For the first time in a long time, Nora was pushing herself to the limit.
Every muscle in her body was taut, her lungs burned with effort, and her boots slipped against the cave's rocky floor as she ran with Rian in her arms.
The damp, cold air stung her face, and the sound of her footsteps echoed in the darkness, mingling with the constant plop of water dripping into unseen puddles.
The cave's creaks, as if the walls themselves were shifting, blended with a deep, ominous hum that made her shudder.
But what terrified her most was the sound behind them: a hissing ssss, accompanied by the heavy scrape of something large slithering across the ground.
Nora hated this.
She hated having to push so hard, running for her life in a place where she couldn't see a thing, carrying Rian's weight and being chased by an unknown creature.
She'd always preferred taking things easy, enjoying life, cracking jokes, and avoiding any situation that demanded this much effort.
