Ghaal and Sho: A Hopeful Path in the Shadows of War

His hands quivered as he lowered his bow, the arrow still taut in flight. The beast turned to face him, his shining white teeth bared and for a moment, Ghaal was transfixed by the blood on its muzzle. In the next moment, it leapt at him with a deafening growl, its massive jaws wide open.

He stumbled back in terror as the hulking creature collided with him and he fell hard on his back, rolling away just in time to avoid being crushed under its weight. The beast lashed out at him again and this time, he was not so lucky. The claws of the animal slashed through his skin and he swore it had felt like they'd cut through bone and sinew as well. He fell to the ground in agony and gasped for breath, reaching for his side where the monster's claws had sliced through his ribs. His fingers came away slick with blood and he groaned in pain. Still lying on the cold ground, he fumbled for an arrow from his quiver and notched it onto his bow.

The animal's eyes were fixed on him once more as it slowly stalked towards him. It lifted its head up high into the air and let out a deafening roar that made Ghaal's ears ring with pain. He shook his head in agony and pointed the arrow straight at it. Just then, a voice shouted from behind him--it was Sho's voice!

He turned around to look at her but could barely see her through teary eyes when she called out to him again.

"Ghaal! Run!" she shouted again and then screamed as she was knocked to the ground by another of those animals chasing after them both. She rolled away from it quickly and picked herself off the ground before charging at it with her sword drawn. She swung at one of its hind legs but missed as it jumped away from her attack just in time. She tried to pursue it but almost tripped over Ghaal's body who lay bleeding on the ground. She knelt down beside him quickly and tore a strip off her robe to staunch the flow of blood from his wounds before turning back to face their attacker once more. From behind her, Ghaal sighed heavily before letting go of his bow and drawing his sword instead. Sho closed her eyes for a moment before standing up beside him and taking a deep breath before charging at their enemy together.

The two young humans fought relentlessly against their monstrous pursuers but each battle seemed only a little longer than the last one they had just fought and they were both exhausted now after so many hours of fighting them off alone while waiting for Ghaal's brothers-in-arms to return after scouting ahead earlier that morning when they had found themselves surrounded by their enemies in a valley not far from where they had set camp last night. Only three of them were able to escape that first encounter but they had continued fighting these monsters until now--alone against so many of them--and knew that there was no way they could survive much longer if help did not arrive soon...or if one of them did not get injured even more severely than what Ghaal already was...