SWNOVELS Chapter 4 - Another world
There was a sinking feeling inside me, as I was sucked in deeper and deeper by the undercurrent. The liquid around me seemed to burn my skin, sharply biting into it like acid. Just as I was about to lose hope of ever making it out, the mercury-like substance seemed to change in opacity, slowly turning into a clear, thin liquid. Water.
I looked around, flapping my arms to keep from getting sucked back into the silver. The way back was pitch black — I’d never find my way out. Below me, the clear water appeared dark, safe for a brighter patch in the distance. I swam with all that I had — fighting to free myself from the burning feeling that engulfed me.
I made it to the bright patch, and as soon as my head broke the surface, I gasped for air. Air — praise be. I took a single moment to scan my surroundings. I wasn’t in the forest anymore. There was snow and ice around me everywhere I looked.
It was only then that I realized the burning sensation wasn’t actually burning — it was the needle-like stinging of icy water on my skin. I put both hands on the ice, and pushed it, testing its strength. I had no time to think about it though, as something brushed against my leg below the surface.
I lifted myself out of the freezing water, rolling onto the ice. I spread my arms and legs to distribute my body weight, while I lay there panting, trying to collect myself. Not for long though, as suddenly, a large silhouette flew over me.
My heart leapt to my throat and I covered my head with my arms, scanning the sky for whatever that shape might have been. Circling over me, was a creature unlike any I had ever seen before. It appeared to be some sort of reptile, but its head was elongated and it seemed to have some kind of beak. It had two sets of wings — ragged-looking webbing between long, bony skeletal structures. I didn’t have time to study it any further, as the creature suddenly took a nose dive toward me.
I rolled to my hands and knees, scrambling to get up. I slipped on the snow-covered ice plain, falling to my knees again. Crawling it is. I pushed myself forward, using my toes to get as much grip as I could, keeping my hands flat on the ice.
I slid over the plain, scanning my surroundings for somewhere to find cover. There was what appeared to be a line of trees in the distance. The beast above me let out a blood-curdling screech as it charged again. I rolled over just before it hit me, and its beak cracked into the ice where my body had been a split second earlier.
The creature yanked its head free, sending shards of ice flying everywhere. A deafening cracking sound echoed over the plain as the ice split beneath me, sending me tumbling back into the icy water. The creature’s sharp beak pierced the still-intact ice above me and I dove down further, as the freezing water stung my eyes painfully. I tried to move as little as possible, trying to go unseen while I came up with a plan.
The beast had stopped pecking the ice above me, and I needed air desperately. I slowly swam to a bright patch in the ice, tilting my face to the surface. I kept as still as possible as I let only my nose and mouth emerge above the surface, silently filling my lungs with air.
There was a faint yipping sound in the distance, and suddenly, the ice seemed to vibrate around me. The water rippled, splashing freezing water into my nose. I choked on it, and gasped for air, bopping my head out of the water in reflex.
There was another large shape charging toward me, its six feet sending a deep, vibrating thudding over the ice every time they hit it. It seemed to be some sort of enormous feline creature — white fur coating its slim body.
I ducked down again, wrecking my brain for what to do. The yipping only got louder as the beast approached me, and I noticed the beast wasn’t the one making the sound. There was something on its back.
Before I could take in the figure fully, something shot out toward me, grabbing the back of my jacket and pulling me out of the water in one swift movement. I was jerked around and ended up flat on my belly, lying on the beast’s back. I knew I might very well die in a few moments — but for a second, I was grateful.
I dug my rigid fingers into the beast’s warm, thick fur, clamping myself down as tightly as I could. Heat emanated from the creature’s back, leaking through my soaked clothes and onto my body.
The yipping sound picked up again, and I whipped my head around to look at the source. There was a male behind me, clothed in a fur-lined leather jacket and matching pants. He grabbed the back of my neck and turned me back around, pushing me back down so I was flush against the creature’s back again.
I didn’t fight it. I didn’t fully understand what had happened since I had touched that stupid puddle in the forest, but I knew every living thing I had run into so far had tried to kill me — and this male might very well be on the same mission.
The beast had crossed the ice plain in no time, and its six heavy paws made heavy thudding noises as it continued charging onto the forest floor. We didn’t slow down until we reached a camp of some sort, in a clearing deep within the forest.
The creature knelt down, and the male behind me slid off its back. I got a chance to really look at him for the first time as he walked around the creature’s middle leg, pulling back his hood and the scarf he had tied around his face to cover his nose and mouth.
He was strikingly beautiful — his dark hair had been messily braided back into three plaits, a big one on top of his head, and two smaller ones above his ears. They all came together at the back of his head and continued down into a larger, gathered braid, tied with a leather strap. He had a short beard, and his eyes were a shade of gray unlike any I had ever seen before — a dark ring around a silvery center. His cheekbones were high and there was scarring along the left one, his jaw was angular —he looked almost human— but not quite.
The male reached up and grabbed the back of my jacket, pulling me off the beast’s back and down to my feet. He yipped again, and one of the tents opened up.
Two females emerged, each just as beautiful as the male. He nodded in my direction, and the females exchanged a look, before grabbing my arms and dragging me into one of the tents.