Judgment

The two horses had made a few lengths into the woods when the voice of Yumeto called over the crowd. "There! I see him! That's the wolf!"

Renat hoped that the scientist was confused and was pointing to someone else. He kept his pace, trying not to act as spooked as he felt. 'I should have hit him harder,' the scientist growled.

"Don't you run, Renat! It's a fool's errand!" Yumeto pointed wildly in the direction of the woods. "He's over there you idiots. And if Dania isn't with him, he knows where she is. After him!"

The abominations began to rally. Many tried to wrangle and mount the loose horses, each with a varying degree of success.

Sensing the change in the flow of movement, Renat finally hazarded a glance over his shoulder before the camp disappeared behind the trees.

"Uh, Guardian..." the brown wolf quickened his pace.

Alaron had sensed it too. Hiding was no longer the best option. He sat up and threw back the sides of his cloak as Renat tossed him the lead. Then, taking the reins, Alaron encouraged the black stallion into a gallop.

"You could have told me about your plan with the cloak," Dania said when she could finally breathe the fresh air again. She turned to glare at Alaron, but was met with only a black void where the man's face should be.

"Would you have gone along with it?" Alaron asked as he pressed his heels against the stallion's flank.

Dania remembered how the man had been pressed up on top of her to cover them both. Even now, her back was resting up against him. Her ears burned. "Maybe if you had told me the cloak is magical," she answered quietly, but the Guardian heard.

Alaron felt a bit of compassion for her. He had acted rather suddenly. In truth the Guardian had been hoping to avoid an argument and instead had caused one.

"Next time I make a move that you will think is insane, I will be sure to tell you anyway." Alaron looked forward and his eyes narrowed. "On that note, I feel I should let you now that something crazy is about to happen. Hold on tight!"

"To what?" Dania gasped as she took hold of the saddle.

"Guardian!" Renat pulled his horse to one side, and turned westward.

"I see them!" Alaron breathed as his horse took a flying leap in the air over an ancient fallen tree.

Even holding on, Dania lost her seat and fell to one side. The ground came racing toward her and she gasped. Feeling the woman's balance shift, Alaron pressed the reins into a single hand and wrapped his free arm around Dania's waist.

"And where do you think you are going?" He tried to sound casual, but there was a clear worry in his voice.

As the brunette righted herself, she saw why. All around them, fallen trees were ready to be chopped down to size and transported to the camp both for building and firewood.

Seeing the mighty oaks as old as time itself laid to waste on the ground brought the woman a pang of grief. But her sorrow was short lived, quickly turning to concern.

Among the trees, a few dozen abominations were taking a break from their work, eating something that made Dania recoil in disgust. They took notice of the two horses and called out to them.

"You there! What are you doing?!" A wolf with racing stripes down his back wiped the red from his mouth on his arm as he stood. "What is the meaning of this?!"

As the two horses and three riders veered away from him, the wolf sneered.

"Whoever you are, you ain't getting away that easy. Get 'em, boys!"

The rest of the creatures quickly rose from their meal. The thought of a proper chase filled them with predatory lust. They tore after the two horses with inhuman speed. Unlike the steeds, the burden-less abominations were easily able to bound past the logs and debris. They quickly gained ground on the fleeing fugitives.

Leaving the lumberyard behind, Alaron forced the stallion into high brush. The untamed grass went above their heads even on the horses, shielding them from view for a time.

The Guardian pulled up to a stop. Through the stalks, he could barely make out the brown wolf behind them. And beyond that was even more rustling.

"This blasted stuff itches!" Someone screamed. "And I can't see anything!"

"I ain't going in there. Let's surround them and head them off!"

The rustling receded, leaving the trio in peace…at least for a moment.

Renat sidled up by the other two. He scratched his arms. "Did you have to pick itchweed to hide?" He grumbled.

'Itchweed?' Dania wasn't itchy. She realized that her saddle-mate had once again wrapped his cloak around her body. While she had assumed it was to hide her scent, it was also protecting her arms and legs from the poisonous plants around them.

"It worked, didn't it?" Alaron answered tersely. "But we need another plan. The longer we give them to form a line, the less chance we have of breaking through it. Any ideas?"

"We may as well leave the horses. They were only an advantage when we thought we could outrun them. Now they will just trample the ground and lead the enemy right to us." Renat glanced back at the itchweed behind them. The two paths which the horses had taken were visible by the bent and broken stalks in their wake.

"Agreed. But if we send the horses out without us, they will see they are riderless and we will be even more trapped than before." Alaron gritted his teeth.

They were wasting time and he wasn't sure if any of the abominations were close enough to hear them...or worse. Had the creatures been clever enough to trick them? Perhaps they were planning to ambush them!

The thought was barely in Alaron's head when a whisper behind him drew his attention. From the weeds a lizard leapt forward with a hiss. Her teeth were bared and her talons slashing the itchweed as she flew toward the tenebrous stallion.

"Watch out!" Renat's warning sounded the same time the monster clashed with the Guardian's horse. The black creature reared back, threatening to buck both Alaron and Dania from its back.

Fortunately all the horse did was wrest the lizard's claws from his rear before taking off as fast as he could. Reacting almost instantly, Renat was beside them in barely a moment.

The pair burst forth from the thicket in barely a moment, but four abominations were already waiting for them. They seemed eager to attack, but not as eager as the horses were to flee.

The steeds both aimed for the smallest of the four, trampling the monster without a second thought as they ran. The others lunged too late, landing on the first unfortunate soul in a heap.

It was enough for the horses to get a commanding lead. A lead which was sure to be short lived.

"I think you are rubbing off on me…" Dania said to the man behind her.

"I'm trying to give you your space!" Alaron insisted, frustrated that she would bring this up now while he was trying to think.

"No, I mean I have a crazy idea!" Dania glanced up at him. Her eyes were swirling with emotion.

"Care to tell me what it is?" The Guardian tried not to sound impatient, but every second drew them closer to disaster.

Renat weaved through the dense trees beside them, only catching snippets of their hushed conversation as he drew near.

"What's the plan?" He asked at last.

"On my mark," Dania said, pulling her legs up in the saddle.

"Get ready!" Alaron ordered them.

"To what?" The brown wolf cocked his ears to one side. The other two did not seem to hear him. "What are we about to do?"

"Jump!" Dania smiled apologetically.

"Jump? Jump where?" Renat looked around for some place for the horses to leap over but came up empty. There were no ravines to fall into and the closest river was some distance to the west.

In unison, the pair on the back stallion pointed. "Up!"

The horses thundered forward. Jumping from the back of them at this speed would easily get one a broken neck. "You want to leap off the horses? Are you crazy?"

"She is," Alaron answered without hesitation, "but it's our best chance." He looked down at the female scientist and placed his hand around her waist. "Ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Dania nodded. "Three…two…one…" The brunette marked time using the trees as they passed. "Go!"

In unison, the brown wolf and Guardian used all their superhuman strength to thrust themselves from the saddles. With his arms firmly around Dania, Alaron pulled the brunette along in his powerful arc. It all looked like things would work out smoothly.

If only Renat hadn't misjudged the landing....