Free Avondale by Toby Neighbors Page B

somehow fallen out of the sky and they were loathe to give it up. He struggled to his feet, his tailbone aching in awful pain, but the sight of the huge lizard creatures so close got Tiberius moving. He took hold of the whip and pulled it free of the simple thong with a jerk. His hand wrapped around the handle and the oiled leather coils dropped to the ground. He raised his arm quickly, then brought it back down again. The whip cracked loudly; the sound bouncing off the stone wall made it seem even louder.
    The Graypee’s flinched at the sound, but didn’t turn back. Tiberius moved between his friend and the large creatures that were slinking closer and closer to his inert form. With a practiced movement he brought the whip sailing up over his shoulder, it cracked again as it swung back out in front of him. He let the cracker on the end of the whip slap the ground as it violently changed directions again. This time when the whip popped, dirt flew up into the air.
    “Get out of here!” Tiberius shouted.
    The pack of Graypee’s growled menacingly. Tiberius knew was going to have to do more than scare them to drive them away from his friend. He dashed forward, the whip wrapping around his body, then uncoiling again as he spun. He flicked the whip back, then spun it above his head before snapping it back down. The cracker slapped across the snout of the nearest Graypee, popping the reptilian creature hard enough to break the skin of most animals. The scaly hide of the Graypee didn’t split, but the creature howled in pain, rearing back away from Tiberius.
    For just a moment the creatures hesitated, giving Tiberius just enough time to make his move. He turned and sprinted for the spear. It wasn’t far away, and he snatched it up off the ground, whirling around before jamming the butt of the weapon into the ground and falling to his knees. One of the Graypee’s had given chase and was leaping toward Tiberius. He raised the spear to meet the creature’s charge. It impaled itself on the long weapon and toppled onto its side, shaking and howling as it died.
    Tiberius had hoped to use the weapon to fend off the other creatures, but he knew there was no way he could pull the spear free. With its specially made barbed head, the spear would have to be cut out of the Graypee. He jumped over the creature’s body and snapped the whip as he landed, the crack of the leather made the rest of the Graypees hesitate once again.
    “Get out of here!” Tiberius roared, running toward the massive creatures again.
    He capitalized on his shout with another crack of the whip. It was enough to spook the Graypees, and they turned and dashed back down the mountainside. Tiberius breathed a ragged sigh of relief, but then sprinted back to his friend. He knelt in the dust beside Rafe, whose eyes were open. He was struggling to breathe.
    “Hey, you’re okay,” Tiberius said optimistically. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
    Rafe’s eyes were open wide and his mouth opened and closed several times before words came out.
    “What happened?”
    “You fell. I had to drive off the Graypee’s. They thought you were dessert.”
    “Don’t joke.”
    “No, it’s okay,” Tiberius said. “They’re gone. I even killed one. Can you believe it?”
    “Ti, I can’t move.”
    “Just give it a minute, you’ll be fine.”
    “No, I can’t move,” Rafe said as tears rolled down his cheeks. “I can hardly breathe.”
    “You fell from the wall,” Tiberius said. “It just knocked the breath out of you.”
    “Listen to me,” Rafe wheezed. “I can’t feel any pain. I can’t move my arms or legs. I feel like there’s a huge stone on my chest. I’m dying.”
    “No,” Tiberius said. “You can’t.”
    “Tell Olyva…”
    His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. It was taking all his strength just to breathe. Tiberius felt a sense of despair. Rafe’s back was broken, and even if they could somehow lift him back up on the wall