A Children's Tale Read Online Free PDF Page B

O'Fallon stumbled on a tree root, both himself and Hunter fell in a heap into the snow. Moira instantly raced out into the impending maelstrom. William yelled but the deafening roar muffled his cries.
    Pitched face-first into the ground, Hunter raised his head when the wall of ice and death arrived, hammering him down like a giant fist as snow and rocks swirled deadly through the air. Stunned, his vision blurred from each rock, each branch that hit him. Pain lanced through him but soon it gave way to a cold darkness that tried to blanket him. Dimly, he heard William shout in surprise and Moira exclaim something in shock. Before the darkness swallowed him, he felt one last abrupt tug on his coat. Through the storm of snow, a short mass of brown fur had grabbed Hunter in a pair of strong claws and pulled.
     
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    S ilence and darkness shrouded the cave while outside, the sounds of the avalanche dimmed to nothing. Seconds passed slowly, then sounds of life stirred in the complete darkness. Survivors moved cautiously, feeling their way along rough stone to make sense of their new surroundings.
    William coughed at dust that lingered in the air. "Anyone be thinkin' ta drag a light along?"
Moira sat up slowly, careful to not bump into what she could not see. "Ah box of tindersticks and a striker, hold on."
    The blacksmith fumbled with cold fingers at a small pouch on her belt. By only touch, she withdrew a small leather bundle of sticks and a flat, thumb-sized piece of slate. Slowly, she worked one of the tindersticks out of the bundle. Then she struck the treated end of the tinderstick against the slate once, then twice.
    One small spark followed another, then the end of the tinderstick burst into flame. Moira held the burning stick high to let the feeble light shine as best it could. The cave was small, but could just accommodate the group. The only entrance had been completely filled with snow. At the back of a cave a small niche rose upwards into the rock.
    Her tinderstick's glow also revealed grim and tired faces of people she expected to see, and a few things she did not. Namely, a small discarded pile of branches, some with leaves still attached. They were not much, but would make for a simple, yet serviceable source of heat. Moira laid hands upon one and ran the tinderstick over it until the flame caught onto the leaves and branch itself.
    "We gotta lot o' diggin' ahead o' us." William sighed with a mournful look at the cave entrance.
    Captain Hunter, however, was not looking at the snow. He had fixed a stern look on one of their number. "That we do, but once we are free of our little burrow, I, for one, will want a explanation, Miss Angela, straight away."
    There in the dim shadows of the cavern, Angela sat crouched against the wall. Her clothes were torn with bits of fur thrust through the ripped holes. All-too-human eyes peered out from an obvious canine face, complete with a wolf's snout. Distinctive wolf-like ears had thrust through her hair, and while her body retained much of her human appearance, her hands had developed small claws. Her feet had a definite canine curve to her legs that ended in large paws.
    Lithe as a panther, Angela shifted her weight uneasily. Aware of the uncomfortable stares from her companions, the look of worried concern from her younger brother, and the hard look of Captain Hunter made her more self-conscious than a girl her age would normally be. Her eyes drifted uneasily around the group to rest on Hunter. She nodded, almost ashamed.
    "Yes Sirrah Captain. I'll explain then."
    "Don't you hurt her!" Blurted Miles in a fit of tears and young rage, his small arms shaking with all the bound energy of an upset youth.
    William put his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Hush now, lad. No way to talk to the Cap'n."
    "He's not my Captain! He's not our father or anyone!"
Hunter sighed, his look softening a touch. "No boy, I'm not. But I and my crew were charged to bring you both back