Page 4 of The Orc Protector's Secret Baby

“She’ll be long dead by then.”

“Even better.”

I listen to their conversation in horror, not because of what they said, but because of how close their voices sound. I probably have seconds until they see me.

Looking down, I focus on the outcropping. It’s far, but if I can make it there, I can find some place to hide for the night. That’s all I need.

I look for the closest large rock. There are none next to me, but there’s one directly below me. The only problem is that it’s way farther down.

In my mind, there’s only one way I can do this.

I look at the arrow still sticking out of my arm. It’s thick and looks like it’s made well, so it won’t snap easily.

Not letting myself think about it any longer, I grip the rock as tight as I can with my injured arm, freeing up my good arm. With the good arm, I take hold of the arrow and grit my teeth, pulling it out.

As I pull it out, my right-hand slips on the rock. I try to grab it with my left hand, without dropping the arrow, but I’m too late.

I start free falling down the cliff again, but I stick with my plan. Before I can fall too much, I plunge the arrow into the rock. It’s a gamble, since it’s impossible to aim it into one of the cracks, but it works. I come to a pause midair, holding onto the arrow with one arm.

The arrow is more than halfway into a crack in the cliff. That coupled with how small I am, allows it to hold my full weight. For now.

I look down, breathing hard. The rock is only a few feet below me now.

I hear the orcs burst into laughter. My head snaps up towards the top of the cliff, but no one is in sight. Maybe they aren’t going to look over the edge after all. Maybe they’re already figuring out a way to get to the bottom to find me.

Still, I need to be quick about this. I shove my right hand into a nearby crack and find a larger crack near my feet to stick them into.

Once I’m sure that my feet and my hand are snug enough, I start to slowly take the arrow out of the wall. If I yank it, I’ll just fly back and fall, so I need to be careful about this.

My feet start to slip just as I get the arrow fully out, so I place the arrow in between my teeth and stick my left hand into the same crack my right one is in.

Slowly, I begin scaling down, finding divots that my hands can go in, and cracks for my feet. My muscles are screaming at me to rest, and my right arm hurts so bad from the arrow. If I hadn’t built up so much endurance and stamina over the past few years, I would’ve fallen a long time ago.

Turns out, all those times the orcs chased me, has actually done me some good.

The large, jutting rock below me is so close. It’s nearly level with the outcropping, so if I can use it to get to the next rock, and so on, then I’ll be okay.

I let myself drop the last two inches, clutching the wall. The rock is big enough for me to stand flat on, but it isn’t much wider than that.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

Since I’m level with the trees, I’m also level with the fog that likes to hang up here. It becomes hard for me to look around and find new footholds. Even squinting does nothing to help.

I wait for a cloud of it to pass before setting my sights on a rock sticking out that’s about two feet away from me. Taking the arrow out of my mouth in case I need it, I stretch out a leg, grabbing hold of another rock to help move myself over.

Once I’m standing on the new rock, I keep repeating the same process, moving horizontally along the rock wall, finding new footholds and inching my way closer to the outcropping.

I’m feeling confident, until I hear another voice. This time, I have no doubt they’re right at the edge of the cliff.

“I don’t see anything! We should go down there!”

“Let me look,” a different orc says.

I freeze, not wanting to look up. I can’t bear to see the smug look on their faces when they realize they can still get me.

“I don’t see anything on the ground down there!” someone shouts.

The more they talk, it becomes obvious that they can’t see me. Puzzled, I glance up. As I do, I realize why.