Dragon's Isolation - Miranda Martin Page 0,62
hold out hope. My patience is beyond thin at this point. They are looking through packs as they tease me, so at least they’re trying to get me out.
“I’m not grumpy,” I say at last. “I am stuck. I am worried. I am not grumpy.”
“Amara, you’re a bitch, and you know it,” Jolie says.
Calista laughs, but cuts it off quickly.
“Yeah,” I agree. “I am and I’m sorry. Can we get me out of here now?”
“This might work,” Calista says. She rises to her feet holding two sticks that will be used for firewood at some point. “If we lie flat, we can each have her take hold of one stick and pull.”
“Should work, distribute our weight and allow us to pull her free,” Jolie agrees.
“Great, let’s do this!” I exclaim, struggling again to break free.
They move around so that they’re in front of me, then both lie flat on their stomachs. They inch their way forward, belly-crawling across the sand, with arms outstretched, each holding one of the thick sticks. I stretch my fingers until I’m touching the wood, and at last, I get a hold on them.
“Got it!” I exclaim.
“Good, hold tight,” Calista says.
I do, gripping the stick with all I’ve got. The two of them work their way back, slowly until my arms are being pulled at the socket.
“Try to work your way out now,” Jolie says.
I pull myself towards them and start to rise up out of the sand, slowly. So slowly. The sand grips me tight, unwilling to give me up, but it’s losing the fight an inch at a time. Jolie grimaces, struggling to hold onto the stick, then she loses her grip and the stick flies out of both our hands and lands next to my head with a thunk.
Sand flies into my eyes and mouth, temporarily blinding me. I sputter and blink rapidly. “Ugh.”
“Sorry,” Jolie says, “I couldn’t hold it.”
“Fine,” I say, spitting out more sand. I toss the stick back towards her. “Try again?”
She grabs the stick and we try again. I’m almost out, only my calves are still stuck below the sand when something screeches overhead.
“Look out!” Calista yells.
I kick my way out the rest of the way and roll to the side without looking. The screech sounds again, and now I hear the whishing sound of large wings. I roll over and over, unsure of where I am in relation to the other women or anything else.
At last I stop and look, immediately wishing I hadn’t. A flock of sismis circle and dive not fifty feet away, tracking along with Calista as she keeps rolling.
“KEEP MOVING!” I yell.
The sismis rise into the sky, and then they’re diving my way. I leap to my feet, spin away, and run. The back of my neck tingles as the hairs rise in fear, and on instinct, I dive forward and roll. Their leather wings whoosh over so I keep rolling.
“HERE!” Jolie yells.
I stop my roll and get on my hands and knees. Jolie is running in a different direction, buying time. How much time can we buy before one of us slips? Eventually they’re going to get their nasty fangs into someone.
Thoughts race past. I need a solution, but I’ve got nothing. Not even any bad ideas to throw away aside from what we’re doing. Maybe they’ll get tired of working so hard for their prey? If we don’t slip, if nothing goes wrong, no one hits a soft spot in the sand. If, if, if, all possibilities are bad.
Calista yells, pulling them towards her. My stomach is in knots as I climb to my feet and yell attracting their attention back my way. They spin in the air. A black mass of flapping wings and what I know to be very sharp rows of teeth.
I run as fast as I can until I hear them too close when I dive and roll until I hear Jolie yell. We repeat the cycle over and over, but we’re getting really spread out. How much further can we go before we can’t yell loud enough to pull them off whoever happens to be the unlucky girl?
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, then yell. I’m not going to dive this time. I’ll keep them on me and hope I can outrun them. I’m not going to put my friends at risk for me. I don’t deserve it, and I should be better to them.
Once I see the sismis turn and come my direction, I