Star Wars: The Great Awakening (Book I)

Chapter 7 - Into the Darkness

Tree branches snapped and sharp thorns pierced Jolis' body as he fell further down into the deep wilderness. Each impact brought about a sharp pain as his body slammed into various sized tree limbs which also tore at his clothes and skin.

After several moments, Jolis landed on his back with a heavy thud. Not expecting to survive the journey down, Jolis was initially distraught to still be alive.

The impact of the fall caused Jolis to feel as if his world was spinning.

It was dark on the base of the Low World. Dark and quiet. The light of day was blocked by heavy tree cover which also prevented much in the way of undergrowth on the surface. Despite the heavy concentration of trees, there were no birds to be heard. There were also no flowers of any sort to offer any striking colors. Everything down there was dark and muted. Even the air had a sinister and unsettling chill to it.

Jolis slowly wiggled his hands and toes before he sat up, closing his eyes as he moaned with pain. When his eyes opened, he was met with an utterly horrifying sight. In the trees all around him were pairs of red eyes staring down at him from the shadows. None of the eyes moved or blinked. They simply stared.

They were all around him. The more he looked, the more eyes seemed to appear from the darkness of the trees.

Suddenly, Jolis heard the rustling of tree limbs coming from above followed by numerous voices. He knew instantly that his enemy pursuers were coming for him.

Slowly standing up, Jolis nearly collapsed to the ground as a sharp pain surged through his body from his leg. A voice within told him that the pain would be secondary compared to the life he would have if he were captured.

Looking up, Jolis noticed that the sound coming from above had caused all of the red eyes to disappear at once. A shiver traveled down his spine as he began to move deeper into the darkness.

He was moving slowly and the number of voices he was beginning to hear was steadily increasing. Jolis' heart was nearly beating out of his chest as pairs of red eyes began to appear in front of him as he moved through the jungle, only to vanish as he got closer to them.

The nearly ear-piercing scream of a wereryk filled the jungle floor. Jolis had heard the sound before, but never from this close.

He froze in place at an opening in the forest, fully expecting to be torn to pieces by the mysterious creature any second.

The jungle began to rustle all around him. He could hear something moving quickly through the trees. Jolis, knowing he had no defense for whatever was approaching, closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

Then, silence.

Seconds passed before Jolis slowly opened his eyes, still horrified at what could be waiting for him around the next tree.

The ground suddenly shook under him with a small thud which echoed through the trees. Then another thud, followed by numerous others.

Jolis was nearly paralyzed with fear as he could feel the ground shifting slightly underneath him.

The sounds of the enemy pursuers was getting closer but Jolis stayed where he was. He could hear them approaching and it would only be a matter of seconds before they were upon him.

The first of the enemy soldiers burst through the underbrush and the unknown creature aimed its weapon at Jolis. Then nearly a dozen more emerged. They stopped short of Jolis and began screaming at him in an unknown language.

Jolis, frozen in place, refused to move. Even as he saw over a dozen weapons aimed at him, Jolis couldn't help but pay close attention to the ground moving under his feet.