Hello again. Sorry this took so long, I've been pretty busy. I'm gonna try to make my updates more regular. Any way. Here is my second story. Enjoy!
There were no stars or a moon. No noises rose from the forest. The only sound Runt could hear was the blood roaring through his ears. Even the sound of his paws striking the earth as he ran was absent.
Runt didn't remember how he had gotten to this point. All he knew was that he was here, in the middle of the forest, with something after him. And that something was gaining.
He didn't know where he was. There were no discernible landmarks, just dead trees whose bare branches seemed to lean down and reach for him. The ground beneath him was bare and cold. Wherever this was, it wasn't Jasper Park.
His sides were cramping and his legs were on fire as he sprinted through the wasted forest. He felt light headed and like his lungs were about to explode. He couldn't keep it up much longer. And, when he collapsed, that thing behind him would be on him in a second.
Have to keep moving! He told himself, What would your siblings think if they saw you here? Unfortunately, that didn't motivate him like he hoped it would.
Suddenly, his survival instinct went into overdrive. He felt a new surge of adrenalin course through him. He could feel each jarring impact as his legs struck the ground. He could feel his pursuer getting further away.
I'm gonna li-
His celebration was cut short as his paw got stuck on a root sticking up from the ground. He felt a jarring pain in it as his leg was ripped out from under him. He tumbled forward several more feet before sliding to a halt. Before he could get up, he was surrounded.
Runt couldn't make out what his pursuer was. All he could tell was that there was more than one. They flashed past his field of vision so quickly he could barely make out a shape. Another darted in front of him from the other direction. He caught movement in his peripheral vision and spun around only to be greeted with another blur.
He was surrounded by them, whatever they were. They were too quick for him to escape their circle. There was no way out.
Runt felt the reality of the situation sink in. He had expected a gloomy despair to set in with the realization. However, all he felt was a new terror coursing through him. It felt like his heart might stop at any moment.
Suddenly, one of the creatures stepped into view. Even in the dark, Runt could make out the form. It was taller than a wolf and unnervingly thin. It made its way towards closer to him, glowing yellow eyes locked on him. It began to raise one of its spindly legs. Attached to its deformed paw was a set of blade like claws.
Runt stared at them silently, unable to move. The creature thrust its raised leg forward. Acting by pure instinct, Runt raised a leg to defend himself. He felt the claws rip through his skin. Pain shot through his leg as he let out a yelp.
That was when he woke up.
He was in his family's den, sleeping on his bed. There was no dead forest and no ethereal monsters. He let out a sigh of relief.
He figured that the nightmare was just a result of his being kidnapped by a deranged wolf two days before. He and his siblings were still shaken up over the ordeal with Nick. Which had been traumatizing, even for them.
Runt was having a harder time putting the mysterious cave behind him than his siblings. He could still feel the strange liquid erupting form the cave wall and coating him. He shuddered at the thought. However, he hadn't dissolved or dropped dead yet. He was even starting to get over it.
Runt repositioned himself and relaxed again, resting his head on his foreleg. He felt a sharp pain in his leg as he touched it and shot up. In the soft light cast by the moon into the cave, Runt saw three claw marks running across his legs, oozing blood.
He swallowed hard. There was no way he was going to sleep again that night.
AN: Poor Runt, he just can't catch a break. I don't know why, but I enjoy writing about nightmares. I'm really looking forward to this story. I hope you all are too!