Wilderness Part 2

That was unnerving to think about. More so than that, was what happened to Niall? Had he come here? My eyes narrowed, for I wondered if he couldn't defeat the beast? Was that why his journal had no more words? But he must have been able to, or how else would the journal returned to old granny. I stopped trying to think logically, because, with all the magical things I've witnessed today, I'm sure that journal could've been returned by magic. Despite that, I called out for Niall.

"Niall, it's Nils. I need your help. How do I get past this ugly beast?"

I closed my eyes and waited to hear an answer, but I heard nothing. I tried to quiet the noise in my mind, the noise of the surrounding wind. Still, I heard nothing. I thought I had failed until I opened my eyes and jumped at the sight of Niall's ghost standing in front of me, smiling.

"All the answers you need are right in front of you." He said that and faded away.

I was stone. I rubbed my closed eyelids. Nothing was before me when I opened my eyes honestly. Still, I couldn't believe it that didn't happen, right?

Then it hit me. I saw a bright, blinding light shining in front of me. It looked up and saw a golden egg or something. What was that? And where had it come from? It wasn't there before. I feared approaching it, but I knew I needed to. It was like this pull on my body. I felt it held the answers to my escape. What was working in my favor was this nauseating state. Since everything had slowed down for me, it meant I wasn't experiencing things in real time as quickly as they were actually happening. It gave me more time for escape, if I was wise.

The only place I could go though was down either that or go back and face up to that beast. The egg wasn't exactly above me. It was higher, yes, but it was also in the line of sight of the beast. So, I had to be smart about it.

I stood there for a while and studied this egg, because I was just bringing up blanks in my mind. I watched the beast's movement and after what seemed like a long time. I figured out I could calculate just how long it would take for one of its extended limbs to reach me before I got to the egg and just how much time I would need to get to the egg. My heart was pounding. And the sweat was really moistening everything from my shirt to my pants. It was like imaginary rain, but no raindrops. All I would need to do now is relax into myself and bring relief to my anxiety long enough to dodge the beast. I cannot allow myself to give in to my panic again.

Now that sounded easy enough. How was I going to manage not panicking? That was easier said than done. Here I was, hiding from this monster. Hopefully, my plan worked. If my calculations are correct, then even at normal speed, it might not reach me. Those arms, longer, spread across more distance and fatally heavy. All that beast would have to do was lift one of its heavy limbs and drop it on me before I got to the egg, crushing me. Or worse, what if it wanted to eat me? What if it curled one of those sharp nails through me? It could grab me and wrap me like a snake constricting itself around its prey, slowly killing me before finally sinking those terrifying teeth into me.

I almost wanted to bargain with it, asking it to look for a more fulfilling meal since I was sure eating me wouldn't be satisfying enough, not even as a snack, but I wasn't sure my voice could travel that far. No, I slapped the side of my head inhaled. I needed to focus. There was not enough time to waste.

I needed to calm down fast. And so, I thought about my sister and the food she made in her kitchen. I thought about her hugs, but instead of comforting me, it broke my heart some more, making me cry. I tried to think about my best friends, but all I did was miss their laughter. All those great times hunting with Joel and even that made me miss my life even more. The more I cried, the more I realized just how much I loved them. My heart was overflowing with love for them. And love helped me move while not disturbing the speed of everything. But just in case it did, I reached into my bag and took out my climbing gear. It wasn't much, and it would not hold the beast long enough, but I decided it would be enough of a distraction for it to not focus on me. I could pierce a limb with a hook to secure it into the ground before the beast even realized what I was doing. Then I could get to the egg.