Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Hmm.” Mah-dee’s steps cease their crunch in the snow.
I stop and turn. “What is it?”
“Thought I saw something. What’s that over there?”
I look around, but I do not see what she refers to. “What?”
“Over there. I thought I saw the snow moving.”
I look where she gestures and see nothing but rolling hills and more snow. A cluster of many snow-covered bushes are visible at the top of a small mound, but other than that, there is nothing unusual. I turn to ask Mah-dee what it is that bothers her…when one of the bushes moves.
It is not a snow-covered bush at all…but a metlak.
And it is not just one, but several. At least two hands. As another bush moves, I realize that it is three hands, maybe more. And they see us. They are hunting us.
Metlak normally avoid sa-khui, and are chased away by anything bearing our scent. They are cowardly creatures…but they are also hungry. I think of the hunter caves we found that were raided, the contents destroyed and the supplies eaten. If they are brave enough to go to our caves, they are brave enough to attack me and Mah-dee. Perhaps they see our packs and think we have food.
Mah-dee is in danger. A cold chill moves over me, and I scan our surroundings. Even if I take her to a hunter cave, there will not be enough time to make a fire to chase them off. We must do something, and fast.
I turn and grab Mah-dee by the arm, hauling her along. “We must go.”
“Where are we going? What’s wrong?”
With my free hand, I yank one of the spears off my back, pulling it free from its bindings on my pack. “Those are metlaks, and they are coming after us.”
She jogs at my side, trying to move fast, but the snowshoes slow her down. “Should we try to talk to them? Lila says they’re intelligent—”
“They are hungry,” I tell her. “And unpredictable. I do not want to risk it. We are going to walk faster and hope they do not follow us.”
It is a stupid hope, but right now, it is all I have.
Mah-dee quickens her steps, and I can hear her breath huffing. “Should I get out my weapon?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Not right now,” I tell her, scanning the distant cliffs as we hurry toward them. If we get to the hunter cave fast enough, maybe I can hold them off long enough for Mah-dee to make a fire. The metlaks hate fire and are easily frightened. Mah-dee is not fast with a flint, but perhaps today…
She stumbles, a small cry escaping her. I stop in my tracks, turning to help her up. “Are you all right?” She struggles to get to her feet, nodding, and one of her shoes flops around her ankle, the leather ties broken.
“My shoe,” she pants. “I can keep going.” Then she stumbles again, crying out, and her hands cling to my arm. “Okay, might be my ankle, too. Leave me, Hassen—”
I do not even let her finish. With a growl of anger, I grab her into my arms and sling her over my shoulder, ignoring her cry of protest.
I will not leave Mah-dee behind. I will die first.
With my spear as a walking stick, I jog slowly toward the cliffs. They come ever closer, and despite the gentle weight of Mah-dee on my shoulder and her squirming, I am able to move faster. “Are they still coming?” I ask Mah-dee as I plunge forward.
“Oh yeah,” she says, her voice wobbling. “Also, I might be sick if we don’t slow down. Your shoulder’s hitting my stomach—”
“Then be sick,” I tell her, and speed up.
“Okay,” she says faintly. “Should I get out a weapon?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck.”
“Not right now,” I tell her again, distracted. I am closing in on the distant cliffs, and they look…different. The rocks are tumbled here, the snow mounded. The earth-shake has affected this place, too, and I worry that the hunter cave will not even be there. Desperation makes me move faster, and I head toward the overhanging cliffs and the shadow they cast. We are close. As we approach, I can see the shadow of the cave in the distance, and I double my steps, hurrying. I must get Mah-dee to safety. If I can block the entrance of the cave with her behind me, I can hold them off for longer—
A shattering sound.
The snow beneath my feet disappears. I yelp in surprise, and Mah-dee screams as we tumble through the air. I fling my spear aside and curl my body around hers, trying to shield her—
We land. I fall onto my back, and despite the soft snow, the wind is knocked from my lungs. Blackness dances behind my eyes, but fades just as quickly, and I feel Mah-dee groan as she pulls herself off of me. “What…”