Page 19 of Primal Hunger
I’ll take my chances with whatever is outside these walls, but I’m not staying here a second longer than I have to. It’s a matter of survival.
I have to get back to the portal and go home.
Chapter
Seven
Erin
Once the bindings are shed, I crawl out of the nest, my eyes darting around the room to the collected junk, but I don’t see anything useful. No weapons. Nothing that would help protect me if I run into danger.
My heart beats faster still, and my vision blurs.
I’m sore, especially now that I’m up and moving, but there’s no time to worry about achy muscles and the fatigue in my legs. I creep to the door and tug the fabric back slightly, glaring out into the darkness for any sign of him.
The world is dark, with twisted, gnarled trees stretching up from the ground and disappearing into the inky sky overhead. It takes my eyes a second to adjust, but I can see a small pool of water gathered around the house and a thin stretch of ground running off from the front door into the distance.
No other houses.
No sounds of animals tiptoeing through the trees.
No birds, no insects.Nothing.
There’s nothing but darkness and silence and my desperate urge to put as much space between me and this place as possible.
Without taking the time to second guess myself, I run. My feet pound against the thin bridge of ground hovering above the water, and I take off into the trees, realizing moments later this probably isn’t the smartest plan of action. Especially since I don’t know which way the Grim went.
I could be running right toward him, but I don’t slow down.
Faster.I have to go faster and put distance between us.
My muscles cry out in pain and my lungs burn, but if this is my last chance at survival—my last whisper of hope to get away and make it home somehow—I’m not going to squander it.
I’ll worry about the details later.If later comes.
I try to pick up the pace, willing my feet to move faster, even though it doesn’t seem to help. I’m exhausted, more tired than I’ve ever been in my entire life, and the only thing keeping me moving now is my sheer will to live.
I’m not ready to die, not now.
Not here.
I’ve got too many other things to accomplish to give in now.
So many more adventures to go on and stories to tell. This isn’t my time to go, no matter how high the cards seem stacked against me, and I can’t give up, despite the exhaustion weighing down my bones.
I’m sure I’ll collapse if I slow down, and I rely on my momentum and panic to keep me moving forward.
One more step. Then another.
I fight to keep up my steady pace with my arms pumping at my sides.
My ragged breath breaks the silence, my heart slamming unforgivably against my ribs.
I bob and weave through the trees, moving as quickly as I can in the almost pitch-blackness. It’s difficult, and my shoes threaten to trip me up on roots and knotted underbrush, but I keep going, moving as quietly as possible.
It feels like deja vu, a repeat of what happened in the woods after I discovered the portal, and I look for any glimmer of light shimmering in the distance. Any hint of a glow, something to guide me back home. I have no idea how long I was out, but it couldn’t have been that long. Maybe the portal is still open and I’ll find it if I keep running.
Maybe…
