Hope isn't a word I really believe in. [ON HOLD]

Chapter 10 - WOO! DOUBLE DIGITS!!

Chapter 10

'Stand through life firm as a rock in the sea, undisturbed and unmoved by its ever-rising waves.'

Hazrat Inayat Khan

A tear pricked her eye for what felt the thousandth time this day, and she felt like retching.

Life was so unfair.

But she must save him.

She winced, putting pressure on her arms and found her balance. She took a reluctant step forward and nearly collapsed on the ground again. The pain in her foot was just too much to handle, if felt like someone was sawing it off.

Perhaps she could just stay there on the ground. Would anyone care? Probably not.

"You said you'd help me!" She heard Kallee scream from a distance. "You said you wou-uld!" Her voice cracked on the 'would'.

"Where are you?!" Sinny yelled, looking around her, trying to see into the dark.

There was no answer.

"Kallee?! I said where are you?"

She strained to hear, but she couldn't decipher the words.

"Speak up! I can't hear you!"

That was it. She had to find her.

She limped in the general direction of the voice. Her blue eyes darted around, scanning her surroundings. Where is she? Where's Pinnferr?

It was quite scary, alone in the dark. She continued to stumble, using her hands to push off the trees so she wouldn't walk into them. She paused, bending her leg so she could rest her ankle and expect it.

She took in a breath as she ran her hand over it. Boy, it hurt. Where was Alexia when she needed her?

She put her foot down carefully on the ground and kept on moving precariously. The pain was shooting through her leg like a thousand stinging wasps.

Footsteps came from behind her.

She whipped around with big alert eyes; too fast for her injury. She tumbled backwards, letting out a shriek and was caught by a branch. It snapped.

Thick branches bruised her, twigs scratched at her body, bark chaffed and tore at her shirt, as she fell through two neighboring trees. One poked at her eye and they stuck into her spine.

Her body ached and a groan came. She could feel the stinging of new cuts, blood erupting from them.

Sinny was thinking about giving up when she heard a girl sob, "Pi-inn-ferr..."

"I can't go!" she whispered into darkness, shaking her head in shame.

"Pinnferr..."

She put her bottom lip forward with a determined look in her eyes and took a deep breath, heaving herself upright. She wiped that solitary tear from her eye with her arm and hobbled off in Kallee's direction.

The rhythm was with her again.

She had to keep going. She would die trying.

The horrendous pain was shooting through her leg, as she moved one foot after the other.

She used her strength in her good foot to jump onto a log, flying off it and landing on the ground. This situation was critical. Her eye twitched, staring directly ahead, while she limped quickly. She could not get distracted. This was all her fault.

The storm was rumbling and rumbling.

A familiar beat was thumping against her ribcage. Between the trees she weaved fast as she could. If she stopped for a second to catch her breath, surely he would be okay... She shook the thought out of her head and narrowed her eyes, going where her instinct guided her.