A few marbles short

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." She didn't reply. Partly because, what difference would it make? and partly beause that's when the squirrels finally decided to stop watching and start attacking. Hissing with annoyance Maea raised her arms up to shield her face from the thorns, the stones still clutched firmly in her hands. She saw the wolf appear, scaring the chattering little pests off in all directions, and nearly felt like running herself before she realized it was Loren who'd made it appear. Sweet mercy of Mort, the thing was huge! Fast on the fellow Loreseekers heels as he made to leave, Maea's eyes kept darting about them for other signs of danger. Her mouth had gone dry, heart racing, and she sucked in a startled breath when the bushes ahead began to move. "It's closing on us!" she exclaimed, stating the obvious while picking up the pace into a dead run. Now, the noble thing to do here would obviously be to make sure Loren was alright and keeping up. But with the realization that he'd fought the mud monster came the knowledge that she probably was in more danger than him, considering their compared experience, skill and general aptitude for fighting. So the best the small, pale, now quite frightened girl could do was honestly to make sure she didn't lag behind as she dashed for the opening, desperate to get through before it closed them in.