Ky'Mera: The Next Generation (Sequel Series to the Ky'Mera Adventures Trilogy)

Chapter 2: New Friends

New Friends

I awoke to my shoulder being shaken by a firm hand. I rolled over sleepily to see Gabby looking at me with fear in her eyes. I immediately came fully awake and sat up to ask why she was so spooked. She put her finger to my lips and shushed me before I could say a word, and motioned to the door flap. I nodded and carefully pushed away the covers so I could stand up. I grabbed my pack and slung it over my shoulders as Gabby did the same with hers. I mimed running out the door and she nodded. I crouched down and fell to onto all fours, Gabby doing the same. I nodded and we raced out of the flap, scattering the group of guards that had gathered outside it. As Gabby and I raced through the mostly empty corridors, we could hear the guards chasing after us and attempting to cut us off.

Gabby called out, "Jason! On your left!" I instinctively jumped and narrowly avoided being tackled from the side by one of the guards. He sailed under me and crashed to the dirt as Gabby and I cleared the edge of the camp and raced into the forest beyond. I don't know how long we ran, but by the time we stopped, Gabby fell flat on her face and gasped for breath as I tried to stay on my feet. I took a quick look around and saw we had run clean into another part of the forest, because the plant life was completely different. Instead of tall fern trees and thick underbrush, only sparse grasses and spindly bushes dotted the landscape, the rest was gray rock and dusty brown dirt. I looked over to see if Gabby was ok, but upon close examination I saw she had passed out from the exertion. I sighed and stood on my hind legs, picking her up as I did so and slug her over my shoulders so her legs dangled off my right side and her arms and head on my left. I looked around to see if there was anything I could use as a reference point, but other than the occasional bush or grass clump, there wasn't anything to see for miles. It was like the underground version of Death Valley, only not as hot.

I shifted Gabby so I could carry her easier and started walking, to where I didn't know, but I knew we had to keep moving if we were going to stay ahead of the cat crazies behind us. I plodded along slowly as the crystals' glow grew dimmer and dimmer as we moved away from the forest. The blue light of the gems dimmed, and a reddish light replaced it as the heat grew steadily. After a while the heat had grown to almost unbearable levels, and Gabby was so heavy I was forced to put her down multiple times. Our fur had gotten covered in what I could only describe as light soot, darkening Gabby's fur to a silvery-grey. I looked down at myself and saw my own brown and sand fur had become a black and grey mess and had clumped in many places. I sighed and picked up Gabby again, straining to lift her over my shoulders, and started walking once again.

After about six hours of walking, I had used up all of our water keeping Gabby and myself hydrated. My mouth was so dry I couldn't feel my tongue anymore, and Gabby was constantly coughing into my shoulder, though she still wouldn't wake up. The heat was now so intense waves of it radiated off of the ground. My mind was so clouded I almost walked off the edge of the canyon before I caught myself. I looked down into what must have been a three-quarter mile deep chasm with a red-hot lava flow running through it. Now I knew what has been causing the heat all this time, but it didn't help us any. Gabby was no longer coughing and I could barely walk my legs hurt so much. I turned and walked away from the drop and stumbled back into the wastes, only to fall on my face as my legs gave out. I panted as Gabby and I lay on the scorched rock and dirt, and my vision clouded as I started to black out. I tried to force myself up into a crawling position, but my arms had no strength left and my lungs felt like they were on fire. I dropped to the ground again and closed my eyes, apologizing to our parents for not being able to protect Gabby from this. My thoughts muddied as the heat enveloped me in a hazy embrace, and my muscles went slack as I passed out.

Something cold and wet was placed against my lips, and instinctively I reached for it and gulped it down. Once I had drained the container I fell backwards onto something soft and groaned. I tried to open my eyes, but they had been sealed shut by the crust of dried sweat.