The Escape

Our pursuers were quickly closing the gap between us and them. As were their arrows, which whistled through the air as they sailed past us. It wouldn't be long until the riders were upon him and I. However, Z had a plan, or at least I hoped he did. Though, only if he was truly insane would Z lead me off the edge of a cliff and not have thought it through before hand. As it turns out, a plan had in fact found its way into my friend's clever mind. Not to far below the cliff lie a river that the two of us were to fall into after throwing ourselves over the ridge. All we had to do was make it there before Myran's guards caught us... or one of their arrows.

"Come on Ray! Don't stop!" Z called over his shoulder.

Of course I'm not going to stop, you bloody moron. I thought to myself.

We were almost to the edge. There seemed to be only 30 feet between me and my escape.

I pumped my arms, and lengthened my strides.

Only 20 feet.

I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, pushing me faster.

10 feet.

Z disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

5 feet. Almost there.

A pain exploded in my side.

The ground below me disappeared, and I plummeted after Z.

Keep your feet under you. I could hear Z's words echo in my mind, from a distant memory of cliff diving. Quickly I angled myself so my feet were facing down and I braced for the icy impact.

Frigid water enveloped me as I slipped through the surface, the aggressive current sweeping me downstream immediately, before I could re-surface. Head over heels I spun in the torrent of water. It was disorienting, but my occasional collision with the rocky bottom helped me maintain a solid idea of what was up and what was down. Pushing hard against a large rock I sprung back to the surface of the river, gasping for breathe. For now I didn't care where the river took me, as long as it was away from the riders. My only focus was to keep my head above the water, which was a challenge. Waves of white water slap across my face, threatening to pull me under with a relenting force. I could feel a heavy pressure against my right side, but I had to push it out of my mind. All that mattered was keeping my head up. However, the rush of adrenaline I had felt earlier was beginning to fade, and staying afloat was now becoming a frantic fight for life.

"Keep swimming, Ray! Don't stop!" I could hear Z's strangled voice pierce through the overwhelming sound of waves crashing around me, and pounding my ears.

Stop saying that! I thought, becoming slightly annoyed with the fact that my friend thinks I would actually stop. For a brief moment, I could see the water ahead of us. It was calm, inviting. We were almost there. Our escape was near, almost complete. We would be safe. The pressure in my side increased, but again I pushed it back down into my mind.

"Swim to the shore, Ray." Z shouted, as he started to paddle himself towards the river bank.

With great effort, I managed to drag most of myself onto the shore, collapsing onto my stomach and leaving my legs to soak in the water. "I swear Zander-" before I could finish a sharp cry of pain escaped my lips. Again I could feel the pain in my side. Slowly I dropped my hand to where the pain originated. There my fingers gently curled around a long wooden shaft, which had burrowed itself into the right side of my lower back. It was an arrow.. One of the riders had hit their mark.