Not Today
1306 Words
NURAYA
༺ ✤ ༻
Shit!
I cuss as my hand slips from the blood stained fabric again.
Stupid tree branch.
My chest relaxes and I watch as the white cloth soaks in my blood, turning bright red.
One moment I was looking up at the trees, and the next, I was rolling in the dirt.
My stupid omega energy won't allow me to heal fast, and this is really painful.
I look around, my eyes scanning my environment. There is nothing but trees. My horse is standing beside me, munching on fresh greenery—betrayer!
Pulling myself from the ground, I hop my way to his side, patting his stomach.
"We will find somewhere to shelter soon." I press my forehead on his warm fur. "I promise."
He neighs softly, wagging his tail.
I continue to palm his smooth fur, the pain in my leg ebbing to the back of my thoughts.
Mirage was a gift from Alpha Soraya. She gave him on my fourteenth birthday when he was just a pony.
I named him Mirage because that's what he is, an illusion.
When I received a pony wrapped with a bow and a letter from the Alpha, I was elated. My family thought of it as some betrothal gift, I thought my life was about to elevate.
Little did I know that my life was actually going to plummet just a few days later.
That's why he's Mirage. The illusion that only gets clearer when you move closer.
He shifts suddenly beneath my hand, a low, anxious sound rising from his throat. His tail stills, and his ears flick back.
I pull away, frowning.
His usual calm is now replaced with restlessness.
"Mirage?" I whisper.
He snorts and stomps his hooves, eyes darting towards the thick forest.
Somethings wrong.
Mirage isn't restless, he's afraid.
And my omega senses aren't catching up yet.
A rustle comes from behind the trees where mirages eyes are trained and I move towards it on shaky legs.
"Hello?"
He neighs furiously behind me, nudging me with his head.
"Is anybody there?" I ask again. But the woods suddenly grow still.
This isn't good.
Run!
A silent voice screams in my mind, but my legs fail me.
My knees are buckled and my legs shaky, as the strange, yet familiar stench of death invades my senses.
Mirage neighs again, stomping his hooves.
Then it came.
Right out of the trees in front of me, it jumps at me.
Huge, and hairy, with eyes clouded by madness.
I thought when they said the 'Desert Fury' it stayed in the desert, but I was f*****g wrong.
The monster lands a few feet away from me, nose smoking, and mouth dripping with venomous saliva.
Mirage neighs again, calling me, and I turn, running towards him.
As soon as I jump on his back, he charges, running in the opposite direction.
"Run!"
My voice is barely out when Mirage bolts, hooves pounding against the forest floor like thunder.
Branches whip past my face as I clutch his mane, pain exploding in my thigh with every bounce. Behind us, I hear it crashing through the trees—snarling, huffing, the ground vibrating under its monstrous weight.
I don't dare look back.
"Faster, Mirage!" I cry.
When I left my Pack, I thought I was ready to die. But that split moment when that monster jumped out from behind the trees and stood facing me, I just knew I wasn't ready.
I don't want to die. Not yet.
Not today.
Mirage grunts beneath me, pushing harder, faster—like he understands just how close death is.
The trees thin out ahead, shafts of pale light breaking through the canopy, and just as I think we're out of options, I see it.
The Bawling River.
If I can get to it, I'd be able to lose this beast. Rabids hate water.
"Keep going!" I urge mirage further.
We will be safe soon.
I'd be one of those rare lucky wolves to encounter a Rabid and live to tell the tale.
But when we arrive at the bank, Mirage jolts into a halt. His forelimbs raised, as he neighs into the sky.
"What is it?" I lean over to check myself.
The current. It's strong.
We won't be able to swim through.
I look back to check, but the Rabid isn't on our tail anymore.
"We lost it," my voice carries a tone of doubt.
There is no way we lost that beast. Except it's intentionally stalling.
Mirage snorts again, stomping a hoof.
And my eyes dart back to the dark forests. It's still. Like the calm before the storm.
And then came the storm.
The Rabid bursts through the thicket like ... Its gloomy eyes lock on me, charging with pure menace.
"Ya!" I kick Mirage back into action, and he leads me.
Heading down the river.
This time, I look back, and the Rabid isn't far behind.
I kick even harder, pushing the pains behind my thoughts.
I'm not the one leading Mirage, he's leading me, and I'm not sure where to, but I let him.
Soon enough, a structure comes into view.
A bridge carved from black stone and erected to cut right across the river. Just what I need.
Mirage doesn’t hesitate. He gallops straight for it, hooves skidding as we hit the stone floor.
Ahead of us are greeneries, life.
Below us, the river the current hungry.
And behind us, the Desert Fury lets out a bone-chilling roar, crashing forward with smoky eyes locked on us.
Mirage charges across the bridge, determined to get us to safety.
Just a few more steps.
The bridge vibrates violently as the beast steps onto it, snarling, foaming at the mouth.
“Just go!” I whisper, nails digging into Mirage’s neck. “Go, go, go!”
The end of the bridge comes into sight, and I lift myself off the saddle, urging him forward. Faster.
But sudden pain bursts in my side, sending me flying off Mirage.
For a few seconds I'm airborne, but then I crash into solid wall, before dropping to the cold ground.
Silence.
The kind that shakes you.
"Argh!" A pained groan escapes my lips, my thoughts too woozy to register what just happened.
Mirage's retreating hooves alert me, and I look towards the end of the bridge. He's running away, leaving me.
"Haha," a dry laugh cuts through my throat. "I'd leave too if I were you."
The beast's huff, advancing close to me, and I accept my fate at that point.
This is the end.
As it breaks into a charge, heading for me, a certain flying object cuts through the air between us.
Effectively stopping it.
"There!"
I turn towards the end of the bridge.
There's a mounted man, he has a spare in his hand, pointed at the monster, his other hand resting on the reins of his horse.
The Rabid grunts, displeased. But before it can do anything, more riders come from behind the first man, charging towards us.
Seeing the fear in the rabid, I fall back. Collapsing onto the cold ground and shutting my eyes. Allowing them to deal with it.
As the foreign hooves chase the Rabid back, a more familiar one approaches me.
Mirage presses his nose to my cheek, waking me from my slumber.
I manage a chuckle while I palm his head. “Good boy,” I whisper, voice hoarse. “You did well.”
"Are you Nuraya?"
My eyes shoot open, my mind doubting what I just heard.
"Are you Nuraya?"
I push myself off the ground, sitting in the hard ground and shielding my face. "And who is asking?"
He takes a while, but he answers. His voice elegant and commanding respect.
"Alpha Logan Beasthrope of the West Moon Pack."
- Writer
