Young Writers Society

Her horse jerked into a gallop and she galloped after the running humans, slowing as she neared James and offering him her hand. "Get on the horse, we're too far behind to outrun them on foot," she said, glancing back towards the troop of rampaging monsters. "Did I mention they'll eat us? Because they will."

James only hesitated for a brief second before taking her hand and letting himself be pulled up. He put an arm around her waist, looking back at the fast-approaching baboons with a worried glance.

Meanwhile, Amy was booking it, dashing beside Ari as she ran at full speed. Her tongue started to flop out of her mouth as she panted, but the adrenaline was waking her up - and she was glad Ari was able to keep up as he sprinted with his long legs.

Tasha handed James her gun. "If any of them get close enough to pounce, you shoot it. Go through the head if you can and if that's too small a target go for the heart and the lungs. If any of us gets bit it'll be hellish." She spoke quickly but without panic in her voice; she's fought enough monsters before not to be worked up about it now.

Ari glanced behind them and picked up the speed, his cougar bounding ahead.

"So it sounds like," James replied in a breathy whisper, watching the baboons as they started to get close. He held onto Tasha and pressed his legs on either side of the saddle to keep his aim steady as one of the creatures came into view with its eyes flashing its mouth wipe open. As it leaped forward towards the horse's haunches he sent a shot through one of its eyes. With a thud it fell to the ground, only to be replaced by another one running up behind it with a loud squeal. He cursed under his breath and took another shot with his heart racing.

He shot it between its nose and eyes, and it went spasming to the forest floor. His heart was racing, but his hands were steady. He couldn't afford to make a bad shot.

She looked back as she heard the thud, eye widening a little. Damn. The man really could shoot, and not half-bad, either: in the dark, on horseback, in the midst of combat, and he'd nailed it right between the eyes.

The baboons began to run between them, cutting Ari and Amy off from Tasha and James in order to separate their quarry and make them easier targets. She should've anticipated that. Inwardly she cursed herself for her lack of foresight but it was too late now.

She veered away, turning towards their pursuers and dashing back through them to confuse, slow, and hopefully lose the group. If they had to deal with a troop of baboons in two separate groups they may as well have only have half the troop to deal with each.

The baboons themselves were taken aback by such bold and unanticipated action on the part of their prey and her horse danced between them with the agility of a deer and the speed of long practice. This had become second nature to them after so long. Still, the monsters targeted the riders, forcing her to leave it to James to keep either of them from being dislodged.

James felt his stomach drop as he saw Amy and Ari disappear into the darkness of the forest and get separated, but there was nothing he could do. He had a limited number of bullets and his attention had to be spent keeping them off their back and their mount, otherwise they had no chances of making it out alive. With a stress-driven focus he shot at another, and another, hitting them each time somewhere in their big, furry skulls.

A baboon seemed to manifest beside them, leaping up at their feet. Its bubbling saliva flicked off its teeth onto his boot, and he could already feel it sizzling down into his sock. With a spiteful curse he shot it down, sending a bullet into its mouth and through the back of its skull.

The baboons were strong and fast but even they couldn't keep up with a horse that was born to and lived to move. The sounds of the troop eventually faded into the woodland behind them as her steed twisted through the trees and over obstacles with the long-legged grace she'd been bred for.

Tasha slowed Nightmare, breathing hard and glancing back towards James. "You alright?"

James nodded stiffly. All he could think about was Ari and Amy. If Tasha wasn't there, he knew they would all be dead - him especially - but he couldn't help but worry.

"Fine," he said quickly, his breath still ragged.

A part of her wanted to say exactly what was going through her head - an "are you happy for me now?" But even someone as socially inept as herself knew it wasn't the time. Amy and Ari, who seemed to be close to James, were both still out there with baboons on them.

"Between her healing powers and his sheer bulk, I'm sure they'll be fine. The baboons may have even given up since losing us and having you shoot so many down," Tasha said instead. "They don't want to lose too many lives trying to get prey that's simply more difficult than they can handle."

James didn't look at her. He stared out into the forest behind them.

"I hope you're right," he said quietly, letting go of her since they'd reached a full stop.

"I've killed enough of them to know," she answered. "How many did you shoot? Three? That's plenty for them to call it."

James shot her a sharp glare, but dropped it. He swung his legs over the side of the saddle and hopped down, then handed her her gun.

She stuck the pistol in her boot and swung off her horse, loosening the girth and dropping the reins before checking the beast over. Wolfsbane was nowhere to be found - probably off in the woods someplace outrunning baboons. She hoped the creature would be able to handle herself.

James glanced back at Tasha before looked down and inspected his boot. The acid had burnt a hole down through it and he could feel his toes burning - but no more than a blister might. If that was what one little flick of saliva could do, he didn't want to imagine what it was like if they bit you.

He plopped down onto the forest floor and slipped off his boot and his sock to inspect it, just to make sure it wasn't something that would get infected, or was worse than he suspected.

Tasha glanced at him. "Didn't get you badly, did it?"