07-24-2016, 07:08 PM
The black of the night was thick, as murder in a war-zone.
There was nearly nothing to be seen before or behind them, even after their eyes had adjusted to the dark. Several times, Christa’s arm painfully made contact with a tree, while she tried to trace faded outlines in the fog before her. A better guide was her ears, which followed the gentle cascade of Took’s feet, though they made little sound.
It was truly unnerving just how silent the woods were, at any moment, death could extend his scythe and then there would simply be no more air for her to breathe. She’d be just another corpse, just another life that this island had taken.
Christa cocked an ear over in Red’s direction, he was breathing quickly but not from the incline. He’s scared? Aren’t cats supposed to have night vision? What the hell is wrong with him? He... Seemed like he was hearing voices, and what was that, bringing Karl up out of the blue? Her gut told her something was very wrong, she extended her hand out, not sure how close she was to Took, but it made contact with the cannibal’s shoulder. He turned around, or so she thought, and she asked silently, “I need a small break.”
To her surprise, he granted it, saying it was a decent spot, that they were far from the enemy’s territory and high on the mountain. Red, coming up from behind, ran into her headfirst. She turned now, while the question hung on his lips, What’s going on? she answered delicately, “I asked for five minutes to rest.”
The feline was on edge. The light of his tail had drawn closer, so she could see the sharp contours of worry on his face. Unannounced suspicion rolled off of his ready-to-pounce shoulders and Christa sat right next to him, letting her back scrape against a tangy smelling pine, “Red,” she said softly, wondering what question to pose, “Tell me what you heard.”
His darting eyes raced straight to hers, “It’s nothing,” but it was a lie and he couldn’t keep it, “I thought I heard Karl Jak.”
“He probably wouldn’t wander around the forest at night like us,” she reasoned and pulled out a water bottle, “Here, you seem thirsty, I can't summon a bowl, but I have a wolf that drinks straight from the nozzle, give it a try?”
With a tilt, the stream began to flow and Red lapped it in, pausing a few times to cough and catch his breath. His fear had stalled within him, stiffening his joints but baying the thoughts that had tempted him too close to the edge of the abyss. “Nanaki, I want you to know,” the woman said as she stood, “Maybe you did hear him, I don’t doubt you. Maybe if we walk fast enough we can keep him off our tail. Eh?”
Red was too distracted to catch her joke, instead, his eyes fell on the silence that was their guide, If only she had any idea.
“Who’s Karl Jak?” Took asked, leaping at the chance to interrupt.
“A man I should have killed, but hey, I guess I kinda like him if I didn’t. The bastard was the one who you met above the bunker.” she smirked, “He’s a sly prick.”
Took didn’t like the word, murder, but didn’t let the unease show on his skin, “You know, where I come from, men don’t do that kind of thing to ladies.”
Christa wondered what they did to men where he came from, who dared to defy that rule, “Oh, I don’t have a ladylike bone in my body, I probably have more blood on my hands than anyone who is still alive on this island. Even your friends.”
Murder forges perfection. “Hopefully you had good reason, else maybe I’ll-”
A low rumbling could distinctly be heard filling the side of the mountain, laden with thinning fog, and shaking the earth below their feet. Built up stone around the tall-shooting trees quivered as though the sound was enough to smite them into the oblivion of nonexistence.
“What is that?” she asked, shuffling closer to the tree in order to steady herself.
“Damn it.” the man answered, “A landslide.”
Trepidation threw Christa off her feet, while the ground growled angrily at the three of them for standing on its mountainous domain. They had two options, neither of which, Christa’s feet were willing to move for, instead, the fear of being crushed to death by a stampede of rock shocked her free. “Shit,” I’m not dying today. She told herself before roaring louder than the rocks, giving her comrades direction, “CLIMB!”
The trees might break, but the way Christa saw it, they still had a chance since they were closer to the top than the bottom of the mountain, and the momentum would only increase if they tried to escape. Cornered, they commenced to climb, Red looked back, unwilling to leave the injured comrade behind until Took sternly announced, “You go first, hurry! I’ll get her.”
Talons ripped in the spine of the tree, stabbing the wood and leaving behind scratches as the bark fell away. Red’s claws grappled him higher into the sky while the tumbling rocks came ever closer. His concentration didn’t pull, though it sounded as though the smite of the gods was upon him. Meanwhile, still on the ground was Christa and the other human, the heavy clatter of stone was almost upon them, small tides of pebbles had shot down past their feet. There were not many low lying branches for them to get a good handle on, but Took paved the way using each of their daggers as a means upward, following the cat’s path.
Still, it was a matter of Christa, one arm would not deliver her to safety alone, and even if they all made it up, they’d have to pray that this stump of a tree would endure the grinding of power without it splitting. “C’mon,” Took gestured, offering her a hand. He’d left a dagger in for his own foothold, but things were getting awfully tricky, since there were only two knives. The sniper’s bicep pulled her directly upwards, but muscle could only last so long. She gritted her teeth through the burn while her other arm was crushed against the tree, still swindled in its little sling. The only use it had was to offer her prompts of pain, which motivated her feet to find the small grooves the cannibal was cutting for her toes.
Fear pulsed in her ears, delivered there by the heavy pounding of her heart. Help, she begged to her body and kicked the shedding bark out of her way, while she finally was able to pull the knife out and lift herself higher. Took extended his hands to her, his beady eyes alive, and thrilled by the gentle tide of death that was surely, just ten feet below them.
Another small nook had been sliced and in her free hand she used the parting of the wood to leap upward, Just another foot. Yearning for the nearest bough, the gunslinger struggled as she conquered, and Red looked down from his perch above.
His teeth showed, while the rumble in his throat was drowned out by the toppling of stone crashing into stone, shaking the tree and all its needles. Christa’s sweaty hand nearly slipped off of the grip that stung her with splinters. Her eyes closed, immediately, but then reopened, as though she had realized that she didn’t want to die with her eyes closed. Another swing, and one last–she jumped. Red’s eyes widened with fear while her body moved in slow motion, her torso had made contact with the arm of the tree, but to collision was startling as it hit Christa right in her injured rib and caused her entire body to seize.
Slip.
It was soundless in the lull of the rampage, but her hand extended upward, wishing by will alone, she had the power to reach the tree even while her own weight was tugging her downward. The woman never looked, even when certain death clawed at her feet. A numbed sense of fear coiled over her entire body, which was helpless to do anything but the one thing she would never do before she died: Scream.
A hand came out of no-where while fingernails tore at her skin, slicing deep while blood brimmed at the edge of her skin, causing a slight slip in the hope of his grasp. He grunted, while Christa’s heart was beating faster than an Uzi could pour out hot shells. Not today... her mind managed while her arm did all it could to hang onto her last hold.
Took now had her in his arms, she was dangling while heavier boulders steamrolled below in an unending wave that would not ebb for some time. The scrawny man could barely hold her, but with a nod, Christa directed him to throw her up on the limb, and with the swing of her hips, she wrapped her arms around the sweet wood, looking as though she’d never let go.
There was nearly nothing to be seen before or behind them, even after their eyes had adjusted to the dark. Several times, Christa’s arm painfully made contact with a tree, while she tried to trace faded outlines in the fog before her. A better guide was her ears, which followed the gentle cascade of Took’s feet, though they made little sound.
It was truly unnerving just how silent the woods were, at any moment, death could extend his scythe and then there would simply be no more air for her to breathe. She’d be just another corpse, just another life that this island had taken.
Christa cocked an ear over in Red’s direction, he was breathing quickly but not from the incline. He’s scared? Aren’t cats supposed to have night vision? What the hell is wrong with him? He... Seemed like he was hearing voices, and what was that, bringing Karl up out of the blue? Her gut told her something was very wrong, she extended her hand out, not sure how close she was to Took, but it made contact with the cannibal’s shoulder. He turned around, or so she thought, and she asked silently, “I need a small break.”
To her surprise, he granted it, saying it was a decent spot, that they were far from the enemy’s territory and high on the mountain. Red, coming up from behind, ran into her headfirst. She turned now, while the question hung on his lips, What’s going on? she answered delicately, “I asked for five minutes to rest.”
The feline was on edge. The light of his tail had drawn closer, so she could see the sharp contours of worry on his face. Unannounced suspicion rolled off of his ready-to-pounce shoulders and Christa sat right next to him, letting her back scrape against a tangy smelling pine, “Red,” she said softly, wondering what question to pose, “Tell me what you heard.”
His darting eyes raced straight to hers, “It’s nothing,” but it was a lie and he couldn’t keep it, “I thought I heard Karl Jak.”
“He probably wouldn’t wander around the forest at night like us,” she reasoned and pulled out a water bottle, “Here, you seem thirsty, I can't summon a bowl, but I have a wolf that drinks straight from the nozzle, give it a try?”
With a tilt, the stream began to flow and Red lapped it in, pausing a few times to cough and catch his breath. His fear had stalled within him, stiffening his joints but baying the thoughts that had tempted him too close to the edge of the abyss. “Nanaki, I want you to know,” the woman said as she stood, “Maybe you did hear him, I don’t doubt you. Maybe if we walk fast enough we can keep him off our tail. Eh?”
Red was too distracted to catch her joke, instead, his eyes fell on the silence that was their guide, If only she had any idea.
“Who’s Karl Jak?” Took asked, leaping at the chance to interrupt.
“A man I should have killed, but hey, I guess I kinda like him if I didn’t. The bastard was the one who you met above the bunker.” she smirked, “He’s a sly prick.”
Took didn’t like the word, murder, but didn’t let the unease show on his skin, “You know, where I come from, men don’t do that kind of thing to ladies.”
Christa wondered what they did to men where he came from, who dared to defy that rule, “Oh, I don’t have a ladylike bone in my body, I probably have more blood on my hands than anyone who is still alive on this island. Even your friends.”
Murder forges perfection. “Hopefully you had good reason, else maybe I’ll-”
A low rumbling could distinctly be heard filling the side of the mountain, laden with thinning fog, and shaking the earth below their feet. Built up stone around the tall-shooting trees quivered as though the sound was enough to smite them into the oblivion of nonexistence.
“What is that?” she asked, shuffling closer to the tree in order to steady herself.
“Damn it.” the man answered, “A landslide.”
Trepidation threw Christa off her feet, while the ground growled angrily at the three of them for standing on its mountainous domain. They had two options, neither of which, Christa’s feet were willing to move for, instead, the fear of being crushed to death by a stampede of rock shocked her free. “Shit,” I’m not dying today. She told herself before roaring louder than the rocks, giving her comrades direction, “CLIMB!”
The trees might break, but the way Christa saw it, they still had a chance since they were closer to the top than the bottom of the mountain, and the momentum would only increase if they tried to escape. Cornered, they commenced to climb, Red looked back, unwilling to leave the injured comrade behind until Took sternly announced, “You go first, hurry! I’ll get her.”
Talons ripped in the spine of the tree, stabbing the wood and leaving behind scratches as the bark fell away. Red’s claws grappled him higher into the sky while the tumbling rocks came ever closer. His concentration didn’t pull, though it sounded as though the smite of the gods was upon him. Meanwhile, still on the ground was Christa and the other human, the heavy clatter of stone was almost upon them, small tides of pebbles had shot down past their feet. There were not many low lying branches for them to get a good handle on, but Took paved the way using each of their daggers as a means upward, following the cat’s path.
Still, it was a matter of Christa, one arm would not deliver her to safety alone, and even if they all made it up, they’d have to pray that this stump of a tree would endure the grinding of power without it splitting. “C’mon,” Took gestured, offering her a hand. He’d left a dagger in for his own foothold, but things were getting awfully tricky, since there were only two knives. The sniper’s bicep pulled her directly upwards, but muscle could only last so long. She gritted her teeth through the burn while her other arm was crushed against the tree, still swindled in its little sling. The only use it had was to offer her prompts of pain, which motivated her feet to find the small grooves the cannibal was cutting for her toes.
Fear pulsed in her ears, delivered there by the heavy pounding of her heart. Help, she begged to her body and kicked the shedding bark out of her way, while she finally was able to pull the knife out and lift herself higher. Took extended his hands to her, his beady eyes alive, and thrilled by the gentle tide of death that was surely, just ten feet below them.
Another small nook had been sliced and in her free hand she used the parting of the wood to leap upward, Just another foot. Yearning for the nearest bough, the gunslinger struggled as she conquered, and Red looked down from his perch above.
His teeth showed, while the rumble in his throat was drowned out by the toppling of stone crashing into stone, shaking the tree and all its needles. Christa’s sweaty hand nearly slipped off of the grip that stung her with splinters. Her eyes closed, immediately, but then reopened, as though she had realized that she didn’t want to die with her eyes closed. Another swing, and one last–she jumped. Red’s eyes widened with fear while her body moved in slow motion, her torso had made contact with the arm of the tree, but to collision was startling as it hit Christa right in her injured rib and caused her entire body to seize.
Slip.
It was soundless in the lull of the rampage, but her hand extended upward, wishing by will alone, she had the power to reach the tree even while her own weight was tugging her downward. The woman never looked, even when certain death clawed at her feet. A numbed sense of fear coiled over her entire body, which was helpless to do anything but the one thing she would never do before she died: Scream.
A hand came out of no-where while fingernails tore at her skin, slicing deep while blood brimmed at the edge of her skin, causing a slight slip in the hope of his grasp. He grunted, while Christa’s heart was beating faster than an Uzi could pour out hot shells. Not today... her mind managed while her arm did all it could to hang onto her last hold.
Took now had her in his arms, she was dangling while heavier boulders steamrolled below in an unending wave that would not ebb for some time. The scrawny man could barely hold her, but with a nod, Christa directed him to throw her up on the limb, and with the swing of her hips, she wrapped her arms around the sweet wood, looking as though she’d never let go.
![[Image: -Gildarts-fairy-tail-35651033-300-180.gif]](http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/35600000/-Gildarts-fairy-tail-35651033-300-180.gif)
"I have never met a strong person with an easy past." -Atticus