Cello Suite No. 1

Cello Suite No. 1

Her legs were aching again, but not as bad when she was being chased. This was a good ache. It was the kind of ache that reminded her that she was still alive and that things would be ok. It was the kind of ache that she wanted to keep.

The sky was starting to darken which made Kahlen push herself that much harder to cover as much ground as she could. Her heart was hammering against her ribs and her lungs were on fire, but she didn't stop, not yet. She only stopped when it had gotten too dark for her to keep running without tripping over something.

In the almost complete blackness of the night, she found a decent sized tree with sturdy branches and climbed up; she was able to climb trees in the blink of an eye now, wanting to stay up high while she tried to sleep in case that creature that first chased after her found her again.

She was able to settle herself comfortably against the tree with her legs wrapped tightly around the branch she picked, holding herself steady as she lightly dozed, taking the opportunity to try to rest, clearing her mind and thinking of clear blue skies and wide open spaces.

~

The morning air was crisp and sharp as Kahlen jumped from the the tree; she had spent the last few hours waiting patiently for dawn so that she could set out once more. She took a long drink from the small creek and ate a few of the berries that she noticed appeared to grow nearly everywhere. She stretched, too, keeping her legs stretched to try and prevent more unpleasant Charley horses.

Seeing that the sun appeared to be higher than she remembered it had been a moment ago, she realized that she had spaced out for a moment and shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

Kahlen started out at a slow jog, working her body up to its performance best before pushing herself as hard as she could.

It seemed like only ten or twenty minutes had passed, but Kahlen knew it really must have been a few hours, but she began to recognized the open meadow she first found herself in, before she was chased after. Her senses pricked as she quickly surveyed her surroundings. She could hold her pace for a while longer still, but she knew that if the creature was still out there, then going out into the open would be a big mistake.

She quickly and expertly climbed up the nearest tree and looked over the meadow, straining her eyes to see as far as she could. There was a distant tree line, of that she was sure. If she started running now, she could possibly make it there by nightfall. She took a deep breath, jumping down from the tree and quickly looking across the meadow once more before starting to run as fast as she could.

As soon as she stepped within full view to anything occupying the meadow, she could swear that she hear a growl off in the distance. With her heart beating rapidly and her legs pounding against the ground she continued on, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end when she saw a black shape moving towards her from the corner of her eye.

~

“Sir, I'm getting a faint energy reading the closer to the hole we get, but we'll need a ladder or something, to get up that high to tell what it is.” Sam reported, holding the energy reading device as high above her head as she could while still being able to see it. Cameron nodded and motioned for two Marines to come forward.

The shuffled in quickly, both carrying a ladder with them. It was set up with precision and the two of them held the bottom steady as Sam climbed up the steps; the device in her hand seeming to grow louder as more energy was detected.

“Pass me up the video camera.” she took the offered camera and clutched it to her chest as she made it to the top of the ladder. She couldn't see within the hole but she knew the camera would be sufficient. She turned on the light and lifted it through the opening; her leg locked around the ladder as she twisted to get a full 360 sweep of the inside of the room.

When she felt that she had gotten all that she could, she withdrew the camera from the opening and started down the ladder, nearly falling off of the ladder in surprise when a long and hair leg emerged from the hole, followed by it's nine brothers before the body appeared. Sam jumped the last of the steps, the two Marines holding the ladder had already let go and reached for their guns – the shouts from the others alerting the rest of their teams to the fact that there was another one of them coming out of the hole.

Sam was just a hairs length away from reaching her P-90 when she felt the searing pain in her back and heard the explosions of firing weapons around her.

~

Kahlen's breath was becoming too ragged for her to keep her pace up and still be able to out run the creature. Hearing its harsh breathing and growling only intensified the coil of fear she felt in the pit of her stomach. She could feel the pounding of its feet behind her, too, and was ready to feel its body jump on top of hers but she didn't expect it to shudder to a halt and look off into the distance.

She turned to look back, not believing her that it would actually stop, and managed to trip over her own feet, falling backwards.

The creature was roughly the size of a grizzle bear, jet black hair with a long tail to match, with golden eyes, and dripping fangs; its mouth seeming to be set in a permanent snarl. Its head whipped to the side, a low growl forming in its throat and Kahlen looked, wanting to know what could possible distract the creature from its chase.

She saw a shock of blond hair and the form of a figure falling, wearing BDUs like she was. She gasped and struggled to get up. The creature didn't glance at her as he bounded towards the figure. Kahlen ran after him, pulling her knife from the confines of her pocket and tried desperately to catch the thing before it reached the prone figure of Colonel Carter.

The adrenaline pumping through Kahlen's veins allowed her legs to push themselves that much harder once more and she managed to grasp its tail at pull hard.

He yelped and turned sharply, Kahlen's knife already out and striking him in his side. He yelped and snapped at her, his fangs glistening in the wanning sun light. She fell back, kicking upwards, into his wound; he fell back for only a moment before pouncing on top of her. She grasped his neck as hard as she could, her knife driving itself along side her grip. His blood poured over her hands, burning hot.

Even with his death so very near, he continued to try and snap at her face, wanting to take her life with his. She pressed her legs against his stomach, preventing him from getting to close, but allowing her the right amount of access to him.