Chapter 1

    My feet dragged forward. I pressed my body faster and I began to run. My bare feet caught the rocks hard, but I ignored it. The pain amplified my adrenaline and the world seemed to start blurring. The only clear thing was the gap in the wall that I had to get through.
    I grabbed onto the side, slipping on wet ground. The first log broke free and the splinters from the hole showered over me as I landed on my bottom. A jolt ran up my body from the force of the ground.
    “What… what do you want from me?”
    I froze, craning my neck up above the gap to look inside. What I saw should’ve confirmed that this was a dream, but it barely registered.
    There were three huge animals, massive sheets of white fur, standing in a line in front of my father, who was kneeling with his hands clasped together. Blood smeared the walls and mist hung in the air. Both the animals, oversized polar bears, had red-tinged muzzles and claws. Their breaths rasped from their bodies.
    “Where is the girl?” the voice was met by one of the bears moving his jaws. This was the largest, and his mouth lingered open as he came closer to my father’s face. “Tell me, and we may spare your life.”
    “You killed her,” my father sobbed pathetically, leaning back away from the creature’s jaws.
    “Where is the lion?” the lead bear was… speaking. His jaws moved almost in sync with his words, and his voice was incredibly deep. His beady black eyes seemed to narrow under a harsh brow of white fur. “Tell me where she is!”
    “I… I… I don’t know…” my father stuttered.
    The first bear reared, its mighty head brushing the ceiling, and drew back a claw. Before I could take a breath, it shot through the air with as much speed as a bullet and the terrible slicing filled my ears.
    I let out a cry of both fear and anger, unsure of what I should really be feeling. I knew that my family was dead, and that these bear creatures were going to kill everyone until they found what they were looking for. I also knew that my only chance was to run.
    My body twisted and adrenaline clouded my actions. I scrambled to my feet, kicking rocks up behind me as I sprinted across the yard. I heard a battle cry of some sort and I could feel the ground trembling as the bears came after me. I could almost feel their hot breath on my back.
    “Leave me alone!” I screamed, my eyes picking up the drop in altitude just a yard away. The bears wouldn’t know it was there; it might be a chance to get ahead.
    They were right upon me now. I could feel the force of wind as the jaws snapped where my moving arms had lingered. I didn’t pause to jump, it would’ve been impossible, so I missed where I was aiming. My leg went right over the edge and I hit the ground face-first in an awkward, dirt-eating position.
    I was groggy, and my body seemed to be disagreeing. Shadows loomed over me, but I couldn’t move my head to look.
    Something heavy dropped on my head and turned it violently. My neck ached, but this was no time to groan about it. Above me, I could see the three bears, forming a triangle to prevent escape. Their stinking breath blew over my face as they breathed heavily.
    “This is the one,” the largest said, looking to the others. His muzzle remained pointed at the smallest. “Malcolm, kill her.”
    As the smallest one leaned toward me, another roar had them all backing up. I didn’t recognize this one, but it had the bears spooked.
    “A pride!” The largest growled, his head still over my torso while the others moved behind him. “What are you doing here?”
    I turned my head see my rescuer, but all I saw was something else here to kill me. There were five huge lions standing before the bears. In front was a massive male with a long body and a dark, billowing mane. His strange blue eyes were dead set on the lead bear. A little behind him to his side was a lioness, half his size but looking equally deadly. Her eyes were similar to his, focused intently on one of the other bears. A burly lion was beside the lioness, and on the leader’s other side were two smaller males.
    “What we are doing here means nothing, Delko. You will leave this place, and this child, alone,” the leader was speaking, his bottom jaw sweeping upward with his final command.
    “Brave words from such a small kitten,” the lead bear, Delko, moved forward. One of his paws was on my thigh, pressuring the bone, and the other fit on my chest. I struggled to breathe under his weight, but it didn’t let up.
    The lead lion padded forward until the two of them were nose-to-nose. The other lions stepped up anxiously, eyes on their leader. The other polar bears did the same, fur bristling dangerously.
    “Leave her out of this. The winner claims their prize,” the lead lion growled.
    Delko laughed heftily, then he moved from on top of me. I gasped a few times, turning on my side. My hand touched the lead lion’s paw and I recoiled from the rough fur, looking up to see if he was going to end this argument with just his teeth on my neck.
    He looked down at me, his broad muzzle shaped by scars, his blue eyes seeming to run with softness. For a moment, I almost thought I could see an expression of pity on his face.
    Delko interrupted the strange look of understanding between the lion and I by scooping me up in one paw and throwing me to the side. I curled on my hip, facing the forest. It seemed that the natural defense I used when I was hiding from my father had the same effect on these monsters.
    No more words were said. The next thing in my ears was a horrible cracking, and then the sounds of battle between two powerful animals. Snarls, growls, and roars erupted over the world, and it seemed that this was all there was.
    I hated it. The roars kept echoing, the blood spraying on my back. The urge to flee became too much to stop.
    I rolled on my stomach and army crawled into the thick trees until I could get on two feet. I ran for my life, ducking under branches and jumping thick roots. Adrenaline made the world fuzzy, and it took from me everything I understood. The trees blurred around me and every step on the ground felt like my feet were melting off.
    Then the world suddenly erupted into crystal-clarity. The trees were outlined hyper-sharp and the darkness faded. Time slowed for a moment as peace overcame me. It was like the ultimate calm before the storm.