Iris: Child of prophecy

Chapter one

Huff huff huff!

My chest burned with all the air it wasn't getting, my unsteady steps adding more danger to the leaps I took whenever my weight landed on my leg. Each time I jumped to avoid a root or sidestepped a branch, I would sink into the moist earth and moss that covered the range of ground.

It didn't slow me down though, though I have to admit every discipline started to fade with each throb my body made to resist the continuous movement. It started with my best friend Aria, the most disciplined person I knew. When I heard Aria's heavy panting even though she ran leaps away from me, my own lips parted as well. And no longer were we trying to conserve energy by breathing only through our nostrils. The air tasted like the forest smelled, of fresh rain and moss.

The frigid yet moist air whipping my cheeks blurred my vision, so it was no surprise when I tripped on a subtle but effective branch. A heavy grunt escaped my lips as stone, leaves, and stick all took their pound of flesh as I rolled on the ground. The squelch of my body hitting the cold mud reminded me of how alive I was, and how that would be lost if I ever got caught.

"Iris!" I heard Aria scream. Knowing what painful torture awaited, it was a no-brainer that I pushed past the pain, for I did not have the privilege to pause and examine the damage done to my body.

I landed on my feet after the tussle, pushing myself upwards still. I continued my run. Through the tears, sweat, mud, and possibly blood, I saw Aria get nicked by a protruding branch. Luckily dogging one that lay waiting for more of my blood as well, trees densely packed the forest, and as if the long jutting branches, moist ground, and dwindling funds of air and energy weren't bad enough. I was wearing a long dress stuck to my soft thighs like a second skin.

My usually luscious hair was now heavy and hanging in clusters that stuck to my skin. I Looked up once more, to check on Aria, to see how far she had run. But she was gone. There was no sign of her, as if she had just vanished. She might be faster, but I knew I was not that slow, that Aria would gain so much ground because of such a brief fall.

Too occupied by those worries, I did not see the muddy incline. Losing balance was a scary thing. Majorly because of the fear of what lies at the end of that descent. But not me. I did not care about that; I was not scared of death. Very annoyed though. Where would I find the money to get a new dress? Or I could steal it? No, stealing was what got us in this situation. The fear did begin to settle though, like a bitter pill in the pit of my stomach when I saw the sharp rocks and the water slamming against them .

"Got ya!" Aria exclaimed, and I winced. My shoulder felt like it was forced out of its socket, which was probably what had happened. But that was Aria, too rough for her own good. Anyway, it was definitely much better than shattering my bones on those rocks.

Lifting my head, I looked up at Aria crouched against the vertical plane, hanging on to a rock that shot out of the earth. My gaze crawled from her muddied cheeks and blazing auburn hair down her creamy yet bruised skin, which got hairier as my gaze descended. Eventually landing on the sinewy arm covered in auburn fur and a long finger whose longer claws dug into the flesh of her upper arm.

It must hurt, the fangs that pressed against her plump but chapped lips. Her viridian eyes were now a striking shade of gold.

I sighed. The sound of boots hitting the soft mud continued to fade until both of us were absolutely sure our captors chose to continue the chase without us.

Aria, without warning, jumped out of the incline and tossed me on the flat ground. Both of us doubled over, panting heavily as we tried to give back all the oxygen we deprived their bodies of in a bid for survival.

No matter how many times I saw it, I was never able to get used to it. The way the hair pulled back into the follicles and the claws would fall off. It hurt, but Aria was so used to it that her elongated fangs pulling back into the gums got no reaction from her. The most fascinating though was watching her eyes fade back to that beautifully dull viridian that just added to her charm.