Chapter Three
They both ran as fast as their legs would carry them along the path that continued to grow in front of them. Neither dared to look back but they could feel the sky darken like a heavy curtain and huge drops of bright orange rain began to plop down onto the ground all around them, fizzing ominously as they hit.
Lena threw her arms up over her head in defence and ducked down as she ran while Mia tried to keep shelter under her legs. The rain burned angrily as it pummelled Lena’s arms and left behind an itchy sensation as though covering her in tiny little bugs. Lena tried hard not to cry out as she started to lose the feeling in her legs and struggled to take in air.
“I don’t like this day anymore!” she shouted to Mia, “I want to go home, back to the ordinary rain and my boring game, I changed my mind”.
“It’s too late now,” Mia shouted out in reply, “we have to keep going; we can’t let them catch us!”
They ran on and on, the path twisting and turning like a large snake slithering across the desert sand. Up ahead there was nothingness, a blinding white empty sky that turned dark and filled with orange rain as soon as they entered it. Tears began to stream down Lena’s face, mixing in with the trickles of orange that had managed to break through her arms.
“It’s going to be okay,” Mia tried to comfort her but she could hear the fear in her own voice and she wasn’t sure that it was going to be okay; it seemed as if nothing would ever be ok again.
Soon the sky around them began to turn white and the rain slowed to a drizzle, the path in front of them started to slow down too and the two of them switched their run for a jog and then turned it into a walk. Lena risked taking a look behind her, the creatures were still in the sky, twirling and writhing around each other, they were still heading towards them, but slower now and they had managed to put a fair distance between them. Lena let out a massive sigh of relief, she felt like she’d been holding her breath for a lifetime, and plonked herself down on the floor.
“What are you doing?” Mia asked, “they’re still heading this way, we’re not safe yet.”
“I… can’t… go… on…” Lena answered, taking in big gulps of air between words, “so… so… tired…”
Mia glanced anxiously over her shoulder and gasped in horror as she saw how much ground the creatures had covered in such a short time.
“Oh no… but how…?” she said worriedly, causing Lena to look back too.
“Oh… my… word…” she stammered, as the biggest of the creatures loomed above her, licking it’s lips menacingly as the others crowded round behind it sneering at her. The big one let out an almighty roar and Lena could see right to the back of its huge, cavernous mouth, feel its hot foul breath enveloping her and smell the stench of rotting meat emanating from within.
“This can’t be the end” Lena said, clutching Mia tightly, her fingers wound around her tufty fur, “I still haven’t found out who ‘A’ is in Pretty Little Liars”.
“Unbelievable” Mia shook her head in amazement, the monster’s roar was still going strong, any minute now it was going to clamp down its massive jaws around them and finish them off in one big gulp. Lena swallowed hard and cuddled Mia closer, bracing herself.
“Quick, down here!” shouted a small, squeaky voice from somewhere behind them.