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“Come on, Soren! Now!”
I glanced up and saw Lexi’s foot disappear over the ledge. I shoved my gun into its holster and jumped to grab the rope, trying to pull myself up high enough before the beasts hit the cliff.
The first one slid to a halt and stood up on its hind legs, reaching for me. My mind froze for a second before a repelling spell burst out from my lips. I hoped that magic would work the same here as how it did on Earth.
It didn’t.
The spell exploded, pushing me up into the air, making me rise above the ledge where my sister and an older man stood. My eyes stared fearfully at the ground, wondering if when I came down if I would just drop into the jaws of the beasts which were now waiting below me.
The man jerked on the rope, which I was still grasping, pulling me so I landed in the dirt near his feet. I hit hard on my side; my breath leaving my lungs in a whoosh.
“Let’s go. They climb.” The man’s voice was gruff.
Lexi scowled, but helped me up, trying to pull me along after the man. My left leg ached, but I had no time to worry about it. We followed the man, who was nimble despite being older. He climbed using all four limbs, almost like a wolf, and I frowned slightly before not caring he wasn’t quite human.
The sound of the beasts climbing the rocks filled me with terror, and I hoped the old man knew what he was doing. The predators would reached the ledge soon, from the sound of it. We would then be tasty treats waiting for them on a platter.
I scrambled up the non-existent path faster, staying right behind my sister.
Between one step and the next, the man disappeared.
What? Where?
Still moving fast, I didn't have time to think. First Lexi and then I were falling into a dark hole. We fell until our feet suddenly hit a steep slope and went out from beneath us. Sliding down the gravelly slope on our butts, there was nothing around us to halt our momentum.
I grabbed her, pulling her in tight to my chest. I didn't want to get separated from her here. Not now.
The flue narrowed until it was almost the diameter of the both of us, squishing us together as we went. I prayed it wouldn't decrease any more than this.
Stupid prayer.
We jerked to a stop. Yep, we were stuck. My thoughts had become our reality.
“Well, shit. I didn’t think it would turn out this way,” Lexi stated, her tone wry.
I wanted to laugh, but fear choked my voice. I also doubted there was enough room between us for me to even take a deep breath, let alone do anything more strenuous.
A hand wrapped around one of my ankles and tugged. Hard. I would have a massive bruise by morning, but that didn't matter. We were now rushing through the narrow crevice, our speed increasing before stopping suddenly upon impact. Both of us hit the ground with a thud, Lexi landing on top of me.
I groaned.
The old man peered down at us and grinned.
He squatted and studied our faces, his head cocked to one side. “Earthlings?”
I nodded, wondering who he was.
He grunted, shaking his head. “Safe." He stood and waggled his fingers at us, indicating that we should follow him.
Relief filled me. He must have come into contact with humans at some point since he knew English. Or at least a few words of it. This may not be too bad if he had a basic proficiency, at least enough that we could communicate. If we ran into problems, we might have to fall to a game of charades, but that had worked even on Earth when necessary.
Slowly getting to our feet, my sister and I exchanged a glance. What else could we do? We followed the old man down into the darkness of the mountain.
I wondered if this was a mistake, but he didn't seem like a murderer. And we had weapons. I put a hand on my holster, relieved to find my gun still on my belt, secure.
By the time the old geezer stopped, we were exhausted. I didn’t care much about where we were going or who he was, anymore. I just wanted to stop and rest for an hour—or a day—at this point. And take off my shoes. My blisters now had blisters.
He turned into an opening in the rock wall, moving to the middle of the dim cave before stooping down to grab something.
