Chapter 15: The Farmhouse Raid (Part 3)

Mordecai and Imala rushed and ran as far away as they could, finally taking shelter behind a rock. The skinwalkers were on the prowl though, sniffing and hissing the area to find them.

The pair were silent, tense with fear, until Imala whispered, "W-why are those things attacking us?"

"Don't know." Mordecai peeked out from behind the rock, observing the creatures. "They don't usually wander this far out here…"

"Then what are they doing so far away from their territory?" 

"They must be looking for something." Mordecai stood up slowly.

"But what could it-"

"Imala, look out!" Mordecai cut her off, warning her of the skinwalker who had spotted them.

Imala snapped her head towards the danger and screamed. Mordecai threw a clump of sand into the creature's eyes, tightly grabbed Imala's hand and both ran as the creature howled and hissed, alerting his comrades to the location of their targets.

"Crap!" Imala cursed as she struggled to stay on her feet.

A group of skinwalkers lunged at them from the front out of the shadows.

The pair jumped backward, narrowly avoiding having their ankles nipped at by more skinwalkers from behind.

"Oh no…" Imala looked around furiously. There were skinwalkers surrounding them at all angles, hissing and growling. Their red eyes shone under the pale moonlight, pronouncing their bloodthirst.

"We're trapped," Mordecai growled.

The creatures leaped at them in unison, until…

WHOOSH!

A massive wind kicked up, knocking the creatures out of the air. They fell onto their backs. 

"What…?" Imala's eyes widened.

A few masked and lanky figures floated down from the sky, glaring at the dazed skinwalkers.

"Are those…the Desert Spirits?" Mordecai asked in awe.

"Grrrah! Spirits!?" A skinwalker roared furiously. "How dare you meddle!"

"And how dare you attack these people," a blacked-cloaked spirit floated forward to face the skinwalker.

"We're not afraid of you, you masked cowards!" the skinwalker proclaimed boldly. "Comrades! Kill the spirits!"

"You and what army, skinwalker?" the spirit asked. 

The creature looked back, seeing that all of his squadron had disappeared. He hissed, and fled into the darkness.

"Phew! That was close!" Imala said. "Thanks for saving us!"

"You are most welcome, Imala Moon," the spirit said. 

Imala's ears and eyes perked up. "How do you know my name?"

"We are the spirits of this desert. We take great skill in foreseeing the fates of our home." The spirit bowed. The rest did the same.

"Whoa…so you can see into the future?" Imala asked.

"Yes." The spirit turned towards the direction of the farmhouse, now a bright blazing landmark. "But Mordecai has more pressing matters to attend to."

"Gran'pa!" Mordecai ran off towards the farmhouse.