"they are getting closer" ,said Gilbert with furrowed brows.
The three had been quiet for a few minutes after they heard the howling. After noticing they probably wouldn't be attacked in the next fifteen minutes, they quickly made their way to the door.
Opening it slightly to peek outside, the three held their breath in anticipation.
Gilbert held his index finger to his lips, indicating the other two to keep quiet.
With a small nod he told them to follow him and went on.
After only a few steps out of the door, he noticed he was alone with Michael who kept up with his speed.
He turned around to see Reverie slowly following. She was rather unstable on her legs due to her injury and the blood loss she suffered from it earlier. Her body obviously couldn't have replenished it all on such short notice.
Gilbert was upset with himself for not taking this into account. He knew best that she wasn't in a state to run through the entire forest, and yet he forgot.
Quickly approaching her ,he knelt down with his back in her direction and stared into the white beautiful soft snow in front of him. He didn't know her well but he felt she would be upset and hurt if he dared to look back at her face.
Reverie reluctantly clung to his neck, wrapping her arms around it. She knew best that this was the only possible solution, yet she didn't want to be so close to a man. Grinding her teeth she suppressed the emotional turmoil that boiled up within her and dug her head in his neck. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, especially not her comrades.
Gilbert grabbed her legs tightly ,stood up and moved to where Michael stood and waited.
The two boys sprinted forward ,deeper into the woods than they already were in a north-easterly direction where the cliffs were.
They ran with all their might, since they couldn't know when the wulffs would catch up with them.
Michael soon ran out of stamina and panted heavily, to which Gilbert used a recovery spell on him in response. They couldn't afford a break, neither to slow down.
Occasionally, they would hear the howling of their pursuers behind them, making them run even faster, like bunnies being chased.
Reverie who finally collected herself again, took it upon herself to check the surroundings for even the slightest movements. She knew if she missed even one small thing, they would be done for. It was also the only thing she could do right now, while Gilbert carried her.
The woods kept getting darker as the sun started to set. It was only early in the afternoon but the sun set early here in winter. The snow crunched with each step they took and gave the whole situation a rather chilly atmosphere. The wind was cold and biting and the groups lungs burned in pain from it. Michael had tears in his eyes from the freezing pain his lungs emitted. But the wind stayed merciless and froze his tears on the spot. Now that the sun started to set the temperatures rapidly dropped as well. It wasn't warm during the day but it was bearable ,while it was almost a siberian cold at night in russia.
Many trees passed by them ,so many that they weren't even sure if they ran in the correct direction anymore.
Gilbert mumbled a navigation spell while gasping for air and clung even tighter to Ren, who was about to slip off his back from the motion.
About ten minutes passed and the sun had fully set by then. The group now ran under the covers of the night and had a hard time seeing even a meter ahead of them. It didn't take long till Michael tripped over a tree root and sent himself flying. Gil stopped in his tracks, to help the boy up and catch his breath for a moment. Michael panted and heavily gasped for air while he clung to the tree that stood next to him.
"...so..*pant* ..thirsty.. *pant..."
Michael now started mumbling something inaudible in front of him and for a moment Reverie was afraid he would summon a demon or something.
Gilbert slowly dropped Ren off to the ground to look into his purse. After a minute he pulled out a bottle of water and gave it to the small boy who was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Michael hastily grabbed the bottle and chugged the water down his throat. It was cold and gave an unpleasant feeling but it was what he needed at that moment regardless.
Gilbert grabbed another bottle and offered it to Ren who was scanning the area for any wullf activity. It would be disadvantageous if they ended up being attacked here in the open.
The girl waved her hand in an attempt to refuse but Gilbert dropped the bottle in her hand anyways.
"You might not feel thirsty but I have no idea when we can get the next opportunity, so drink! It also helps your body reproduce blood cells faster"
He was right and she knew that so she opened the bottle and took a big sip, then gave it back to Gilbert.
"you should drink too or else you'll collapse before Michael"
"Hey! I'm not gonna collapse!" the boy shouted back.
"shhhh! Do you plan to lure the dogs to us?!" ,Ren gave as a retort in a whisper.
Gilbert drank half of the bottle in that moment and packed it back away after. He picked up Ren again and the three of them continued on their way.
The howling behind them grew louder and more frequent with each passing minute , leading them to believe that the wullfs would catch up soon.
Reverie kept a close eye on the surroundings still while Gil and Michael ran for their lifes.
After they passed an endless amount of trees they could finally make out the cliffs ahead.
They were almost there. Michael's face started to light up with relief at the sight but that didn't last long. The moment they stepped foot on the edge of the cliff they saw that the bridge was torn in two. There was no way over it.
Reverie got down from Gilbert's back and turned to the forest from where they just came. She could make out shadows approaching in the dark. They were here and it was a whole lot of them.
While Ren kept her eyes fixed on the incoming pack, Gilbert and Michael looked down the cliff.
"pretty deep..."
"can't you like make a bridge of ice or something ?!", the younger boy questioned the older.
"impossible, the distance is just too massive"
The wullfs came closer and closer and now stood at the front of the last trees that made out the forest. Their bloody red eyes stared at the group menacingly.
Reverie took a couple steps back till she stood between the boys. She grabbed their hands and spoke in a resolute tone.
"Gil, remember when I mentioned plan B? yeah seems like worst came to worst."
"yeah, I also remember you didn't want to tell me what plan B contained"
"Haha...ye for a reason. Do you trust me?"
The blonde haired man turned to her and nodded. That was all she needed and she jumped from the cliff while pulling the two boys with her.
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Loud screaming could be made out from them while they fell down the cliff.
They fell so rapidly, not even Formula one engines could compare. Only darkness embraced them and the assured death that awaited them down there.
Reverie didn't lose her composure though. She started talking to the air, as if someone would be listening.
"Now is a good time to open a portal Mr. bunny!"
Nothing.
"I said, NOWWWWWWWWW!" ,she screamed her lungs out and closed her eyes shut hard. And then ,a few metres under them , a portal opened and they fell through into a mountain of pillows.
They landed softly and no-one seems to have died today. Ren was the first to pull herself up.
-we did it...we are alive...I almost killed these two...that was really last minute.
Her face seemed to have aged quite a bit from the stress. Michael was the next to pop out of the pillow mountain.
"wow! that was soooo cool! Can we do that again big sis?!"
The boys eyes sparkled as if he just had the time of his life. Ren on the other hand looked totally done with everything.
-this boy....is he okay??! What's wrong with him?! Well as long as he's healthy it should be fine...right?
In that moment Gilbert made his way up from the pillow pile and he looked like his soul had just left his body. He was pale all over and his face significantly aged from shock.
"I thought I was done for...." , he mumbled while taking in the surrounding area.
"Where....are we?"
-to be continued-