Rising over the azure water, the sun climbed over the horizon, promising a hot, sunny day.

Good thing it’ll be hot. I glanced down at my nightie dirty with sand.

Inhaling the fresh, salty air deeply, I just couldn’t get enough of it. The late October night I’d left behind outside the scarlet fire ring already seemed surreal and distant.

Following the surf rolling away from my feet, I walked towards the sea. After all that had happened, I needed a refreshing dip.

The water was amazing. I didn’t go deep, though, never losing sight of the shore.

Who knows what other surprises this “resort” has in store.

Returning to shore and drying quickly in the hot wind, I walked uphill, staying clear of the prickly shrubs.

The slope was becoming steeper, rising like a giant wave of sand challenging the sea; its crest foamed with grass.

But the sea was not up to the challenge; the small, flat waves were no match for the formidable sand dune. Licking the sand, they retreated hastily, avoiding their giant opponent.

I started along this sand wall with its protruding tree roots that looked like monstrous tentacles. Soon the wall gave place to a gentle slope scattered with cones, pine needles, and small twigs.

Before leaving the seashore, I glanced back. The eight red spots, barely discernible in the distance, were already attracting seagulls.

I walked uphill. The sand here, shaded by trees, was cool to my bare feet. I stepped on the pinecones, pressing them into the sand. The sound of the breaking waves from behind was gradually drowned out by the wind through the tops of the pine trees over my head.

The ground plateaued. All around me the forest stood with pines so tall their crowns hid in the clouds; the call of birds was deafening as I made my way through, staying clear of any shrubs. It was not an easy task as there were so many growing at the base of the tall pines and smaller trees.

The farther in I went, the more I realized I should instead sit down and examine my leather hairband. Goodness knows what else could come from that…that Asp—if that was its name. Wearing it felt like carrying a bomb fixed to my hair. I took each step with extreme caution so as not to trigger it.

Reaching a small clearing, I looked around. Ahead was a dark forest, so dark I couldn’t make out anything behind the first line of shrubs. Considering my options for a while, I walked towards the edge of the cliff which seemed to have more light. Testing the grassy surface with my foot and finding it firm enough to stand on, I looked down.

Sunbeams danced on the waves, the gleaming sea sighing at their weight. Next to the shore, the water turned transparent and green like a pool of bubbling champagne washing the glass of a shattered bottle.

Wondering if I could still see the dogs from where I stood, I turned my gaze to the left.

The red bodies were still visible on the sand, but no gulls were around. Spotting a big, dark-gray shadow gliding towards them, I looked up to see a very large bird circling in the air over the beach. As this creature drifted through the sky, its wings flashed brightly in the sun as if covered with small pieces of glass instead of feathers.

Once or twice the bird hovered, spreading its broad wings and craning its neck to peer down. Suddenly it plummeted like a stone, and, stopping just inches away from crashing into its shadow, it soared close to the ground, along the surf line, approaching the forest.

A realization struck me like a lightning bolt: the bird was after me, following my footprints in the sand! I collapsed into the thick grass.

A moment later, the sun was blocked by giant wings. The blades of grass swayed with the cold gusts from the wings. Curling up, I covered my head.

The shadow disappeared. A rasping scream came from a distance. Warily, I looked up to find the source of this sound. It was coming from where the shore curved into the sea. There was the bird circling over the forest edge, its glassy wings almost brushing the treetops. Uttering another screech, it soared and vanished into the blue.

Across the open beach beneath me, a score of dark silhouettes flashed.

The next moment, the ground trembled with the approaching rumble. My heart skipped a beat. With my throat clenched with fear, I jumped up and rushed into the thickets, my heart racing instantly. I raced through the shrubs, urged on by the frightening rumble, my face, hands, and knees pricked by lashing twigs. Gasping for air, I felt it scratch at my throat, burning my lungs.

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The sound approached, growing louder, becoming recognizable as the trample of hooves. They were drawing closer behind me, making me run faster.

Suddenly the shrubs died away. I burst into a clearing with the dark ruin of a burned, blackened tree in the very middle. Like a scared cat, I climbed its branches as quickly as I could and ducked into the gaping, fire-hardened hollow.

The hooves were close, shaking the ground and the tree. I heard twigs snap as my chasers broke into shrubs.

Deafened by the crazy beat of my pounding heart, I could barely breathe.

The sounds of snapping stopped, and the chasers’ hooves slowed down to a halt right beneath me.

Who are they?

What does it matter? Stay put.

No. I have to get a look at them. They won’t be able to see me in here.

See what? You’ve heard them. DON’T LOOK OUT!

Shit. I’m dying to have a look!

Don’t move, you idiot!

I lifted my head more than once to look out, but every time I pulled back, pressing my chin into the burned wood…

…until my curiosity got the best of me.

Cautiously, I rose to my knees and clung to a narrow crack in the wood, wiping my dripping sweat away.

At first, I couldn’t make out anything except tree branches, sunbeams, and some vague, dark shapes.

But after a few moments, I saw the backs of horses flashing beneath the tree branches.

Horses? Are they just wild horses?

No.

A pointed, shaggy head caught my attention.

A rider. Moving their head to the sides as though looking around for something… or someone.

Then they looked back, and my breath caught in my throat.

Oh my God. Who is he?

Hairy ridges, deep as wells, were set over gleaming, close-set eyes. Wide nostrils on a flat, noseless face. No neck at all, just a small head sitting right between the hunching, hairy shoulders.

A gorilla?

Riding a horse?

How’s that possible?

The rider trotted into the open, fully exposing themselves…and my breath caught again.

Beneath the barrel-like rib cage wasn’t the round belly of an ape that I’d expected, no, the creature had a flat, muscular belly with some hair, transiting smoothly into…into the mighty body of a workhorse!

Pulling away from the crack in the tree, I stared blankly into space, panting and sweating heavily.

How can that thing be real?!

I pulled myself back to the crack to see the creepy gorilla-horses galloping in the clouds of dust, waving their long tails and scratching their heads with hairy fingers. Each “rider” carried a long spear, a hairy hand wrapping comfortably around the polished dark shaft. From the way they held their weapons, they must’ve been skilled in…in using them to kill.

Are they some kind of centaur species? I had never imagined a centaur like this.

Exchanging brief, ape-like screams, the riders galloped away into the woods, leaving behind kicked-up dust and a strong animal scent.

Phew.

Better stay in here for a while. To make sure they’ve really left.

But then where should I go?

My sweaty, sandy, stained nightgown clung to my skin in a nasty way. My mouth was dry from all of my nervous swallowing and lip-licking.

I would kill for a drink of water.

After a long long time had passed, I dared to peep out, my pounding heart still a nasty ball of fear caught beneath my throat.

After quickly looking around the clearing and seeing no one, I climbed down the black, charred branches, thinking about all the weird things I’d already seen here.

The red dogs. The glassy bird. Now, these…ape-horses. There must be a connection. But what is it?

Stop. The bird!

Dammit!

The moment my bare foot touched the wet grass growing on the ashes, a shadow cast by giant wings fell across the clearing. I felt a gust of cold as if a freezer door had opened.

How could I have been stupid enough to forget the bird?

The leather hairband gave a familiar click, letting my hair loose. For a moment, I fainted—and then discovered myself outside of my body.

Freeze!

A drop of water hung in the air, not touching the ground. A leaf stopped shivering in the wind. A fluttering butterfly hovered over a flower.

…and the girl in a dirty nightgown stopped in mid-fall, her back almost touching the grass, her hands shielding her large eyes staring at the sky, her loose hair spread around as though floating in water.

Hoarfrost spread over the grass and leaves.

…the monstrous bird seemed to suck all warmth from every living thing around. Frozen in the air amidst the puffs of vapor, it looked like a sculpture of ice, a masterly work of art: mouth wide open, clawed legs reaching for the girl, transparent wings refracting the sunlight to form a golden glow around itself.

The silence was deafening.

What’s happened to the sound? Where am I? What’s going on?

Before I could give it any thought, a kaleidoscope of scenarios flashed through my mind. All of them started with the same scene—the one I could see down there—and all ended badly.

…Asp springs up, targeting the area between the bird’s body and wings. The monster reacts instantly, its diamond beak smashing the snake’s skull. Tossed aside, Asp falls like a rag doll a moment before the bird’s glassy claws rip the girl’s chest apart.

…Asp attacks the bird’s neck but gets blocked by an icy wing. A peck at the head reduces Asp to a bloody object falling onto the grass. The girl drops by his side, her head smashed.

I lived out these scenarios and many, many more, going over all available options. Time waited, stopped by some unknown but powerful force.

Finally! A probability I can let materialize.

It’s far from perfect and would be rather hard on Asp, but it looked like my best option.

What really mattered was that the girl would not get injured.

I made up my mind.

Unfreeze!

The other force releases its grip on the bowstring of time.

...The world came into motion, filling with sounds. Seeing it through my own eyes again, I fell into the hoarfrosted grass, stinging my hands and back from the cold. On my right, Asp soared like an arrow to attack the bird from the top.