The Wastelands (Part II of the Runner Series)

Chapter 14

Luca pushes back the few strands of hair flying about his face and nods once before turning and jogging lightly down the path, heading away from the river. I chase after him, pushing my body hard until I settle into a comfortable rhythm over the unfamiliar surface.

The sand shifts almost silently beneath our feet, a sharp contrast to the sound of my boots slapping against the City's roofs and alleyways. My heart beats steadily in my ears and I relax into the run, concentrating on the way Luca's shoulders move beneath his tunic as he sprints ahead of me.

We race past dune after dune. By the time Luca draws to a stop I am slightly out of breath and a light dusting of perspiration has gathered on my throat.

Luca glances over at me as I pull up next to him. "Perhaps you need to exercise more." He gloats, barely winded.

"Some of us haven't been running over sand our entire lives." I respond, struggling to speak as I suck air into my lungs.

He lets out a snort that could pass for a laugh. The feeling of blood flowing through my body and air rushing by my face is too wonderful to consider being annoyed at him and instead I glance around, wrinkling my brow as I take in our surroundings.

"Gracious me. Sand, sand and more sand. Tell me, brave hunter: how does this particular location differ from any other in the miles and miles and miles of endless desert?"

"This is where the hares come." He ignores my sarcasm and begins walking further inland, not bothering to alter his stride as I hurry to keep up.

We enter a brushy area dotted with rocks and the odd dried-out tree. Shadows loom over me, refreshing after the exertion of the run. I glance up as we walk, studying the sparsely-spaced trees, trying vainly to imagine them blooming with leaves.

"Here." Luca circles one of the larger tree trunks, his sharp eyes darting across its surface up to the higher boughs. He raises his eyebrows at me, adjusting the bow over his shoulder before jumping straight up to grab a low branch, pulling himself bodily upwards.

I watch as he stands up on the bough, the old wood creaking under his feet before he jumps to grab the next branch. Fluidly he moves higher and higher, stopping midway up the tree before crawling a little ways out and situating himself comfortably high above the ground.

My senses hum as I plan my path up the rough bark, feeling giddy at the prospect. I leap at the trunk of the tree, kicking off the side of it and propelling myself onto an outstretched branch, barely pausing before reaching for the next highest limb, picking my way quickly towards Luca.

He sits calmly, his long legs dangling over the edge of the tree branch as he waits for me. I settle myself next to him, considering our weight and the strength of the branch. Once I'm seated I glance up, feeling my face flush with the heady exertion of the climb.

He nods approvingly and slings his bow out from under his shoulder. "Can many of the other Miners climb so well?"

"Not anyone I've ever met." I quirk an eyebrow at him, accepting an arrow when he hands it to me and notching my bow.

"How did you learn?"

"I taught myself." I reply as I practice aligning my sight along the length of the arrow. "Being able to run and climb is extremely useful when you earn your living as a thief."

"How does a thief become a friend to a Queen and the lover of the Queen's warrior?"

I laugh, genuinely for the first time since crashing into the desert. "That, my friend, is a very long story."

He smiles, at once appearing younger. "Perhaps one day you can tell it to me."

"Perhaps." I push my braid behind my back as I hold up my bow, tracing the ground with the point of my arrow as I search. "Now, what is it we're looking for?"