Chapter 3

Ryan was rudely woken by the sound of boulders pounding the side of the mountain. Still in the same position she was when she had drifted asleep, she looked around for an explanation to the sudden noise. Looking around, she saw that she was in a small cave. She sat for a minute, trying to collect everything that had happened last night. As Ryan had a frightened look on her face, she cautiously stood up, trying to figure out exactly where she was. While slowly walking towards the entrance to the cave, she heard something bolt across the entrance.

Staring at the, rather large, wolf now standing but three feet from her, Ryan slowly backed into the corner she had been in just a moment before. As she sat back down, a giant black figure appeared in the entrance. Ryan looked at its face and shuddered. The giant creature started smelling the air, smelling…for food.

Ryan sat, trying to keep still for fear that the monster might notice her presence. Her whole body started shaking from the cold air coming in through the cave entrance. She tried to stop herself, but it was too late. The demon noticed her presence and was walking towards her. Trying to back up, she felt a stick by her right hand. Standing up, she grabbed it and held it in front of her. He was coming closer and closer to Ryan until he was standing but a foot from her. She could feel his breath on her face, but she didn't flinch.

As he was reaching out to grab her, Ryan saw a blue flash and the demon on the ground. Standing right behind it was a huge blue tiger with purple stripes. It had brilliant icy-blue eyes and had two feathers below each of its ears. The tiger stood there, staring up at her. A mist seemed to swell around the two as the cave grew steadily darker every second. As the mist drifted over the tiger, it seemed to disappear for a moment. Then, it reappeared a foot in front of Ryan.

Her heart was beating faster and faster as the tiger continued to stare up at her. Ryan looked into its eyes as it bowed its head and backed away. She looked at it questioningly as the mist cleared and the room became lighter. While she was staring at the tiger, she blinked, then, it was gone. Ryan sat back in her corner and thought, thought about what had happened in the last two days.

Then she started thinking that she may not make it home alive. How she may never see Danny or her dad again. What had her life come to… how could it have come to this? Why did everything seem to go wrong…

She was walking down a, now deserted, hallway that seemed to go into nothingness. Walking faster and faster, she tripped over something on the ground. Sitting behind her was the thing she feared most: the black demon. He grabbed her by the throat and held her face level to his. She couldn't breath. The demon held tighter to her neck.

Almost ready to give up, Ryan heard Danny's voice, "Don't give up. You can make it through this." He said. She kicked her foot hard into his stomach. He released her at once and she fell to the floor, gasping for breath. As Ryan was trying to get up, the demon let out a loud yell and grabbed her foot. While she was dangling by her foot, she grabbed his leg, brought herself to it, and bit it as hard as she could. Instead of making the mistake of letting her go, he held her higher into the air so she couldn't reach anything but his arm. She tried to use this to her advantage, but he seemed to have outwitted her this time.

Ryan looked around for something to grab onto. She saw an archway coming up that would be right above her feet. Right before the demon walked under it, Ryan flung herself up and…

She jolted awake as if an electric shock had run through her. Ryan's eyes were blurred, but she could feel warmth around her body. Her head felt cold and her teeth were chattering. She couldn't see what was happening. Ryan felt like she was moving fast. She could feel the wind in her hair and on her face. Someone… or something's arms were around her. Whatever it was, she felt safe.

Now they were falling, the wind coming from below. She could hear the wind rushing past her ears, so she could barely hear what was going on. Suddenly, as if all that was good was returned to the world, she could see Danny and her dad standing in the clearing of trees. She had stopped falling and was standing on the ground. Something was still holding onto her though. She still didn't know what it was, but she really didn't care. All that mattered was that they were there. That's the only thing in the world that mattered.

When she tried to go to them, something held her back. She turned around to see what it was. To her horror, it was the same black demon that nearly killed her before. Now she was in his grasp. She looked into his eyes and couldn't move. His gaze was paralyzing her. She tried to look away, but her eyes were just drawn into his. There was something about them that were so familiar that she didn't want to look away.

As she stared into it's eyes, the only thing she knew was that it wouldn't hurt her. Ryan didn't know why, but it wanted to protect her. That didn't seem like it's intentions before, but now… it seemed… different. She didn't know if it was a dream or if it was real, but she didn't care.

The sky was darkening, the moon peeking over the top of the mountain. Danny and Ryan's dad were still standing in the clearing. She could see them and they were safe. 'At least they are safe…' Ryan thought. After all of the things that had happened over the last few days, she knew she would never be the same. She would be more grateful for all the little things she has and not take things for granted.

There they were, so close to her yet they didn't see her. 'Why won't the demon let me run to them?' she thought, ' Surely they are worried about me. Why won't he let me go?' Ryan tried to pull free again but he only held tighter. The world seemed to be spinning fast again as she was lifted into the air. As they were flying, she felt drops of water, fall onto her head. It was raining… again. It seemed to rain a lot here.

They landed under a huge tree for shelter. The demon was tired from flying for so long in the rain. "We'll stay under here until it stops raining. Don't go wondering off." He said. His voice wasn't as harsh as she'd expected. It was actually quite sweet. Ryan found a soft spot of grass to sit on. Leaning against the tree, she started to think about what she saw back at the clearing.

'Why didn't he let me go to them.' She rolled that thought over and over in her mind. The only reason she could come up with was that he didn't want her to be happy. But why? She had never done anything to hurt him. Ryan was so lost in thought that she didn't even realize that the rain had stopped. The last thing she saw…was pitch black.