[center][h2]Dawn of Blood: Part 5[/h2][/center] “You’ve go to run!” Yupilgo hissed, the skinny hunter’s face red with adrenaline. Antorophu nearly dropped the fish she was descaling. She sat outside her dwelling, a pit dug in the ground and covered by reeds. The salty sea air screamed in bursts around them, kicking up dirt from the rocky shoreline. “What?” “I overheard,” Yupilgo puffed for air, “They are coming for you -- going to kill your children.” “What!?” Antorophu stood up in horror. “They’ve gone too far,” Yupilgo pushed past Antorophu, “Thumfatem is dead, Hoshaf wants you -- clean.” The hunter tore off the reeds, revealing two scared looking selka pups, one barely a toddler and the other standing with wide worried eyes. Antorophu quickly rushed between her children and the hunter. “How do you know all this, what’s happening?” Yupilgo grabbed Antorophu by the shoulder and held her tight, her face paling, “Grab you children and ru-” A spear whizzed by, clanking off the stones, and in the distance a group of shouting selka were running. Yupilgo pushed Antorophu and the woman clamored for her youngest, scooping him up in her arms. Yupilgo wrestled the squirming and scared older son in his own, enduring several nasty bites. “Dradinku,” Antorophu went to correct her child, but a stiff hand from Yupilgo pushed her forward, “Move!” The two began to run. The rocks shifted under their feet, but their trained legs quickly found new ones as they bolted. The shouts grew and the occasional spear whizzed by, but Yupilgo wove in zig zags, goading Antorophu to do the same. Their shins shredded as they cut into the thickets on the edge of the beach. Boughs slapped at them and they ducked their heads, covering the children and their own eyes. The sounds of the other selka erupted as they too entered the thickets, their voices louder and closer. The two dodged trees, juking left and right. Antorophu began to slow down, while Yupilgo kept his hunter’s pace. Then there was a curdled scream and Yupilgo skidded to a halt and turned. HE saw Antorophu on the ground, her body covering her baby, blood pouring from her thigh. The white of her bone was exposed, and a stone tipped spear laid next to her, having rebounding out of the wound. Yupilgo dashed towards her but hesitated as her eyes met his. The group behind her was closing in and he could see her wishes. He sucked in a breath and held Dradinku close. Sending a shivering gulp down his throat, he turned and ran. The group of warrior selka quickly surrounded Antorophu as she sat up. She held her motionless baby in her lap, and the spear in her arms, blood pooling off of her. One of the selka took a step forward, and with hate in her eyes, she plunged the head of her spear into her stomach. She coughed, eyes wide as the other selka stared on in shock. Slowly she slumped over to her side, her child slipping off her lap, as motionless as her. [hr] Yupilgo’s legs began to tire but he kept running. He couldn’t see or hear them anymore but he didn’t want to try his luck. One leg after the other he ran and ran. Thoughts raced through his mind, and just as he thought he may be in the clear, he heard a shout and his blood ran cold. Not wanting to see where the shout came from, her kept his eyes forward and pumped his legs. The ground flew by underneath him as he ran, trees cutting past his vision and his face red with strain. Branches slapped at his arms and cut up his legs, but he kept Dradinku safely tucked under his forearms. Foot after foot, leg over leg, he ran, until suddenly the ground was gone. He broke through a dense thicket, only to find that he had ran off a small bluff. He felt his heart in his throat as the world slowed down. All he could feel was air rush past him, air and the tiny heartbeat he held safely against him. Closing his eyes, he tucked his body into a fetal position, attempting to maneuver Dradinku to the safest place he could think of. The wind howled, and there was a splash and a crack. [hr] Loud crying woke Yupilgo up, a warm pool forming on the back of his head. His fingers ran through what he could guess was the moss of a river bank. He could hear the water, but he couldn't see it. He opened his eyes, but they were already open. He reached around, brow furrowing. The world was colorless, Dradinku was crying. [hider=Summary] Yupilgo, one of Panganeem’s old friends warns Antorophu about the danger she is in. She doesn’t believe him at first but soon gets the message. Yupilgo snags her eldest son while she grabs her baby son. The two flee a mob but Antorophu and her baby are caught. She commits suicide and her baby is crushed Yupilgo escapes with the eldest son: Dradinku, but becomes blind after smashing his head off a rock [/hider]