Who Am I? (Book 1)

Chapter 14

"Julie! JULIE, WAKE UP!" Someone was shouting at me, but my body felt too heavy as if I couldn't move at all. When I finally broke through and opened my eyes I could see the panic in Natasha's eyes. "Buh ... you said ..." I tried to comprehend what was happening. Natasha was usually so calm and giving off this vibe of kindness and safety but now ... she seemed scared and stressed. "Forget what I said yesterday, this is an emergency!" I quickly sat up and looked down ... and my heart sank. We were surrounded by beasts and possessed ones. A deep-rooted fear began to well up in me. I didn't want to end up like them, with protruding black veins, zero compassion and eyes that screamed for pain and power. I could feel light tremors, Natasha was working on shaping the tree into a catwalk so we could travel above the ground. "How's your foot?" It was still painful, but not nearly as much as yesterday. "I think I can walk. How long did I sleep?" I still felt exhausted so I couldn't have slept for that long. "Almost 2 hours, we need to survive for 4 more hours, the sun will have risen by then. They won't be able to call for the demons after sunrise". We had walked onto the third tree when I heard something, high-pitched screeches. I turned around just in time to get a bird claw colliding with my collarbone.  

"Aaaah! Get it off me!" I was in full panic mode and hit both the beastly bird (and myself, ouch) multiple times until it let go of me. I felt relieved for a split second, then my foot slipped and I began to fall. "Uwaaaah!" I screamed and closed my eyes, preparing to be turned into mincemeat when a strong and warm hand grabbed mine. Natasha pulled me up and continued to guide me through the way she had prepared. I was red as a tomato, and not just because of all the physical running and fighting, but also because I was embarrassed. It had only been a little over one day and Natasha had saved me countless times already ... this journey was not off to a good start. "The meadow is this way! If we can make it to the lake we're safe". Her voice was stable and she didn't sound exhausted at all ... I, however, was beginning to tire quite a lot. Running for almost half a day was normally not on my to-do list, especially when I was running with heavy combat boots instead of light running shoes. 

"Why ... are we ... safe at ... the ... lake?" It felt as if my throat was on fire. "The water was blessed by the ancient spirits of nature, foul and corrupted beings cannot touch it". Her words gave me encouragement, so I continued to run even though my body screamed for a break. "Keep going, Julie! The lake is only 550 meters away!" Only ... that's ... not a little distance at all. I realized that Natasha was far ahead of me by now, which wasn't good at all. I was the worst at orientation and the things behind and beneath me were ready to make mincemeat outta me. I pushed myself even more and managed to gain a little distance, but I had to be careful to not stumble on the branch, Natasha was too far away to save me if I did so, a fall would be certain death. "Julie! Jump down! The branch isn't too far above the ground". Natasha jumped and landed in a very elegant manner, and I was about to do the same (although I would probably not be very elegant) when I stumbled in my own foot. "Gah!" I took an unelegant somersault and landed hard on the ground which knocked the little air I had left out of me.