Aoife has kindly provided us with a sneaky look at chapter 7 of Eden Forest! Take a look!
Movement in the distance
makes me stop. I squint, but my eyes can't focus properly. The
dizziness settles as I stand still for a few moments. I refocus.
Nothing, no movement. So I keep pushing farther with the feeling of
dread. Catching movement again, I stop. It's closer now, but it
doesn’t seem possible, unless whatever it is, is moving at an
incredible speed. A horse? No, no dust or sound. Tristan? I freeze.
No, he’d be coming from behind me. At this thought, I turn around
and laugh at the emptiness I’m faced with.
God, I feel as if I might
lose my mind out here. The cloak on my shoulders feels as if it
weights a ton. I strip it off with no energy to carry it and dump it
on the sand, hoping a wind will rise and cover it over, hiding the
path I have taken. Maybe being in the tent with water and food wasn’t
so bad. Then I scold myself for such weakness.
“No, he took you from
your home.”
My newfound anger pushes
me on. The movements are all around me now, but it must be my
imagination, as they seem to move when I move. Noise comes from my
left, no, my right.
I strain to listen. The
noise comes again. It’s like the hiss of a snake, only louder. Then
it’s all around me. I turn in a full circle but can’t see
anything. My head spins, causing me to fall onto the sand again.
Closing my eyes, I try to let the dizziness pass. I roll over on my
back, keeping my eyes closed.
Keep it together,
Sarajane, I tell myself, but the prospect of dying makes laughter
bubble in my throat. I let it out. My laughter soon turns hysterical
and I feel like crying. I open my eyes and every part of my emotions
turns to fear.
A white grotesque face
looks down at me. It shimmers as I try to focus. I question what I’m
seeing, if it’s real or not.
The creature hisses at me,
showing off a long black tongue that slides between black pointed
teeth. Eyes that are hollow and empty stare at me. Fear runs through
me as more faces
appear around me. I shut my eyes and pray for this to stop and repeat
to myself, This is not real, over and over again.
But when I look up,
they’re still there, staring at me with hungry black eyes.
Digging my elbows into the
sand, I push my body up. The creature closest to me rises off his
haunches and places his foot on my chest, pushing me back down. His
body is human-like, only hunched and twisted. The others start to
look impatient.
Growls rise deep in their
throats.
I hold my breath, afraid
to breathe. What are they? Frozen with fear, I don’t move as much
as a muscle. The creature’s inhuman growls start to rise.
One of the creatures moves
closer to me very slowly. As he moves, he keeps glancing over at the
one who pushed me down, so I assume he’s the leader. It licks its
lips. A whimper of fear rises in my throat as it reaches me. My noise
attracts the attention of the leader. He grabs the creature just
before it touches me and throws him on the sand. The creature slams
its fists into the sand while looking at his leader. It points at me.
“Eat.”
My mind goes frantic. Eat,
as in eat me? Get up!! Get up!!!
I scream in my head.
Rising on shaky limbs, I
get to my knees. Sweat gathers on my forehead from exhaustion. When
the creature sees me trying to get up, a high-pitch squeal leaves his
throat and he charges.
The others are pounding
the ground with their feet and fists while screeching. He is an inch
from me, his eyes wild with hunger, but that’s as far as he gets.
An arrow is embedded in his neck. Blood splatters across my face as
he crumbles to the ground.
There’s an eerie silence
amongst the creatures as they focus behind me. I look around just as
Tristan and Legis move forward.
The leader of the
creatures digs his feet into the sand like a bull, causing dust to
rise, and throws his head back, letting out a deafening screech. They
charge.
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