Guardians

I could hear them as they moved through the trees hunting me.

The air cracked like lightening as they broke through the doorways hidden throughout the forest. Their passageways were laced through the property like veins. I was fast, but they were cheaters. Every single one of them.

Two found their way in front of me. One in human form, the other...not. I panicked, skidding in the mud and leaves, but caught myself with one hand on a tree and slung myself to the right. I took a path I knew was safe. We had closed all passageways in this area of the forest, but the seals were weakening. I could feel the heat against my back as they broke through those doorways igniting the energy that sealed them and sending them ablaze.

The snarls were growing louder and the thick smoke from the fires stung as I forced the air into my lungs, but I had to keep moving. My stomach sank as pillar of smoke ahead caught my attention. They'd beat me here.

***

Imagine a species so strong no one could stand to rival them. Now, imagine you were the one who could expose their one weakness. Seems you'd have the upper hand, right? Wrong. My name is Azalea, and I am that weakness. One side wants to use me to wipe out the entire species, and the other ... well, I have no idea what they'd do if they caught me.