Foreverland

Chapter XII

Chapter XII

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Iris gasped, jumping towards him. "Peter!" She shouted as quietly as she could, shaking him hard. He wouldn't wake up, just like the others. "Peter, please, please," she begged.

A soft pounding echoed from somewhere in the distance, and Iris recognized the sound. It felt like her heart stopped beating. She tried to pull Peter's body, but she couldn't. She stopped for half a second, closing her eyes to think. They had to be after her, she thought. Her best bet would be to lead them away from her defenseless friends. She glanced down one more time at Peter's face, the pounding getting slightly louder. She felt the tears spring to her eyes, her fear almost engulfing her. She took a deep breath, pushing the fear away.

Iris jumped up and ran away from the boys, not looking back. She knew if she did, she would run right back to them. She knew this was probably her only chance at protecting them. She ran aimlessly through the woods, not sure which direction the pounding was coming from.

Suddenly, she stopped, changing her direction. She had an idea where they wouldn't follow her. She just prayed they wouldn't decide to go after the boys instead.

The pounding was almost deafening, and it felt like whatever was chasing her could be right on her heels. She pushed her legs to run faster, smelling the lake water. When the trees cleared, she didn't hesitate before diving headfirst into the water.

Her lungs ached heavily as she propelled her body through the water, trying to get beyond the big moss-covered rock on the other side of the lake. When she got there, she broke through the surface as quietly as she could, staring at the side of the water she had just swam from. The trees looked normal, but even darker than usual. She could still hear the pounding, but it was softer. She ducked a little further behind the rock, staying completely still as the pounding got softer and softer before fading completely. As she hovered there, she prayed that it hadn't gone back for the boys.

Iris waited as long as she possibly could so that it would be completely safe to go back. She wasn't sure how long this took- minutes or hours, it could've been either.

When Iris was as sure as she could be that they were completely gone, she softly pushed herself from the rock and began swimming towards the shore. The sky was darker, the sun reflecting dimly on the surface. She wanted so badly to get back to the forest, to see the boys rubbing their eyes and sitting up, wondering what had happened.

Suddenly, she was yanked underwater. She choked on the water as she was pulled further and further down, squirming her body and kicking her legs to get back to where she could breathe.

Something was cutting into the flesh of her calf. She would've screamed if she wasn't underwater. She looked down, and through the murkiness she could see what was dragging her deeper.

At first, she thought it was one of the mermaids. But this one was different. It was completely flesh colored, with thin, stringy hair that was a pale grey color. It had huge eyes that were almost completely black, and a large, gaping mouth. Around her calf was its slimy, webbed hands that had sharp claws digging into her, dragging her closer. She watched as it opened its mouth, plunging its fangs into the side of her torso. She screamed this time, more water filling her lungs.

Suddenly, instinct took over and she reached for her dagger, yanking it from her waistband. She pushed herself away from the creature, screaming harder when her flesh was ripped from her side and from her calf. As hard as she could, she plunged her blade into its head, and as soon as it released her the slightest bit, she broke for the surface. When she got there, Iris swam as hard and fast as her injured body allowed until she got to the shore.