Following the River

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Yells echoed in the distance. Hailey gazed around fearfully as her remained blurred and confused. As she tried to stand, she fell.

But then Aira slapped her across the face. “Wake up!” Hailey jolted awake. Her head ached and throbbed with pain. Aira's blazing-blue eyes narrowed as she stared at her.

“Well? You all awake now?! You can just fall asleep right when she's taken?!” Aira growled angrily.

“I got hit.” Hailey tried to explain while her head was still spinning. Aira's bitter look faded.

“Still, let's go, now.” She pulled Hailey by the wrist and together they sped through the thick forest.

Trees whispered around them as they blindly raced through the maze. Their feet pounded on the ground in a steady beat, their arms pumping at their sides. Hailey's breath came out in desperate gasps. Aira's was smooth even though she was ahead of Hailey.

“Do you run faster as a cat?!” Aira asked loudly, her voice raised against the screaming wind that whistled in their ears. She slowed her pace to follow alongside Hailey.

Hailey nodded briskly. “I think so.”

“Good.” Aira dipped her head, then with a black blur of feathers, she was flying high overhead, her raven wings stretched out wide. Her figure was outlined against the cloud painted sky. The clouds were as pale as though milk that had been spilled on the horizon.

Hailey felt power surge through her veins as it had once before. When the stinging faded, she blinked open her cat eyes delicately. She strode forward into a pile of littered leaves dramadically, then bolted off at the speed of light. An electric rush of speed flickered through her body.

The wind screamed past her ears as she pounded her tiny paws on the hollow-sounding ground. All of a sudden, Aira screeched a warning from above and Hailey skid to a halt. Deep claw marks engraved the ground in her path.

Aira swooped down from the wispy sky and landed next to Hailey. Hailey stuck out her tongue as she panted for air.

“What is it?” Hailey inquired through pants.

“I've spotted them.” Aira told her gently, her feathers sleek against the dim shine of the sky. “Let's move in.”

While twitching her tail impatiently, she followed in behind Aira, who was hopping across the grass like a baby chicken. As they approached a thick part of the forest, Haiey could tell that this was where the forest was ending...which meant...

“This is the Mirra's northern territory. Almost everything here is abandoned. Just be very quiet...this territory is strickly forbidden because of what happened a few years ago.” Aira muttered darkly. She began to creep forward to peek her head out of the thick leaves of saplings. Hailey opened her mouth to ask 'what happened last year?', but thought better of it.

As Aira's eyes scanned the clearing, she suddenly felt her muscles tense. A small abandoned building was sitting a bit far off from where they were...and wolves were streaming in and out of the broken doorway.

“We need to get in there.” Aira murmured to Hailey. Hailey came up from behind her and her head popped out of the dense leaves.

“Whoa...” Hailey declared in awe, her eyes round as that of an owl. Aira abruptly flew out of the dense trees and was exposed out in the open sky. Hailey watched her fearfully as she perched on the top of the small building.

Hailey was then puzzled. Now what? Then, just as Hailey didn't know what to do next, Aira squawked at the top of her lungs.

And everything went eerily silent. Hailey perked her ears to hear what was going on inside the building. A crowd of wolves moved anxiously around inside, their voices sounding with panic.