We can do this. We're already halfway there, and I can now see the details of Ravena's expression. The crevices are long and deep indeed, but if we focus on the land that's been spared, we can do this. It just gets harder and harder as we get closer to the epicenter... I hear one wolf howl, trapped, with nowhere left to land. She has to go back and find another path. Another one, a gray male, almost falls before his friend comes and bites his nape to pull him up. The situation is definitely getting more and more difficult as we get closer...
Suddenly, I feel the ground fall under my foot. I barely realize what's going on, but the landslide gets worse, and without a chance to react, I feel myself getting pulled down.
“Mara!”
Selena's call got Liam's attention, and I see my mate turning back, but it's too late. I feel the void underneath me, and I just know I'm going to fall. Panicked, I move my arms around, trying to find somewhere to grab. Everything's going too fast for me to have time to use my magic. I'm going to fall...
My feet suddenly hit the water. ...Wait, the water? I glance down, and before I know it, it’s up to my waist. I look back, but it's a real stream coming my way, flowing through the crack and probably spreading to the others. A brutal flow of water slowed down my fall. What the hell is going on?! I swim up to make sure I stay at the surface, but the water is quickly filling up this gap, and I'm pushed up, back toward Liam...
“Mara, you okay?!”
I grab his fur as soon as I can, and he bites my top to pull me out of there, the two of us out of breath. I'm soaked, but Moon Goddess, I'm alive... I look down at the large crack that almost killed me seconds ago, but the water level is already going back down. That was salt water, wasn't it? I glance around, looking for an answer, until my eyes land on a silhouette standing far away from us.
"Naptera..."
She doesn't move or try to say anything. Even if she did, she'd probably be too far for me to hear. All I can get is her sullen expression, but she looks... resigned. So she decided to lend a hand, after all?
“Mara, let's go!”
I nod and get back up on my feet behind Liam, and we resume running like crazy. I'm still soaked from my dive just then, and my head... full of questions. Naptera took our side? Or was she just helping me once? She stayed afar, does that mean she isn't going to help in the fight? As long as she doesn't cause more trouble.
I keep running while I'm torn between hundreds of questions. Suddenly, I feel something coming. I slow down. I can't see it, but all my senses are alert, like a force coming from right in front of us.
"Liam, stop!"
My mate brutally brakes, and jumps out of the way as something, indeed, seems to emerge from the ground. It's a little hill at first, but it keeps growing and growing in front of our eyes, until it stands as tall as a man. Liam and I growl, but we also slowly retreat, careful where we step. What the heck now…?
The strange hill suddenly makes a very, very weird sound and breaks into two. It's almost like an egg opening, and before I can even worry about what's coming, a silhouette emerges out of that muddy mess.
“Holy Moon Goddess, what the fuck is that thing?!”
I have no idea. It looks somewhat human, but a human made of clay by a four-year-old! That thing has no face, just a rough shape of four limbs and a head, and it steps out of its shell, a moving bundle of fresh soil and mud. What the hell are we looking at…?
“Golems!” Liam's voice echoes in everyone's minds. “Watch out!”
Just as he says that, I hear a furious growl somewhere behind me. I glance back, and a silver-gray wolf is already pinned on the ground by a golem that has overpowered him.
“Johnny!”
Two wolves that were behind him jump in to attack and bite that thing, but... it's just freaking mud! I turn around, and as I expected, it's Ravena's doing. Her head is now turned toward us, her face distorted by a horrible rictus that doesn't even look human. Her eyes have gone completely dark... What the hell has the curse done to her?!
“Mara! Do something, we can't bite these things!”
Indeed, Johnny Seaver and his wolves keep attacking the bundle of soil and trying to get it off him, but it's like fighting against a mudslide! I turn around, and the one in front of us is big and menacing too. It launches its large fist toward Liam, who dodges it with a jump to the side. Still, if he gets hit or trapped by that thing... I step back, careful to stay out of reach, and look around, but those things have appeared all over East Point Ground, ready to guard their maker. They are attacking the wolves closest to them, everyone that came to attack with us. Selena and Damian Black have no issue dodging theirs, but the bigger wolves like Boyan, Ben, and Tonya are in trouble. They are too big, and they don't have enough safe ground where they are to dodge that thing without risking falling into a crack!
How do I help them? There are yards between us!
“Lysandra!”
A scream pierces the air, and I see one of the wolves about to get swallowed by those gaps. From a distance, I can only see her silhouette, trapped between the two edges and desperate to get back to the surface. There are two golems on her, and they are pulling her into the crack! Her paws on the edge, she's trying to pull herself up, but there's too much weight on her, dragging her down. Shit, I'm too far!
“Mara, go!” Selena urges me.
“But–”
“Just go, you stubborn witch! We will save her, you stick to the plan!”
I can't go, they are all about to get killed right where they are! The two gigantic brown wolves jump to help pull Lysandra Jones up. They are too far away, I can't tell which is Boyan and which is Tonya. They are just two gigantic bundles of brown fur, battling on the edge and trying to bite her where they can pull her up, or crush the soil around her. As soon as they do, though, we see two more silhouettes of clay emerge from the ground behind them. Oh, hell, no... The two golems grab the brown wolves, either trying to pin them down or push them to the edge too. With horror, I see the ground tremble and crack under their feet, looking about to crumble. No, Moon Goddess, no!
