Read Online Becoming Dinner by J. Alexander - Free Book Online Page B

horrific
scene.

    Gaining speed in order to make the leap, my
leg muscles screamed in pain. There was no use in drawing my knife.
I had only brought the small one tonight, and against the large
creatures stomping up closer to me, it would do little damage.
Their thick skin deflected arrows. A blow from me would barely be
noticed. Outrunning them was my only hope. If I couldn’t maneuver
up and over the rocks smoothly, my life was over. Two or three
quick and well-placed foot falls would bring me to a point of
possible escape.
    A growl sounded not far behind me. I knew
better than to turn around. I sped up as much as my body allowed.
Three long final strides brought me to the base of the rock wall. I
leapt up on the first rock, and then angled sharply up and over to
a second. Moving swiftly higher, I was careful to pull my trailing
leg forward as fast as I could. My unexpected change in direction
caused the closest creature to slam into a lower rock. I heard his
arms hit. A spray of dirt and pebbles landed just below me. The
last rock I chose was farther out of reach. My success in reaching
the top meant I was only one step away from surviving this
night.
    Without hesitation, without looking down into
the void in front of me, I leaped out into the darkness.
    As I fell, the rush of night air cooled my
sweaty flesh. I felt the moisture in the breeze and began counting
as I always did, waiting to plunge into the cold water. Four,
three, two…
    Suddenly the wind was knocked out of me.
Instead of feeling a rush of water, I felt a forceful blow across
my midsection as I was folded in half. An arm surrounded my waist
and carried me up and away from the river. One well-timed grasp
from a new monster undid my earlier efforts of survival.
    The creature that held me landed on a ledge,
leapt and landed briefly on another shelf of rocks. While stopped
on this platform, I listened for a sound, a clue as to what held
me. Pushing off a final time, we soared up through the cool night
air and landed smoothly somewhere high on the canyon wall.
    Whatever held me could fly. I searched my
mind and tried to recall what type of monster this size could fly.
It lowered into a sitting position and I was placed in front with a
firm, grounding plop. Strong limbs surrounded me in an unyielding
grasp.
    I knew I was about to become a meal but I was
not sure for what type of beast. Considering I was covered in mud,
a dead animal skin, and rotting meat, this creature wasn’t picky.
It knew I wasn’t dead. I was sure it heard and felt my heavy
breath. Forming into a semi-limp ball, I tried to take on the shape
of an animal in the hope that the creature would bite first into
one of the fleshy chunks of dead meat hanging from me. This would
give me an opportunity to reach for my knife. I knew I had to kill
quickly or it would strike again. Death was near – the creature’s
or mine.
    We were in a pocket of shadow sitting on the
ledge. The moonlight didn’t reach us, which I hoped increased my
odds. As I was patted and examined, I slowly moved my hand toward
the knife. The touch of the hands and the feel of its limbs made me
realize this beast had a human form. Adding this fact to the
information I already knew of the creature, I came up with a few
possibilities, none of them good.
    The inspection stopped and cool hands rested
on my slumped over back. It pushed aside the hanging fur and felt
the skin beneath. In quick movements, the creature located my
shoulders and brought me upright. I was held tight and could barely
move. There was no chance to reach my knife now. The breath on my
cheek was erratic. I soon realized it wasn’t breathing; it was
sniffing me. The creature tried to decipher what I was. Trailing
its nose close to my skin, it suddenly froze. The sound of the male
voice made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
    “Human,” It said with a tone shivering with
excitement and anticipation.
    Vampire. No other creature could both fly and
speak.