Shadow Prince - Chapter 14
One of the enemies from Adrian's past has caught up to him and Amanda, but will they be able to escape this time?
"Run!"
Amanda hesitates, glancing back towards the bus and the people.
"Amanda, we need to move now!"
"We can’t leave them!" She hollers. "It'll kill them!"
I shake my head quickly, desperate to get moving. "It's only after me. It won’t care about them. Come on, we need to go."
She hesitates for one more second, glancing back again at the people who frantically search the woods for the source of the growling noise. If only they knew what it really was.
"You need to trust me, Amanda."
Her gaze snaps back towards me. "I do."
I turn and sprint down the road as fast as I can, Amanda stumbling no more than five feet behind me. Our footsteps slap roughly on the pavement, seeming immensely loud among the silent road. It’s hard to keep our footing, and I have to keep glancing down at the road because of all the potholes and cracks in the asphalt. I quickly glance up and see the sun beginning to drop below the horizon, adopting that same orangey color it seems to bear every evening. "We need to hurry, before it gets dark," I say, breath coming out in heavy puffs.
Amanda only nods, knowing words will only tire her more. She’s moving slower and slower, breathing heavily, one hand plastered on her side. She shakes her head, looking at me with pleading eyes. She can’t run much further, which is why it’s even more important to hurry and find somewhere to hide, before the Shadow reaches us.
Another tree snaps behind us, crashing to the ground, the impact causing both me and Amanda to come tumbling to the ground. I swivel and land on my back, although Amanda hits the road hard on her stomach. She lets out a little whine of protest as her hands grate against the asphalt. I cast a fleeting glance back as I help her to her feet, careful to avoid touching her skinned knees and hands. Something huge, large, black, and ominous lumbers out of the trees and makes a beeline towards us.
Amanda lets out a squeal and my worst fears are confirmed. How it found us so fast - I have no idea. I vaguely remember seeing the raven last night outside the hotel and - oh, so that’s it. The ravens were spying on us. I clench my fists and urge Amanda to run. The Shadow barrels towards us, feet-stomping and breaking the road wherever it steps. I sprint faster, so fast my vision nearly goes black. I reach out a hand to Amanda and grab hers, urging her to keep running. I can already tell she’s struggling; she’s not going to make it much longer before she needs to rest.
The Shadow growls again, louder, as it nears us. I risk a glance over my shoulder and am horrified to see it no more than twenty yards away, and getting closer, closer with every stride. Its muscles strain as it runs and those awful ruby-red eyes stare straight into mine. I feel my blood chill with realization that this might be it; we can’t outrun this thing forever and it’s much less tired than we are. Amanda’s already about to give up, and I’m not much further down the road.
But I’m not going down without a fight.
I feel Amanda’s hand loosen on mine, and I take my opportunity, what resembles a plan forming in my mind. Desperately, I shove her out-of-the-way. She cries out as she loses her balance, tumbling straight into the bushes on the side of the road. Stay hidden, I think. Please, Amanda, just stay hidden.
I sprint a bit further, trying to distance myself from the place where Amanda hides in the woods. I must be crazy, I think, right before turning to face the Shadow as it barrels towards me, a murderous look in its eyes. Burn it. I need to burn it. If only I can burn it like I did that bird… The Shadow is only twenty feet away now. I concentrate my best on fire, since my life depends on it. Fire, fire, fire. I feel my hands warming and manage a measly spark before the beast slams into me, knocking me to the ground. I groan from the impact, trying to curl in on myself from instinct.
When I open my eyes, I see the Shadow standing over me, spit dripping from its huge, dagger-sized teeth. Those red eyes sneer down into mine, wishing me to just give up. You don’t have a chance, they seem to say. I struggle to stand, but it places a giant, clawed paw on my wrist. I scream in agonizing pain as something in my wrist cracks.
"Adrian!" Amanda screams from somewhere I can’t see.
I strain to see where she is, begging her to stay hidden in my mind, though not able to manage an audible reply. The Shadow slams another paw into my chest, knocking the wind out of me and sending me gasping for air. Give up, Adrian, those eyes sneer. I can’t give up, though. Not when Amanda’s still out there. If I get killed - now - the Shadow can just walk over to her and, well, I don’t want to think about it. A stick hits the Shadow’s head and it turns, snarling in the direction of the trees, attention temporarily averted away from me. I take this opportunity to wriggle out from underneath it and dash away from where I pray Amanda remains hidden, trying to lead it down the road and away from her.
The Shadow growls in anger from somewhere behind me, finally realizing I’ve gotten away. I hear it begin to chase after me, footsteps pounding the road, and I’m thankful that my plan to save Amanda worked. But only Amanda. I can’t go on forever.
The beast growls again and I cast a quick glance over my shoulder, just in time to see it rear up and kick me with its huge, muscled legs. Its feet connect with my back and send me sprawling, the momentum sending me straight into a tree. I slide down the tree, screaming in pain as I land on my most-likely broken wrist. Something warm and wet drips into my eyes, blinding me partially. I see the huge, horrifying shape walking slowly towards me. It knows it’s won. It’s going to take its time from now on. Defeated, I close my eyes and wait for the inevitable.
******************************************************
Comment Replies-
Anonymous Reader: Thank you! Most of the time, I measure the amount of words in each chapter before posting, aiming for 1,000 to 2,000 words. I think this one and the last one were just over 1,000, but I will try to make the next few longer, or just combine chapters into one post!
Bailey A.: Honestly, I haven't been in a wreck either (thank goodness). But my friend's school bus crashed just recently, so I thought maybe I could use that experience in the story. It seems like it worked!
Amanda hesitates, glancing back towards the bus and the people.
"Amanda, we need to move now!"
"We can’t leave them!" She hollers. "It'll kill them!"
I shake my head quickly, desperate to get moving. "It's only after me. It won’t care about them. Come on, we need to go."
She hesitates for one more second, glancing back again at the people who frantically search the woods for the source of the growling noise. If only they knew what it really was.
"You need to trust me, Amanda."
Her gaze snaps back towards me. "I do."
I turn and sprint down the road as fast as I can, Amanda stumbling no more than five feet behind me. Our footsteps slap roughly on the pavement, seeming immensely loud among the silent road. It’s hard to keep our footing, and I have to keep glancing down at the road because of all the potholes and cracks in the asphalt. I quickly glance up and see the sun beginning to drop below the horizon, adopting that same orangey color it seems to bear every evening. "We need to hurry, before it gets dark," I say, breath coming out in heavy puffs.
Amanda only nods, knowing words will only tire her more. She’s moving slower and slower, breathing heavily, one hand plastered on her side. She shakes her head, looking at me with pleading eyes. She can’t run much further, which is why it’s even more important to hurry and find somewhere to hide, before the Shadow reaches us.
Another tree snaps behind us, crashing to the ground, the impact causing both me and Amanda to come tumbling to the ground. I swivel and land on my back, although Amanda hits the road hard on her stomach. She lets out a little whine of protest as her hands grate against the asphalt. I cast a fleeting glance back as I help her to her feet, careful to avoid touching her skinned knees and hands. Something huge, large, black, and ominous lumbers out of the trees and makes a beeline towards us.
Amanda lets out a squeal and my worst fears are confirmed. How it found us so fast - I have no idea. I vaguely remember seeing the raven last night outside the hotel and - oh, so that’s it. The ravens were spying on us. I clench my fists and urge Amanda to run. The Shadow barrels towards us, feet-stomping and breaking the road wherever it steps. I sprint faster, so fast my vision nearly goes black. I reach out a hand to Amanda and grab hers, urging her to keep running. I can already tell she’s struggling; she’s not going to make it much longer before she needs to rest.
The Shadow growls again, louder, as it nears us. I risk a glance over my shoulder and am horrified to see it no more than twenty yards away, and getting closer, closer with every stride. Its muscles strain as it runs and those awful ruby-red eyes stare straight into mine. I feel my blood chill with realization that this might be it; we can’t outrun this thing forever and it’s much less tired than we are. Amanda’s already about to give up, and I’m not much further down the road.
But I’m not going down without a fight.
I feel Amanda’s hand loosen on mine, and I take my opportunity, what resembles a plan forming in my mind. Desperately, I shove her out-of-the-way. She cries out as she loses her balance, tumbling straight into the bushes on the side of the road. Stay hidden, I think. Please, Amanda, just stay hidden.
I sprint a bit further, trying to distance myself from the place where Amanda hides in the woods. I must be crazy, I think, right before turning to face the Shadow as it barrels towards me, a murderous look in its eyes. Burn it. I need to burn it. If only I can burn it like I did that bird… The Shadow is only twenty feet away now. I concentrate my best on fire, since my life depends on it. Fire, fire, fire. I feel my hands warming and manage a measly spark before the beast slams into me, knocking me to the ground. I groan from the impact, trying to curl in on myself from instinct.
When I open my eyes, I see the Shadow standing over me, spit dripping from its huge, dagger-sized teeth. Those red eyes sneer down into mine, wishing me to just give up. You don’t have a chance, they seem to say. I struggle to stand, but it places a giant, clawed paw on my wrist. I scream in agonizing pain as something in my wrist cracks.
"Adrian!" Amanda screams from somewhere I can’t see.
I strain to see where she is, begging her to stay hidden in my mind, though not able to manage an audible reply. The Shadow slams another paw into my chest, knocking the wind out of me and sending me gasping for air. Give up, Adrian, those eyes sneer. I can’t give up, though. Not when Amanda’s still out there. If I get killed - now - the Shadow can just walk over to her and, well, I don’t want to think about it. A stick hits the Shadow’s head and it turns, snarling in the direction of the trees, attention temporarily averted away from me. I take this opportunity to wriggle out from underneath it and dash away from where I pray Amanda remains hidden, trying to lead it down the road and away from her.
The Shadow growls in anger from somewhere behind me, finally realizing I’ve gotten away. I hear it begin to chase after me, footsteps pounding the road, and I’m thankful that my plan to save Amanda worked. But only Amanda. I can’t go on forever.
The beast growls again and I cast a quick glance over my shoulder, just in time to see it rear up and kick me with its huge, muscled legs. Its feet connect with my back and send me sprawling, the momentum sending me straight into a tree. I slide down the tree, screaming in pain as I land on my most-likely broken wrist. Something warm and wet drips into my eyes, blinding me partially. I see the huge, horrifying shape walking slowly towards me. It knows it’s won. It’s going to take its time from now on. Defeated, I close my eyes and wait for the inevitable.
******************************************************
Comment Replies-
Anonymous Reader: Thank you! Most of the time, I measure the amount of words in each chapter before posting, aiming for 1,000 to 2,000 words. I think this one and the last one were just over 1,000, but I will try to make the next few longer, or just combine chapters into one post!
Bailey A.: Honestly, I haven't been in a wreck either (thank goodness). But my friend's school bus crashed just recently, so I thought maybe I could use that experience in the story. It seems like it worked!
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