The girl ran beside him.
The world narrowed. Dirt. Bark. Blood in the corners of his vision. His leg didn't stop hurting, it just moved through the pain like a horse dragging something broken.
'Just a few more seconds. Just a few more steps.'
Something crashed through the woods behind them.
Not quiet now.
Big.
The older boy glanced back and screamed.
The sound split too fast.
Merlin turned.
A figure, armor again. Taller than the last ones. Holding a glaive longer than he was tall.
The boy tried to duck.
Didn't matter.
The glaive took him from shoulder to hip.
The other boy tripped and fell, rolling. Screamed once.
Merlin didn't stop.
The girl didn't stop.
They couldn't.
The world went red behind them. Not fire. Not blood. Just light that hurt to look at.
They broke into a clearing. Merlin saw a rise, just a dip in the ground, half-covered with moss. Might've been a shell crater once. Now it was just a hole.
He grabbed the girl's arm, yanked her down into it.
