[View of Howl and Chez]
Howl's hair stood on end as he was frozen in place with the tip of Chez's arrow pushing into the back of his neck. The wolf cursed himself for getting so close to the centaur in his own environment, but he didn't have time to play around.
If Howl died here, then so did his new… friend. That was a strange word for him since Howl was a wolf, and the only creature he had anything to do with were his brothers and sisters.
"I didn't come here for me! There was a creature that I tried to attack, but it stopped me, almost killing me. Then, he didn't and offered for me to join him!" Howl growled out but felt stupid even as he explained it.
Then the pressure from the arrow left, but Howl didn't move. The arrow was more deadly from farther away, so the blue wolf decided it was best to wait and see what Chez would do.
"What if this creature? Who is he?" Chez asked, now standing back from the wolf.
Chez was very dissatisfied with his life in the rings and started to become more and more frustrated of late. The ring was starting to become a mess, and their so-called Astral leader didn't seem to care.
His father, Sagittarius, kept breeding more and more Demi-Astralite children and setting them free in the ring without care. Chez had killed many of them with his hand because of how crazy they were, even hunting their kind.
Chez knew from old legends that the rings were placed here by a man, and he had the power to wield all twelve. This man had foretold that he would return one day to claim them, but he would only be at a fraction of his current power when he placed the rings.
Then the SkinWalkers had appeared after nearly one thousand years of waiting, and since then, things had gone downhill. Chez's father had been one of the nine who stood up to Carnage, Chaos, and Calamity, but the other three had betrayed them.
Each of the nine had been beaten into submission, and Sagittarius had taken the worst of it. Now, after nearly another three millennia, the archer that never missed was a shadow of his former self.
If this creature made it this far and was able to convince this sizable blue wolf to join him, he might be the one that the legends had foretold of.
"His name is Zack, and Lord Carnage is chasing him. The Lord killed Karl when he tried to help him and will stop at nothing to get at the man!" Howl growled, and Chez's blood started to pump in anticipation.
"Lead me to him at once!" Chez yelled and then cursed under his breath for wasting so much time.
[Zack's View]
I forced air into my lungs and then tried to throw my body back into a tumble just as the giant monitor lizard snapped its mouth forward. I wasn't fast enough, and the giant smooth-bodied grey lizard with green spots caught one of my legs in its mouth.
I roared in pain, but luckily the creature had no front teeth, but the power of its jaw had my leg pinned. Before I could react, the creature whipped my body to the side, and I just barely missed a tree.
Before the giant monitor could whip me again, I drove my heel into my left beady little black eye, and the monster screamed out in pain. I was dropped, and I rolled out of the way as the creature started to thrash in pain.
I got to my feet and started to run, or at least I wanted to, but a limping jog was all I could do as my bruises healed. My body could also heal, but it wasn't anything like the lizard, who had already stopped trashing.
"Looks like we need not interfere."
"He is already broken; let the beast finish."
"You are weak, and we are stronger!"
"We are inevitable!"
[Wow, you really can't seem to catch a break with this guy!] Harold said with a very dry laugh that sounded forced.
I turned from the sounds and kept running. I wasn't sure what I was going to do at this point, there was nowhere left for me to run, and I could feel the stomping starting again.
I looked back quickly, and the lizard was gaining on me fast, and it looked far angrier than it had been before. This might have helped me before, but I couldn't get any distance between the creature and myself.
[I think this might be it, and I don't know what will happen to you if you die here. It has been good knowing you.] Harold said in a sullen tone.
I wasn't ready to die, but not all things work the way you wanted them to. I ran forward and weaved around the trees, but the sound of the giant monitor lizard was gaining fast.
"Running is…!"
"Accept your…!"
"Your mind is...!"
"We are…!"
The layering voices all cut off at the same time as the pounding behind me did, and I whipped around to see what had happened.
The massive grey and green spotted lizard was unmoving on the ground. There was a long, fletched arrow sticking out of the eye that I had kicked with blood and ooze seeping out of it.
What had just happened?
"Come with me if you want to live!" A proud voice called from in front of me, causing me to turn back around to the chest of a tall and strong-looking centaur.
"Listen to him!" Howl called from beside him, but I was filled with confusion.
[You don't have time to be confused!] Harold yelled in my mind.
I looked back at howl and grinned with a nod as I sucked in a deep breath to fill my aching lungs. This horseman must be Chez, but I was still surprised that howl had been able to convince him to come.
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