It didn’t take long until they reached the opposite wall. Will had told himself not to look back until he made it to the rocks, but once he got there, he jolted himself sideways to better see.

Swoop was still okay. Right now, two Swoops were in the air, but both flew slowly. There was no mistaking it; his Cakrit was getting tired. Will looked to see how close they were to the cave. It wasn’t too far. They could make it if they could only go fast enough.

The giant lizard shifted its sandy-brown body and whipped its tail quickly through the air. The force of it blasted into another of Swoop’s shadows. She was alone now and needed help.

“Swoop!” Will lifted his arm into the air to get her attention. Swoop saw the signal and began to fly back.

“Keep running,” Ezra said.

Will started again, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Sarat shoot, like an arrow, towards their direction. It was getting closer at an incredible pace. Only seconds and it would reach them.

From ahead, Pexel leapt from Bet’s body. He scrambled into the air and made a wide arch that extended to the side of the three of them. Toward the end of the pattern, he dove off and began to rush back to Bet. The Sarat was right behind the squirrel. It brought it’s head low, ready to snap him up.

“Stop!” Bet yelled.

Will and Ezra both obeyed. Will stood frozen, afraid for Pexel, but Ezra scrambled to pull the tin that held his binder pieces out of his pocket.

The Sarat didn’t see the barrier Pexel had placed. It crashed into it and spun, releasing a wild and surprised roar as Pexel scurried to Bet’s feet.

The Sarat’s head was now wedged between Pexel’s barrier. Unfortunately, it was only yards from the group of them, and as soon as the barrier disappeared—which should happen any second—the lizard would be right on top of them.

Will could see the glassy barrier begin to fade. Something had to happen fast.

“Run!” Ezra said.

Will didn’t question why, instead he took off. Almost exactly as he started, Tenebrim reared up and flashed forward, cutting at the side of the Sarat’s face with his sharp claws. The lizard let out an angry scream as Tenebrim slipped beneath the creature and towards its back legs. The Sarat curled around itself in its best attempt to focus on Tenebrim.

Again, Swoop burst into several shadows. Will could see that the real Swoop stayed by his side as the other two shadows flew up and into the giant lizard’s face. The lizard was trying to get a view of Tenebrim, but the Mantis kept slashing forward into the Sarat’s legs. The attack hardly seemed to do anything, but it did keep the lizard confused.

Will, Bet and Ezra had made some distance now, there was only fifteen to twenty yards or so before they were inside the cave. Will eyes again fell on the piles of dry and sun-bleached bones.

“Tenebrim, come on,” Ezra called without turning his back. Ahead, Bet began to slow as she lifted another something toward Pexel’s mouth.

Will turned to glance behind him. Tenebrim attempted to catch up, the two other shadows of Swoop had been destroyed, and the lizard was struggling to rip its back legs free from the two tangled bunches of roots that Tenebrim had pulled from the ground with his feeding ability. Before Will’s eyes refocused ahead, he saw the Sarat rip one of its back legs free from the brambles.

“Almost there,” Ezra said.

“Everyone inside,” Bet nearly cut him off. “Pexel will seal the entrance.”

“What about Tenebrim?” Ezra sounded alarmed.

“You’ll have to lead him through.”

Seconds later the three of them were in the cave. Swoop actually landed on the ground and fluttered her wings nervously, casting and eerie purple hue into the cave’s strange features.

Outside, Tenebrim would be there in a matter of moments, but the Sarat was closing in. Pexel began to dance through the air in a zig-zag pattern across the cave’s entrance, before finally jumping down to Bet.

“Get inside. Go as far as you can. Use Swoop for light,” Ezra said quickly, but he didn’t follow his own advice. Instead he stood, only feet behind Pexel’s barrier. He pointed his arm outward. Will saw that he had a piece of Binder between his fingers.

The Sarat gained with every step.

“Tenebrim, here!” Ezra said as he tossed the Binder toward a small space that Pexel hadn’t covered. The mantis slid in and immediately gobbled the Binder. Ezra then spread his arms out and jumped into the air to make himself as visible as possible. “Come on,” he said.

Pexel’s barrier had begun to fade. It would be completely gone in moments.

The Sarat dove at Ezra and its face hit so hard it was as if it had run into the canyon wall. Its body rolled upward and smashed into the area above the cave’s mouth. Ezra stumbled backward, as the entrance began to collapse.

As a flow of large rocks crumbled to the ground, the outside light faded away. But in the final seconds, before everything fell into complete darkness, Will saw Tenebrim push to Ezra’s side as a thorny barrier grew up to cover them both.

Then the light was gone. All that remained was a blackness softly muted by Swoop’s strange glow.

How are Tenebrim and Ezra after the cave-in?

Both are fine

Tenebrim is hurt

Ezra is hurt

Both are hurt

This Poll is Closed