Darkmoor by Victoria Barry Page A

followed.
    Burying themselves deep down into the thick woodlands, the three of them tried to hide out of sight of the monsters.
    “Matthew, I’m scared,” Catherine whispered moving closer to Matthew.
    Placing his arm around her he spoke, “I know, me too.”
    “Sam, where do you think they are?” Matthew asked clinging onto Catherine.
    “I don’t know? But maybe if we hide here for a bit they might get fed up!”
    “Or they might feed up on us?” Matthew remarked back to Sam.
    Being as quiet as they possibly could, they waited.
    More howls echoed across the sky, followed by the sniffing of those deadly beasts. These creatures were hungry and were not for giving up easily.
    “Listen,” Sam finally spoke, “if we can get to the graveyard, we’ll be safe.”
    “The graveyard? You didn’t tell us about a graveyard!” Matthew asked.
    Catherine looked up at him, “Matthew, I think it’s a bit late to be questioning Sam on what we are doing here, or where we’re heading. After all, this was your idea!”
    “Look, whatever we need to do we can’t do that here,” Sam whispered whilst pulling the light catcher out of her rucksack. The wolf-lizards lifted their snouts and howled angrily towards each other, with every small move the trio made.
    Sam crept slowly out of their hiding place with the light catcher. Hoping to get a glimpse of where the wolf-lizards were waiting.
    “Catherine, I’m sorry about all this, you do know that don’t you?”
    Looking down into her eyes, the feeling of guilt was almost overwhelming. Catherine innocently replied, “Of course I do.”
    Moments later Sam returned, “Well, the good news is,” she whispered, “we don’t have to go past the wolf-lizards.”
    “And the bad news?” Catherine asked sharply.
    “The bad news is, we’re going to have to make a run for it, quick follow me!”
    Before Matthew and Catherine had chance to think about that thought, Sam was weaving herself in and out of the trees, leaving Catherine and Matthew no choice but to follow swiftly behind her.
    Howling excitedly, the wolf-lizards then took up the chase once more. Their tongues whipped into the sky before slamming down with a thud.
    “Faster!” Sam panted back.
    “We are!” Catherine called.
    The wolf-lizards were almost catching them. Matthew could feel their stale breaths touching the back of his neck, not wanting to look back, he kept focussed on Catherine.
    “Arragh!” Matthew screamed, feeling the fiery deadly strike of a wolf- lizard’s tongue. Knocking him face down into the mud, Matthew felt his back burning as the intense hot poison soaked deep into his skin.
    “Sam! Matthew’s been hit!” Catherine shouted turning to run back for him.
    Managing to roll himself over, Matthew slowly shuffled back. The monsters stopped and growled at him. Shuffling away from them, their intense fire spread across his back and up towards his shoulders.
    The wolf-lizards slithered closer towards him, viciously snapping their jaws, licking their deadly razor sharp teeth in anticipation of their food.
    Catherine gazed on helpless, her heart was in her mouth, and tears filled her eyes. Sam, rather assuring given the situation, whispered in Catherine’s ear, “Don’t move until I say.”
    Swiftly Sam slid an arrow from her backpack and positioned it onto her bow, waiting for the right moment to strike.
    The pack of wolf-lizards stared at one another before one of them slithered over towards Matthew. With each move the wolf-lizard made, an accompanying howl of encouragement came from the blood thirsty creatures. With a sense of arrogance, the wolf-lizard looked Matthew up and down with its bulging black eyes, giving off a small growl and sneer. Then, another moment of arrogance made it reveal its deadly weapon. Emerging from its dagger like teeth, that fiery rotten fleshed tongue. Tilting its head backwards and pointing its tongue into the sky, with one swift movement it slammed it back down into