Rise or Burn

Chapter Two

Kol padded his way through the shallow waters of the Ona river. The sun beat hard against his face, beads of sweat trickled down from his forehead and his feet: blistered and sore, begged for rest. They'd been walking for half the day and were still hours away from the next gate. Anna walked ahead, undeterred by the Teri'are summer sun. Hae was lagging behind, wheezing for air.

"Anna," Kol called. She stopped to turn to him. He jerked his head in Hae's direction. She was hunched over and looking like she was about to vomit. "Can we stop for a bit?"

She looked down at the parchment in her hands, a map of Omora with all the gates marked. She looked hesitant. Kol could tell how badly she wanted to keep going. They were so close. But with another glance at Hae she said, "Yeah, we should get some rest. We can start again when the sun goes down."

The canopy of Teri'are was widely spaced and scarce, most of the land being mainly grassland, but they managed to find a nice shady tree to sit under. It had a narrow trunk with twisty branches and small and elliptic leaves.

Kol sat with his back to the trunk, Hae laid on the ground heaving a great sigh and Anna took off her cloak and folded it into a makeshift pillow for Hae to rest her head on before she settled next to Kol.

"Do we still have any food left?" Anna asked. Kol opened up the bag Nikos had packed for them. There was still some bread and cheese left. Enough for a couple of days but after that...? They'd need to stop by a city eventually. Kol broke off a bit of the bread and passed it to Anna and then some to Hae.

"I bet you miss the palace's buffets," he said.

"Mm, I could really go for some freshly baked honey buns right now," Hae moaned.

"Or some bacon," Anna hummed.

"When we get back home I'm going to eat so much I'll be stuffed for weeks," Kol told them.

"Me too," Hae and Anna said at the same time and they all laughed.

Hae was asleep. Anna was close to it but Kol was still wide awake. He'd never been this restless before. He'd never been this worried before either. All he could think about was Andy. He's alive. He took a deep breath. He's alive. He ran a hand through his hair. He's alive. He sighed. He has to be.

Guilt still weighed heavy on his heart. He needed confirmation that Andy was still alive. Something to bring him hope. Anna and Hae's certainty that they'd find Andy was unwavering. He wasn't sure. He wished he was. Thinking that Andy was dead, and knowing he was responsible was like a weight pressing itself against his chest making it harder to breathe with each inhale. He's alive. He repeated the words over and over again in his head until they were the only things he could think of. He's alive because he has to be.

"Hey," Anna said poking his shoulder. He started, tilting his head to face her. The sun was close to the setting, nearly dipping under horizon but it's light seeped between the rustling leaves and touched her cheeks. Her face glistened, drops of sweat dripping down her forehead. She gave him a soft smile. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Andy?" she guessed. Somberly, he nodded and she added, "This isn't your fault. Him being captured, I mean. I'm sorry I said it was. I was upset and worried but I really shouldn't have said any of that."

Kol sighed. "I should have gone back."

Anna shook her head. "They would have killed you."

He knew. "But what if something's happened to him. I'm the one who told you to leave him there. He—"