They were little people. As small as my thumb. They hummed and looked up at us. Their eyes glowed in the dark. Some had white eyes, some yellow, some with a deep purple glow, there were green eyes and blue too. There were dozens of humming creatures looking up at us. They had pointed heads and long curly hair covered their bodies. Their humming was faint and ominous. Like a warning song of a horror movie. One of them crawled up the tree trunk toward me. His feet and hands had long exaggerated digits that clung to the bark. His skin was smoky and translucent. Three more began climbing up the tree trunk humming their song in unison.

I looked over as the creature with the pocket watch stepped out from behind the tree. He sneered and swung the watch from side to side. His back-bent legs made him bob up and down as he walked. A sheen of oily sweat covered his body. His smile grew to his ears. His thorny brows curled down to his nose and arched up to points above his eyes. A patch of long thin hair hung down from the top of his head over his eyes.

The centaur startled at the sight of the watchman and cantered to the side. He pulled his bow and aimed it at the new visitor. The snap of the bow shook me from my awe, and I stood upright as the watchman caught the arrow beside his head without taking his eyes off of me. Drool seeped out of his mouth onto his chin, and he giggled like a demented child. The arrow cracked in half in his hand, and he tossed it to his feet. The watch still swayed in his other hand at a steady tick-tock speed, keeping pace with the humming rhythm.

“Run!” I shouted and Tootsie buzzed off ahead of us twisting through the forest as if the thing would be after her. Mia bolted straight up the tree and the centaur reared up. I was three steps before I could stop to turn back to Mia. The watchman leaped on the centaur and bit into his ear. His eyes stayed on me as he stood on the horseback of the centaur. Then the two of them were flying through the forest like the horseman’s tail was on fire.

“Get down,” I yelled up at Mia.

“No sir what the heck was that thing?” Mia panted and watched as the little people climbed the trunk toward her humming and glowing in various colors.

I tried smashing one, but it was too quick, and it turned its head completely around hissing at me. “Ew.” I withdrew. “Get down Mia, now.” I demanded, “before they get up there with you.”

I heard shots from the tribe and knew that Goar had spotted the watchman. I wondered if that meant the centaur had shaken it off. I heard the falconites break out in shrieks and squawks. Then Agatha threw out enraged threats.

“Catch me then.” I turned back to see Mia, airborne, claws out, smashing into me. We both tumbled to the ground. Then a dozen little people swarmed over us. They scratched, clawed, and bit my arms and face. I rolled Mia off of me and we both began frantically sweeping the little people off like fire ants.

“Run,” I said again as we broke free. I turned to run, and Mia swept in beside me as I blitzed through the trees. Thorn bushes ripped my fur robe as I ran, and I fought against it the first time. The second time it snagged I slipped out of it. As I spun to break free of the bloody robe, I saw the little glowing eyes darting through the forest after us. They landed on tree trunks and flung themselves after us like mini rabid squirrels. “What the flack!” I ran harder pumping my arms like I was in a track meet. My bare legs tore open by the briars.

Mia sprinted wide-eyed to my right, Agatha appeared on my right, outrunning both of us, about to pass us. “In yer skivvies again, I see.” She cackled. “I said get off ‘em.” She lowered her head and began running on her hands and feet. Her feet made a thump, thump sound as she pulled away from us. I looked up to see the centaur on his side with the watchman bent over him, his back to us. Vines were growing toward them.

I tried to slow down and grabbed Mia’s arm to stop her with me. The watchman turned with his ear-to-ear smile. His nose hung down over his bottom lip. His milky white eyes bore into me. Tootsie slapped into my neck, and I felt her stinger zap me. Instant rage washed over me.

Furious Feline E grade reached

I felt as if a lightning bolt ran down my spine. I jerked Mia off her feet as I sprang for the side. The watchman held the watch in his hand open, so the clock looked up at his pointed nose. He closed it. We froze in the air. Agatha was a moment from impact, her eyes closed, horns tipped down, feet off the ground. I was stuck in the air now too. My heart was pounding, I had the energy to scale a mountain in three strides, but it was like I was stuck in peanut butter. I realized then that we were still moving, only very slowly.

The watchman stepped to the side to be out of the path of Agatha and I felt a swarm of gnawing, scratching little people smack into my backside. I wished then I had kept the robe as some were even biting my bare cheeks. Vines continued to grow over the centaur on the ground. He lay with his head turned back to us a frozen scream on his face. The vines began to plunge through his skin.

From my periphery, I could see vines stretching out for us. I could see a swath of little people land on Mia. I struggled against my invisible imprisonment. My veins bulged from my arms, legs, and neck but I could not make myself move any faster.