Touchstone (Under Edits)

Radja InTouch Alderstone

Just keep running and whatever you do, don't look back...

Son carefully inched his way over the branches. If he could avoid attracting their attention, things would be perfect.

However, he should know by know that expectations like that are too good to be true.

One of the creatures, a dog looking one, suddenly scented the air. Son held himself still immediately and stared at him, willing him to go back to what he is doing.

Instead he started tracking towards the tree Son is in and the Arian had to swallow a groan.

It had to be the blood. He had already lost quite a lot of it. Now they would be able to track him from anywhere because of it.

He was trying his best here. He just wanted to live, to get to that house and hope he could find sanctuary. Why was it so hard to just leave. Him. Alone!

He launched himself from the tree he was in and tried his best to keep ahead of his ground pursuers. He raced through the branch network, keeping an eye out for the thinning of the tree line and the house roof. When he saw a break up ahead, he turned left and kept going.

His overhead friend was also back in the game and Son could hear it screaming and showing the ground patrol the direction he ran even as it shot at him, trying to hit him with another one of those insane bolts.

Son was also starting to slow down. His body was beyond exhausted and his vision had narrowed down to a pin prick as he struggled to keep moving.

You can do it sweetie... Just a little bit more...

The gap in the trees caught him unexpectedly and he hugged the tree he was on as he struggled to figure out what to do next. He needed to go in this direction. The gap was too long on either side. If he tried to go around it, he was going to be too far off course.

He would have to jump.

The moment he did, he was dead.

Just the jar of the landing would steal his consciousness. Then they would be on him. Why did they even want to kill him? Did they want to kill him? Did it matter finding the answer?

He swallowed and prepared to make the leap. He couldn't stay in the tree with his friend over head. It was this or nothing. And the house was so close too. He could actually see the windows of the top floor. He looked down and saw the monsters squealing and circling around his tree, waiting for the screaming instructions of his overhead friend. Where was he anyway?

Son knew he was procrastination but he really didn't want to jump. The fear of teeth sinking into his unconscious flesh, tearing him apart, and killing him before he even got to live, or to love, was just...

There were no words to describe.

Hold on... Just a little longer...

Branches rustled overhead and he looked up to see his new friend trying to land as he glared at Son with beady little eyes. Son turned back and swallowed . Maybe he would make the jump. Its not like he had much of a choice. As if sensing his doom, the ground pursuit whipped themselves into a new frenzy of high pitched howling.

Son looked back up and made a decision. He waited until the creature finally landed awkwardly on the tree with its weird taloned feet and launched himself off his tree. He soared into open air and sailed across most of the gap space before he finally landed with a jarring impact.

He felt every bit of that landing and the backlash of pain that came after seized every bone and nerve in his body. His vision dimmed as something raced past him and he felt the earth shake with a boom.