A Day Like Any Other III
"Krawk! Krawk! Krawk!" The sound echoing through the nearby trees.
"Danger!" Lor shouts as he quickly dashes back from the river, leaping over Gord and the boy to stand between him and the creatures approaching from the forest. Three strange gigantic, serpentine, chicken-like creatures approach from the forest. Roughly three feet in height, their bodies covered in a mixture of feathers and scales, with thick sweeping tails and long articulated necks, continuously turning and cocking their heads to look between the trio, ravenously eyeing the boy and Gord. Instead of wings, they had feathered forearms with three sharp talons for hands.
"Abominations! Shit, I should have brought my sword!" Gord shouts, throwing himself to his feet to stand in front of the unconscious boy.
Rising to his full 9-and-a-half-foot height, Lor towers over the abominations, pulling a special strap on the harness causing it to fall to the dirt and freeing Lor's movement, saying in a low growl, "Protect. Boy... Village. Now."
"But, you can't stop them alone! You'll die!" Gord shouts furiously, while franticly searching for a rock or stick he could use to defend himself.
"Hahaha!" Lor bellows heartily, "I. No. Die. Easy... Now. Go... Safe. Watch. Boy." Turning back slightly to lock eyes with Gord, before saying in a low voice, "Thank. Friend. Food." Smiling one last time, a deep roar tears from his chest as he charges toward the abominations. Tackling the leftmost one in order to create a path and distraction for Gord and the boy, Lor pummels the shocked abomination with his trunk-like fists as it is thrown to the ground and several deep cracking noises can be heard.
Noticing their partner's dire situation and the imminent threat Lor poses, the other two abominations leap into action, pouncing on Lor cutting into his back and shoulders with their sharp teeth and talons. Gripping the one latched onto his back, with both hands he tears it away, launching it into the side of another. Pounding his chest and roaring at them, several more similar abominations walk out from the right, locking eyes with Lor.
Sensing the brief window of opportunity, Gord quickly bends to scoop up the thin boy in his arms, his sheer lack of weight nearly throwing him off balance as he struggles to make it through the opening Lor has given him. Rushing without pause, he barrels straight into the forest towards the direction of the village. Not slowing until the sounds of fighting died to a faint whisper, and then went silent. Heavily heaving, Gord sets the unconscious boy down to catch his breath, shouting, "Damnit! Fucking Abs!" Curses, regrets, and guilt, rampaging through his heart.
Smashing his fist into a tree and breaking the skin of his knuckles, Gord curses once more before picking the boy up, taking his time to situate him in a comfortable position on his back, "Don't worry Lor. I'll get him back safely... You just make it back too..." Gords voice trails off as he trudges on toward the village taking until almost sunset before the village gates enter his sight and the guards run over.
"Gord?! What the hell happened?! Who's the kid and where's Lor?!" One of the guards shouts as he rushes forward to steady Gord who was extremely exhausted and appeared on the verge of collapse.
"Don't know... Found him by the river, half dead... Got ambushed by abs, Lor stayed behind to hold them off so we could escape." Pausing in-between to sip from an offered water skin.
"Shit, Gord! Didn't you know about the abs near the river?!" The guard shouted, taking the boy off Gord's back and lying him on the hardened dirt path inside the village.
"What'd you expect me to do?! Leave the kid to die alone in the forest!" Gord shouts at the guard, regaining some vitality after catching his breath.
"No, bu-" The guard begins to explain, but out from the crowd drawn by the shouting an elderly woman steps out.
"Gord, Honey? What happened? Are you okay? I heard shouting?" His wife calls out making her way through the crowd to her husband, pausing upon seeing the boy.
"I'm no worse for wear Julia, but quickly go back home and prepare my concoctions, he's barely hanging on." Gord instructs Julia as he bends back down to lift the boy once more. Julia quickly rushes back to their house.
"I'm no worse for wear Julia, but quickly go back home and prepare my concoctions, he's barely hanging on." Gord instructs Julia as he bends back down to lift the boy once more. Julia quickly rushes back to their house.
"Hold on Gord, you know the rules. Gotta get the chief's permission before taking anyone new into the village." The guard says, moving forward to stop him, it's then that the boy begins to seize, and his body violently convulses.
"Shit!" Gord curses as he holds the boy down and turns him to the side as he begins to vomit.
After several painstakingly long minutes, the boy's convulsions slow, before finally halting. "Tell the chief I'll claim the boy, just help me carry him or get out of my damn way, Menor!" Gord yells at the guard, Menor, as he goes in to lift the boy once more. Menor stands aside, the internal conflict of doing so hanging from his face.
Eventually Menor sighs and says, "Alright everyone, show's over, back to your homes. Enjoy what's left of your midweek." Ushering everyone away as Gord gently lifts the boy and carries him to his hut.