'Am I that light?' The Village Head wondered as he was dragged forward by Riley. He gathered they had stumbled upon one of those monsters so they had to bolt.
"Wait" he stopped following along.
"What are you doing? We have to run"
"I know that I can sense it coming"
"So why did you—"
"Are you sure you want to continue running? You do know what is up ahead right"
" The trap door!" She hadn't considered that running would lead it to the rest of the villagers.
"Yes and a dead end."
"But the door is on the ceiling of the cave?"
"So? You have never experienced monsters, right? They can track humans and once they find them, well…"
She bit her lip." so we are stuck?"
"Basically. It's either we sacrifice ourselves or the village"
"Hilda wouldn't like both those options"
" So what's your answer?"
She took a big breath. " Let's sacrifice ourselves. There is a reason you are here"
"To protect you. Don't worry, I remember. And I promise to do a satisfactory job"
"I still have some stones. I will help you"
"Fine with—" Suddenly the Village Head felt a force pushing and knocking him against a wall.
"Village Head!" Riley ran to help him up but similarly to the Village Head was pushed against the wall. Blood began trickling from her arm. She was bruised. It wasn't serious though, she could still move though it would sting every time she tried.
'Was that the monster? How could it have caught up to us so soon"
She looked up and right in front of her with its beady green eyes was the monster. Its eyes showed no remorse or pity instead they showed a malice darker than any she had seen before.
Coughing out blood, the Village Head shakily stood up with his eyes trained on the monster.
"Kid, this is going to be harder than I thought so when I say the word, Run!"
"But-"
"There is no time to debate this. You will do as you are told and run" He immediately rushed towards the beast and pummeled it with his fists but it didn't seem to affect it as it countered by slashing at him with its claws. The Village Head hurriedly dodged the attack as he rolled to the other side. He didn't know where the beast was but could vaguely make out its position because of its eyes which seemed to glow in purple. He wasn't aware of how big it was or what part in particular he was attacking. All he knew was that she had to make it out alive.
He rushed out again, fists at the ready but the monster casually flicked its finger and a gust of wind picked up tossing him against the wall. Blood splattered onto the wall. His clothes were drenched in sweat and blood.
Her body moved on its own, propelling her forward to his body that had slid down from the wall and was now on the cave floor. Her sense of vision was still obscured but she could faintly see the silhouette as the gust of wind had cleared a bit of the mist.
"Wait!"
But before she could get close to him, he had stopped her.
"Run!"
That was the command. It was her signal to go and leave him to fight.
But…She didn't want to do as he said. She didn't want to be the type of person who abandons someone's battle. After all, it was her fault he was here.
"I am not going anywhere. I will fight. To protect you and me"
She steeled herself and gave her back to him.
'I still have the masks and stones. Not enough to win a battle but hopefully enough to stall for time. I can also make use of this mist.'
She looked behind. He had fallen unconscious. She wanted to remove his mask because of the bleeding but one whiff of the mist would mean instant death for him.
She quickly dug up any mud or dust she could find and smeared it on both her and the Village Head. She made sure to sprinkle it on his wounds, covering the metal scent of the blood.
She hauled him onto her back, his arms dangling at her side. She secured him at her back around his waist using the two tied gas masks.
He was heavy. Riley was not sure she would be able to carry him out. The monster still hadn't noticed them and because it had lost their scents, it was most likely straining its ear for movement.
'Time to play with its senses'
She took a breath and dug out some of her stones. She threw one, aiming it at the furthest distance from them as possible and waited.
She heard some movement -loud movement — in the direction of the stone. Lifting his legs to prevent them from dragging, she began running—tried to at least—as she dragged him to where she hoped would be the exit.
She made sure to throw more stones further than the last—though it was a struggle. She gasped and grunted as she waddled forward, stumbling and fumbling her step. The Village Head seemed to get heavier and heavier by the second. She steeled her resolve and went on. Only when she felt they were a bit safe, did she stop to breathe.
"I…don't think… it will catch up with us. So we can rest, Riley" The man at her back said, his voice laced with pain and worry.
"When did you wake up?" She said in between short breaths.
"Not long ago." He grimaced, "Anyways, rest kid. You need it"
"It might catch up—"
He cut her off. "Even if it does, so what? It would catch up later on as well and you would be too tired to move"
She sighed."I guess so" She carefully untied him from her back and sat him down against one of the cave walls.
Next to him, she collapsed to her knees and before she knew it she had drifted off to sleep.
The Village Head looked around; the mist seemed to be getting thinner. Instead of the murky images he had grown accustomed to, blurry figures had become more refined and defined. However, he still wasn't able to spot the exit.
He squinted and peered—nothing. Using the wall as support, he shifted his body— wincing through the pain— sweat forming beads on the crown of his head.
Suddenly-
Crack!
His focus was disturbed. Something had stepped on a branch. His heart fell. He looked over at the sleeping child, worry laced in his eyes.
He gulped nervously, steeled himself and scooted closer to her.
'Need…to protect' He hurried to hide her behind his back. It was the only thing he thought he could do for her— though he knew any monster could easily get to her.
'But maybe, I could stall for time for her'
He reached out to shake her awake.
"Miss Riley, what are you doing here?" Immediately, she woke up with a start.
"Ummm…hi, Sir Nicholas" She quickly wiped the drool off her face with her sleeve.