The wolves below us lay dormant, the weight of their heavy breath selling gentle yet chilling growls as they lay asleep. As Cook and I positioned ourselves to try lower down this dark ashen tree, we feel the strain of our joints knack on us from the while we had sat hurled up in tense balls as they continued to leap up at the tree, waiting for them to retire to sleep again. As we stand looking down, the air barrels down against us from somewhere within this place, foreboding a cold fear to be cautious of.
“I’ll go first.” Said Cook, carefully moving to manage his way down this half gauged away trunk. “Be careful.” I replied, my back fearing a cold monster from the darkness behind me where my eyes could not see. As Cook lowered down the tree’s ashen bark I turned to apprehend my surroundings again, the foreboding danger in the air felt almost too real to ignore. Just then, I heard the snapping of the trunk below me and I spun around as Cooks body toppled to the ground onto his back, de-winding his breath in the centre of the wolves. With the thud that his body hit the ground, my breath stopped, watching the wolves laying there, thankfully not stirring to the bump on the ground near them. I looked to Cook again, laying there frozen in fright and shock.
“Cook!” I shout down in a whisper as soft as I could bear to be loud. He looked up at me with wide terrified eyes and carefully got to his feet, looking up at me with a big smile, proud of himself as he ushered me to follow him down.
I carefully moved my footing on this bulk of hard dry ashen tree, my heart pounding with fear that those beasts below would wake. After all the time Cook and I spent up in that dead remains of a tree, the thought of not merely escaping the wolves but also the stench of this burnt, acidic place that is the black jungle. The silence of this place hung tight as we both held our breaths, afraid of these menacing beasts to smell us.As my balmy hands tried desperately to maintain a grip to the dry tree, my feet tremblingly tried to find footing on the frail bulk of the tree. It felt like I was climbing down a thin sheet of Styrofoam that would just not bare my weight and the more I tried desperately to avoid any further noises to alert those wolves, the more the trunk flayed at my body weight.
I carefully moved my footing on this bulk of hard dry ashen tree, my heart pounding with fear that those beasts below would wake. After all the time Cook and I spent up in that dead remains of a tree, the thought of not merely escaping the wolves but also the stench of this burnt, acidic place that is the black jungle. The silence of this place hung tight as we both held our breaths, afraid of these menacing beasts to smell us.As my balmy hands tried desperately to maintain a grip to the dry tree, my feet tremblingly tried to find footing on the frail bulk of the tree. It felt like I was climbing down a thin sheet of Styrofoam that would just not bare my weight and the more I tried desperately to avoid any further noises to alert those wolves, the more the trunk flayed at my body weight.
“Careful man.” Said Cook in a whisper as I finally began to descend when a soft, yet sincere growl sounded to the left and we both turned to the wolf standing up facing him with a growl. Immediately I looked at the other two beasts, laying asleep with heavy snorts to their breathing. Cook carefully stepped backwards and I clung now tighter to the tree as the wolf stood stiff, its fierce eyes fixed on Cook standing there alone and frightened. Again, in that moment of immense fear – time seemed to be non existent. The wolf, without once taking his prey from sight, released a loud, menacing howl that spiraled cold through my skin. The other two wolves leapt up from their sleep, alerted and ready for a dance with their prey.
“Run!”
Without hesitation, Cook scrambled back for the tree, trying desperately to clamber up the torn away trunk beneath me when the wolf darts forward at him. “No!” I screamed in fright, sending Cook down aside just as the giant beast plummeted into the trunk, crashing directly through it smashing it into shards and splinters of ash. The tree jolted as the top half of the remaining trunk crushed down to the partial portion of the trunk still rooted to the ground. I gripped on to the branches with all my might as the tree began to tip forwards, slanting as the wide stretched muscle branches crushed and bent into the ground and surrounding trees before the weight splintered them into ash as they compressed into the ground.
Without hesitation, Cook scrambled back for the tree, trying desperately to clamber up the torn away trunk beneath me when the wolf darts forward at him. “No!” I screamed in fright, sending Cook down aside just as the giant beast plummeted into the trunk, crashing directly through it smashing it into shards and splinters of ash. The tree jolted as the top half of the remaining trunk crushed down to the partial portion of the trunk still rooted to the ground. I gripped on to the branches with all my might as the tree began to tip forwards, slanting as the wide stretched muscle branches crushed and bent into the ground and surrounding trees before the weight splintered them into ash as they compressed into the ground.
As its giant branches began crushing into the surrounding trees and bushes, one of the wolf beasts leapt for safety when the tree tipped more, the last strength of the trunk crumbling and the wolf beast got skewered through the body by one of the branches that then bent and crushed down on it – final cry drowned by the loud crushing of this giant black tree. I clung with all my strength as this high tree began to crumble forwards into the forest, I tried in vain to try see Cook as the tree fell further downwards away from the base where I had last seen him, but to no avail -the branches gave in and the bulk of the tree was lost and my shelter came crashing down to the ground, exploding the splinters of tree into the air.
Θ Θ Θ Θ
The worst case scenario had happened, I looked back in shear desperation for the slightest sign of Rek, but I could see none. Within seconds he had vanished from sight under debris of branches and bark and black suffocating ash. Already disorientated from the fall, I tried in vain to run for where the giant tree came to its rest on the ground as panic set in. My chest pounding with fear and pain, feeling so empty and isolated in this desolate place – now without my only friend. As I embarked on finding Rekara amongst the debris, I began to frantically shove splintered tree aside when I felt a harp sting in my hand and I looked down to find a cut bleeding across the palm of my left hand.
From behind me in the silence of this black jungle now, I heard a snarl and I froze solid, the sound chilling my already damaged core. "It can't be…" I said within my mind, repeating it over and over again. As I turned I faced the beast and its eyes immediately hit mine and I could see was hatred in them, a blackness of un-proportional evil, feeding on fear and now anger from its fallen pack. It was dripping blood from a gauge across from its snout along its front chest. In that second I pitied the beast for its pain, but it didn't seem to have been affected by the cut, it looked more as though it was thriving on the pain through its anger - the aura menacing and hungry for me more now than before, derived from anger and vengeance like every other blackness here in this place.
I didn't have a clue where Rek was and my fear was pulsating inside of me, my head spinning with confusion and turmoil. I had a choice to make, in just a fraction of time. If I stayed he beast would get us both. If I ran, at least one of us would have the slightest chance of survival in this jungle. And if I stayed, I would be mauled to death, ravaged and ripped apart.
I chose to run and I did, as fast as my legs could carry my tired, aching body! Slipping beneath branches, and ducking as the beast followed angrily, my nimble, small body easily moving through smaller gaps in the jungle than this giant beast. Running through the dark jungle, cutting through ashen branches and over fallen debris, trying to avoid these natural traps - I kept getting distracted by the thought of Rekara. But none the less, fear propelled me and I ran, and ran, the beast following and still snarling and thriving on the thought of fresh fear injected flesh.
As I ran breathlessly and hopelessly through this mangled dense brush of black burnt forest, I urged to not be taken this way, to not die in such a torturous way and then, within distance I saw a ledge approaching. Crashing through the jungle, I darted underneath the rock formation and then slid through a small gap in the ledge.
With my chest pounding I realized I was trapped here, and then the ground above me began to shake and tremble from the wolf atop of my narrow sanctuary.
Θ Θ Θ Θ
The worst case scenario had happened, I looked back in shear desperation for the slightest sign of Rek, but I could see none. Within seconds he had vanished from sight under debris of branches and bark and black suffocating ash. Already disorientated from the fall, I tried in vain to run for where the giant tree came to its rest on the ground as panic set in. My chest pounding with fear and pain, feeling so empty and isolated in this desolate place – now without my only friend. As I embarked on finding Rekara amongst the debris, I began to frantically shove splintered tree aside when I felt a harp sting in my hand and I looked down to find a cut bleeding across the palm of my left hand.
From behind me in the silence of this black jungle now, I heard a snarl and I froze solid, the sound chilling my already damaged core. "It can't be…" I said within my mind, repeating it over and over again. As I turned I faced the beast and its eyes immediately hit mine and I could see was hatred in them, a blackness of un-proportional evil, feeding on fear and now anger from its fallen pack. It was dripping blood from a gauge across from its snout along its front chest. In that second I pitied the beast for its pain, but it didn't seem to have been affected by the cut, it looked more as though it was thriving on the pain through its anger - the aura menacing and hungry for me more now than before, derived from anger and vengeance like every other blackness here in this place.
I didn't have a clue where Rek was and my fear was pulsating inside of me, my head spinning with confusion and turmoil. I had a choice to make, in just a fraction of time. If I stayed he beast would get us both. If I ran, at least one of us would have the slightest chance of survival in this jungle. And if I stayed, I would be mauled to death, ravaged and ripped apart.
I chose to run and I did, as fast as my legs could carry my tired, aching body! Slipping beneath branches, and ducking as the beast followed angrily, my nimble, small body easily moving through smaller gaps in the jungle than this giant beast. Running through the dark jungle, cutting through ashen branches and over fallen debris, trying to avoid these natural traps - I kept getting distracted by the thought of Rekara. But none the less, fear propelled me and I ran, and ran, the beast following and still snarling and thriving on the thought of fresh fear injected flesh.
As I ran breathlessly and hopelessly through this mangled dense brush of black burnt forest, I urged to not be taken this way, to not die in such a torturous way and then, within distance I saw a ledge approaching. Crashing through the jungle, I darted underneath the rock formation and then slid through a small gap in the ledge.
With my chest pounding I realized I was trapped here, and then the ground above me began to shake and tremble from the wolf atop of my narrow sanctuary.
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