Monday, May 29, 2006

Zayn - Part 4
Zayn reached instinctively for his sword. He grabbed and air and remembered that it had been taken from him. He took off his sword’s scabbard and tried to fend off the creatures as best as he could.

On the path, out of the forest, the tribesmen were ordered to stand guard along the trees. If it had been up to them, they would have turned back long ago. Very few came out of that forest once they went in.

Zayn knew their patterns, he knew their plan of attack; it never changed. The creatures would surround their prey then advance so fast that their victim wouldn’t even know they moved until he felt their fangs sink into their skin, they’d back up, chewing on the piece of flesh in their mouths, then advance again. Each creature would go for a different part of their prey’s body, making it next to impossible to avoid being bitten.
Zayn knew all this, but without a proper weapon and full health, there was little he could do against the creatures. It was critical to avoid the initial attack, if they didn’t get their prey the first time, they would lose heart and give up soon after.
However, if they managed to get their victim in their first attack, not only was the prey wounded but the creatures considered the battle won. They wouldn’t give up until they brought the target down.
He swung his sheath around as much as possible trying to hit as many as he could. He knew which part of his body they targeted; he knew where to hit. The more he hit in their first attack, the more there was that gave up and left. But his sheath cracked when he hit the first creature, and broke with the third, after that. There wasn’t much of any kind of weapon he could use. Zayn yelled as he felt teeth sink into his side, tearing a piece out of him. They began backing away again, then quickly attacked, again and again. Zayn strained his eyes even more, trying to see the creatures coming at him. His vision was getting darker and darker. Not because of the lack of light, but because of the loss of blood. He began walking back the way he came. He had managed to hit enough of the creatures initially that they had given up by now, and the remaining creatures weren’t numerous enough surround him anymore. But he no longer had any kind of weapon to use. They kept attacking him, still hungry for his flesh.
Zayn soon saw a dim light in front of him and knew it was the path. The remainder of the creatures began to retreat, they didn’t like light, even light as dim and the moon. As Zayn got closer to the clearing he saw an outline of a person. Then he soon heard shouting. He knew he was going to be captured again. He had hoped that he would come out on a different path, one that wasn’t being guarded.
Zayn saw someone slowly walking toward him; he was close enough to the edge of the forest that he wasn’t in any danger. But before the figure could get to him, Zayn’s vision went completely black. He had no more adrenaline left to compensate for the loss of blood.
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