Ivana huffed viciously as she ran for her life. She stopped to catch her breath only for a second, before sliding down one of the walls in the cave.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! "
She cursed as she landed on the ground with a thud. Debris crunched under her boots as she ran as fast as her legs could take her.
She could smell them. The ugly creatures were twice her size, chasing after her.
It was dark in the cave, but thanks to her 'useless' beast, she could see. Even though everything looked green.
She could hear the chittering of the Bronze Ranked monsters in the distance. Like a hundred knives drumming aggressively on glass. She could also hear their wings. Buzzing so fast it created a hum that made Ivana's head hurt.
"Fuck, I'm gonna die! I knew these escapades would kill me one of these days. I just didn't expect it to be so soon!" She groaned as she began to run out of breath, but the end of the cave was nowhere in sight. She wasn't even close to it yet.
She finally got to a small opening in one of the walls. and she stopped.
She remembered how easily she had squeezed herself through on her way in, but now… due to the maddening fear inside her, the hole suddenly seemed smaller. Whispering threats of betrayal and leaving her stuck for the beast to find and devour her.
But it was the only way to the exit.
She quickly took off her worn, leather bag and shoved it through the hole first, then she got on all fours as she prepared to crawl through the opening.
With her palms on the floor, she could feel the vibration created by the creatures chasing her. Their spiked legs drummed against the ground with a rhythm that made Ivana's skin crawl. It sounded like bones snapping repeatedly.
Every rapid step they took, sounded like claws drumming on stone. Fast, erratic, and eager.
To think she was supposed to be at the match-making ball her mother threw for her. Yet here she was in a cave on forbidden territory about to be devoured by a brood of Hollowbacks.
Just as she prepared to press herself through the hole, she saw one of them. The creature's triangular head came into view in the distance, and Ivana's blood ran cold.
The creature was twice her size and would kill her in a single breath if she let it get close enough.
Its spiked mandible split open into three jagged-edged parts, as it raised its head and let out another shrill, chittering cry.
Its glowing white eyes scanned the space before it, and Ivana held her breath in her lungs as she moved slowly towards the hole.
Its long, hair-thin antennas twitched constantly, as it sensed vibrations and searched for signs of her.
It wasn't the fact that this beast was after her that terrified her the most. What terrified her was that this monster usually moved and hunted in broods. And the smallest Hollowback broods had at least five members with a queen that was usually at least a quarter size bigger than this one.
Ivana had just squeezed her lower body through the hole when the creature suddenly looked in her direction, and a terrified gasp escaped Ivana as its glowing white eyes locked onto her.
Its front, sharp legs dug into the walls of the cliff as it crawled down, with the remaining four, cricket-like legs that aided insane jump coverage, following behind. It let out a higher pitch cry this time, and Ivana knew that was its signal to the others.
It had found their prey.
"Oh, shit!" She cursed as she forced the rest of her body through the hole. Scrapping her elbow in the process.
Without waiting to look behind her, she grabbed her bag which held the cores and treasures she was able to acquire before these monsters started pursuing her, and she kept running.
Some may have stopped to fight, but not her. Not with a beast lower than Stone rank which only gave her nothing but a weird appearance, occasional claws, and night vision. Trying to fight a brood of Hollowbacks with a beast like that was a suicide mission.
And Ivana wasn't ready to die yet. Not without joining the Academy and becoming a member of the Gilded Watch army.
She could hear the monsters in the distance, but one thing Ivana had been good at from a very young age, was running. She was so good at it, that she even ran faster than some stone-ranked tamers in the kingdom.
A skill her mother never liked for her, but has helped to save her life many times.
Ivana's legs and lungs were getting tired, but she couldn't stop. How would she when death was following so closely behind?
If she died now, how would she explain to her ancestors that she died because she got eaten by a brood of beetle and cricket hybrids on an island her father strictly forbade her or anyone else from going to?
Finally, she saw light, and she let out a breath. She clutched her bag tighter as she willed herself to run faster. Now was not a time to relent. Those black creatures were hot on her trial, and who knew what else was on this island?
Immediately she got out, she saw Knox. Her pet Florynox which as always been by her side since her aunt Evie gifted it to her last year.
Its little fox-like head popped up from the canoe Ivana came with it, and Ivana quickly tossed her bag into the canoe as the little creature flew towards her.
"We have to go girl." She panted as she hurriedly untied the canoe, and the red, little creature with almost butterfly wings stared at the cave in wonder.
"Hurry, Knox. I'm sure you don't want to be beetle food!" She called as she began to row the canoe away from the island shore, and Knox flew to rest in Ivana's lap.
They had gotten a distance away when the hollow backs began to crawl out of the cave. Five of them. Some crawled up the cave walls as they watched Ivana leave. Their queen, the terrifyingly massive black creature stood at the cave's entrance. She gave a loud, defeated cry, and Ivana began to thank her stars that the creatures were scared of water.
"Well, we won't be coming back here, anytime soon. Right, Knox?" She questioned and the adorable red Florynox cub looked up at her with its massive golden eyes.
It purred as it nestled into Ivana's legs, and Ivana smiled. She always loved the sound of Knox's purr. It sounded like magic. Like a cross between a cat's purr and tiny twinkles.
Ivana turned her canoe towards castle grounds, and she sighed as she thought about the ear full she was going to get from her mother for missing the ball. But it wasn't her fault. She had long told her mother that she didn't want to get married. But her mother, Queen Amara never listened.
Ever since Ivana got her unknown and unranked beast two years ago, all Queen Amara had been working on was fixing alliances for Ivana. Alliances Ivana of course always thwarted.
She wanted to be a soldier who fought alongside great men to restore the world to what it used to be… And she wouldn't be able to do that while being some prince's little wife.
She knew this… but her mother couldn't understand that. How she wished her mother would see things her way for once.
The sound of something rolling on wood suddenly caught her attention, and when she looked down, Ivana saw the highlight of her findings today. Sure, she found some cores and crystals, but this odd… golden ball seemed to call out to her.
She didn't know why it seemed so important. It was dirty and buried under rubles but somehow she found it in that dark place, and she couldn't wait to get home and figure out what it was.
Knox, attracted to the shiny, medium-sized ball, flew over to it, and began to play with it. Passing it gently between her paws.
"Careful, girl. We don't know what it is. I don't want you getting too close to it till I figure out what it can do." Ivana spoke, and as if understanding her, Knox flew away from the ball, and back to Ivana's lap.
Giving Ivana the silence and time to think of the lies and excuses she would give her mother for missing the ball.