Calm before the Storm ch.2

An hour ahead; a tall figure dashed across the open plain trailing blood behind him.
Stopping only a moment for a breather while a large gash hastily bandaged with a torn cloth bled profusely down his side and clutching his precious cargo protectively in his arms. Glancing back in the direction he previously came from anxiously at where in the distance where it looked as if the lightning was coming from not from the sky above but from the earth below.

He had to hurry. She needed him. She wouldn’t be able to keep it for long. He looked around frantically searching for a suitable place to hide the object in his arms. He spotted a long dead oak tree with a good size hollow within its trunk. He limped over and carefully placed it inside.

Before he could do anything more there was loud cry of pain accompanied by a bright flash of lightning coming from where he had been forced to leave her. Without another thought or glance back at what they both worked so hard to protect with their lives; he ran as fast as he could to get back to her. Praying he wasn’t too late.

At the same moment a small distance away both Lloyd and his mare Sadie were startled by the same cry and flash; causing the horse to rear up and kick her front hooves, neighing and eyes widening with fright. She lunged forward so quickly that the reigns were yanked from Lloyd’s grasp. “WHOA, WHOA! SADIE! STOP!” he cried but to no avail and could only hold on for dear life as she bolting down the road. His cart ran over a rock that judged out of the path sending the man flying off and tumbling till he came to a stop in a tangle of roots of the dead oak tree that sat on the side of the road.

Lloyd got up with a groan, watching as his horse and cart disappeared into the oncoming darkness of dusk. It was no use trying to calling her back. Thankfully he had at least trained her to return to barn without him. Shakily getting to his feet dusting the dirt and gravel from his person and rubbing his sore batter back. “This is a fine mess I’ve gotten to.” He grumbled as he straitens his leather jacket. Another flash and crash of thunder and lightning causes him to duck down beside the tree. Then he remembered that lightning tends to strike tall objects. “Not the best of ideas Lloyd.” He hissed to himself.

He then notices something reflecting the lightning’s flash within the tree’s hollow. The hollow itself was too high off the ground for him get a proper look. He contemplated if he should climb up to get a better look but interrupted by another strike of lightning crashing into the tree causing it to split in half.

The object within rolled out and in that same split second on reflex he reached out to catch it. It was translucent and from the look of it the surface was pliable like paper thin silicone covered sphere filled with some sort of fluid. And floating in its center was unusual form curled up in the fetal position within.

When it came in contact with his hands, it burst spilling its contents all over him. Eyes shut he flailed; hands grasping the form that fell into his arms. Holding it as steadily as he could despite his trembling with the water like fluid drenching them both. Lloyd slowly opened his eyes cringing at the sight of what remained of the oak tree. It looked like a charred wood from a fire smoking in the fading light. That could have been me. He mulled grimly.

A soft mew and wriggle from the bundle in his arms snapped his from his thoughts. Lloyd gaped at the strange creature cradled in his arms. It was the size of a new born baby covered in short lightly colored fur, as soft as a kitten or pup; a tail as long as his arm and from look of it, it had something like a crown that grew on it’s head from the tip of it’s nose trailing up to the top of it’s head; the longest middle spike was at least 4 to 5 inches curving back slightly; it also had long ears with black tips. And it had small claws on its feet with a spur behind its heel.

From all the features and characteristics it looked just like those beings that he had heard of from time to time. Rumors and gossip from travelers about them; these strange and elusive creatures that fought and killed demons that nearly whipped out the human race during that disaster so many years ago. They had no real name for themselves, so people just started calling them “Guardians”. No one had seen them since then. Well not any live ones anyway.

The beasts of hell didn’t take it to kindly that the Guardians were protecting mankind and after the humans were safely out of the major cites and out of harms way; the demons began killing as many guardians as they could. No knows for sure but it was believed a few managed to get away and go in to hiding.

All the ones he had heard about were adults. Did that mean there was a breeding pair near by? Lloyd looked around. Nothing not for miles, which meant… “You were abandoned?”

Its eyes opened sleepily looking up at him curiously with the same blue eyes all babies were born with and cooed. Lloyd felt protective of the little fellow and took off his jacket when it started to rain and wrapped the infant snugly with it. Using his body to shield the baby from the downpour; he ran as fast as he could home.