Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July! Enjoy the update.


Chapter VII

Cara didn't remember the last time she had felt such intense pain. Before she even opened her eyes, an excruciating wave washed over her, causing her breath to hitch and her eyes to moisten. She opened her mouth, desperate for clean air and received a small amount of dirt and dust instead. She fought the urge to cough and struggled to open her eyes. There was a layer of debris over her and she had wipe at her eyes before she could actually see but when she did, she recalled what had put her in this situation. Cara lay on the solid ground of a deep cave gazing up at the spot she had thrown herself- and the now dead Brandon. His form lay broken beside her and Cara's first thought was that that could have just as easily been her. It was a miracle she had survived a fall from that height at all, let alone the rocky way down. She turned her head, testing her range of motion and immediately regretted it. Already feeling the blood pooling at the back of her head, Cara tried hard to ignore the ever-present throbbing. She reached out and grabbed the knife that had fallen closer to her and worked to free herself before placing a hand on the ground and slowly lifting herself up. Gasping at the effort it took, Cara reached out and quickly took hold of the cave wall before she collapsed once more. She groaned as her vision faded and sharp pains shot through her abdomen. The sound echoed and Cara flinched at the noise. She leaned against the side of the cave and forced herself to take slow breaths. The task was not easily accomplished and Cara eventually grew tired of it. She eased herself off the wall and began limping towards what she assumed to be an exit until a distant roar penetrated her ears. Cara's eyes widened and she finally understood what Torren had asked her. 'How would you like to know what it feels like to be hunted?'

"Spirits be damned." Cara whispered and closed her eyes as another creature responded to the first, this one much too close. She quickly stumbled away from where Brandon's body lay and hid behind a pile of small boulders. Suddenly, a large, horned beast rounded the corner. Its eyes were white, its skin thick and leathery and Cara knew what it was. Shadrin; blind creatures of the night that hunted with supernatural hearing and kept their prey until the sun went down. Cara watched as the beast's ears perked upwards and its nose worked in full gear. It sensed another's presence. Cara knew that, especially in her condition, coming face to face with a shadrin would mean certain death. She held her breath and forced her back against the furthest corner of the cave, ignoring the constant stabbing pains. The shadrin opened it mouth to reveal dozens of razor sharp teeth and leaned down. It sniffed the ground and found the small pool of blood Cara had left behind. It knew. Cara managed to cover her ears before a loud, earth shattering roar shook the walls of the cave. The shadrin paced back and forth until suddenly, it stopped in front of Brandon's body. It pounded its chest in victory and grabbed the corpse by the neck. If he had been alive before, the meaty claws of the beast would have surely ended his miserable life. Cara found pleasure in the thought and watched the beast march away with its victim. It was only after the heavy footsteps could no longer be heard did Cara release the breath she had been holding and drop to the ground in despair. There was no way past a cave full of shadrins; no way would she be able to make it home to Ben and Aria and Kahlan. An overwhelming urge to cry came over her and she debated letting it take over. It would be so easy; so easy to simply sit there, cry and wait for the monsters to come for her, but easy had never been the way of Cara Mason. She swallowed her would-be tears and compelled herself to stand. Once again on her feet, Cara's eyes danced around for any sign of natural light. She could climb up and out from where she had come but the chances of making it up a small cliff without falling were slim. One slip up, one sound and the shadrins would be on her. Her vision spinning, Cara chose the opposite way the shadrin had taken Brandon and began stumbling her way through the maze. She recalled Kahlan telling her of the time she had narrowly escaped a shadrin and how terrifying the experience had been for her. The pain in her ribs dulled her senses and Cara soon found that her eyes her closing. She placed a hand at her side and pressed, irritating the broken bones and forcing her body to stay conscious. She didn't know how long she walked but it had to have been the whole length of the cave and still, there was no sign of light. The sun was setting quickly and soon, Cara would be left in complete darkness and at the mercy of the cave's inhabitants. She tripped and landed on her knees, a loud groan escaping her lips as her entire body screamed in protest. Fully aware of her mistake, Cara rapidly scurried to the side of the cave. There had to have been one close by and surely enough, seconds later came the heavy footsteps of Cara's new companion. The shadrin's blind eyes danced wildly as its ears twitched. Cara forced the stories she had heard about these creature's bloodlust and never-ending hunger out of her mind as it turned and faced her. It took a step forward and Cara could feel its hot, rancid breath on her face. Another step and there would be nothing she could do. It leaned forward, its nose and mouth wet with blood, and began to sniff the air surrounding the woman. Cara held her breath, unable to remember the last time she had been this terrified, and prayed to the Spirits she had spent a lifetime cursing. The shadrin huffed a rotten breath and Cara jumped, sending another cutting pain across her body. She closed her eyes and waited for what seemed like an eternity as the monster bared its teeth, the flesh of its previous victim still stuck in between them. She saw the creature lean back slightly, giving her room to exhale a slow breath, and for a moment, Cara thought she was in the clear. She was wrong. The creature bellowed and Cara, thankfully, had the foresight to dive out of the way as a large claw dented the rock she had been pressed against. She rolled away, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes from the pain, and began to run as fast as she could. The beast hollered, not two strides behind, and gave chase. Cara forgot all about being silent and cried out as her toe stubbed a rock and was sent crashing to the ground. The shadrin was on her before she could think and pinned her arms to the floor. She kicked and thrashed her head back and forth, all to no avail. Her only thought was that she preferred to die at the hands of a monster than at Brandon and Elijah's. The crushing weight of the beast rendered her lungs completely useless and sent black spots dancing across her vision. Cara opened her mouth, madly trying to draw in one last breath, and brought a knee to the beast's chest. She shoved backwards hard, trying to forget about the pain, and shimmied out from under it. The shadrin lashed out, its claw catching her thigh, ripping through flesh and grating bone. Cara let out a strangled wail but continued to crawl backwards and away from the enraged creature. She glanced behind her for a moment and by the time she finished examining her surroundings, the shadrin had pounced on top of her. She felt something pierce her skin near her bellybutton but had no time to remove whatever it was. She rolled onto her side, fighting to avoid the monster's massive horns, and took hold of the nearest rock. Grunting with effort, she slammed the object onto the creature's head over and over and over again until finally, it lay still with a whimper. Cara's breathing was erratic and broken as she used the last of her strength to crawl out from underneath the fallen creature. Her arms failed her once she was free and the last thing Cara felt was her own, warm blood collecting all around her.