Trapped

Chapter 8

     The first thought that went through Starcharm's head was, What. Are. Those? "What. Are. Those?" Featherfriend said out loud. The creatures pointed and yelled, then started running down the hill. The ones in front looked like they were holding weapons. "Um, run." Featherfriend said weakly. The two friends bolted, they were too tired and sore to fly.
     The creature hopped into machines that moved almost as fast as Featherfriend. Soon they were catching up. After a few minutes, the two beasts had left the meadow and were cornered by a plateau at the edge of the desert. Without any other choice, the friends fought for their lives. Starcharm slashed with her claws and snapped at them with her teeth.
     One of the creatures yelled, "Get the dragon! Then the hippogriff!" Featherfriend ran to protect her friend. She clawed at the attackers, but before long they were separated by.......whatever those things are. After a while they were both getting exhausted. "Climb the cliff!" Starcharm called to her friend.
     They both jumped onto the wall, digging in with their claws. Starcharm groaned as she pulled herself up. She was already panting by the time she was halfway up. The creatures pulled out ropes and started climbing. Starcharm growled and kept going.
     "You okay Star?" Featherfriend called over. "Just tired." she responded. They kept climbing, soon Starcharm asked, "Can you fly yet?" Featherfriend looked down, then up again. "If we hadn't flown so long, I'd still feel my wings."
"Yeah, sorry."
"Nah, I'll be mad at you when were out of this mess."
"Yeah."
     By then they had reached the top. Starcharm sat down to rest. By the time she caught her breath, the creatures were at the top. They pointed one of the weapons at her. There was a weird "thump" sound and Starcharm felt something sharp hit her tail.
     A wave of drowsiness washed over her. She looked back to see a small dart sticking out from between her scales. Her legs grew wobbly and she stumbled as she tried to run away. Her eyes became blurry and her head started to spin. She swatted drowsily at nothing in particular.
     She tried to walk in a straight line, but a thick net shot towards her, wrapping itself around her front legs. She tripped and fell, bumping her nose and making it bleed. Nothing she couldn't deal with later. She tried to get up, but failed, the tendrils of sleep pulling her down. "Featherfriend! Featherfriend. Feather...friend..." was all she could say before she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.