My eyes flew open, and I saw that the beast had freed from the bushes using its claws to tear the thicket apart, practically.
It set on the ground and then just stood there, watching .
Instinctively, I began to scramble backwards, dragging myself away on my elbows and heels, using my hands as a guide and trying to put as much distance between us as possible. My palms scraped against rocks and roots, but I didn’t care.
The beast followed, matching my pace slowly.
Panic flooded through , causing to scramble faster, breathing hard, even though my injured body was protesting with every movent. I didn’t want to stand up cause it would be easier to grab at that position. This was my best bet.
Suddenly, it stopped moving.
It sat on its hind leg, its ears twitching as it watched , and was it my eyes? It was no longer as large as it was earlier.
I was almost to a large tree, so I didn’t have ti to question why it had stopped moving. I just grabbed the lowest branch and hauled myself up. Pain shot through my bruised ribs, and the scratches on my arms burned like fire, but I didn’t care. I climbed up the tree until I was sitting on a thick branch, high enough to feel safe.
When I looked down, the beast was still standing exactly where it had stopped. It just tilted its head watching . It didn’t try to climb after or reach up or even roar.
It was like it knew I was afraid of it and had stopped on purpose.
My breathing slowly returned to normal. I straightened my torn clothes as best I could, trying to gather so dignity.
"Thank you," I said. My voice ca out shaky and small. "Thank you for saving my life. I won’t forget this."
I bowed from my perch on the branch, feeling ridiculous but needing to say it anyway. I must’ve looked stupid, bowing to a monster like it was a royal beast from a fairytale. But I ant it. This creature had saved twice now. Whatever it was, it deserved gratitude.
Then I turned to climb down the other side of the tree, ready to run deeper into the forest and find a way ho.
That’s when I noticed the blood.
A dark pool was forming beneath the monster, dripping from its chest and shoulders where the bullets had hit.
It was from the multiple gunshot wounds.
I paused, one foot on a lower branch as my mind raced. The creature was bleeding badly. Those wounds needed attention.
Then I caught myself. No. No way. It was an animal. Animals get hurt all the ti. They healed on their own, or they didn’t.
It shouldn’t be my problem, right?
I turned away and climbed down, then started running deeper into the trees, away from the ravine.
But I kept looking back.
Every few steps, I’d glance over my shoulder, expecting to see the beast chasing , but it wasn’t.
After about five minutes of running, I slowed down. My chest heaving as I caught my breath, I turned to look in the direction I’d just co. The beast didn’t follow at all.
Why wasn’t it following ?
A strange feeling crept over . It wasn’t fear, nor was it curiosity. I would say it was sothing in between.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I crept back toward the ravine, staying hidden behind trees and bushes.
I stopped in shock when I saw the beast was still there, sitting back on its haunches like a dog and staring in the direction I’d just gone. Blood was still dripping from its wounds, but it didn’t seem to care.
When it saw peeking out from behind a tree, it wagged its tail.
My mouth fell open as I stared at it.
Did that just—did it just wag its tail at ?
I ducked back behind the tree, my heart pounding for an entirely different reason now.
My curiosity at this point had overridden all the fear in my body.
I stepped out from behind the tree, showing myself again, and the beast wagged its tail.
Then, just to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating, I took a few steps back into the trees, disappearing from its view completely. When I stepped back out, it wagged its tail faster.
And like a fool, I did it again and again, and each ti I appeared, it would wag its tail like an excited puppy who’d spotted its owner.
On the fourth ti, I couldn’t help it. A laugh bubbled up from . I was in disbelief at this point and maybe a bit hysterical.
All this ti, I’d thought it wanted to kill , but it liked . Whatever this big dog was, it actually liked .
"Did I just ta this beast?" I said out loud, shaking my head in wonder.
The monster tilted its head at the sound of my voice, amber eyes fixed on and wagged its tail harder.
I went back to the root of the tree I’d climbed a few monts ago and sat at the base, contemplating whether what I was about to do was foolish.
The bleeding wasn’t stopping, and isn’t it wicked to turn away from helpless animals in total?
It didn’t matter if they were murderous creatures, but at least it had saved from those n who wanted to kill , so I wouldn’t exactly say it was wrong.
Taking a deep breath, I rose to my feet and started inching towards it.
"At the first sign of trouble, I’ll bolt," I told myself as I crept closer, with my hands raised, trying to show that I was coming for peace.
When I neared it, it lowered itself further to the ground, whimpering softly, and sothing in my heart lted. I ca closer and knelt beside it, trying to do so talking like I’d seen animal owners do to their pets.
"I’m not going to hurt you," I said quietly. "I’ll just check your wounds and see if I can stop the bleeding. Please don’t hurt ?"
I inhaled and exhaled again, inching closer to it. I rubbed my hands together and swallowed hard.
"Okay! I’m going to touch you now."
The instant my hands touched its fur, and I felt the softness beneath my fingers, everything went dark.
Reviews
All reviews (0)