Breaking a tale

Dawn - So close to home

The portal was certainly not what I had been expecting. I had been expecting an archway that we would be able to walk through, like ones you see in movies. Instead it was a large silver ring located mid-air just off the edge of a cliff. To go through it we would have to jump off the edge of the cliff and hope that the portal would catch us. Charon was already trying to activate it as we dismounted our horses although he seemed to be having some problems. I heard a howl from the forest. I looked at the others and saw they had heard it too. Biron was looking around nervously, and I saw Luna's hand begin to smoke slightly.

Biron walked over to Charon who was kneeling on the ground and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Can you go a bit quicker" He asked looking over at what Charon was doing.

I didn't hear Charon's reply as the howling came again, much louder this time. Charon cried out in frustration, it was clear that whatever he was trying to do was not working and I was beginning to panic. If he didn't open up the portal we would soon find ourselves surrounded by the dogs, I spun around, holding my sword ready. Luna had drawn her blade and Charon had stood up and had grabbed a stick in self-defence.

The howls came again, this time they were so close to us they were accompanied by the sounds of stampeding footsteps racing up the path. I found myself walking back towards the edge of the cliff, waiting for the dogs to attack. I just hoped Charon would be able to get the portal open before they came.

"What's going on?" Charon asked fearfully, picking up a branch and holding it over his shoulder like a club.

"Just keep trying to open the portal," I said turning to face him. "But if it comes to it, be prepared to defend yourself."

With that Charon nodded at me and got back to work but it was too late, the dogs ran into the clearing and surrounded us, barking and snarling, baring their fangs. They seemed pleased to have finally caught their prey, the chase was up. It was over. Biron had grabbed a stick and was waving it at the dogs, trying to scare them away. Charon had given up trying to open the portal and was now doing the same. I looked over to Luna just as the first wolf lunged at her and all hell broke loose. Luna and I worked together, Luna producing black shadows as my sword burst into flames, I waved my sword at the dogs, desperately lunging at them to keep them distracted whilst Luna struck them down with her knife. Biron and Charon were both trying to defend themselves as well, they had both found large sticks and were trying to hit the dogs with them but they found themselves being pushed back towards the edge of the cliff. Squeak was desperately trying to pick off the dogs, trying to reach Biron to protect him but the dogs overwhelmed him, I heard his roars of pain as the dogs brought the mighty dragon to the ground.

Lantern appeared at my feet and I shouted out in surprise. One of the dogs snapped at him and he startled, bolting away, two of the dogs chasing after him and he was gone. I didn't know if I would ever see him again. We were all right on the edge of the cliff now, I could feel the ground crumbling under my feet, how long would it be until I stepped off the edge? Charon was the first to break, he had been dragged into this so I couldn't blame him.

He saw his chance and took it, leaping into the air, his wings beating furiously, he made an attempt to fly away from the dogs, distracting them for a few seconds and buying us some time to recover slightly, but tragedy struck as one of the dogs leapt into the air and managed to grab his wing, causing the fairy to tumble to the groun, into the middle of the pack. I closed my eyes, trying desperately to block out the screams. When I opened them the boy was gone. Biron yelled out in anger and charged at the dogs in an all or nothing attempt to break free. He managed to take down three dogs, bashing them off the edge of the cliff but it wasn't enough, a dog jumped up and sunk its teeth into his arm. I shouted and hit the dog, distracting for just long enough that it loosened its grip and Biron flung it off the edge of the cliff, he looked over and quickly flashed me a weak grin but I knew he had been seriously hurt. As I looked over at him I saw his grin turn to an expression of horror. He yelled out and I quickly spun around but it was too late, I turned to find myself staring into the eyes of one of the dogs.

Time seemed to slow as the dog barrelled into me, knocking me to the ground. Luckily it overshot and after it knocked me down it found itself flying off the cliff. I started to get up, astonished at my luck when I felt a sharp pain in my foot. I didn't recognise what it was at first, I thought I might have just twisted my ankle so I paid it no attention but as I tried to get up I found I couldn't, something was pinning my foot down. When I looked back I realised a dog had grabbed hold of my foot and was trying to pull me into the main pack. Luckily my boots were thick enough that the dog's teeth barely sunk into my skin so I wasn't in too much pain but the dog started to pull me back. I twisted and struggled but the dog wouldn't let go. I cried out as I grabbed tufts of grass, desperately trying to stop myself being dragged.

From where I was lying, I saw Luna try to run to me. She managed to make her way over to me and within reach of my hand when the dog pulled me back again. A dog lunged at her but she put out her hand to knock it away, and the shadows shot out of her hand, wrapping around my wrist, Luna started pulling me towards her, managing to overpower the dog. I felt like I was in the middle of the tug of war and neither group was giving up. Even though the dog did not let go I found myself slowly being pulled towards Luna, towards safety. I let myself relax slightly, I wasn't going to die, not yet but even as I thought this I felt the tendrils around my wrist loosen before shooting back towards Luna. The dog took the chance and started dragging me backwards, much faster than before.

"Dawn!" Luna cried, lunging to try and grab my hand again, tears were streaming down her stricken face. As I was dragged back I could see the shadows which she had once controlled wrapping around her arms, they moved their way up her body, completely restricting her movement. With Luna being trapped by the shadows the dog took its chance and jumped onto her back, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Dawn." She yelled again before the tendrils completely covered her mouth leaving her unable to speak and I was swallowed by the dog pack. There were dogs tearing at my hands and feet, grabbing my arms and biting my legs. I shut my eyes but nothing could take away the sound of their snarls or the pain of their teeth ripping into my flesh. I waited for them to take the final blow, for it all to end but it was taking far longer than I thought it would. It was agony, the cuts all over my body stung horribly and it felt like I had broken my ankle. Somewhere in the distance I could hear Biron's screams but didn't care, I was just waiting for the end to come. I felt myself being dragged by my ankle again, causing the pain to flare up to an unbearable level and I cried out.