A shiver crawling up my back and my spine. Then one the men scream out. He is being assaulted by one of the men.

The guards try to stop him. A fight breaks out. The man begins transforming. He becomes a centaur. His nostrils were flared wide. 

I struggled to pull out my sword, whipping around as I felt hot breath on my neck. 

My heart stopped as I was suddenly encountering another centaur. 

“Give me the sword, or I’ll take it after stomping you to death.” His front horse legs lifted up. A smirk crossed his face. 

Next, to him lower to the ground was a fox. My body struggled to do anything and a burst of nasty barking laughter erupted from these creatures. My throat constricted as I struggled to summon the words to beg for my life. 

I finally get to observe what they really are. They surround us on all sides. Then the creatures break up the group of guards near me. One of the centaurs took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected them to be so fast. He swung his front hooves at me and had it not been for a jump I would have lost both legs. I barely dodged his blow. At least I'm pretty fast myself. 

As one of them gets closer to me, I finally remember to draw my sword. The creature laughs. I got lucky and cut a knee. He howled out. Fierce pain and considerable annoyance. I couldn't help myself from gulping as if I had made some kind of mistake. But I won't stop moving.

I know I have to fight through, but I have no idea how to use the sword and I'm afraid I'll end up catching on fire. If the sword doesn’t kill me then the chest plate just might. That could be an automatic death. Burning myself a bit is my only option. 

The wolf woman rescues me with her longbow and then with one of the guard’s swords. She shoots an arrow into the fox's face, and he dies. Then she gets out an arrow that doesn’t look ordinary at all. I’m trying my best to keep the centaurs distracted with the sword. 

She shoots one of the centaurs, and the arrow seems to have paralyzed him. She sprints up and mounts him, then attacks him with her sword until she gets bucked off. She repeats herself, and I try my best to do the same. She shouts, “Stay on his side!” 

They were much too massive and bulky to move quickly around which gave us plenty of time to dodge. His legs are even more treacherous than his arms. We circle each other until an arrow goes instantly through one of his front legs. I take the opportunity to jump on his back. The sword flames up and I pierce him in the exposed neck. The fierce heat surprises me, and I fall as the centaur falls. 

“I don’t feel well. Did the armor perform its magic? Am I dying?”

“Get up, your fine. Help me out.” I get up and check myself. Besides my arm, I’m fine for now. 

By Cristina Collazo