Mountain Chase

"Protect Bailey."

I give Peo her orders before ducking behind one of the wooden crates. The horsemen approaching from behind are slowly gaining ground with spears in hand. Behind me, our driver is sweating from stress.

"How far until the next village?"

"Um, probably not for another few hours at this speed!"

"Too far."

A red glow emanates from within my right hand as I aim my weapon at the oncoming forces.

"We have no choice but to kill every last one."

"Uhm! Mr.Clark!"

Before I can pull the trigger, I turn back to see a wall quickly approaching. With the road winding upwards, every turn is annoyingly steep.

"Take it as fast as you can."

"But the wagon will crash!"

"I'll handle it."

When between a rock and a group of metal spears, there is little time to start going for the kill. As such, the gun disappears from my hand. I instead reach into the pouch at my hip and draw a couple of red gemstones.

"Hold on!"

I can feel inertia threatening the wagon and its contents into a painful death. However, I don't intend to allow that to happen.

With a single motion, I leap from the wooden basket and grab the edge, my boots slamming into the rough terrain. The screeching of leather is joined by a pillar of flames as the magical stones ignite the ground directly behind us.

"Wha—!"

Besides the crackling flames, we can clearly hear the whining of horses and shouts of their owners. Our pursuers may have the guts to charge into a wall of fire, but their horses certainly don't. Meanwhile, I apply as much of my weight as possible to slow the rotating wagon just enough to survive the uphill turn.

"We made it!"

One set of wheels was dangerously hovering above the ground with that right turn, but just barely we kept ourselves upright.

"C!"

I barely have time to catch my breath after pulling myself back into the wagon. Peo moves rapidly across our small platform and intercepts an arrow from above. An evasive roll manages to get me into the safety of her twin shields as I aim my now summoned weapon.

BANG

One second is all it takes for the red pillar to pierce the sky.

"Fatal, one."

The body of my target falls down from its position above, but that doesn't stop the rain of arrows.

"Tch!"

There are at least three volleys striking us in sequence. If even one arrow hits the our undefended pair of Apricot and Bailey, then it's the end of the road.

"Peo! One Bailey!"

"Must…protect C."

"I can handle it!"

The young beast is hesitant, but the force behind my voice is enough to bring her back to the front of our wagon. At this moment, the world becomes a grid of white.

"Arrows are fast, but not impossible to avoid…"

I know the origin and I can predict their speed. All that's left is to avoid the barrage as it arrives.

"Mr. Clark!"

Bailey's distressed voice is muffled behind my sheer focus. One wrong move is all it takes to send me into the depths below, but I won't make a mistake.

Ping

An arrow flies directly past my shoulder. It was a clear miss, unlike the bullet that fires up into the archer's skull.

"Fatal, two."

Two more arrows appear and barrel towards me with a whistle in the wind. I adjust my stance, arching my back slightly while turning my neck to the left.

Ping Ping

Two more arrows fly past. One was a centimetre at most away from my neck while the other passed beside my waist. Both struck only the wood at my feet.

BANG

"Fatal, three."

Another clean hit and another turn of the crimson cylinder. The final archer makes one last attempt to strike me dead, but there is no chance of the arrow landing. I watched it fly alone through the sky, aimed perfectly to strike straight through my heart. My body turns to the side and I pull the trigger.

BANG

"Fatal, four."

An arrow flies harmlessly past and the body of the archer joins his friends behind us. I turn back to face the horsemen that have almost caught up to us during that distraction. Another loud whistle echoes from above and the enemy horses have begun to pull back slightly.

"Something is coming!"

I shout back to the others, but a large explosion above cuts off my words. A large round boulder has begun its journey to roll down the mountainside and land directly on top of us.

Bailey immediately starts trying to bring us to a stop.

"We're going to be crushed!"

"No, keep going!"

"What!?"

Even I'm uncertain as to how this scene will play out. Stopping would keep us safe from the certain death descending at high speeds towards us. However, this would turn a cavalry fight into a one sided beatdown from the men behind us. My weapon can only fire so quickly, so it would be only a matter of time before their superior mobility defeated me. All we can do is attempt the one manoeuvre that saves us from both threats.

I climb up onto the left side of the wagon, opposite of the terrible fall into a floor of trees.

"Get as close to the cliff as possible and turn us inwards! Now!"

"O-Okay!"

The sudden jerking attempts to throw me out of the wagon, and I allow it to do so. My body is cast over the side and my boots scrape against stone. With our sharp turn wooden wheels begin to scrape sideways only a step away from falling down the mountain.

"Just a little further…"

The mountain quakes at every point the boulder touches, but still it falls.

"Tch!"

We aren't far enough. Even with us turning and pushing as close to the edge as possible, one of our corners is still in the way of the descending rock. At this point, allowing the wagon to flip may be the only option left.

I prepare to pull myself up and remove the brakes off this rotating vehicle. But before I can, I see a blur of blue and black fly over my head.

"Grrr!"

Peo pulls her shields forward and bashes into the oncoming boulder. The attack barely slows its fall, but her incredible force somehow displaces the rock just far enough to change our fate.

"Gah!"

The complete weight of the boulder crashes onto the road beside me. A shockwave pushes through my entire body as the ground that is now behind us breaks into pieces and sends debris into the forest below. Despite it all, I manage to hold on.

"W-We're alive!"

Bailey can barely believe her eyes as all parties come to an abrupt stop within a cloud of dust. Peo soon falls to the ground on unsteady feet whilst my arm gives out, sending me rolling in the dirt. Behind us, the horses have come to a complete stop as our pursuers also stare in awe.