26

Christian and I had a map we went through a lot to make sure we didn’t make mistakes. We went over how we would find Mom and what we would do after that. I was still upset about everything that had happened, but I kept it together. And having Christian there made me feel better. But every time something bad happened, I felt more pressure. I had a lot of things to process. Sometimes by thinking through my emotions and sometimes by talking to Christian about them. Sometimes we talked about other topics so we wouldn’t be scared and upset all the time.

    I got to know how Christian bonded with all of the dwarves. He told me how Aaron liked animals and had been taking care of them his whole life.

    “How?” I asked.

    “He takes them to a shelter he owns. It’s very important to him that they go to homes where people will love them and be good to them.”  

    “That’s great. Did he teach you anything about animals?”

    “He taught me most of what I know about animal behavior. He’s constantly telling us all the facts he knows about animals.”

    “He knows a lot?” I asked.

    “Yes.”

    “My parents and I always talk about our jobs too,” I informed him.

    “Yeah, but you guys just talk. Sometimes Aaron brags to the others, but he doesn’t brag to me.”

    “Why not?”

    “He doesn’t want me to feel like he’s being condescending.”

    “That’s like how my parents talk to their friends about their problems, but not to me.”

    “Yeah, he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings. He also thinks it’s a shame that I don’t like to brag about my knowledge.”

    I smiled.

    The ghoul leader attacked us with three other ghouls!

    I gasped and backed away!Christian screamed.

    Christian and I were shocked because the ghouls have never been interested in going into the forest.

    That was why Angus thought it would be safe and why it was up until now.

    My heart hurt.

    I’d been going through a lot already.

    Whenever the ghouls attacked, I hated the feeling of being in danger as much as anyone else.

    It scared me.

    This time, it hurt me more than it ever did because of my experiences.

    The ghoul leader targeted me the whole time.

    There were three other ghouls.

    I fought off the leader and another ghoul.

    Christian tried to cast spells on the other two.

    I knew the ghoul leader wanted to kill me because I was a problem for him.

    He gave me a really hard time during the fight.

    The ghouls kept trying to kill us with their claws.

    I tried to snap their necks.

    They got out of the way.

    Christian tried injecting the ghouls he was fighting with potion.

    They got out of his way.

    Then, they clawed him.He screamed.

    My heart went cold.

    I tried to snap the neck of the ghoul leader.

    He clawed me.

    I screamed.

    I kicked him and the other ghoul.

    Christian kept trying to use magic on the other ghouls.

    Since they had to dodge his magic, they couldn’t fight him.

    I kicked the leader, then the other ghoul.

    The other ghoul tried to punch me.

    I blocked his arm.

    The leader attacked me.

    I kicked him.

    The other ghoul tried to kick me.

    I blocked his kick with my leg.

    Then, I flipped him.

    Then, I broke his neck.

    Christian cast spells that killed the two ghouls he was fighting.

    The leader was harder to beat.

    I did as much as I could.

    He injured me with his claws.

    He tried to bury me in snow.

    I kept dodging many times.I lunged at him and tried to break his neck.

    He was a better fighter than the others, so I couldn’t.

    We fought for a while longer, then he retreated.

    I was severely injured.