Six Will Stand (First Draft)

Chapter 6

Riv turned. "You know, I was starting to believe you, but that last statement's pushing it."

Lycoris smiled. "What I say is true, even though it seems doubtful at times."

Riv sighed. Lycoris was right. She couldn't abandon her family when they needed her. Though, as she turned around to start again, the ground shifted once more and sent Riv sprawling to the side straight into a wall.

She flopped onto her back and looked at the ceiling. "Cade!" she screeched in irritation. Without getting off the cold cave floor, she looked at Lycoris. "Is Cade dreaming?"

Lycoris smiled. "Yes, dearie."

Riv groaned. She wasn't quite sure that was a good thing. But there was no time to dwell on it now. She got up again and made her way over to the cabinet to grab a new amulet.
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Morning
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Cade felt like he was plummeting to the ground, unable to stop himself from falling. He twisted and turned in the sky, but nothing would make his black and white wings beat against the air to lift him back up. The sky grew extremely bright right before he hit the ground, and his forest-green eyes snapped open to the blinding reality's morning light.

Without moving, he looked at where he was. His body was spread haphazardly across his sleeping mat, the thin blanket he had been using hardly even on him anymore. Did he really move around that much when he slept...? Putting a hand to his head, he felt the blood-dampened bandages had been loosened and needed to be changed.

He sighed and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes, then ungracefully got up to get new bandages from Marion's first-aid kit she always kept in her satchel. Cade looked around for a moment, finding it strange that no one else was up yet. That is, until he noticed where the sun's position was.

From the looks of it, it was...about four in the morning? Sighing again, he took off his soiled bandages and quickly replaced them with clean ones.

Once he was done, he started to head back to his sleeping mat. Deep in thought, he wondered where Riv was and what her condition would be. That is, her blindness. When someone gains their sight back for a period of time, their senses would become adjusted to having their sight back, so if Riv became blind again after she left Cade's dreamscape, she would be far worse than when she first became blind. ...Right?

Not noticing where he was going, he ran right into a surprised Josh. "S-sorry," he said, sleep and other thoughts still clouding some parts of his mind. The blond yawned. "What...what're you doing up so early?"

Josh looked uncomfortable. "Uh, I actually didn't sleep." Trying to act casual, he bent down and rummaged through his brother's pack. After finding what he needed, he went back over to Cade. "Oh, I see you changed your bandages. Let me take a look." He carefully removed the bandages again. "Yeah, the wrapping was good, but this needs to be cleaned. Let me...." He trailed off and used the wet cloth in his hand to start wiping away the dried blood and grime.

Cade hummed in reply, eyelids begging him to keep them closed. Why was getting up in the morning—four a.m., exactly—so hard? He yawned again as Josh finished up cleaning his wound and put the bandages back on. "Hey, what do you dream about?" Another yawn.

Josh wrapped the bandages around his head. Not too loose, not too tight. "It depends. Though I usually don't remember what I dream when I wake up." He chuckled to himself. "Not like that's unusual, though. I never seem to remember anything." He sat back and leaned against a rock, moving stiffly. He looked at the others. He muttered, more to himself than to Cade, "We can give them a few more hours. We don't have to leave immediately."

"I'm glad I haven't remembered some of my dreams," the blond murmured, walking tiredly back to his sleeping mat.

Josh tilted his head. He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, listening. Quietly, he nudged Caleb with his foot. Caleb was awake immediately, scanning the surroundings. He nodded at Josh and the two grabbed their weapons and stood slowly. Josh motioned to Cade to move back and stay quiet. Not waiting to see if Cade saw the message, the twins moved slowly in unison, back to back, as if they had done this a million times before. The silence seemed to last for an eternity, then chaos ensued.