[First in Genre, Action/Adventure - The Shadow Awards]
[Best Heartbreaker - The Shadow Awards]
Alema (aw-leh-may) is the dominant male of a small African wild dog pack, dedicating every day of his life towards his family. He has remained blissfully...
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The air was sour. Rancid. Unpleasant. It was the unwelcoming sort of smell that keeps the fur along your back standing straight and your ears pricked for danger. It twisted and turned in the air, joining with new, equally off-putting scents that blasted in Alema's face. The cluster of trees that pressed around him cast their eerie shadows across the dusty ground, stretching far into the distance as if guiding him down a route to nowhere. The few lines of moonlight that sliced through the spindly branches danced menacingly ahead of Alema.
The riding-beast's tracks had led him deeper into the forest of trees, much to Alema's dismay. He longed for open-ground, where he could see all that lay in front of him and not be thrown off course by the array of scents that whipped through the trees. The ground out here was alive, rumbling and growling beneath Alema's paws. Flashes of light cut through the foliage ahead, partially blinding his sight. The growling grew louder as he approached the hedge, and the rancid odor became unbearable. Alema pulled back his lips in spite, but his legs trembled with fear.
He pushed through the brush, and was almost knocked backwards by powerful winds churned up by rolling black feet. Riding-beasts. A whole herd of them. The tracks of the riding-beast that had taken his family joined their path. Alema pulled back his ears and narrowed his eyes, blinking away the dust that was blown upwards by the riding-beasts. Their eyes glowed, sending beams of light ahead of them as they journeyed along a black path.
They were faster than the wildebeests Esi had compared them to. In fact, they were faster than any animal Alema had ever seen. He had never pictured riding-beasts as herd creatures. They always traveled alone with the upwalkers. But these riding-beasts did not look like the ones on the savanna. Some were large and blocky, while others were small and slick. He guessed this herd must be made up of several different species, none of which he had seen on the veldt.
Alema gingerly took a step forward, but immediately leaped back. The dark path the riding-beasts ran on shook violently. He realized that these riding-beasts were not slowing down, and their herd continued to double in numbers. He began to whine as he pictured being trampled. Thoughts of turning back entered his mind. What had he been thinking? Alema had been safe in the pack. He had been happy.
But what did it have to offer now? Back in the desolate pack, all he would be able to do was sulk around and live with the regret of abandoning his family. He would continue living the life of a coward.
Alema set his paw on the dark path, familiarizing himself with the tremor. He gradually moved all four paws onto the edge of the path, trying to maintain as much distance between him and the riding-beasts as possible. He felt frozen to the spot. His fur was whipped to the side each time a riding-beast ran by.
Alema waited for a gap between the riding-beasts. When one came he bolted onto the path, the ground beneath his feet shaking at its core. Riding-beasts roared in front of him, and gave off bleating calls as he ran past. Wind screamed in his ears.
