Fan Fiction ❯ To Fix a Broken Key of Fate ❯ Run! ( Chapter 1 )

Alara ran as fast as she could, trying to ignore the stinging pain of the scratches that the thorns and branches were leaving on her skin as they tore through the thin material of her clothing. Her lungs burned with every gasping breath she took. She could feel her muscles screaming for a reprieve. Her momentum was already beginning to ebb. A few meters away, she could hear Celest crashing through the dense undergrowth. Please don't let them catch us, Alara prayed desperately as she continued to run even though her body was insisting that she stop for a rest.

<Do you think they're still chasing us?> Celest sent, her fear reaching Alara even through her thought speech. Alara shook her head, flinching when a sharp thorn scratched her right cheek.

<Even if they aren't, it wouldn't be hard to find where we are,> Alara returned. <We aren't exactly moving with great stealth. Every being within a hundred meters of us can tell exactly where we are.> There was a full two minutes of uneasy silence between the two before another word was spoken.

<That's bad, isn't it?> Alara considered her next words very carefully. She tried to find the best way to answer with out alarming her friend but with out sugar-coating the truth either.

<Well…> Alara began slowly, dragging out the word. <Yes…Usually it's not a good thi-> Alara never got to finish her thought because at just that second she felt something hit her left leg as it moved forward. She felt herself pitching forward and she threw her arms out, barely catching herself on her hands and knees. Before she knew what was happening, Alara's head was yanked back painfully by her hair and something cold and sharp was pressed against the smooth skin of her throat.

"One wrong move and I'll slit your neck from ear to ear," a rough, malevolent voice sounded in her right ear. Alara swallowed nervously and winced as she felt a small sting where the blade touched her skin. Seconds later she could feel the distinct itching feeling followed by a certain tickle at the point of pain that told her that the blade had cut her and blood was now dripping slowly from the nick in her skin. "I got `im!"

"Got one right here too," another voice called out. Celest! Alara thought with alarm. "C'mon, get some light goin' already!"

"Shut yer yap, we're takin' care of it!" a third voice replied.

"Hurry up!" the second voice pressed.

"Quiet! You'll get light in just a second," the third voice snapped. Just then Alara saw a tiny spark through the darkness just before it was touched to the wick of a lantern. Light flooded Alara's senses and for a second she was blinded, her eyes blinking rapidly.

"Demons of fire! They're…they're girls!" Alara's assailant gasped, withdrawing his knife. Alara exhaled a breath she had no idea she was holding.

*Kwiksilver*-Well…what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Want to read more? Please do and please please please review?!?!? Thanx! ~_^