She kept running, if she stopped, her life would be ended. She would die and this whole thing would be pointless. Looking back was a bad idea, but Rose did it anyway.

They were no more than a few hundred yards away. Even without looking, Rose could hear their shouts as they grew closer. Occasionally, she could even make out their speech.

"Over here!"

"I see her!"

Rose had to keep moving, but her legs were growing weary from running such a long distance. She reminded herself that they too, had been running the same distance, surely they must be tired.

Then Rose remembered they weren't carrying an infant while running through the woods. She was unable to use her arms as she held the baby wrapped in cloth.

Rose's legs were becoming heavy. If she didn't stop soon, she would collapse.

The black night made the ground seem invisible. At any moment, she could slip and fall on a surfaced root, or even a small rock. The thought of being captured was unbareable, so Rose kept going. These woods seemed endless though, and Rose wondered if she would ever escape.

Was she going in circles?

It didn't matter, they were getting closer.

Rose heard more conversation from her pursuers.

"Aim for the legs! I want her alive!" this voice was more assertive than the others. That must be the man in charge, Rose thought.

Gunshots began sounding from behind her. The bullets whizzed by and hit the surrounding trees. The bark exploded as the bullets pierced the tree's skin. Rose began to panic as one of the bullets nearly missed her. It didn't matter where they shot her. Even if she lived, the outcome would be the same. She tried wrapping herself around the child to defend him from the incoming projectiles. More and more bullets streamed by until one finally found its mark.

Rose screamed as she fell to the ground.

Rose's body would not allow her to stand. She tried again and again, but everytime ended the same. She fell down onto the moist ground of the forest floor. The pain was immense and Rose could hardly stay conscious. She looked at her left leg. Blood was pouring out of it uncontrollably. Its dark red color flowed down like an endless river.

The child was crying, he was still swadled in cloth and had fallen just a few inches away from his mother. Rose looked over her shoulder once more. She could see the flashlights. Thoughts raced into Roses' mind. Her head spun with different possible scenarios.

She could grab her son and try to hide, but what good would that do? They would find them both.

She could hide the child and allow herself to be captured. No, he would cry and give himself away. More and more options raced into her mind, but they all ended with defeat.

It was already too late though, they were here. Groups of men swarmed around her, each holding a rifle in their hand. They pointed their weapons at Rose and said nothing. Each man was dressed in a green uniform. Rose knew that uniform, and it brought a horrible chill down her spine. The masks concealed their faces, which was even more daunting. A man dressed simularly to the others stepped forward. His face was not concealed, and he wore a long green cape.

This must be the leader who ordered me to be shot, Rose concluded. His expression was dark, yet indifferent. He had black hair with a crooked nose. He also had a red scare running from the top of his left cheek down past his shirt. The man stood tall with authority and had one hand behind his back.

"Trying to escape, are we?" the man's voice was cool and malevant. Then he saw the leg of Rose, where the bullet had landed.

"Hm" he grunted "I think not." He stepped forward towards Rose, who was still sprawled upon the ground.

"Did you honestly think you could outrun us? Hide from us? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, does it? I caught my prey." the man grinned with a sense of sick satisfaction.

"Now, hand over that thing, to me." He pointed towards Rose's child, who was still crying. Rose quickly grabbed him, and held him close. She wouldn't let go, not for anything in the world.

"Such stupidity. Fine then, have it your way." the man with the cape said. He drew a small pistol from under his belt and pointed it at Roses' head.

"I'm giving you one last chance. You're human, one of us, and I don't want to kill you. Just hand him over and you can be on your way."

Rose shook her head. Holding tightly to her child.

"No? Well then, the Huntsclan shall rise once more regardless. Farewell, traitor."

The blast of fire came so quick that even Rose was startled. The trees behind the caped man burst into flames. Some of them even fell over. The armed men became confused as their attention diverted to the flames. Their eyes widened, and Rose understood why.

He was here.

"Form a circle! Weapons at the ready! Shoot anything that moves!" the man barked at his followers. They obeyed and formed a circle around their master. Rose took this opportunity to crawl away.

A large figure moved behind the trees. The armed men shot their guns at the shadow. All of them seemed to miss as the figure moved around them, staying just out of sight.

Rose crawled even further away, still clutching her child. The leader saw this and moved out of the circle to deal with her.

"I don't know how you did this, but I'm going to end it right now!"

The man pointed his gun once more at Rose, except this time he intended to fire right away. Rose closed her eyes and prepared for death. She thought about the future of her son as she heard the gunshot echo through the forest.

Rose paused with her eyes closed.

The man shot her, didn't he?

Am I dead? Should I open my eyes? Rose asked herself.

Eventually, she gave into her curiosity, and opened her eyes. To her surprise, she was very much alive. Rose looked up towards the direction of the man who just shot. Instead of finding him, she saw a giant red creature, a dragon, in between her and the enemy. The dragon stared into her eyes, his giant wings, wrapped around them both, shielding them. Before Rose could say anything, the dragon grabbed Rose and her child...their child, with his tail and flew into in the night with one swift motion. They flew further and further away until the burning forest, and the men, are no longer visible.

Rose looked at her dragon husband. It'd been a long time since Rose and Jake were young, but Rose could still remember when she rode on his back on those warm summer nights.

Now things were different. Rose was holding their child, with a bullet lodged in her leg. She'd just barely managed to avoid death. If it wasn't for Jake's unexpected arrival, their son would only have one parent, or maybe, he wouldn't be alive at all.

Rose now studied her husband in greater detail. Jake's dragon body was much larger, and stronger then when they were teenagers. His giants wings flapped in graceful sweeps through the air. On his right wing, Rose could see where the bullet meant for her had hit. Although Jake's thick hide had protected him, he was still bleeding.

Their plan failed. They'd been discovered. It was a bad idea to move their son through the forest. Jake couldn't help wonder how these men knew their plans, but it didn't matter, there more pressing things at hand.

"Are you alright?" Jake asked, knowing very well she wasn't.

Rose noticed he sounded both angry and scared at the same time. Then she reminded herself, he almost saw his wife die. If their situation had been reversed, Rose would feel the same way.

"Th-...they knew...about him...and his..." Rose was quickly loosing consciousness. Although Jake had taken the bullet for her, she had still been shot in the leg. She was beginning to suffer from blood loss. If she didn't get help soon, she would die.

Jake had to hurry.

I will try to update whenever I can! Please let me know what you think! I know it's not the best, but I'm always looking for some good feedback! Suggestions are also welcome! Thanks! :D

For those of you who follow, I appreciate it more than you know! Please bare with me as I update to improve some lines and other minor details. New chapters will likely be posted on the weekends.