"Remind me what part of this was a good idea, again?" Jester sighed, rubbing her temples slowly, reclined against a tree and staring at the sky.
"All of it," said Iron decisively, earning her a disgruntled look from Jester. "Oh, c'mon, Jester. Don't be like that."
"I'll be how I want, thanks," muttered Jester, cinching her eyes shut and slumping further down against the trunk of the tree. "And right now I'll be irritated. We're lost. I'm hungry. We almost got ourselves killed by a...whatever the hell that thing was...and did I mention we're lost?"
"We're not lost," denied Iron, to which Knavish raised an eyebrow, "We're just...not found."
"Lost," said Knavish, clicking his tongue.
"Not lost," snapped Iron, jabbing a finger at him. "We're not lost until I say we are."
"Democracy rules here, Iron, and four out of five of us have agreed we're lost," Puckie informed her with a roll of her eyes.
"But I am the Overlord, so this is not a democracy," said Iron, hands on hips, "It's a dictatorship."
"Someone make her stop," pleaded Jester, jamming her knuckles against her forehead and cringing. "I'm getting a headache. And I'm freaking hungry..."
"Can't we eat something around here?" asked Puckie, frowning.
"Nothing I trust," sighed Imagine, sitting cross legged by the fire, poking at the logs to get the flames going. "Unless you want to try some of the berries, but I couldn't tell you which ones are poisonous or not, and I don't even know if they're really the same as anything back in our world."
"Fair point," sighed Puckie, looking put out as she came over to sit next to Imagine. "So, what do we do?"
"The only thing we can do," Iron murmured seriously.
"Please don't say 'eat each other'," Knavish muttered under his breath.
"We'll have to eat other!"
Knavish exchanged a weary look with Imagine, and shrugged. "Called it," he said, smirking.
"You did," she agreed, also smirking and going back to stoking the fire. "I volunteer Iron as tribute."
"Same," agreed Knavish and Jester. Puckie bit her lip and didn't say anything.
"Mutiny!" gasped Iron, looking outraged. "You wouldn't eat me, your Overlord, would you?"
"Depends on how hungry I am and how loud you are," Jester replied dully, lifting an eyebrow at her. "And I'm pretty damn hungry and you're pretty damn loud."
Iron scowled, then turned up her nose and sniffed. "Well, then," she muttered. "I see how it is."
"Good, now get in the fire and roast," Knavish snorted.
"Wow, Knavish," said Imagine slowly, raising both eyebrows.
He grinned and shrugged. "It's not like she listens to me anyway."
"Heckle no I don't!" snapped Iron, glaring at him. "And I am not getting into that fire. Do you know how hot it's got to be?!"
"Hella?" volunteered Puckie.
"Extremely hella," agreed Iron, nodding. "You get in it, Knavish."
"No thanks," he yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm already warm."
Iron looked about ready to say something snarky when a loud crackling off to her left made her freeze, and the others also went very still and quiet as they swiveled their heads around, ears perked.
"What was that?" Puckie was whispered, eyes wide with fear.
Knavish only shook his head and glanced at Imagine, who also shook her head as she slowly got to her feet, trying to see into the bushes. The shadows made it very hard to see, and she squinted, trying to get a glimpse of anything at all to indicate what could have made the noise. It had sounded very large, and that wasn't good.
She saw something glinting just behind one of the trees a few yards away, and strained her eyes to try and see what it was. It was a few feet off the ground, at least at waist height. She blinked. It blinked back.
"Oh, damn," she whispered.
"What?" Knavish hissed.
"I don't know, but it's big and it's only thirty feet away," she muttered, dropping back by the fire in a crouch.
Iron paled visibly and began inching towards the fire. Jester shrunk back against her tree, wide eyed, and Puckie gripped at Imagine's sleeve, looking extremely frightened. There was more crackling and crunching as the thing moved closer, and Puckie whimpered. Knavish went into a crouch and began moving over to the fire as well while Iron took shelter behind Imagine, and Jester skittered over to the join them.
"Yes, let's do make one huge target, guys," Imagine muttered in exasperation.
"I'm not moving," Iron said decisively, shaking her head, eyes round.
Jester hesitated, then shifted a few feet over to crouch by the base of a tree. Puckie gulped and followed Knavish a little ways away to a cluster of bushes on the edge of the clearing. Imagine gave Iron a look, then shoved her towards another set of bushes a little bit behind them. Iron looked reluctant, but as the crackling got closer she made up her mind and quickly dove for cover. Imagine snatched up her bag and began backtracking to another tree, keeping her eyes on the spot where she could hear the thing moving nearer.
As she got within range of diving behind the tree, the bushes trembled and rustled, then parted as a very large animal stalked through them, its head low to the ground, its yellow eyes fixed on her. She felt her stomach drop as a wolf shouldered its way into view, easily as tall as she was, and at least three times as broad across. Its paws had to be as large as her entire head, and its jaws looked like they could easily take up the length of her forearm.
"Oh, fuck," she heard someone mutter behind her, but couldn't figure out who it was as she kept her eyes trained on the beast.
She tried to keep herself from hyperventilating, or crying, and very much wanted to do both, but didn't as she fished around in her bag until she found what she was looking for. A metal camping mug. She threw it, hard, just a little to the left of the wolf, and waited as it pinged off the base of a tree and rattled across the ground. The wolf didn't so much as flinch.
"Well, shit," she muttered, continuing to back up as it advanced.
The wolf kept coming, not making a sound, except for the sound of its paws crushing foliage, and it didn't blink. Its head stayed low to the ground, its enormous shoulders rippling with every movement. She waited as it came near the fire, expecting it to either walk around or even straight through the flames to approach, but was startled when it came to a steady halt just before the dug out pit, and lifted its head slowly, nostrils flaring, eyes narrowed.
She stared at it, totally bewildered.
"Run," hissed Jester from her right, but she had the feeling that was not a good idea.
She didn't know about fey wolves, but she figured they had the same kind of instinct as regular wolves in that if their prey ran, they would chase it, so she stayed very still. Waiting to see what would happen next. She only hoped it wouldn't suddenly launch itself over the fire at her...because she was screwed if it did.
The wolf merely watched her, unblinking, and gave a quiet snort. She blinked at it, confused.
The canine eyed her a second longer, then abruptly tipped back its head, sucked in a breath, and howled.
The sound made Imagine's stomach drop, and she almost tripped backtracking fast.
"Crap, crap, crap," she whispered as she stumbled behind the spot where Knavish and Puckie were crouched. "Crap, we've got to move."
"What?" Puckie looked about ready to pass out, and Knavish gave her a stunned look.
"What do wolves do when they've found what they're hunting?" Imagine asked as she grabbed them both by the hands and tugged. "They howl. It's calling whatever the hell is with it to come over, and if we don't get gone, this is going to seriously suck for all of us."
That got them moving, and Imagine gestured for Jester to follow as they bolted into the bushes, nearly tripping over a frightened Iron in the process. With Knavish leading the group, the five of them raced through the undergrowth, Imagine staying at the back and keeping an eye behind them to see if the wolf would follow. At first she didn't hear anything, but a few seconds after they started running she heard something large chasing them through the undergrowth and caught a glimpse of dark gray fur and yellow eyes.
"Faster, guys, faster," she hissed, heart in her throat.
"Trying," Jester panted back, arms pumping as she sprinted after Puckie and the others. "It's coming, isn't it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Fuck."
"Yeah. Move faster."
They took random turns as often as they could, running for their lives, and even as they ran, Imagine had an ominous sense that they weren't so much running away as the Wolf was just keeping pace with them, not catching up or falling behind, but staying the same distance, just enough where she could see it every few seconds. It wasn't chasing to kill them. It was chasing to keep track of them. Every few yards, she heard it howl again, and knew it was calling whoever or whatever had sent it after them in the first place.
The longer they ran, the more she could feel herself tiring out. She could feel a stitch developing in her side, and her lungs burned, and she mentally cursed for not taking a running course when she had the chance. The others were also wearing out. Puckie was wheezing, and Knavish was sweating. Iron had taken the lead, but she didn't seem to be in much better shape, as she kept stumbling every few feet, and Jester had a hand at her chest, gasping.
Abruptly, a loud whistling cut through the air, and Imagine hesitated, her pace slowing. Something whizzed by her ear, making her recoil, and nailed Jester in the shoulder, sending the girl tumbling forward to the ground hard. She cussed as she hit, and rolled over a few times before coming to a stop face down, trembling and holding her arm.
"Jester!" Puckie squeaked, skidding to a halt.
Knavish doubled back as Iron stopped, and Imagine crouched down beside Jester.
"What hit me?" Jester rasped.
"I don't know," admitted Imagine, looking her over. "There's no blood. Does it feel broken?"
"No, but my ankle is fucked up," Jester ground out.
Knavish looked down and swore under his breath.
Jester's left ankle was very obviously broken, stuck out at an odd angle, the toe of her shoe was still caught between a pair of interlocked roots that she'd hit as she fell.
"Crap," muttered Imagine, looking up as she heard the pounding steps of the wolf coming up on them fast. "Knavish, help me."
Together, they slid an arm each under Jester's arms and helped her up, supporting her weight as she gingerly lifted herself onto one foot, holding the other slightly elevated and spitting curse words through her gritted teeth.
"We're not getting anywhere like this," Knavish muttered.
"Just put me down and go for it," Jester told them.
"How about no?" suggested Imagine, already walking forward, helping Jester limp along.
She knew it was stupid. Knew there was no way they were getting anywhere with Jester injured, but she sure as hell wasn't just leaving the girl behind. They needed to find a place to hide. Or at least to hide Jester while someone else got the wolf off the track.
She looked around anxiously. "Puckie, Iron, see if you can find a place to hide everyone."
Puckie nodded, and she and Iron hurried ahead, peering around for a good spot.
"It's coming," Knavish said, glancing over his shoulder as the sounds of the wolf got even closer. "Son of a bitch...it's WALKING."
Imagine winced. Adding insult to injury. The wolf wasn't even making an effort to catch up with them, even though it could.
And as if that weren't bad enough, she could hear something else over Jester's labored breathing and her own rapid heartbeat. It sounded almost like thunder, but she could feel the ground trembling and a split second before it got louder she knew what it was. A horse.
"Damn it," she muttered, looking desperately around for Puckie and Iron, who had vanished from sight.
"You hear that?" Knavish asked, glancing anxiously at her.
"Yeah, I do, and that's not good."
"Over here!" Puckie called from just ahead, and she looked up to see the girl waving desperately at her from behind an enormous tree.
Quickly, Knavish and Imagine helped Jester hobble over to where Puckie and Iron were waiting, and Imagine looked down as Iron pointed to see a complicated network of thick roots branching over a tunnel.
"I don't know if I trust that," Knavish said, eyeing the opening with obvious reluctance.
"You got a better idea?" asked Iron, glaring.
Knavish shot her a look, but didn't argue, and started to lower Jester towards the opening, feet first.
"I swear to God, if something is waiting at the bottom to eat me, I'm coming back to haunt all of your asses," Jester warned them, wincing as she shifted herself to the edge of the tunnel, sitting on the edge.
"Go," Knavish said, nudging her, seeing the shape of the wolf coming closer.
Jester made a face, then let herself drop through the opening.
They all waited anxiously as they heard her sliding, then curse as she hit the bottom.
"It's safe!" she called up in a strained voice, "But that hurt like hell! And whoever comes next needs to watch out, because there isn't enough room for me to move in here!"
"How many can fit?" Iron called down.
"I don't know," admitted Jester. "Maybe all of us? Someone might have to lay in the tunnel!"
"Better than nothing," muttered Knavish, and motioned for Puckie to go next. "I'll lay in the tunnel."
"You do that," muttered Imagine, not quite paying attention. Her gaze was focused on the approaching wolf.
Knavish glanced at her, and frowned. "What are you thinking?"
"Nothing good, get inside," she told him, shoving her bag into his hands.
"Uh-uh," Iron said, seeing what she planned on doing and grabbing her arm. "Don't even think about it, Imagine."
"It's going to find us anyway," Imagine pointed out her heartbeat speeding up as she heard the sound of hoofbeats getting closer.
"Take your damn bag, I'll take it," Knavish said, shoving her bag back at her, but she didn't take it. "Imagine!"
"Remember that Skype conversation we had where we agreed if I got lost or killed or something stupid you were in charge?" Imagine asked him, glaring.
He hesitated, then cussed. "Fine. Just...fine. Okay, but you better not get killed or lost or something stupid."
"No promises," she said, then pushed Iron towards the opening.
"You're both stupid," the girl told them with a huff, even as she slid her legs into the opening.
"Yeah, yeah, get sliding," Knavish advised her, to which she grimaced before vanishing from sight.
Knavish tossed the bag in after her, then glanced at Imagine.
"You sure about this?" he asked, frowning.
"No, not really," she admitted in a shaky voice, feeling her hands shaking. "Get in the hole."
He smirked, then dropped himself onto the edge.
"If you die, I'm going to be pissed," he told her.
"You and everyone else," she said with a grin. "I swear, it's like you guys like me or something."
"Something like that, yeah," he said, shrugging, then reluctantly dropped out of sight.
Imagine hesitated, then bent to scoop leaves and whatever else within reach over the opening before straightening up. The moment she dead, she caught sight of the wolf coming through the trees, and felt her stomach bottom out. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all...
She told herself to run, and managed to take a half step back before her body gave out on her and she just froze, staring into the wolf's face as it loomed over her, looking even bigger than it had previously. It came within just feet of her, and she actually nearly lost her footing as her legs went weak.
"Crap," she mumbled, feeling behind her for support.
The wolf eyed her for a second, then tilted its head back. She managed to cover her ears just in time before it let out the same eerie howl as before. She sucked in a deep breath, feeling her entire body shaking, and as she lowered her hands from her ears she could hear, as well as feel, the pounding of the hoofbeats in the ground under her feet, and just about fell down as she caught a flash of black speeding through the trees towards her, obviously following the wolf's calls.
"Crap," she mumbled again, leaning back against a tree and contemplating if she could still make a run for it.
The wolf rumbled a growl at her, and she thought better of it. Sure, she could run for it, but she wouldn't be getting far. She could only hope it didn't stick around after whatever was behind it caught up and got a hold of her. She didn't need them finding the others.
Her heart suddenly went to her throat as two horses came into view, racing each other towards her, each bearing a rider. Now her legs did cave under her, and she slumped down on the ground, shaking all over and fighting the urge to cry.
The two horses burst into full view, rearing and blowing air from their nostrils, their flanks heaving. The one nearest to her danced sideways, coming close to the wolf, who only flicked an ear back towards the other animal as the rider flicked a glance over at Imagine from behind a silver helm. She registered the rider's eyes were a piercing green, and had a very uncomfortable suspicion of who was at the reigns. The second rider yanked on his horse's reigns, keeping it in place, and gave a dark laugh.
"Wow, it really is a human," he commented, his blue eyes dancing with mirth, and even without being able to see his whole face, Imagine knew he was leering.
The wolf turned its head away from her and gave a low bark at the first rider, eyes narrowed.
"There's more than this one," the rider murmured, beginning to look around.
"More?" The second rider was clearly excited. "How many more?"
"No idea," admitted the first rider, shrugging. "Let's just deal with this one first."
He started to dismount, but the second rider beat him down, already drawing his sword as he stepped away from his horse. Imagine's eyes grew very wide, and she choked on a scream as he leveled the sword at her.
"Put that away, Rowan," the first rider sighed, stepping forward to knock the weapon away. "We're not killing her."
"Yet," sneered the second rider.
The first rider spared a glance for Imagine. "Yet," he agreed.