Help (1)

Emma wrinkled her brows in confusion as she squinted through the downpour in the direction the two men were looking.

The dark shape completely filled the narrow gap of the alley exit. The shape shifted, and appeared to be moving stealthily towards them on four long legs..

For some reason, Emma felt that the shape looked oddly familiar. A split second later she realised why. It looked exactly like the large dog she had seen on the mountain, and then later in her dreams and hallucinations. But it couldn't be...

"What is that?" the man to Emma's left whispered to his companion, sounding apprehensive.

"Looks like a dog or something. A stray maybe?"

"A dog?! Look at the size of that thing!"

The shape continued moving forward and emerged into the path of light. An enormous canine stood before them, its wet black fur glistening in the faint light. Its eyes were brilliant green.

The two men on either side tensed, alert and wary, obviously viewing the creature as a threat.

Emma, on the other hand, felt a comforting warmth spread through her exhausted body, giving her new strength. She could explain how, but she simply knew without a doubt that the beast was there to rescue her. Again she was filled with hope and determination to escape.

"Oy!"

Emma jolted in surprise as the man still holding her left arm in a tight grip shouted at the dog.

"Go! Shoo! Get out of here you mangy breast!"

The 'mangy beast' responded with a savage snarl, baring a long row of sharp looking teeth threateningly.

The two men shifted nervously.

Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, Emma made her move.

Dropping and twisting her body in one fluid motion, she wrenched herself free from the men's grip. Staggering slightly to keep her balance, she surged forward, running at full tilt towards the street, straight at the creature.

The two men shouted in surprise and lunged for her. She was knocked to the ground as one of the men tackled her from behind. The two of them fell to the ground, tumbling around on the wet pavement.

The man had grabbed her around the waist as he tackled her, pinning her arms to her sides. So she couldn't use her arms to break her fall as she saw the ground rushing up towards her.

Instinctively, she turned her head sideways, to stop her nose from being smashed in. But the side of her head still smacked hard onto the pavement.

The man, who was about twice her size fell on top of her, knocking the air out of her.

A furious bark ripped through the air. Dazed from the fall, Emma still managed to half lift her head to see the creature running straight at them. It leapt into the air, in a large graceful arc, its front paws stretched in front of its body, and pushing the man who had tackled Emma off her and onto the ground.

Still dazed and disorientated from the knock to her head, Emma tried to focus her blurring vision on what was going on.

Everything was a blur of twisted shapes, black fur and streaks of rain, and it was difficult to make it out clearly. Emma closed her eyes for a second, trying to stop the world from spinning around. But she could hear the frightened yells of the men and the snarls of the creature as they fought.