//------------------------------// // Ch.5 Not Planning Ahaed // Story: A Stress Free Environment // by SimpleDude //------------------------------// “What is that thing?” Josh sporadically stated. “It's a timberwolf and it’s mad at me,” Andromeda answered nonchalantly while running beside Josh. “What did you do to make it so mad?” Josh said a bit scared, but couldn't think of anything else to say. As Josh looked back at the timberwolf again, he noticed it kept tripping over tree roots sticking out of the ground. Either it was bad at running through the forest, or Andromeda hit it in the head and made it loopy. Either way this gave Josh and Andromeda more ground and precious time to get away from it. “Actually, yeah I kind of did, but there's a little more to it than that. I'll tell you when we get away from this timberwolf,” Andromeda answered. “And how exactly are we going to do that? That thing doesn't look like it is going to slow down anytime soon.” ‘At least if you don't count the tripping’. Josh was running as fast as he could to get away from this dangerous surprise. He was running so fast that the forest was now nothing but a green blur. Josh was lucky his adrenalin had kicked in. “I think there is a big crevasse up ahead. I spotted it while flying. At least I think it is a crevice. If it is, then we could probably grab a vine hanging down one of the trees on the edge and swing across to the other side, given there are vines hanging down and that crevice is there. Hopefully, if it is there that it is wide enough for us to get across and loose that timberwolf.” Andromeda had it all planned out. She had a nick for coming up with last minute plans. “And what will happen if those vines are not there? What are we going to do then? Also, why are you not flying, I mean you could just fly up to see if those key items from your plan are actually there.” Josh said frantically as he tried to think up a contingency plan just in case he and Andromeda were unlucky. “Basically, I hit my wing on a tree branch as I was trying to land on the one under it. I was trying to get some fruit to eat because I was hungry. It just so happens that there was a timberwolf right under me when I fell. Thankfully it acted as a cushion. As for the plan, we'll figure that out in a minute,” Andromeda said with a look of dissatisfaction on her face. Not because Josh was worried about her plan, but because she managed to hurt her own wing and get chased by a timberwolf all in one bad move. It's like killing two birds with one stone, but the other way around. “It's going to be bad if things don't go according to plan. At least we had a good run.” After Josh thought about his sentence for a minute, he started snickering. “What's so funny? We are literally running for our lives from a wolf made of timber. I honestly don't understand, because just a second ago you were super spooked from the fact your life could be over any moment now if you trip or fall behind for some reason. Not that I'm concerned, but you had an attitude change real fast,” said Andromeda, a bit confused as the human wasn't making much sense anymore, at least not to her. “I just think it's funny. What I said about having a good run that is. It's an unintended pun,” Josh replied simply. “How is that funny? That's just— stupid. Let's just get away from this danger for now instead of getting distracted.” Andromeda just wanted the timberwolf to stop chasing her. It was getting kind of annoying to talk back and forth with Josh while running and trying to look out for roots to dodge. Josh was feeling the same way. --A few minutes of running later-- “Ok, I think I see the crevasse up ahead through some trees. You ready to jump Josh?” Andromeda wanted to make sure Josh was prepared to jump and grab on a vine so he wouldn't fall down or get mauled by a timberwolf. Josh didn't have much of a choice at this point. “Yeah I'm ready.” As the sight of a scar in the ground and large vines swaying gently in the breeze on the branches of the trees grew ever close, Josh and Andromeda became more tense. As Andromeda suspected, there was a large crevasse. The only issue was that the crevasse was a lot deeper and a bit wider than she had anticipated. This unfortunate discovery made her wince. All hope was not lost though. There were vines hanging off of trees that were on the cliff edge, which gave them a chance of getting away. “We’re about to jump. Get ready, we'll jump together. Be sure you have a vine singled out so you can grab it before you fall to the bottom of the crevasse up ahead. And make sure you grab a sturdy one,” Andromeda commanded. “K.” Josh was getting out of breath and talking took time out of breathing in air. He needed all the air he could get because his body was definitely not designed for running. He was built better for swimming or wrestling. They may sound like they were similar, but in reality, they were very diffident. Especially when it came to what muscles were being used and how they got used. Josh and Andromeda jumped and grabbed onto the vine they chose as soon as they got to the edge. The timberwolf stopped just in time to not fall off the edge of the crevasse. Unfortunately for Josh and Andromeda, they grabbed the same vine. This little interaction sparked up a conversation with the two in mid-swing. “Out of all the vines back there, you had to grab this one?” Andromeda said, annoyed at this occurrence. “I'm sorry, I had no idea that you would grab the same vine as me.” Josh was truly sorry and wished he could go back in time to change their current predicament, but he couldn't. “Of course you didn't,” Andromeda spat out. As the vine reached its apoapsis and swung ever closer to the other side, it snapped in two, which sent Josh and Andromeda flying into the air. Time felt as if it was slowing down for Josh. He looked to his side and saw a determined Andromeda looking in the direction of the side of the crevasse gravity and inertia were tossing them to. He then looked in the same direction and wondered if he would make it to the other side. ‘If I die here, does that mean I wake up in the real world? Is this some kind of nightmare on Elm street scenario where if I die in the dream world I die in the real world too?’ Josh couldn't help but wonder about such things at a time like this. It was in his nature. He then proceeded to close his eyes and hope for the best. He was a little scared of what he might see if he kept them open. After what felt like hours of darkness, his eyes shot open as he let out a yelp of shock due to a sudden pain in his back. At this moment all Josh could could think was ‘I am going to die?’