The cocky snarls turned into agonizing howls and then silence as the blade met its throat. My perfect hiding place obviously ruined, I bolted into an open field, seeking out Ryland and the fortress. Suddenly, thumping began behind me and was picking up its pace. I turned around abruptly and regretted it as I saw three Bezerkers chasing after me. "Damn it Freya," I began, "you never learn." The next thing I knew, I was being pulled back into the Forest of Aerim by no other than Ryland. He spoke with a harsh tone, "you never listen to me. I told you to stay put!" "I just wanted to help. You guys never let me go anywhere at all. I'm not completely useless you know?! I just killed a Bezerker back there!" she yelled frustrated that he was screaming at her.
"Freya, you can't. You're a-" .
"Don't you dare say it's because I'm a girl Ryland. I don't know what you have against me fighting. I'm sick and tired of you saying I can't do something because I'm a girl. I get it okay!" Freya was livid at this point. She hated the way they treated her, like she was dirt under their feet. Her face turned beat red and she clutched her hand, ready to hit Ryland. "I know what you're thinking right now, so don't do it. We have much bigger problems than this, so we'll talk about it when we get back," Ryland said as we cut through corners of the forest trying to get back to the fortress. We ran as fast as our feet would take us, not daring to look back to see how close the Bezerkers were to us. All we could hear was the stomping of feet and the loud gnarls of these creatures. .
I felt Ryland slowly let go of my hand. I turned to face him as he said, "Keep running and don't look back. I'm going to stall them. The fortress is up ahead. GO!" I decided not to argue with him and continued further into Aerim. .
After what felt like hours of running, I had finally reached the fortress.
