Now the sound of him plowing through the tall grass had stopped, and so had the screaming.
My steps slowed down as I approached the spot where the basilisk must have stopped.
I crawled into a thick bush to hide and peered out.
There he was. His vast body was cowering just a few steps in front of me.
Before him lay a man.
He was slender in stature, and he must've been the one who screamed.
His screams had now turned into whimpering.
Is he gonna get turned into stone?
My question would soon be answered. The front of the drake's body raised into the air again, as if the basilisk stood up on his hind legs.
Now, the giant beast was towering over the man like a lizard would stand over an ant.
The man's eyes wandered down from the predator's head to his stomach, the exposed ribs now strangely pulsating and rippling, bulging out to make space for something coming from inside the beast's body.
His whimpering turned into screams of utter horror again.
He tried crawling backwards, but his motions quickly became stiff.
The screams cut off as his body turned into stone. The man was dead.
Instead of sinking back on all his legs, the beast twisted his upper body at a weird angle, though.
He turned his upper body in my direction.
My heart jumped.
I had figured out that seeing whatever hid in the monster's chest turned people into stone, so before I could witness what that was, I turned around and ran.
Behind me, the sound of heavy steps drumming over the ground echoed once more. The distance from me to the basilisk was not long-maybe ten meters at best.
"THESSA! WAKE UP!"
If she didn't wake up and get down before I got to the tree, she was in big trouble.
Leading the basilisk straight to her might seem dumb, but the beast oriented by smell. If it smelled her before I could wake her up, she wouldn't stand a chance.
"THESSAAAA!"
Only a couple of steps left.
A silhouette appeared next to me. There she was:
"It found us?"
Through hectic breaths, I gasped:
"Yes. I'll explain later. The tower isn't far. We need to hurry."
The beast was big, but also slow due to its weight.
We were gaining distance-but we couldn't run forever.
It was only a matter of time. Reaching the tower would mean safety.
Only a few minutes.
But it was no use. I was slowing down.
Luckily, the distance we had built from our pursuer had already increased vastly.
"Let's...let's walk for now. Just a bit."
Despite not looking nearly as breathless as me, Thessa still slowed to a slow jog.
It couldn't be much farther to the foot of the tower.
Behind us, the sound of falling trees and heavy, stampeding steps echoed through the dense foliage.
Again, I fell into an exhausted trot.
Looking up, I could see just how close we were to the tower. By now, it looked like a wall-like we had reached the edge of the world.
Looking left or right, the wall stretched on for as far as my eyes could see.
The forest had become less dense. It couldn't take long until we reached the wall.
The trampling noises behind us had grown louder again.
And a few steps further, the forest abruptly ended.
We suddenly stood on a narrow strip of meadow-and beyond it?
An abyss. Nothing but darkness, the depth exceeding my imagination.
Left and right, the ravine stretched on and on. It probably went once around the entire tower.
The wall of the tower was now visible, reaching into the dark, grey clouds above us.
It was right beyond the abyss.
Our escape had abruptly ended. I panicked.
Thessa pointed left:
"There! Look! A bridge. It must be the southern entrance. We need to hurry!"
She was right. An imposing bridge covered the distance between the towering wall and our forest-maybe half a kilometer west.
We started running again. My legs felt like jelly, my lungs like they were about to implode.
I gasped for air and tried to signal Thessa to slow down.
I extended my arm and tried to reach for her.
She didn't notice.
I doubted she could hear my gasps or slowing steps over the heavy noise of the basilisk mowing down trees right behind us.
I had no chance.
And I had no will, either.
The past few days had been hell. I'd been hunted like an animal-again and again and again.
I couldn't do this any longer.
I turned around and saw it.
The dead eyes still weren't focused on anything, but I knew it could smell me now.
In a normal fight, I stood no chance. Not even with a weapon would I have the slightest hope.
I needed an idea-and I needed it fast.
Thinking back to how the man in the forest died, I remembered one important detail. A plan formed in my head.
I turned once more and ran again, fully aware I had only a few seconds until the basilisk would catch up to me.
But that didn't matter anymore. It was necessary.
The steps came closer.
I moved a little closer to the cliff beside me.
A single mistake would mean death now.
It was time. I could feel the monster right behind me, slightly slowing down and gathering power in all its legs.
He's going to tackle me down like he did with the man! Perfect!
The steps abruptly stopped. I turned to face the danger and saw the drake flying through the air, launching its huge body right at me.