eyes were blurry and her knees shook. but she knew she couldn't waste more time. After all she knew, he might been dead by now. Just the thought made her face wet of tears. A short break won't hurt, she thought. She sat down, and took a big bite on a fresh and tasty sandwich. But she was ready to leave as soon as she had finished it.
She liked tunnels, it made her think back on her father. She was the only daughter he had in the midst of two older brothers. That's probably why they were so close. Their family lived not to far from a sweet cave. It had been painted in colors through the years. Even after her childhood, and when she was a teenager, they continued playing and had fun in it.

The ground under her, began to shake. And dust filled the air, it flew into her lungs when she inhaled and made her cought terrebly. Her mough got dry and weird. What's going on? She heard a roar in the distant. What she heard next shattered her heart into thousand peices. It was the sound of somebody who screamed loud and painfully. It reminded her; life wasn't always easy. And right now, Logen was in deep pain, she knew it deep in her heart. She knew he was alive, and that had to be his scream. And with that thought, she finished her sandwich and ran in that direction. His scream made her heart filled up with hate. It poisoned her and squeezed it tight till no blood remained. She tightened her fists and ran faster than she'd ever had in her lifetime. She had been too late to save her family before, she couldn't stand it if she'd been late to save the only family she got left.
Her heart beat faster and faster. What am I going to do when I get there? Will I make it in time? I wonder how Sarah is. I hope Gary is okay.
The echo had changed from where she sat, to where she'd moved to. Suddenly, the ground under her expanded into an enormous cave. She could barley see the ceiling, except from the big hole in it. She guessed that was its exit. Probably the way it took when it captured Logen. Looked like that was the end of the tunnel. She hidden behind a big rock and began to search after sign of Logen. There were rocks everywhere. Who knows, maybe it was a rock eateing beast? That's when she heard groans. It was right behind the corner where she sat. If he laid that close the exit, it probably was much harder to get him out then what she thought. The Beast must been more watchful. It knew it wasn't any sideways in the tunnel, so it could catch them easily if they tried to escape. In the other end in the cave, was a big black aria. She couldn't do anything else than stir at it. IT was so dark, and she couldn't get her eyes to get used to it. Her entire body froze. She couldn't move a finger, her heart beat faster than ever. Even when it was asleep, it was enormous. Bigger than any house in Darrwell, maybe in Ammon too.

She couldn't handle it anymore. The groans that came from his mouth, was to afoul to listen to. At least he was still breathing. Well, he seemed more dead than alive though. With tiny moves, she looked around the corner. The Beast opened it's big, red eyes, and she quickly hide behind the rock again. It rose to it's full height. And went watchful over the place, it passed a rockslide close to Logen. It laid down on the rocks, but it didn't close its eyes. Also The Beast used rocks as its bed. Her stomach wouldn't have yesterday's dinner anymore. She fought it to keep it inside, but soon she throwed it all up. Disgusting, she thought as she dried her mouth with her fist, It'll smell even worse when it's dry.

Logen was well beaten up and it  was blood everywhere. She didn't see his face, 'cause the giant beast watched all of her moves. It looked quite interested like; How will she solve this challenge? But it could've been a track. It knew she was there, still it didn't lift a pow to do anything about it. The smell had exposed her, but she wasn't in the fighting mood. She knew he would die if he didn't get medical attention right away. Darwell wasn't the right place for that stuff. But she knew Grill might be an option, if Grill couldn't help him, Ammon was his only hope. Of course it was only ruins, but you'll never know what happen if you don't go back. It might been someone who moved to it again. Maybe people from other nations. She heard it was much worse and more grows there, than in this nation. And that was only the beginning.

"Okay, May, think. The monster who kidnaped Logen is watching me. Its only grows to look at him,  but you don't exactly have much of a choice here. If you want your lover free, you got to do something NOW!"
She had to do something, and that quick. Logen was bleeding to death and wouldn't last long if she hesitaded. Sshe bite her lips, and crawled around the corner. Logen laid there and groaned in pain.
She took carefully her hand under his neck, and slowly turned him over on his back. His face was white as a corps. If time would be a friend he would at least live out the day. But he was well beaten up and bloody. In fact, he bathed in his own blood when she turned him around. She discovered that his arms was somehow twisted under his back. But when she tried to pull them out, blood flowed out under him. He could die if he lost more blood. Remember, Logen was taken a few hours before she found him, so he'd been kept there for a long time.
Weird, she thought, why don't The Beast do anything? The answer was easy. The sun hadn't raised yet. And Henry said loud and clearly that The Beast didn't eat before then. It was still some time before sunrise. This was exactly what she needed. So, to the conclusion; as long as it was still dark, it wouldn't attack. It gave her time to think, but not enough. She took a step back to see if she had shut out anything. It looked like it was something wrong with his arms. She jumped backwards of surprise. She had been focusing on him and his face, but didn't see the circumstances. Somehow, the monster had bitten off his left wrists. That's why he bathed in blood every time she tried to pull them out. For all she knew, he could've beed bleeding a long time. If so, he was done. She leapt when she heard her own name. Logen flew in and out of consciousness.
"How did you find me?" He asked with a tired voice.
"Quiet", she laid a finger on his swollen lips. "Everything's gonna be just fine"
"How are you gonna explain that?" he pointed a white finger on the The Beast.
"He's not going to attack before sunrise."
He sight in pain. She dragged her hand through his sweat hair.
"We have to stop the bleeding. But every time you move you'll lose more blood."
"Take my jacket." he said. and nodded to a jacket in a corner close to them. How the jacket ended up there, was and always will be a mystery. She grabbed it and tied it tight aroing his wrist.
"Lay some pressure on here." Some time between when she stopped the bleeding, to when she carried him to the exit of the cave, he went in and out of consciousness.
"Hold on." she whispered in his ear.
It was a long way to walk, she was convinced it would be morning before they got to safety. This beast was enormous. How would they escape? It felt like the tunnel last forever. 

Although she knew nothing, she tried to be strong. She got anxiety every time she looked at Logen, while she fought the tears. Suddenly, after a time that seemed like forever, she saw a gleam far in the distant. The closer they got, the closer the faint light got.
"Almost there" she whispered softly.
The echo of her voice made the ceiling shake. But it didn't stop. A strange echo reached her ear. Her heart beat like a drum, and the blood in her veins froze to ice. The Bast was ready to fight. She started to run as fast as she could towards the light. It got bigger and bigger, but the echo got louder as well. Rocks fell from the ceiling because of the roar.  The entire tunnel was about to collapse! She looked behind a last time, she couldn't see it, but she knew it was there. The light was much bigger now.  Perhaps they could make it. She breathed relived out when she recognized the weird and furry creatures. They ran for their lives in every directions. She was where she met Grill. But Grill himself was nowhere to be seen. Too bad. They had no time to lose. She had no choice but to bring him to Ammon. Fortunately, they had to walk in the darection of Darrwell. Perhaps Grill was there with Gray.

The first person they met, was Henry.
"Hey, Henry!" She yelled.
"Thank God you're okay." he came toward them.
He looked at her, the he looked at Logen. Blood dripped from the jacket.
'He's hurt. Can you help him?" She asked anxiety.
"Man, that's bad. I'm not sure. He've lost a lot of blood."
She looked at Henry with expatiation.
He sight.
"Okay, let's take him to my place."