Senus

The senus’s snarl revealed a mouth full of razorsharp teeth. It was hungry and picked us for it’s next meal.
It’s red pupils focussing intently at us. Looking carefully at which of us looked the most appetizing to it, but also to warn us. To tell us: “any sudden moves and you are dead.”

*Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.*

I could hear my heartbeat getting louder. I could feel the hair on my neck standing upright and my entire body shaking in fear.
This wasn’t the kind of fear you’d get on a rollercoaster where your brain can’t comprehend the difference between danger and excitement. This was the kind where every part of your mind and body is sending alarm signals, because of the thing that would tear us limb from limb.

I turned my eyes to look at Maya and Casper who were holding each other even tighter. Their bodies just as frozen in fear as mine.
What should we do? What can we do?
Should we…?

‘…Run.’ I heard Maya say softly in her breath. Basically finishing my thought.
‘Run.’
‘RUN!’

The three of us bolted in the direction opposite of the senus. It followed behind us. The senus had determined that we were it’s prey and it was not letting go.
For a creature with stubby crocodile legs, it was surprisingly fast. While we were undoubtedly faster than it, both Maya and I had run all the way over here, so we were mostly out of energy. Not to mention that Casper was still a child.
It was the worst possible condition for us.

‘Let’s split up, so I can try and get a clean hit in!’ Maya shouted at us.
‘Are you sure it won’t go after you?!’ I asked back.
‘…Keep Casper at arm’s reach!’ Maya said, not answering my question and splitting off from us.
‘SIS!’ Casper screamed.
‘Don’t worry Casper and hold on!’

I grabbed Casper as we were running and ran with him in my arms. I was definitely the fastest of the two of us, so this was the smartest solution in my mind. The senus thankfully followed behind the two of us and left Maya alone. But this came with a pretty big issue that I soon realized.

‘Try to run in a way that you aren’t in my arrow’s trajectory!’ Maya shouted at us.

Not the issue I though about, but definitely something I need to keep in mind if I can’t somehow fix the first issue.

The last thing we want is run forever. I’d eventually run out of breath. And having Casper in my arms will only speeden that issue.
We have to hold that senus down. Somehow. Someway.
I looked around for something, anything. Anything that could somewhat help us. I then saw in the corner of my eye the bushes with the apple-sized raspberries growing in them.
Isn’t that where…?
Wait…. THAT’S IT.

*Shoof*

I heard an arrow being fired. Maya must have taken a shot, but it looked like she barely missed. This is a good time to tell her about my plan.

‘Maya, follow behind us! I have an idea!’ I said.
‘What are you saying?!’ Maya shouted in a confused panic.
‘Come on, just trust me!’

We ran with the senus closely behind us. It’s jaws snapping at us, the closer it got.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing!’ Maya shouted at me.
‘Mostly!’ I responded.

We ran towards the raspberry bushes and the senus jumped right behind us, throwing it’s massive body at us. It landed with it’s hindlegs right on Maya’s trap. The senus swung in the air, bungling with it’s head downwards. Struggling to pull itself free it snapped it’s massive wolf jaws at us, trying desperately to bite us, but failing to do so.
The plan had worked. We had somehow subdued the senus.

‘Oh thank Solaria, your plan worked.’ Maya said, letting out a sigh of relieve. Walking up behind us.
‘Yeah. *Pant*. *Pant*.’ I responded, while out of breath. Letting Casper go from my arms and putting him on solid ground again.

If we had run for a little while longer, I’m pretty sure it would have caught one of us.

‘Now we can kill it, no problem. We can’t allow this thing to cause any issues for anyone going here.’ Maya said to us, readying her bow.

I unsheathed Richard’s sword, which I had been carrying around in my hand all this time.
When we were running, using this sword was the last thing I thought about. Well, at least it’s going to come in handy… now….
Am I… going to kill a creature now? Am I… going to take away a life?
My sword dropped at the thought.

‘Micheal?’ Maya looked at me questioningly, loosening up on her bow.
‘I’m sorry. Senus don’t exist in my world. I’ve… never had to run, or fight… in order to live.’
‘…Your life in your world must have been pretty peaceful then huh?’ Maya said with a smile.
‘Yeah, I guess you could say that.’ I responded. ‘Now that I think about it, I haven’t really said a lot about my world have I?’
‘Not really no. Well now you have something incredible to tell right once you are back? About how you helped subdue a senus.’ Maya playfully nudged me.
'I must probably explain then what a senus is. ...And also where I've been in these last few weeks.'
'Pfft... Yeah you're right.'

The smile on Maya’s face became a lot wider. She was even laughing and I followed suit. 

The air between us became a lot softer and calmer. Maybe because we found a way to catch the senus. Maybe because we found a way to survive.
Either way, Maya was finally showing some genuine happiness for the first time in a week. It felt good to see the same Maya that I’ve come to know over these last few weeks.

*Snap*

The rope that was holding the senus up snapped. The senus freed itself, using it’s sharp horns to cut the rope, and was even more verocious and feral than before. It was visibly angry and lunged forward. Ready to kill all three of us.

‘MAYA!’ I shouted, while pushing her out of the way.

Maya was surprised that I suddenly shoved her, but when she saw why, she extended her hand in a blind panic, hoping to grab me along with her.

I was now the only one in front of the senus. The way it jumped forward was like a bear readying itself for an attack. It’s claws and jaws opened wide to tear me apart.

Oh. I’m dead. Is this how I die?

As these thoughts flooded my brain, I saw the senus getting closer.
If… this is how I die, I at least hope that Maya and Casper make it out safely. I wished I could have known how to go back, or at least have seen my parents one last time.
I closed my eyes, accepting that this… was it. 
But… that didn’t happen.

Everything seemed to slow down around me. The senus who jumped at me, Maya who I pushed away. Everything looked like it was moving in slow-motion. Is this what it feels like when you’re on the verge of death?
Is this… a chance? A chance… to live.

Almost unconsciously I tightened the grib on Richard’s sword. I grabbed it with both hands for more strength. I pointed the tip of the sword towards the senus and jumped at him.
The power the senus put in it’s jump, combined with the force I put in the sword, cleaved the senus straight through the chest.

‘GAH!’ The senus gagged.

I’d push the senus on the ground, forcing it on it’s back. It would squirm a bit, until eventually falling completely silent. The hole through it’s chest poured out it’s blood, staining the grass in a deep red colour.
In what was essentially a split second decision and moment, I had taken a life with my own hands.

I pulled out the sword from the senus’s chest and stumbled backwards. Falling on my behind in complete and utter shock.
Did I... just do that?
The recoil of the impact reverberated throughout my right hand, bringing me back to earth. The sword somehow felt a lot heavier than before. I wanted to let it go, but couldn’t.
I tried to peel off my fingers from the sword, which clamped themselves around the hilt and didn’t want to let go. Despite my desperate attempts to do so.

Come on, come on. Let go. I thought in desperation.

I heard footsteps getting closer, but didn’t notice them as I was busy letting go of the sword.
A figure sat down next to me. It was Maya.
She slowly and carefully threw her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a hug and placing her cheek on my head.
I heard her muttering some words to me, but I didn’t register them. Her hug pulled me out of the daze I was in and filled me with a weird sense of calm I had never felt before.

Maya must have seen me struggle and came in to put my mind at ease and reassure me that everything was fine.
She then let go of me and helped me pull of my fingers from the sword, that now started to feel a lot lighter in Maya’s presence.

We had survived. We… are alive.