Hopefully you're enjoying this so far. I don't own Eragon etc.
Branches whipped past my face as I ran. My arms pumped by my sides and my lungs burned from the exertion. The dim light of the moon made it difficult to run quickly even with the practice and knowledge I had at doing so. Behind me I could hear the soft thuds of feet on the damp ground as the man and woman followed me. They didn't seem to be tiring at all and this concerned me. I might have to get creative to lose them else I might get tired first.
Their attacks on my mind hadn't waned and was definitely making it hard to focus on moving forward. The lances of pain accompanied by flashes of light over my vision. But still I kept on running.
More time passed and they were still behind me. Their footsteps seemed closer too, which was worrying. It seemed I would have to get creative to lose them.
Peering around I noticed I was near the Anora River. It might be just enough to lose them if they didn't expect what I was about to do.
The lead I had on them had shrunken to a few meters now, they might be able to see me now rather than just hear me. While the lead I had was small, it would be enough. It had to be. I was getting tired and had few other options. Getting caught was not one of them.
Running into another clearing I could hear the sound of running water. A dull roar underneath the panting of my gasping breaths and hiss of leaves as I ran past. I was close to the river now. Through the tree cover ahead I could see glimpses of moonlight twinkling on the water of the river.
Not pausing to second guess my plan, I ran full tilt into the water. The water was much deeper than I expected and much colder. Instead of being able to control my descent down the river I found my feet knocked out from under me and my head was pulled under the surface by the strong current.
The water was icy and moving swiftly so by the time I managed to kick my numb limbs enough to reach the surface again, I could only just make out two figures standing beside the river. They were no longer following me.
Smiling briefly in congratulations to myself, I then considered my predicament. The amount of rain from the last week must have been much greater than I had thought for the river to be this swollen. Escaping the current would take quite some time. Focused again, now that the strangers influence had faded from my mind, I began to kick my way across the water current toward the side. Not fighting the waters pull downstream, I knew getting out of the water would only be part of the battle. I would still have to walk a long way back upstream to to reach home while avoiding the outsiders.
Eventually I made it to the bank. Frantically trying to find something to hold onto, my hands brushed along the grass and a few loose tangles of branches before I felt the rough bark of a tree root. Gripping it with my cold fingers, my journey down the river halted, though water still tugged at me. Pulling myself out of the water with it, I flopped onto the ground with a gasp. Out of the water the icy chill in the air bit into me through my sodden clothes.
I needed to get warm. Shivers were running along my body, coupled with the light breeze it felt as if a thousand knives were piercing my skin. Regardless of if I was seen, I needed to make a fire. If I died from exposure it would be almost as bad as having been caught. Grabbing dry branches and some dried grass I quickly had wisps of smoke forming before it blossomed into a flame. Collecting some larger pieces of wood I then moved to sit near the gently crackling fire. Slowly, the chattering of my teeth stopped and steam rose from my clothes. Only when my shivering slowed did I have a look around at where I was.
I must be quite close to the edge of the spine, the river carried me an awfully long way. Where I was sitting gave me a vantage point out over the edge of the spine into a valley. Below I could see the twinkling of lights in a village. A bitter smile crossed my face as I looked on at it. A normal life was the one adventure from which I had been forever barred.
Collecting myself, I began to plan my journey back to where I belonged. At least I don't need to worry about the ones called Ayra and Eragon anymore. They would be hard pressed to track me over this kind of distance.
Eragon stood on the edge of the Anora River with Arya by his side. He watched as water rushed past his feet, pushing at the banks of the river. When they had finally figured out that the Vault of Souls was in the Spine, he had been happy. Glad to have a reason to return. Glad even that they only had to find one girl and convince her to help them. But weeks into the search and having her do an insane jump into a river to escape and he was less certain he should be glad. He had yet to see a familiar sight in the mountains and the girl they searched for seemed to be intent on remaining hidden from them.
Sighing, he turned back from the water and headed back into the woods towards the campsite. It seemed they would be spending even more time camping out in the wilderness away from Saphira.
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I know updates are slow on this (and other stories) but I'd rather do it right than quickly.