Chapter Four

The pain from the cuts started becoming unbearable, at this time the griffin had managed to fly above the trees, my feet occasionally touching the leaves. I could see a thin trail of my blood running down my legs. Glancing at my left shoulder I could see how deep its claws had already pierced into my skin, turning to my right I saw that it was significantly worse than the wound on my left. With me hanging from my shoulders, and the claws being so sharp it had caused some tearing giving me about three centimeters deep cuts from each claw.

At the speed the Griffin was flying I managed to see a clearing coming, but I had to make sure my timing was correct. As if reminding me, the creature had once more tried to dig its claws deeper into my flesh I knew that I only had one shot at escaping.

Grabbing its leg with my hands I used the wind as a propeller and with all my strength, I yanked its leg out of my left shoulder just in time to miss the trees below. Falling into the clearing I heard the creature scream, looking up I saw it turning itself around. Its eyes staring into mine clearly showing me how not only frustrated it had become but also angry it was. To try and minimize the risk of injuring myself I tried curling myself into a ball, I had noticed that the land seemed to have a slant to it, I sucked in a deep breath and braced myself for the impact.

I can't recall what happened while I fell but I knew that I`d probably have a broken rib. Having no time to spare, I jumped back to my feet making a run for it. I could still hear the griffin close by, not wanting to make the mistake of looking back I run as fast as my legs would allow me.

Playing no attention to where I was going, my only mission was to get out of the griffin's reach, I ran in a zig-zag pattern. Whilst taking a sharp right turn I saw the claws of the creature fly past me, letting out a scream I had no time to even take note of the nearby river. Taking yet another sharp turn I had tripped over one of the uplifted roots and fell face-first into the grass. I rolled a few times before I saw the river. The sound of running water quickly filling my ears I quickly got back to my feet whilst trying to spit the grass out of my mouth, I didn't even think about how fast the water was flowing or how deep it was. Without hesitation, I ran towards the river and jumped in, swallowing a mouth of water at the same time. Trying to get my head out of the water I managed to touch the bottom and push myself up. Coughing the remaining water out my lungs I thought was finally safe, the griffin had finally given up and had flown away, floating in the water I finally began to relax. After a few minutes, the water had to make my wounds burn but I remained floating. Closing my eyes, I focussed on calming my heart rate. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and looked around, this place seemed to be way less covered with the thick vegetation. I started to swim towards the side of the river to get out I noticed how the water on each side of the river seemed to fold inward. Cursing I realized that there was no way to get out, this world seemed to have a test at every corner giving no time to catch your breath. Looking around in search of anything that would help get out I looked ahead saw I heard the sound of water crashing. I thought to myself, "surely these people could at least have given me a few days before giving me a test, honestly, it began to feel as if they were trying to kill me". With no warning, a wave of water washed over me pushing me down, having no time to even process what was even happening my eyes were open under the water, and looking around the ground had disappeared, and I started falling.

When I landed it felt as if all the air in my lungs was let out, I couldn't get enough air inside my lungs fast enough. When I got my head out of the water, I just coughed. Opening my eyes I swam towards the bank of the river, kneeling on all fours I held my hand to my chest trying to calm down. After a few moments, my breathing became stable. At this time I started to search for any other injuries that I could have sustained, searching my entire body I was left confused and somehow astonished to find that I had no serious injuries other than the ones on my shoulders.

Ripping a piece of cloth from my dress I wrapped it around each wound making sure it was completely covered.

Knowing that I would need to find a hospital soon, I made sure to check out where would I be confident that people were nearby. Rubbing my face I listened for anything that would help, panic and worry started to settle in. Placing my hands on the sides of my face I closed my eyes. Concentrating I repeated the words, "lead the way". The hair on my arms started to rise and I could faintly make out the sound of people taking, focusing on that, their voices becoming louder and louder. Lifting my head I opened my eyes, as a starving wolf joy-filled me and I immediately started walking.

The surrounding vegetation seemed to lose its vibrant colors, the closer you got to the village the duller they looked. I knew the village wouldn't be much further when I read the sign saying "Resters Valley".

Hoping that this would be my break from the constant survival obstacles.

Ducking under the last branch I stepped onto a walkway. Noticing the sun had begun to set, it filled the sky with shades of pink, yellow, white, and a hint of orange. The people still walking around seemed mostly to be mothers with their children making their way back home to prepare for dinner. All the buildings seemed to be made from either wood or stone. Not a lot of people lived here.

Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to myself, I kept my head down and just carried on walking. Although the cuts on my shoulders had luckily stopped bleeding, I still had a lot of pain.

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[Chapter quote: "You can't start a new chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one."]