After slipping through the rusted iron gate, Azad and Ellie stumbled into the dark, overgrown forest that surrounded the prison. The moonlight barely filtered through the dense canopy, casting long shadows on the forest floor. Every rustle of leaves or crack of a branch sent a shiver down Azad's spine.
Ellie still catching her breath, turned to Azad, her voice low but urgent. "Dawn's an hour away. We just have to survive until then," she whispered, eyes still scanning the darkness ahead. "But we can't stay here. The guards will be coming out soon, and once they realize we're gone, they'll search the forest."
Azad nodded, understanding the gravity of their situation. The prison was behind them, but that didn't mean they were safe. The forest was crawling with mobs—hostile creatures that sneaked in the shadows, drawn by the scent of anything living. Even if the guards didn't catch them, the mobs would.
"We need to keep moving," Ellie continued, her eyes darting around. "If we stay in one place too long, we're sitting ducks for both the mobs and the guards."
Azad tightened his grip on the small dagger he'd managed to keep, his mind racing. "Which way? We can't just run blindly."
Ellie pointed ahead, toward the heart of the forest. "There's a river about two miles from here. If we can reach it, we can follow it downstream to the forest's edge. It'll make it harder for them to track us."
Azad's heart pounded as the sounds of distant howls echoed through the trees, and he could feel the weight of the night closing in around them. The darkness seemed alive, full of lurking threats just out of sight. But there was no time to think—no time to hesitate.
"Let's go," Ellie urged, already moving quietly but swiftly, her feet barely making a sound as she led the way deeper into the forest.
They moved silently, the cold night air biting their skin as they crept through the undergrowth. The branches and bushes snagged at their clothes, and the forest floor was uneven, littered with rocks and fallen logs that made the terrain treacherous. The wind carried the distant groans and growls of mobs, reminding them that the danger wasn't just behind them—it was everywhere.
Azad's nerves were on edge as they moved. Every flicker of movement in the corner of his eye made him grip his dagger tighter, and every unfamiliar sound made his heart race.
Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes ahead stopped them in their tracks. Azad froze, his breath catching in his throat. Ellie raised a hand, signaling for him to stay silent.
From the darkness emerged the glowing eyes of a mob, a spider-like creature with long, thin legs that skittered toward them. Its fangs gleamed in the moonlight as it hissed, inching closer.
"Azad, move!" Ellie whispered fiercely, pulling him by the arm as they darted to the side, slipping between two large trees. The creature lunged, but missed them by inches, its legs thrashing wildly as it crashed into the underbrush.
As they pushed further into the dense, foreboding forest, the eerie sounds of the night grew louder, and the air seemed to thicken with danger. Every step felt heavier as they moved swiftly but cautiously, dodging obstacles and staying alert for the mobs that lurked in the shadows.
The first threat came swiftly—a pack of wolves with glowing red eyes emerged from the darkness, their low growls vibrating through the ground. Azad barely had time to react before Ellie grabbed his arm and yanked him behind a fallen tree. The wolves snapped and snarled just feet away, their fangs gleaming in the pale moonlight. Holding their breath, they crouched behind the cover, hoping the creatures would pass. After a tense moment, the wolves darted away, their growls fading into the distance.
"We can't stop," Ellie whispered, her voice strained. "They're hunting."
Azad nodded, his grip tightening on the dagger as they continued their trek through the thick undergrowth, the ground beneath their feet damp and uneven. But the forest wasn't going to let them escape that easily.
A distant, whistling sound cut through the air.
"Get down!" Ellie shouted, throwing herself to the ground as Azad instinctively dropped low. An arrow whizzed past Azad's head, so close he could feel the sharp wind of its flight brush his cheek. His heart pounded in his chest as he realized the arrow had been aimed directly at him—toward his eyes. He glanced back to see a skeleton archer lurking between the trees, its bony fingers nocking another arrow, readying for a second shot.
Before it could fire, Ellie sprang into action. She flung a nearby stone at the archer precisely, striking its skull with a sharp crack. The skeleton stumbled, its aim thrown off, and its next arrow veered wide, embedding itself harmlessly into a tree trunk. "Move!" Ellie urged, not waiting to see if the archer would recover. They bolted again, weaving between trees, their breath heavy with panic.
But the forest wasn't done with them yet.
As they rounded a bend, an ominous hissing sound filled the air. Azad's eyes widened in recognition. "Creeper!" he yelled, diving to the side with Ellie just as a green, crackling figure emerged from behind a large boulder. The creature's hissing grew louder, the telltale sign of an imminent explosion. A massive blast of dirt and debris erupts into the air. The force of the explosion sent them tumbling across the forest floor, their body rolling to a stop against a tree trunk.
"Ellie!" Azad shouted, scrambling to his feet and rushing to her side. His ears were ringing from the blast, and the ground where the creeper had been was now a smoking crater. Ellie groaned, her body bruised but miraculously still intact.
"I'm… fine," she panted, wincing as she stood up. "But we need to keep going. They'll be on us any second."
Without wasting another moment, they continued their desperate dash through the forest, dodging mobs and traps, their every move a fight for survival. Arrows zipped past them, spiders dropped from the trees, and the shadows seemed to reach out, trying to pull them into the darkness.
Yet somehow, through sheer determination and luck, they managed to avoid every threat. As the first hints of dawn began to streak the horizon, a faint light pierced the oppressive darkness of the forest. The pale glow gave Azad and Ellie renewed hope, their legs aching, their breaths shallow as they pushed forward. They had spent the last hour dodging death at every turn—arrows, explosions, and the unrelenting pursuit of creatures from the shadows. Now, the mobs were retreating, their aggression fading with the approaching sunlight.
They stumbled through the final stretch of trees, their bodies on the brink of exhaustion when the forest suddenly opened to reveal a winding river. Its waters glistened in the soft morning light, symbolizing salvation after the harrowing night. They had made it.
Azad collapsed to his knees at the riverbank, chest heaving as he gulped in the cool air. "We… we survived," he gasped, hardly believing himself. They had evaded the guards, escaped the dungeon, and outlasted the horrors of the night.
"Sheer luck," Ellie muttered, her hands resting on her knees as she caught her breath. She glanced at the sky, watching as the sun slowly rose, its warm rays pushing away the final remnants of darkness.