The Sunset Mountain

The attack was over in seconds. The wolves had run off and left the girl for dead. Broken bones, bruised ribs and blood seeping from her left shoulder. She could feel death slowly creeping upon her. Vultures circle in the sky waiting for her to pass out so they can pick at her bones. The sun blazes in the sky, the heat burns her skin badly, scorching and melting her slowly.

The emerald dagger was in sight. Metres away. But the wolves pounced on her and left her groaning in pain on the ground. She couldn't move. Her left ankle was badly fractured, her right knee was out of place and her left shoulder dislocated. Walking is no option. She, in fact, has no options.

She watches as the vultures slowly fly lower to the ground. Her skin is now red raw with sun burn. The heat is incredible. Moving any muscle gives her excruciating pain. She closes her eyes, focuses on her breathing, and tries to imagine herself in a faraway land.

Memories of her past swim through her mind. Running away from the police, Laura, her arch nemesis, in the cabin at the bottom of the mountain and sprinting up the hill away from everyone in her life. And it's all come down to this.

Her journey started at the bottom of the mountain. Emerald dagger on the mind. The dagger that held all the power. She had to get it before Karen and Laura, her enemies. Five minutes of running up the hill she got tired and started to walk. She quickly figured out the police stopped running after her, or lost her, so started walking. The noises of the sirens had stopped, the only noises she could hear were the crickets in the bushes and birds in the trees. A few times she had to stop when snakes slithered in the path. She managed to quickly run by them. The further up the hill, the hotter it got, and she started to move slower and slower.

Deer jumped out of the trees every so often, it made the girl jump every time, she never heard them moving in the trees. She tried to look for a source of water, but couldn't find any. Her mouth was dry, her throat was sore and her skin was badly sunburnt. She wasn't even halfway up the mountain at this point.

Her legs became heavier with every step, her arms ached and her eyes were ready to close so she could sleep forever. Determination and motivation kept her going. Once she had the dagger, all the power in the world would be hers, it would be like having a genies lamp, but better. It would be like having all the wishes in the world. The police wouldn't be after her, she wouldn't have to go back to prison, and she wouldn't have to see Karen or Laura ever again. She would make them go to prison. Those very thoughts push her on quickly. But not too quickly, her legs ache quite a lot.

Halfway up the mountain, she starts to get blisters on her skin. She can't help but scratch, her skin starts to bleed. She pushes past the pain and moves on. As time moves on the sun starts to lower, the sky turns to orange with a hint of blue. A beautiful scene. The air grows cool quicker, owls hoot in the trees, more and more snakes appear on the path, she waits for them to slither on. Her body is ready to collapse at any moment due to exhaustion. She has to move quickly, or it will be dark and the wolves will be out. Wolves on the mountain were dangerous.

It was growing colder and colder by the minute. The girl wrapped her arms around her middle to try and keep warm. The end was in sight, the dagger was growing closer by the second, then the power would be all hers. Hope was near. But then everything grew silent, the girl stopped dead in her tracks, she saw them up ahead, glaring at her with their hungry eyes, the wolves edged close to her. The girl didn't dare move, any movement and the wolves would attack. She could feel it coming. And then it happened. The attack was over in seconds. The wolves had run off and left the girl for dead. Broken bones, bruised ribs and blood seeping from her left shoulder. She could feel death slowly creeping upon her. Vultures circle in the sky waiting for her to pass out, so they can pick at her bones. The sun blazes in the sky, the heat burns her skin badly, scorching and melting her slowly.

The emerald dagger was in sight. Metres away. But the wolves pounced on her and left her groaning in pain on the ground. She couldn't move. Her left ankle was badly fractured, her right knee was out of place and her left shoulder dislocated. Walking is no option. She, in fact, has no options.

She watches as the vultures slowly fly lower to the ground. Her skin is now red raw with sun burn. The heat is incredible. Moving any muscle gives her excruciating pain. She closes her eyes, focuses on her breathing and tries to imagine herself in a faraway land. But instead, she finds herself falling into a dark black abyss never to escape.