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I gently put a finger to Riley’s lips, murmuring, “Sh.”
She looked at me, indignant, her breath coming out in quick gasps. “You want me to be quiet now? After all that?”
I didn’t have time to explain.
I clamped my hand over her mouth and pointed back towards the clearing.
I hoped the visual cue would be enough to silence her.
And it was.
She peeped out from behind our protective tree, her eyes widening in terror.
In the clearing stood one of the most fearsome creatures from the earlier pods.
The beast was massive, easily eight feet tall.
His body was a mass of matted fur, dense and wild.
The hair varied in shade, a dark murky brown at the roots, growing gradually lighter until it was almost silver at the tips.
It gave the creature an overall ghostly appearance, especially under the otherworldly light of this platform.
Its face was a grotesque parody of a canine.
Sharp, elongated canines jutted out from its snarling lips, dripping with an unknown substance.
Its eyes were deep-set, an eerie yellow with a feral intelligence that made it all the more terrifying.
Large, pointed ears twitched with every sound, their interiors a strange shade of blue, contrasting the rest of its fearsome exterior.
Two colossal hands, with fingers ending in razor-sharp claws, sifted through the grasses of the clearing as if searching for something — or someone.
Its legs were heavily muscled, ending in paws that could easily crush a creature’s skull.
I could feel Riley’s body shaking against mine, her face pale and her eyes wide with terror.
I tightened my grip around her, hoping to offer some semblance of protection or at least comfort.
Her eyes met mine, and for a brief moment, our shared fear connected us on a profound level.
My heart raced as I watched the beast.
Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, to get as far away as possible.
But with the cuff binding Riley and me together, our chances were slim.
Besides, I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, even if the odds were against us.
The creature let out a deep, guttural growl, a sound that resonated through the forest, causing even the luminescent trees to dim momentarily.
Its nostrils flared as it sniffed the air, its head turning slowly from side to side.
I held my breath, praying to any and all cosmic entities that the beast wouldn’t detect us.
The one chance we had was the powerful scent of the flowers Riley had disturbed earlier.
But was it strong enough to conceal our escape?
