Chapter 22: Liam

Wow, look at this, a braaaamnndd neeeewww chaaapptterrrr! ʸᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃʸʸʸ

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I had never felt so vulnerable in front of someone before. But as I lay in Reid's arms, broken down to dust and tears I felt a strange sense of security. I'd be all right.

After who knows how long we found our way back to the campsite. We collapsed in a heap and fell asleep not long after. I fell into a dreamless sleep, the kind where you feel like you've blinked and suddenly it's been a whole night.

I groan, heaving myself up, rubbing my eyelids free of sleep. I yawn, stretching out my muscles and finally take a look around. The fire had long died out, reduced to nothing but a small pile of ash. A cold breeze filters through the trees, shaking the most stubborn of the fall leaves off their branches and onto the ground with their brothers and sisters. It must be mid-morning, the sun set high to the east. A thin layer of clouds cover the sky, creating a translucent barrier that would surely be burnt off by noon.

I toss my hair, taking some tangles out with my fingers. It's dirty and at least a shade darker than when we left. Then again, so is my skin. And my clothes. And the others.

Wait. The others.

Realization hits me like an intoxicated rat as I glance frantically around our camp. Where are the others? I stand, ice cold fear seeping into my heart.

They wouldn't leave without me…right?

I walk around. Not a single thing was left behind to signal where they went, just flattened leaves from where they had been sleeping previously. I try to calm myself as my breathing escalates. I pause for a second to get my all-too-familiar anxiety under control before forming a plan.

After I calm myself, I move in a slowly widening circle around the campsite to try and see any clues as to where they might have gone. They couldn't have just vanished…or could they?

I stop and move back a step, crouching down at something that caught my eye. I run my hand over the dew covered ground, shivering slightly in the cold. I look closer, desperately trying to make sense of what I'm seeing. Then it dawns on me. A dragon print! A flicker of hope ignites inside me as I look to where it's pointing and look for another. And there, not that far away is the next. And another.

Soon I realize it's a path, winding through the trees and deeper into the forest. Occasionally I see a boot print or two in a patch of mud or sand and it raises my spirits even higher. Maybe they just went to go get firewood or something. But as the camp grows out of my sight and I've been walking for a good few miles, I realize something else. There's tinier footprints.

I crouch down, looking at the small intentions in a patch of sand. They're similar to how Amber's are, but more animalistic and tinier. Maybe it's a squirrel or something. I continue on.

But the longer I follow this path of footprints the more it seems the tinier ones appear. Starting as one being it grows and grows until there are so many little prints they almost drown out Amber's. I have to look harder now to find my way.

I'm so focused on the ground I don't realize when I've stumbled into a clearing. It's stunningly beautiful, a sheer cliff jutting out from the forest, white frothy water pouring down its side into a large watering hole at the bottom. But what catches my eye the most is the pedestal in the center of the water. It's grand, royal and pretty darn big; it juts out from the water only a few feet and behind it the waterfall roars.

But the thing on top of the pedestal was the most breathtaking thing.

The closest thing it could be described as would be a Sphinx. With a powerful, muscular lion body and large, majestic hawk wings. A regal head perched upon its magnificent mane. Its fur glistens with the mist from the waterfall behind it as it lounges on its platform, staring at me with a bored expression.

My eyes drift behind it, right in front of the strong, unforgiving current of the falling water. Three forms float weightless a few yards above the surface of the water, seemingly frozen in time. Kate on the left, Amber in the middle, and Reid on the right.

I try not to let fear take hold as I look at my friends. Surrounding the bank of the wateringhole where what I assume are the makers of the small footprints. Tiny versions of a Sphinx, but without the majesty. Their heads are pink and bald, their backs adorned with stubby, ragged wings that look like they wouldn't even do a hummingbird any good. They snarl and snap at me hungrily, maybe a hundred or more.

Suddenly I wish I had brought a weapon.

"Human." The magnificent being's voice booms across the clearing, vibrating the very ground beneath my feet.

"Yeah?" My voice comes out squeaker than I remember.

"You have trespassed on my land. You are the leader. So you can speak for your followers. I will let them go and take you instead, or, you may run now and I will spare you." Her voice holds an air of challenge to it, her shoulders squaring off slightly.

"I- uhm w-what happens to me if I decide to offer myself instead?" I stammer.

"First you must answer my riddles three, then if you somehow survive I will let your followers go and take you to be consumed and your spirit to be added to my collection trapped inside of my immortal being." She explains it as if it's the plan for Tuesday dinner. I gulp, fear gripping my like a cold fist. I make a decision to not pay attention to the second part of my fate.

"What are you? A troll guarding a bridge? This is cliche even for a giant Sphinx that can surely take my head off in seconds and consume my spirit to be locked in an internal purgatory." My short lived confidence wavers and my voice grows smaller as I talk. The creatures mane bristles and muscles tense.

"You dare challenge me!? I have been entirely kind to you human but I don't think I will give you that luxury anymore." Immediately I start panicking as her small henchman begin closing in around me.

"Ok! Ok! We can do your three riddles, it's fine!" I say frantically, backing up a few paces. I try not to linger on the destiny I just assigned myself to. If I don't get these right, I die and my friends die. If I let it right, my friends live, but I also die.

"No." At that simple word her henchman stop in their tracks, their little beady eyes burning a hole through me. "I will grant you the mercy of a chance to save your followers. But I will not give you the mercy of three riddles. Instead, I will give you a single one. The single hardest riddle known to Eladea." My breath hitches. I can't even do the simple ones on those kid websites. How am I going to do the hardest one ever?! I don't say anything and stare, dumbfounded. I guess she takes that as a confirmation and starts.

"Three gods, A, B, and C, are called, in some order, True, False, and Random. True always speaks truly, False always speaks falsely, but whether Random speaks truly or falsely is completely random. You must determine the identities of A, B, and C by asking three yes-or-no questions, and each question must be posed to exactly one god." My brain is already flooded with too much information to handle. "The gods understand English, but will answer all questions in their own language. In their unknown language, the words for “yes” and “no” are “da” and “ja,” in some order. You do not know which word means which." Her gaze bores into me as I frantically try to sort through the dump of information on my already panicked brain.

"I…don't suppose you're going to say it again?" I ask sheepishly. The creature just stares.

It's then that something over her shoulder catches my eye. Movement. Reid catches my eye, frozen in mid air. Is his mouth moving? I squint slightly, straining to read his lips. He says something like: "just stall her" So, I do.

"I-is that all the information?"

"Yes."

"And there's no more? I just need to work with that?"

"Yes."

"Can you back off your minions a bit? I kinda need some space for the brain power to get working. Takes a bit of air, ya know?"

"No."

"Oh well uh…do you by any chance have a pen and paper that I could write down-"

"NO."

I shut up then, clamping my mouth shut. I look frantically over at Reid, that crippling, paralyzing fear taking over. I lean forward slightly as he begins to mouth something again.

"Say you need to get a drink of loiter to clear your bed." It seems he says. I blink a few times in confusion before coming to the realization he must have meant "water" and "head"

"Mrs. Sphinx, it would be wonderful if I could come over there to get a drink? My brain is having a terribly hard time thinking and I think that will help me clear it." She reluctantly nods.

I wade through the sea of henchman, coming to a stop at the shore, now only a couple yards from my friends. But only a few feet from the creature. Discreetly as soon as the Sphinx's eyes are turned I reach my hand out towards Reid, trying to check if his body is actually frozen or if he just can't move. My hand is almost there when a sharp pain erupts in my hand.

I yell and bring it to my chest, cradling it. I look down to see a couple small punctures in the skin, slowly turning red as blood finds its way out. I glare at a particular henchman who had jumped up at me, locking his teeth free of my blood. Ew.

"HUMAN!" The Sphinx's voice shakes me to my core. I slowly look up at her and oh boy is she much taller and scarier when standing. "You DARE attempt to TRICK me?!!"

"Well, I mean technically is it really tricking if you don't fall for it." I offer with a shrug despite the cold sweat begging to form on my body as adrenaline is pumped through my veins.

"I had mercy on you human. I gave you a chance at redemption and you mocked me. But still I was kind to you. But still you attempt to disrespect me by tricking me!" Her mane seems to be shimmering in the now high sun.

"I take no more mercy on you, human." The tone of her voice tenses my muscles and I make my way into a crouching position, realizing the thing to come next. "Kill him."

Immediately I sprint, leaping over snapping jaws and fluttering wings. Pain shoots up my ankle and knee, but I don't register it. I break to the outside of the circle of henchmen and take off at a gallop, plunging into the trees. My friends forgot for the time being, I race as fast as my legs will carry me, the roar of hundreds of chicken-sized death machines at my back.

I pump my arms hard, weaving through trees and underbrush, somehow not tripping on roots or branches. My breath becomes labored fast, my lungs burning after I lose sight of the wateringhole. I'm in the middle of the woods. I don't care. I run forward with all my might, adrenaline roaring in my ears. My arms grow numb and my calves burn, yet still the henchman don't slow. So neither can I.

I run for so long I forget how far I've gone. The only thought in my mind is to move. Don't stop. Pick up your feet.

The breeze pushes against my hot face, sweat dripping off my hair. The henchmen are in a great herd, slowly gaining on me. My wounds from them, albeit shallow, burn with a fire as salty sweat seeps into them. I leap over logs and duck under low hanging branches, desperate to keep ahead of the herd. If I slow down too much, I'm dead. I imagine what that will feel like. The feel of a thousand claws ripping at my flesh, a million teeth tearing into my muscle as I scream in agony, yet no one would be around to hear it.

With a startled gasp I put on the breaks, leaning back against my momentum to come to a sliding stop. I almost fall onto my back as I stare in horror before me. A sheer cliff. The rocky side drops for at least sixty feet before the canopy and there's no telling how tall the trees are. I look around the view, at the endless forest ringed with musty blue mountains. The roar of the henchman hadn't stopped and is getting louder.

I breathe hard as I try to find a way out. I can't run along the side of the cliff, there are other elevations leading up to the beginnings of a mountain to my left. I certainly can't go down or back. And they are gaining. Fast. Soon they'll be on me. I maybe have a few seconds. Tears sting my eyes as I hysterically laugh my anxiety away. Dam my luck.

I suck in a breath and as the death herd breaks through the trees I take a running step and leap.

At first I'm silently falling through the air as time seems to slow. My senses are turned up to 200% as I gaze at the scene before me. It's beautiful. And then everything speeds up again.

I'm hurtling through the air, the trees rapidly approaching from under me. I scream as I twirl and spin helplessly in the air. I flail my arms, but they find no purchase. Please goddesses…please. Don't let it end this way. It can't. Oh please…

As the trees become so close I can see each individual leaf, I close my eyes, unable to face my death head on. I clench my jaw and force my scream back down my throat. I hold my breath, bracing for impact. For the crushing weight of my bones snapping like twigs and the pain of my organs being punctured. But the impact that happens is different than expected.

With a mighty whoosh I'm hit from the side, the air getting knocked out of my lungs. My floating arms find something to hold onto so I do. Probably too tight. I don't dare to open my eyes as the wind still rushes through my hair. I gasp for breath, my lungs feeling as if they are being crushed with adrenaline and relief. I jump as I feel hands find their way to my back and arm.

Tentatively I open my eyes, my whole body seized up with fear. I'm met with a different pair of eyes looking down at me. With a start I realize it's Kate's eyes. I open my eyes fully and sigh in relief when I see the thing I had been gripping like my lifeline was one of Amber's spikes. A laugh escapes me as tears are slung away by the wind. Kate smiles down at me, as does Reid. Amber looks back and gives me a smug but relieved look.

I don't ask how they got unfrozen. I don't ask how they found me. I don't ask any questions. I just move my death grip from Amber's spikes to Kate's shoulders and wrap my legs around Reid's back. I lay there, my friends surrounding me on both sides as I shake, tears streaming down my face as I try to level my breathing. I'm safe. I'm safe…

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Word count: 2742

Heyooo sorry about the late day…again 😅
Anyways how'd we like the chap? I personally really liked this idea and chapter (credit to captain--multifandom for the idea and everything)
Thoughts? I love to hear em!!!!

Cya next week!