Another flashing shape raced in from the other side, as yet another beast came into view, bounding across the forest floor at an incredible speed. Leaping at the last instant, it extended its body as it hurtled towards the second winged steed and slammed into it.
The mass of winged steeds, riders, and their four-legged assailants tumbled in a whirlwind of desperate struggle to the ground. The first beast made quick work of one winged steed, clamping its wide jaws down upon the other’s throat, tearing it out with a powerful wrench of its muscular neck. Righting itself, jaws soaked in blood, the creature sprang at the slain steed’s rider, who had been badly injured in the fall.
Lee winced. The rider did not have a chance to defend itself, before submerging under a torrent of slashing claws and long fangs driven by powerful jaws.
Just a few feet to the right of the first melee, the rider of the second winged steed hurriedly freed itself from the saddle of its stricken mount. It raised a sword-like weapon up, and shouted out a spirited war cry. Shaking in rage, the non-human warrior charged the second of the attacking beasts, which had found the throat of the rider’s steed. The beast jerked its head free, spraying flesh and blood from the mortal wound that it had just delivered.
The heavy blade whipped down with great force, lodging deep into the back of the creature, and eliciting a terrible howl of pain. With a powerful yank, the brawny fighter quickly freed the great blade.
It was about to attempt a second blow, lifting the weapon upward when yet another of the attacking beasts enveloped the warrior from behind. The rider disappeared behind the body of its fallen steed, as the assailant’s momentum and size propelled the warrior to the ground.
Lee saw the beast open its broad jaws wide to display a horrific array of large, sharp teeth, snarling balefully right before its head plunged down out of sight. The outcries of the warrior underneath the creature were abruptly silenced.
Hearing a high-pitched whine, Lee turned his head and saw that the beast that had been wounded by the large blade was not dead. Pulling itself forward across the ground on its paws, it strove painstakingly towards a nearby tree, to get away from the unobstructed opening to the sky.
As Lee watched, an arrow streaked down through the hole in the canopy, punching through the beast’s skull and instantaneously rendering it still. Just a moment later, an anguished, rage-filled cry filled the air, coming from above the area where the arrow had just sped through.
Looking back, Lee then noticed that the other bow-equipped rider had vacated its position in the wake of its comrade’s slaying. Not hesitating a moment longer, he reached back for Erin, clutching her arm and yelling, “Come on! Now! Move it fast!”
Erin appeared to be shocked out of her stupor, putting an effort into rising up as she responded to Lee’s directive. Springing forward, the two broke out from the base of the tree. They swiftly covered the short distance over to their other two companions. Ryan and Lynn rose up from their crouches as they reached them.
“Get ready, I don’t know what’s down here with us now,” Lee said quickly. “Some kind of beast, and there’s more than one, and they are very close!”
His heart could not have beaten faster, a thundering piston in his chest as a sweat started to break out. The fearsome creatures that had slain the riders and steeds were among the nearby trees. The concern over the unknown archer that had come to their help was swiftly forgotten in the aftermath of his dizzying fear of the beasts.
They were huge, fast predators, and they were anything but solitary. Lee could not assume anything less than that they were a kind of pack hunter, able to work in concert with each other. The situation facing Lee and the others had become even more perilous, with threats both above and below.
“Did you see them?” Lee asked, casting a glance at Ryan.
Ryan nodded rapidly, almost shaking.
“Keep your eyes out, and keep your bow up!” Lee said, his eyes sweeping the forest floor, expecting at any moment to see the long-legged, tall forms of the creatures. The visions in his mind centered upon their crushingly powerful, deadly jaws.
Bows in hand, Lee and Ryan faced in opposite directions, Lynn peering out warily out from between them. Erin, wide-eyed and beyond fright, trembled as she stared out from where she was pressed against the massive tree trunk.
“Yell if you see anything, any movements at all,” Lee called out, taking a brief moment to look above him.
Fortunately, it appeared that the riders and their winged steeds were long gone. Yet their absence gave him little comfort, as the causes for it were still lurking somewhere within the shadows beneath the surrounding trees.
Lee, Ryan, Erin, and Lynn kept their places for several tense moments, not so much as moving a muscle. Sweaty hands clasped weapons, as they all anxiously awaited what Lee believed to be an inevitable, terrible fate. The sweat made his skin feel clammy, and an oppressive weight formed in the air. It felt as if the forest was encroaching in upon Lee, confining his group as the sense of threat coiled about them.
The seconds passed as if they were hours, the cries of the sky riders long since faded into the distance. The day was ebbing, and it would not be all that much longer before night fell. It was overwhelming enough even being able to see far into the woods. Lee did not want to consider what it would be like with the woods shrouded in the black of night.
Slowly, he began to take into account other elements, as his mind forced its way through the paralysis of his terror. Calling to mind the unknown being whose arrows had brought down two winged steeds, Lee kept an eye out for the archer, hoping that the individual was some kind of ally. The unknown benefactor was their only real chance at resolving their dilemma, likely being one who knew the immediate woods, and might know more about the nature of the beasts within them.
Lee knew that he and his companions were all at the mercy of sheer chance. He needed no argument to realize that they stood little to no chance against creatures that had made such short work of large winged steeds and well-armed warriors alike.
Lee spared a moment to look over to Erin. Now that she was removed from the necessity of moving positions, the fears were clearly gathering her into their consuming embrace once again. The young woman was shaking, frightened to a nearly hysterical level in the wake of the spectacle that had violently played out before all of their eyes.
“Come on,” Lee said gently, mustering steadiness into his voice. He felt compassion for her raw terror, as he was far from immune to its touch himself. “You are going to need to stay focused, and hold a weapon. Where is your dagger?”
Erin did not respond, her eyes staring off into the forest. Her eyes rotated to the left, looked down a little, and abruptly widened.
Lee felt that his heart would stop, fearing that she had just sighted one of the menacing beasts. He followed her revealing glance with trepidation, steeling himself for the sight that would be unveiled to his eyes.
His nerves relaxed slightly, and he let a breath loose as there was no beast to be found. Erin had indicated the dagger, which was lying on the ground several paces away.
Lee was not about to chance another foray out into the open. He already felt a little foolish and reckless for having taken the risk of running with Erin over to join the others. He had taken full notice of the blinding speed that the forest creatures possessed, and knew that predators were often quite attuned to sudden movements.
“Keep your bow ready, and shoot any damn thing that moves,” Lee muttered to Ryan.
Ryan shot Lee a nervous grin. His voice was strained. “Like we have another plan?”
Lee forced a smile, his nerves on the extreme edge as well. “No, I guess we don’t.”