Midale

Chapter Seventeen: Tough Rivalry

"I see it."

"There is a cave, deep in a valley. Its the best hiding spot we can find right now."

We had started walking again, but slowly this time as the visibility level had dropped.

"What about the others? Are they meeting us there?"

"No. The cave is barely big enough to house us, there is no way everyone can fit. Besides, it is our aim to hide not theirs."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that Roger is going to rally support and meet the reinforcements. It's where they're headed."

"Do you have any idea where Fiona is meeting them?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be here."

It was a dumb question to ask. I was well aware of the lack of communication between our two groups. The signal in an altitude this high was limited and contact was also at risk of being detected by an unwanted party. It was safest to remain cut off for the moment.

The silhouette of the rest of the group was now visible as we quickened our pace to catch up with them. I tried not to ponder on the fact that I had absolutely no idea where my sister or my friends were and were also marching off to war without me. I'd rather die fighting with them then live to see them die. Outliving the people you love was no work of luck. It was the work of the thing we should all fear the most. Fate.

And it sucked.

Because I tripped again. This time not because of my own inability to balance myself on two feet but because of the unsteady ground beneath me. My hands were on the ground, grazing against the rubble which was vigorously vibrating along with the rest of the earth.

"What is going on?" I asked, my voice dreading the already obvious answer. I was on all fours, holding on for dear life. The only problem was that there was nothing to hold on to. And unfortunatly I did not have the means or the nails to dig a hole for myself into the ground. The fog and the blanket of invisibility that came with it was not helping either.

"Just stay put." Leon's strained voice came from somewhere on my left, close-by.

My eyes were sewed shut in fear and anyways there was no point in keeping them open, it wasn't like I could see anything. The booming sound that came next, however, snapped my eyes open. I wanted to ask what that was but right at that moment rocks started raining over me. Luckily only the small ones made contact with my body but I could hear bigger and heavier ones falling around me. My hands had instantly rose to cover myself but that just made it harder to balance as another shock came. And more rocks came with it.

"Leon?" I called, my tone injected with mad fear. It only made matters worse for my already over-speeding heart when he didn't respond. A few seconds later a body wrapped around mine, shielding me from the rain featuring rocks and boulders.

"Hold on."

I obliged and took his shirt in my fist. It was all I had the courage to hold on to because it was the only thing of his that wasn't exposed to the rock shower. The trembling seemed to have gotten less fierce but it was still there.

I don't know for how long we stayed like that, but once the trembling stopped Leon wasted no time in creating distance between us. My eyes were still closed but I could feel the warmth of his body retreating before it halted in one place.

"You can let go now Madison."

My eyes popped open and when I realized I was clutching his shirt, my cheeks burned with color and I quickly unfisted my hand.