𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

chapter seven - drown, demon, drown

TW: SUICIDE ATTEMPT, BASICALLY

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Sand turned to dry dirt, cacti turned to weedy seedlings, and noon turned to dusk. Lucas wasn't sure about the exact number of hours they had been running. His legs were on fire, his breath was heavier than gold, and his throat was drier than the desert he had just left behind. But did that really matter when the purple on the Jorvikian scales kept growing more and more vibrant?

Eventually, the sun vanished completely behind the horizon, and mass of palm trees now surrounded the young men. Birds trilled out their songs to the darkness, almost like warnings of what lay ahead in the thickness of the trees and the decomposing foliage.

The three were in the heart of the Lyrin Jungle.

Jalen, Jaron, and Lucas had to slow their pace to avoid slamming into trees, and eventually, they came to a halt and rested their backs on bark. They passed around the canteen and took in big gulps as they sighed heavily. Their exhausted breaths mingled with the sounds of the night's creatures. They didn't rest for long before continuing their quest.

If the air in the Lyrin Desert was so thin and dry that it almost felt non-existent, the air in its jungle equivalent was so thick and humid, it was suffocating. Through all the moisture, sweat, and foliage drenching Lucas with each step, he felt like he was drowning. It starkly contrasted his constant raisin-like feeling during his stay in the desert. That didn't mean it wasn't taking a massive toll on Lucas' body.

Jalen lowered the hand with the scales and cobalt. The purple was of the same vibrancy as the red, the blue, and the green. For in front of him was the end of the sea of trees, the moon shimmering on the flowing teal waters of a river, and a body strewn across the ground just a few feet away from it.

"Link!"

Jaron darted for his friend and lifted his torso off the ground. "Link? Linkin! Linkin Jackson!"

But Linkin didn't reply no matter how many times his name was called out. Closed eyes, chapped lips, nearly blue skin - the Jorvik had robbed Linkin of his water, air, and consciousness. It wasn't a pretty sight to see.

Jaron hurled the canteen at Jalen's head.

"Ow!"

"Get some water! Quick!"

Jalen grumbled to himself as he picked up the container and filled it up at the riverbank. Lucas could have sworn he heard, "Kant would not approve" in his rant.

Jaron placed Linkin's limp body back on the ground, giving Lucas a chance to check on him. Jaron shot him a distrustful look, but Lucas went to check the pulse on Linkin's wrist anyways. As expected, his heartbeat was barely present. If Lucas didn't know any better, he would have thought he was handling a corpse.

Before Lucas could think of what to do next, Jalen let out a yelp. Jaron and Lucas turned their heads. From the jungle canopy, a curtain of sand descended and was rapidly making its way towards Jalen. Jalen was frozen in place, but Lucas lunged his body at him to push him away just in time.

"What are you doing, idiot? Move!"

Jalen's brain switched back in and began retreating into the trees with Lucas right behind him. Beside them, Jaron heaved Linkin onto his back and also started running.