Chauncey & Jackson Livington
The abyss scorched the land along the Grosseto beach; hot sun beamed down on the white sand as the water oh so shyly kissed the shore. It wasnât long before the silence was interrupted, the false peace broken as legs beat across the sand. Her hand intertwined with his, forcing his hand to grip onto hersâ as he lugged behind.
âChaunce, I â I canât keep up!â He panted out hard. His porcelain skin was stained with a pained red as sweat drizzled down both of their bodies- damn was this daemon persistent.
âDonât worry JacksonâŠâ Her head peered behind her, her empty reassurance only proven to be false as the fear rose in her gut; the daemon was only but a few yards behind them. They had been able to ditch him a mile back, but apparently, he found his way back to them; geez, why couldnât Jackson have been born without the trace? With a growl and a slight rumble, Chaunceâs free hand pulled out her small pistol from underneath her skirt, breaking free of their hold and skidding around to face the daemon; Peters and Jackson only stopping for a few seconds before they began to run once more.
Her finger let loose on the trigger, firing off only but a few rounds before she was empty; it surely wasnât enough to kill the damned thing, but it was enough to send the bastard flying back onto his arse. Within those few minutes, Chaunce swung back around, running full speed ahead and grabbing Jacksonâs hand, jerking him forward. She ran so quickly, that even Peters had trouble keeping up, his tongue flapping out with his ears bent against his skull. At some point, Chaunce was pretty sure that Peters fell behind, but was reassured when she saw him ahead of them, perhced on a rocky mound his ears perked up at the same level as his tan, bushy tail.
âGood boy, Petersâ Chaunce whispered underneath her breath, struggling up the rocks. Peters jumped down into the small rocky cave, following Jackson as he descended. Chaunce looked up and around, only to sense that the daemon was up and wasnât happy about the lead being in his ass. Without much ado, Chaunce jumped down into the rock pit, her legs scratching against the sharp edges before plummeting into the murky salt water.
She coughed at the sudden intake of the water, âJackson!â Her voice was a harsh whisper.
âIâm here!â The small boy replied, holding onto the rock for dear life as Peters paddled around, his paws slipping as he failed to grip onto an available rock he can perch himself on. With the noise they were making, it wouldnât be long for the daemon to find them. Chauncey felt around, her hands gripping onto rocks before slipping; her feet doing the same, and flawing in the same way. Finally after many attempts, Chaunce found a flat edged rock that was big enough for Peters to crawl up on and for Jackson to slide into; it took them longer than Chaunce had planned, her worries only increasing when the sense of the daemon grew stronger. She practically held her breath, pushing in the stilled Jackson into the cubby hole of rocks. She could tell he was holding in the small cries of being cut by the rocksâ jagged edges.
Chaunce bit her lip and held tightly onto Jacksonâs ankle as the small waves from the pool went over her nose and mouth before sinking underneath her rib cage and back up again. It seemed like forever that the daemonâs sense was around- Chaunce couldâve sworn that it had been an entire hour before the sense was completely dissipated. She swam to the middle of the pool and positioned herself up against some rocks, poking her head out; one might say the sight of it was similar to that of a meer-kat. The coast was clear- literately. Not a soul in sight. Chaunce pulled herself up and out, still cautious of her surroundings before calling down to Jackson.
As soon as Jackson pulled Peters up and out of the small hole, Chaunce took the boys out onto the beach; idly examining the cuts and bruises they obtained from the rocks.
âAlright, your aura seemed to be drowned out by the salt water, so Iâd say weâd be good to rest here for a few.â She plopped down onto the sand, pulling her wet pack over her shoulder, zipping open the tattered, poor thing. âAs soon as I treat you guys, weâll get going. After a few hours, weâll stop and you guys can have a meal.â At her words, Jackson stuck up his nose and popped his tongue out of his mouth.
âI donât like dried fish.â He squirmed; pulling off his sticking shirt, sitting in front of her as Peters shook himself dry, rolling around in the warm sand.
âWell I have peanut butter and jelly.â Chaunce said as she pulled out a bag filled with first aid materials. She opened it as if it was a bag of chips and pulled out an alcohol bottle and a cotton ball.
âYeah,â He murmured, âsquished, salty peanut butter jelly sandwich.â Chaunce clicked her tongue as she poured the alcohol onto the cotton ball and jammed it into one of the larger cuts that littered his back. âOw!â
âYou shouldnât complain and be happy that youâre alive,â She scolded, âwe wouldnât have been in that situation if you had sprayed yourself with water in the first place like I said.â
The two were silent for a second before Jacksonâs small voice sliced through the silence. âIâm sorry.â
â...Itâs fine.â
By the time Chaunce was done treating Jackson, Peters was caked from head to paw in sand; his tanned fur suddenly became the color of an off colored white, only his large black eyes and pink tongue showed. âGuess Peters treated himself.â She scuffed, putting away the items and standing up. âWell,â Chaunce stretched her sore body upwards before she looked around herself. âOur main goal right now is head for a big city to stock up on supplies; which could be dangerous.â She pondered about this for a few seconds before shaking her head once, kicking herself for even thinking about such a thought. Chaunce knew she couldnât leave Jackson alone, even if it was only going to take her two days to go the city and come back. âYou have to listen to be about the water thing- got it?â
Jackson only nodded his head once as the small trio began to walk towards the grassy hill. âWeâll stop in four hours to eat. Weâll walk through the night again and then stop and rest, alright?â Chauncey watched as the child stumbled on his feet and the dog bob his head up and down in the air, flinging sand everywhere.
âYesâŠâ Anyone could tell that Jackson wasnât as thrilled as he couldâve been. âHey, tell me about the place weâll get!â His disappointed mood suddenly changed to a more half- excited chant, which only caused Chauncey to smile.
âMaybe later, Jackie-boy.â She sighed, a smile still on her face when the kid let out a disappointed âo-kâ.