The creature hit the wall just below her. Miriam fell forward with the breaking wall. She didn't let go, even though it would have been best to cover her face and head.

A piece of the wall hit the back of her head, dazing her.

She was under some rocks but none of them were heavy enough to pin her to the ground. The creature was screaming nearby as white spots danced in her vision.

Miriam picked her way out of the rubble and stood up. The rocks below her were loose and unattached to those under and around them.

It wasn't easy to stay steady, especially when she was so dazed. Miriam caught her head as if to steady her vision and waited it out.

She needed to go, to get out of there and away from the monster but it was work to just stay standing. The white spots dimmed and she looked to the source of the horrible screaming.

The monster was rearing and lashing its heavy body against the sides of the break in the wall it had created, enlarging a gap and creating a cloud of dust and sand. For the first time, Miriam could see the underneath of the creature.

It had lots of short insect-like legs that jutted and moved independently from one another. It looked like someone had tried to cross breed a worm with a shark and decided to throw in a bit of centipede.

Miriam looked around for the girl. The dust cloud was thick and Miriam had to fight the urge to cough. She couldn't see more than a few inches in front of her.

It would have settled but the creature's actions threw more and more dust and sand into the air. Miriam put her sleeve over her mouth and edged forward.

Twice she nearly fell on the loose rocks, sending them rolling noisily over the carpet of the wall's remains. The first time, the creature did not seem to notice but the second time, the creature's shrieking became less violent.

Miriam stood very still and watched it in terror. She couldn't see any ears on it but she was certain it could hear her. It continued making noise but it became a low growl once again. It stopped thrashing and stayed in the gap.

The dust began to settle but Miriam didn't dare to look around for the cat or the girl. She couldn't make her eyes turn away from the monster. She heard something to the right of her.

The smallest of whimpers.

Then the creature flung itself in that direction, throwing up so much dust that Miriam was blinded to everything.

Miriam tip-toed forward with her t-shirt pulled over her mouth. Blinded, she almost stumbled on top of the girl and the beast. A large rock had trapped her reflection in place.

The creature was trying to get its mouth around both the girl and the large piece of wall, but it was proving slightly too wide for the maw.

The rotating teeth were chipping away furiously at the edge of the rock. It wasn't going to last long. The girl would be in that mouth in a few minutes if Miriam didn't do anything.

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Miriam grabbed some small-sharp-jagged rock and tip-toed forward again. She almost forgot she wasn't wearing any shoes until a small stone attempted to cut off her smallest toe.

She had to bite her lip to stop making any sound of pain. Not that it would have mattered, the monster was focused completely on its prey.

The only good thing about not having any shoes while walking across small stones is that footsteps are quiet, she decided.

Miriam came up behind the creature, mindful of its swaying body. She had suspected that it had no eyes and she was right.

The dust and sand in the air must have hidden her smell. The same unfortunately couldn't be said of the monster's musk. It smelt like rotten eggs, spoilt milk and damp. She swallowed back bile and crept closer.

She was at the edge of the monster's mouth and it didn't even notice. The girl did see her. She looked at her and made a little noise of dismay, her face telling Miriam to run away.

Instead, Miriam looked at the creature's maw. The first and third set of teeth went in a clockwise rotation and the middle set went anti-clockwise. She looked at the sharp rock, still in her hand. It wasn't long enough for all three rows.

Calm down!

You can't do it with your hand shaking like that. Breathe. Calm down.

The thoughts were her own but they felt foreign in her trembling and sweating body. She took a deep, shaking breath and then another one. Her hand still shook, but not as much. It would have to do.

Miriam grabbed the edge of the rock and stabbed it into the monster's mouth. She aimed for the middle set of teeth. The first row of teeth slashed across the side of her hand.

The rock went through the space of two front teeth and ended up sunk under the gum of a tooth in the middle row. It was like something thrown into a set of clogs. They stopped rotating and worked against it.

The creature recoiled, throwing Miriam back in the process. It wasn't hurt much but she had surprised it with a little pain. Miriam reached her reflection.

A slab of rock still remained across the reflection's leg. Miriam got to her knees and she and the girl started to push the rock off of her leg. The monster was thrashing, hitting the ground around them with it's large head. The rock was slow to move.

The jagged rock was still stuck in the creature's teeth, but it was going to break at any moment. Miriam threw all her weight against the rock. The reflection-girl was nearly free.

Then, with a sticky and shattering sound, the stuck stone finally broke into pieces. These pieces became projectiles and flew out of the creature's mouth.

Instead of shielding herself from the flying pieces, Miriam continued to lift the rock. Something else landed in between her and the girl.

The tooth that looked just as sharp as the rest but was covered in the creature's blood. Suddenly, the reflection was freed by their combined efforts to lift the rock. She and Miriam crawled away.

The tooth caught in Miriam jeans scratching her but not stopping her. She grabbed it to stop it from sinking into her leg. Then they were up and running deeper into the ruins.

The girl dragged her into an alleyway, small and narrow and straight. The creature followed them.

It was even faster on the smooth stone than it was in the sand; it's many legs shuffling under it. It was gaining fast. The reflection's hurt leg slowed her. She couldn't keep up. The creature was right behind them.

We aren't going to make it.

Miriam turned, pulled the girl behind her and raised the tooth, ready to at least hurt it before it killed her. Then the girl started screaming.

It wasn't a terrified scream. It was a sound of anger and hate. It bounced around the alley, being echoed and amplified.

The creature screamed and reeled back as if it had been hurt. The creature backed away from them, turning its mouth from side to side as if it were surrounded.

The girl kept screaming, stepping in front of Miriam to advance on the creature. Miriam joined in with a yell, a battle cry, of her own. The creature shrieked one last time and retreated. Miriam and the girl stopped yelling and looked at each other.

"Echoes," she said, indicating the alleyway as if that explained everything. She smiled at Miriam, who smiled back. Miriam decided she didn't need the reflection's bag after all.

"Thanks, Echo-girl," said Miriam before running away.

The kidnapper made a noise of dismay, but she wouldn't be able to catch Miriam with that injured leg.