The Shattered Plains (Aphrika #1)

Chapter 8

Pebble licked her paw. She was trying to make it feel better. It still hurt from when the termite dropped her. It was getting dark and she needed to get her rest. She put her head on her paws and closed her eyes.

A cricket chirped nearby and she opened her eyes. The cricket sat right in front of her. Its black eyes stared at her. It had a hard black shell and some small skinny legs spiked up.

How did it get in here? She wondered. Pebble stood up shakily and stared at it in confusion. It hopped around and jumped onto one of the trees that surrounded her. It dodged the spikes and it disappeared from Pebble's vision because it was so high. Pebble tried to climb after it.

This could be my way out. She thought to herself.

She dodged the spikes and climbed up. It was good that she was so small. If she had been much bigger she would've been stabbed many times.

The cricket came into view at the top of the trees. It was staring at some thick vines that grew over the top. The cricket started to bite them. It didn't do anything though. Pebble hung on at the top with her claws and released one of her paws. She clawed the vines that kept her imprisoned and managed to make a hole big enough for her to squeeze through. She crawled through cautiously and tried not to fall. She pulled herself up with her front claws and crouched on top of the vines.

She looked around for an escape route she could use. There were pathways around the circle of hawthorn tree prisons.

I should let some of the animals out. She thought to herself. There was a battle and we will be weaker. These animals could help us.

She walked to the edge of the vines and saw the next prison was close enough to jump. She backed up and took a deep breath. If she didn't make it, she would most likely die when she hit the ground.

She took a nervous step forward and started to run. Her stomach was hurting from the nervousness she was facing but she pushed it away. Her front paw reached the end of the vines and she jumped.

She was sailing through the air for a few seconds before she reached the vines. Her front paws managed to grab onto a branch that stuck out of the jail. Her paw just missed a thorn. She pulled herself up and a termite came marching around the tree prison and spotted her. It sounded an alarm and some termites came marching towards her.