HEATHER RAND POV
After I saw Danny cross the bridge, I led the wolves in the opposite direction, but they caught up to me soon. A gnawing dread settled in my stomach, knowing this was it.
I tried to avoid confronting the and run as far as possible to delay them as much as I could, every shred of my will focused on buying Danny more precious seconds to escape. Whenever they lunged, I would protect my torso and head, covering myself as much as possible, bracing for the inevitable, the sharp tearing pain.
Please, God, don't let them chase after him when they're done with me, I thought, my last coherent thought a desperate, burning prayer for my child to be safe from harm, even if it meant my own end.
After nearly half an hour of relentless, agonizing struggle, my body screaming with every impact, I was finally down on the ground, hobbled by a vicious bite on my waist that radiated searing pain. In the next few minutes, as the world swam and blurred, I felt my consciousness slip, a heavy veil descending as I desperately struggled to protect my head from their snapping jaws. As my vision faded to black, a small distant figure, Danny(?), seemed to be running towards me. A flicker of profound relief, a fleeting, desperate joy, pulsed through me even in my semiconscious state. I tried to open my mouth, to warn him to get away, to scream for him to run, but before I could utter a single sound, my body gave out completely, and I fell into unconsciousness.
At some indeterminate point, I felt a strange sensation, a return of consciousness, but I was too weak to even force my eyelids open. All I could feel was an intense, pervasive wave of heat spreading through my body; it was like my very blood was on fire, not painfully, but profoundly, miraculously warm, chasing away the bone-deep cold. A bewildered confusion swam in my fading thoughts. I tried with all my strength, mustering every ounce of my dwindling will, to open my eyes. For a brief, groggy moment, I succeeded. Through a hazy blur, I saw the back of what I still thought was Danny(?), pulling me, dragging me somewhere. But I was too utterly drained, too caught in the strange currents of healing and exhaustion, to do anything more than dimly register the sight.
At least he is okay~ That one, lingering thought, that profound, maternal certainty, brought an overwhelming sense of relief. As that last tension loosened in my soul, I once again slipped peacefully out of consciousness.
It was a jarring feeling of intense, biting cold that finally awakened me again, forcing my eyes open. As I looked around, my gaze slowly clearing, I realized, with a jolt, that I wasn't wearing my overcoat. A primal fear flared, but then I touched my body and was utterly, shockingly surprised to find that I didn't feel any pain whatsoever. The angry welts, the deep gashes, the agonizing bites – all gone. I slowly, cautiously, got up. I was lying on a stretcher, my overcoat neatly folded underneath me. All the horrific wounds that had covered my body were miraculously gone, as if they had never been there, leaving my skin strangely smooth and untouched. A sudden, sharp cold wind chilled my exposed skin, making me shiver, and I quickly snatched the coat, pulling it around myself. A profound sense of bewildered wonder, tinged with a deep unease, settled over me. What had happened? How was this possible?
After scanning my immediate surroundings, my eyes were drawn to a distant figure, still Danny(?) in my mind, sitting in what appeared to be deep meditation near a massive, snow-covered hill. I quickly got up, pulling on my boots, and, driven by a desperate need for answers, began walking towards him. As I drew closer, the 'hill' resolved itself into a colossal, imposing face of a tiger, its sheer size overwhelming. Then, to my utter disbelief and rising terror, its piercing blue eyes slowly opened, fixing on me.
I opened my mouth to scream, a guttural cry of primal fear tearing at my throat, but then I saw the giant Tiger make a subtle gesture with his massive paw. An extreme pressure, an invisible force, slammed into my body, causing the scream to die, choked and useless, in my throat. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe properly. Then, with another gesture, he pointed towards Danny(?) sitting there, and a translucent blue dome, shimmering faintly with an ethereal light, covered him, trapping him within its silent embrace.
The tiger turned his colossal head back to me, and spoke, his voice a deep, resonant rumble that vibrated through the very ground, "Be quiet, woman!" The command was absolute, imbued with an ancient authority that brooked no argument.
And I fell silent instantly, frozen, paralyzed by the sheer power of his presence and the chilling command. My eyes immediately snapped back to the boy, trapped and vulnerable within the blue dome. A fierce, primal mother's instinct, raw and powerful, surged through me, overriding my own terror. "I will do as you say," I rasped, my voice barely a whisper, "just don't do anything to my son!" It was a desperate bargain, a raw plea.