The Chase/ The Capture

Reality Over Dreams - Part IV - The End

Her lithe fingers swept stray hair from her crestfallen face. Beads of sweat clung to her neck, and she scratched at her arms fervently. Her hand fell to the moist grass beneath her, and she plucked at it nervously. A panic over took her mind, and violent sobs wracked her frail body. Anguished tears splashed onto the wet earth, adding yet another tormented soul. The noises again. A harsh breaking of the brush below sent shivers down her bent spine. She saw bright glowing eyes in the dark of the thicket. The pain from her wrists intensified as the ravenous claws enfolded themselves around her seething skin. The agony pierced her flesh, and she cried out in bitter torment as she faded into the dusk with her captor.

Someone, something, was skittering near where she lay crushed on the ground. A pool of blood had soaked into the floor about her, causing a sticky sensation on her weary remains. Fighting forward, her body writhing against the stinging stones. The air was stronger, just a little further. Moving her hands ahead, she grasped a honed slab, and began to shred the bonds on its keen edge. The rope fell away, leaving her hands numb, and the cuts reopened. She fumbled for a holding, and pulled herself onward. Sudden light poured in from a niche in the wall. It fell onto her upturned face, its radiance blinding her. Her eyes adjusted to the brilliant sheen, and alluring lush hills stretch out in the distance. The blue sky loomed overhead, with warm and welcoming sunshine brightening the life abroad. She scrambled to the top of the ledge where she fought the dragon the day before. The marks of his talons were still fresh in the earth. Just one more step. Almost there. A shaking hand strained for the last hold, and her fingers curled around the rock. The wicked eyes of her dreams came to life before her. A loud roar berated her skin, and a spasm of pain shook her viciously. Her rock came loose, and she grappled for another, tearing the flesh from her fingertips. Her arms flailed backward in shock, and she fell through the air. Long moments pass, then her body impacted with the ground below. Her bones cracked, and her neck contorted to a sickening angle. The glowing orbs peered down the shaft, and rested on the golden beauty enveloped in emerald silk. The chest lay still, and not a single breath escaped her lungs. A growl sounded from the massive stomach above, and mirth crept into the nefarious eyes as they saw the trickle of warm blood spilling from the corner of the smiling, pallid lips of the immortal elven female...

Tanya LeeAnn