Colors of Reality Chapter 4

The pain. I could hardly bear it. The fall I had taken days ago had broken several sections of my back. I didn’t know how it was possible I was able to move my legs. As I forced myself to move forward, I could feel my belly dragging on the cold ground. Without support in my back I was unable to keep it raised for protection. As soft as my underside was, every sharp object became lodged into my skin. And the longer it dragged on the ground, the more worn and raw my skin became. My claws had become bloody and broken in my struggle to stay moving. They caught in every snagged edge of rock and loose earth. I didn’t want to move. But my newfound instinct to avoid the humans raged inside me. I had to keep moving. Though I could have been killing myself in the process, I dragged myself on for life’s sake.

My deep, heavy panting had driven away most of the creatures that roamed around these trees and attracted others. Mostly predators. Of course they would appear. I was an injured creature, a hunting opportunity. So far I had only been able to keep them away with harsh growls, which only continued to waste what little energy I desperately needed to stay on my paws.

I parted my jaws to further the intake of air causing my panting to get all the deeper. With the copper scent and taste of blood on my tongue the normally sweet air was bitter in my throat. I stopped pulling my body forward and clutched my stinging throat with a free paw. Dirt had clumped to the edges of my broken claws and it stung the injuries as I pressed my paw against my neck. As the pain worsened my energy depleted. I tried to put my paw back to the ground and force my way to move again. But the lack of balance I already had sent me to the ground. I didn’t know how far I had come, but it wasn’t far enough. It was nowhere near far enough.

Small rocks and twigs pressed into my muzzle. It was uncomfortable, but my body refused to move the smallest muscle. It had either utterly quit on me, or now it was forcing me not to move. Either way, I knew I was vulnerable. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a quadruped shadow move over the earth with swiftness and ease. I was able to make my head turn enough to see an animal that looked much like the ones the humans called “dogs”. More soon appeared. These creatures, unlike the dogs, had straight, triangular ears and they stood taller than them. When their eyes caught the moonlight I began to panic. Eyes of yellow, amber, and gold glittered all around me. I was much bigger than they, but I couldn’t move; they could trot to their heart’s content.

Only one of the many creature’s pelts could I see. It padded toward me with a coat of shining, pure white and eyes like the sun. From its eyes I could see it was taller than the others by a few inches. I let out a sharp growl but it only continued its path. The next time I growled I bared my fangs as well. Still the creature did not flinch as the others did. When I tried forcing my body up, the white creature growled at me. Why did it sound like a lion? My ears must have been failing me. My first instinct put me back to the ground.

The creature walked back and forth around my head in silence. The paws it wore sounded like leaves touching the earth for the first time in autumn. It was examining me. I knew it was. But I couldn’t help but wonder….why? It was more than obvious I was helpless. What more did it need to know?

I glanced to the others to see them closing in with their heads low. The end of my tail flicked side to side. ‘They’re attacking’, I thought wildly. ‘They’re attacking!’ When they reached within a foot of me, the one of white barked at the others. I felt paralyzed.

A loud chuffing noise caught my attention and brought my eyes to the white creature. It started speaking in the tongue I knew. This creature knew the language which my ancestors spoke. What was it saying? I failed to make out the words with all the ringing in my ears. I couldn’t tell if I was in a dream or a nightmare or if I was asleep at all. Fear built inside my chest faster than I could manage and I blacked out.

Sometime later, I opened my eyes. The forest wasn’t lit, but it was brighter than in the night. Doing my best, I looked to the sky. It was clouded over and I sensed a strong wind coming.

I guessed balance applied even when lying on the ground because when I moved my head my body rolled with it. Now I was stuck. I couldn’t pull myself to my feet in this position. Something irritated my nose. I glanced to the ground to see fur scattered everywhere. Grays. Browns. Even shades of black. It smelled like the creatures that had been here earlier. All that was left of them now was their fur. ‘What happened last night?’ There were the creatures, I blacked out, then…nothing. Oh well. I was alive. That’s what mattered.

Digging my claws into the earth I tried hauling my shoulders out of their awkward position. It wasn’t working. My back felt like it was on fire. The thought of the pain caused me to freeze and slump back down. ‘Curses.’ I wasn’t going to get anywhere this way. I set my head on the ground and sighed. ‘How are you going to get out of this?’ Who knew how far those humans were behind me. Or, if they were even still following. Hopefully they thought the fall had killed me. Many times since then I wished it had. I wouldn’t be in so much pain now.

The wind started to pick up and quickly. Leaves were ripped from the branches and some branches from the trees. What kind of wind was so strong as to tear the forest apart? Before I had time to react a whirlwind blasted into my body. The pain in my back took the breath from me. As the wind got stronger I failed to keep my hold on the earth and I was carried into the air. Normally I would welcome this, but in my condition I would rather stay away from the sky.

To keep from crashing into the trees I inflated my lungs with as much air as possible. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea. With the wind howling in my ears I got distracted and didn’t see the structure I was being blown towards. ‘A human structure!’ I didn’t have time to react and curve my body to avoid it. It came to mind that even if I did, with my broken back I wouldn’t have been able to anyway. I was at the wind’s mercy.

Its so called “mercy” sent me hurtling into the top of the structure sending wood and squared rock everywhere. Packaged objects scattered and my back was the first part of me to hit the inner wall. My roaring in pain was drowned away from my ears by the winds. Just my luck. I wouldn’t be surprised if my back had become worse in the crash.

Outside I saw a long dark funnel form and extend from the clouds. Its appearance caused a tree to rip out of the ground. What madness was this?