Crimson Skies

Part 2 - Something in the darkness?

Jex wishes he had onyx string, but going into the golden temple was far too risky. Peering over the edge now, though, that risk would almost be worth it. The drop into the canyon is a steep and bone-breaking fall.

He lies down on his stomach, facing the city they escaped from and kicks a foot over the side until he feels along for a firm footing on the canyon wall. Then he brings down his other leg. He worms down over the edge. His arms secure, his nails burying into the red dirt, he allows his weight to shift to his lower body. He tests his mass on the narrow ledge. Solid. He jumps up and down.

Sarla almost screams, sure he will fall at any moment. When he does not, she catches her breath again.

“Okay,” Jex starts; his anxiety is a tender flow washing through his words, almost unnoticed. “It looks like we can get down to the canyon bed. Might take a few days, but at least it goes all the way down. Let’s put the girls between us as we crab-crawl our way along this ledge.”

“That way, we each look after a girl from opposite ends,” Dyle agrees, following his friend’s train of thought.

Dyle is soft and gentle for his gigantic size, and, though no one will say it, he goes last as a result. If the ledge crumbles beneath him, they will all be stuck if travelling behind him. He lowers Aila down first, careful and caring, his grip steady. Jex guides her down, his left hand around her waist and his right clinging to the jagged rock. She slips in next to him; their bodies pressed right up against the wall.

Aila reaches up for Sarla the moment her feet touch the ledge, not wanting to be apart for long. Jex keeps his hold behind her; she will need both hands to steady her cousin down.

Sarla drops into place next to the other two, quiet in the night, though the owls spot their escape. Dyle scrambles down soon after, his face pale; even in this purple light, they can see.

He places a finger to his lips.

Somewhere above them, somewhere further back into This Side of the plateau, they hear hard footsteps. They feel the red dirt kicked up by boots snow down on them. Keeping their heads down, so their eyes and faces do not reflect; giving away their position to whomever should dare step so close to the edge, they begin to repeat silent prayers. Bodies pressed against the rocky cliff, fingers digging for a secure hold to keep balance, they keep still and quiet.

Prayers answered as steps move away, red snow stops dusting their hair. Jex gives Aila a violent tug towards him as he starts to shuffle along the edge. Escape must be quick.

Aila can feel the numb tingling in her fingers as Jex grips her too hard, but she does not say anything. Dyle nudges Sarla forward and she takes a deep breath then follows, her fingers digging into the rocks, breaking her nails down to her fingertips and dying them a cheap-red polish. Even just shuffling, they move with haste along the rocky wall.

Some hours pass them by and the four are only a third of the way down the cliff. The ledge widens by stretching meters now. They collapse to the floor, exhausted and scraped down to the bone in patches over their hands.

Dyle glances around first. Further along, the wall becomes whittled with holes, like cheese. In some places, the holes are even large enough for him to fit through them. If he had to look, he would bet they are not mere holes, but tunnels really, but he is not stupid enough to look.

Jex catches the direction of his gaze.

Dyle shakes his head.

Jex keeps his mouth shut.

“Can we make a fire...” Sarla asks in a small voice, already knowing the answer.

Dyle pulls her close and wraps his strong arms around her. He breathes hot air onto her freezing, aching fingers to try to keep her warm. She reaches up and kisses his cheek. He shivers; her touch always jolts through him. Part of him is foolish enough to believe her love alone will keep him warm.

“It’s only going to get colder,” Jex says as if stomping out his wishful thinking, “The further down we go.”

Jex takes a thin blanket from his bag and hands it to Aila after watching Dyle place a similar material blanket over Sarla and himself.

Aila hurries to warp the sheet around her, even in long pants and a long sleeve shirt, the air nips at her. At them all, even dressed in their warmest – though they did not have much to begin with. Their breath soon begins to mist out in front of them.

“Come,” Jex coaxes, stretching out his legs, “Put your head here and go to sleep. You too, Sarla, Dyle. I’ll take first shift.”

Dyle turns his green eyes to the holes and tunnels further down the wall and bites his lip. “Fine, but you wake me after one cycle. Then you sleep. Another cycle after that and we have to move again.”

He nods looking down at Aila in his lap; at least she will get an hour’s rest. The moment her pale brown eyes close, he feels her breathing change and she is asleep before he can even think of anything to say to her. He watches Sarla curl up in Dyle’s arms and Dyle rest his head back against the wall, both asleep in minutes.

He envies them. Their relationship is so open and uncomplicated and for as long as he can remember, they have been an item. They suit each other and because they have been together so long, they are each other. They hardly fight because they think in the same way now. One may think they have lost sense of themselves, but Jex believes before they found each other they were lost. They must have been or they would not be so peaceful together.

With Aila things are complicated. Mostly, he does not actually want to be with her, which he supposes is the main reason why he is not really. But then they do share moments together, knowing it means nothing. He cringes at the thought. He realises she knows it means nothing, because she knows he does not want anything real from her.

And she still comes back to him.

And he still lets her.

On the very best days in Jex’s life, he still manages to conjure up some form of self-loathing. Here down in the darkness, where terrible things lurk, it is all too easy to fall back onto that pattern of hate. However, it has nothing to do with terrible things, as much as it has to do with one lovely thing. Sleeping peaceful in his lap is a girl whom adores him, yet he cannot bring himself to love her. Their time together is secret, though Dyle is no fool and Sarla comes to realise Dyle’s thoughts soon after he thinks them. However, Jex is not ready to tell them, because then he will have to answer for his behaviour...

Something rustles in the dark. Loud and scratching, something draws nearer. The muscles in Jex’s body tighten.