The Broken Ones

Chapter 27

Taylor:

"Felix!"

He was led underneath my arms. Every limb in my body was shaking terribly from the turn of events. Not to mention the injuries inflicted only made everything worse. I was on the verge of hysteria, whilst he lay beneath me, limp. If we weren't surrounded by endless walls of rocks and darkness, with a hostile creature quickly making its way towards us at an alarmingly rapid pace, this may have been less stressful. Sadly, circumstances were different.

With the fear of being eaten alive or crushed under tons of stone, there was another. What was going on inside Felix's head? He had too many bad memories to count, each almost more horrible than the last. I didn't want him to have to relive that. Relive any of them at all.

I looped my arms under his for support, and with a great intake of breath, attempted to stand up with him. To no avail. A sharp pain shot across my abdomen at the motion, causing me to cry out in pain and drop the both of us to the ground.

Another low growl sounded, closer this time. I could only imagine what it could be. Something hostile, I knew, with an immense thirst for blood. I could practically hear it licking its lips from here. Booms sounded every step it took closer to us. This upset the cave walls; rocks would tumble down every stomp.

My anxiety was picking up by the second. I screamed his name again, "Felix!"

To no one's surprise, he didn't flinch. I quickly scrambled over to his arms, certainly not deaf to the loud noises coming from behind, and wrapped my arms with his. With all the strength I had, I began to pull him. There was no way that could feel good on his back. My spirits raised slightly when he began to move with me, but a thought quickly hit me: there was nowhere to get out.

The only close opening we had was blocked off by the wall of rocks, and every other possible escape was through dark winding tunnels. Tiny, too. My claustrophobia was going wild.

A rock falling nearly missed Felix and me by an inch. I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes as I stared at the massive boulder next to us. Then again, another falling stone behind me. It was closer. Too close for comfort. And Felix and I were right in the kill-zone.

I suddenly regained my senses from the sound of the approaching creature emerging from the depths of its slumber, out to feast on whatever could be disturbing the peace. I tried as hard as I could to pull him somewhere. To where, I had no clue. Just away from the center of the cave.

"Felix," I attempted again, half-sobbing. In complete and utter desperation, I pulled him one last time before heaving in exhaustion. "F-Felix, get up! Ah!"

Something bashed into the walls. It was practically right behind us, I could feel it. Rocks fell from above, getting closer and closer to smashing us to bits. The giant creature angrily smashed its body against the walls once more. I managed to pull Felix and myself to the side before it landed on his head.

Its presence was thick, the smell of its breath heavy from here. A shiver ran up my spine. A deep rumble in its belly, a snarl from its lips, and to my horror, it began bolting towards us from behind.

I acted on impulse, grabbing Felix violently in an attempt to pull him behind a rock. "Come on!"

Any second now. He was moments from smashing us to bits. This was it? This was how it all ended?

"Felix!"

"Go!" He was suddenly darting up from his spot, grabbing me by my waist and bolting towards a smaller cave. The moment we fled, the beast-whatever it may be-threw its whole body on the area in which we had just been.

I couldn't breathe. My whole body was shaking violently. Felix had somehow managed to bring us into a smaller cave, a little ways in but still close enough to where the beast would be able to spot us if looking just right. We were huddled behind a rock, hopefully hidden from any view of the creature. I cupped a hand over my mouth to control my breathing as I squeezed my eyes shut. This couldn't be happening.

A pair of arms engulfed me into a tight squeeze. Felix's heart hammered against my ear. I huffed heavily into his dark green tunic from the wedding. His hands clutched at my back tightly, in an almost reassuring way. My mind was going wild. But in a certain way. Yes, the near-death experience made up ninety-nine percent of it, however, there was something else. A little tick in my was more aware of the way Felix's hands felt on my back. Or how he nuzzled his head into my neck comfortingly.

I guess we're all a little broken. One way or another.

His words . . .

I pulled away. We were both breathing heavily, and through the darkness, I couldn't make out much of his face. But I traced the outline with my eyes; he had a nice jaw . . .

What?

I quickly averted my eyes to the scene behind the rock. It was a large thing, I noticed, with a heavy set of spikes protruding from its back. The sight made me cringe in fear. It walked with a hunch, dragging its hind legs with it. The sound it made only worsened its physical form.

It growled once more, but more shortly. The both of us stopped breathing entirely as we listened. It stood up slightly, sniffing the air, I suppose. It seemed confused. Not that I blamed it. Felix practically flew into the cave quicker than I could even process.