Wolfgang:
Nyssa was the furthest thing from nimble Wolfgang had ever seen crawl out of a puddle of mud. She scrambled over the shadowy ground, her butt poking up out of the grass the whole trip, clambered over the chainlink fence, sending it rattling madly, landed in a heap on the other side and then continued slithering along the ground, completely in the wrong direction. She even sneezed once when the grass tickled her nose. Eventually she made it to her target area of shadow after traipsing through all the noisiest bushes in the immediate area.
By some miracle she went unnoticed.
Now it was his turn. He copied Nyssa’s actions, albeit more gracefully, slipping silently over the undulating ground using the shifting shadows and uncertain light to hide his movement. Unlike Nyssa, Wolfgang chose to surmount the fence by way of a tree. He figured scaling the solid looking oak would be quieter than climbing the rattley fence. At the base of the oak he paused to listen. He could hear the soft whoosh of Nyssa’s slightly panicked breathing and the slower, calmer breaths of their stalkers. Their soft footfalls were a comfortable distance away.
Wolfgang reached up and dug his hands into the yielding bark. His nails had lengthened and hardened until they resembled claws, anchoring him firmly to the tree and giving him purchase. Soundlessly, he slipped up the trunk and onto a low branch that jutted out over the fence.
Once again, he paused, listening intently. When he was satisfied he’d gone unnoticed. He gripped the branch underneath him and lowered himself to the ground. He landed with an almost inaudible thump. Another pause.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
Sinking slowly to his knees, Wolfgang slipped lithely into a crouch, his movements animalistic in their gracefulness. Another few metres of agile slithering and he was almost clear.
Then, disaster.
Wolfgang unwittingly brushed against the only dry leaf in the entire graveyard, crunching it softly under the toe of his boot. He immediately froze, knowing any movement would give him away, but the damage was already done. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were already raising the dead, their inarticulate yelling bouncing around the empty spaces between the headstones.
Wolfgang swore at length and rolled back towards the tree. He didn’t want to give away Nyssa’s hiding spot and the sturdy oak would serve as something solid to put behind him. He flowed to his feet, one movement slipping seamlessly into the next, just as the two idiots reached him. He’d yet to pause for breath, continuing the barrage of bad tempered oaths even as he scrambled into a defensive position.
Wolfgang smelled them before he saw them. They reeked of violence and sweat and festering meat.
----------------------------------------
So I lied, it is tuesday night here in Aussie Land, but none the less, here is the extra update I promised a day early.
Tune in on Friday to see if Wolfgang and Nyssa get squashed and/or eaten =)