Sam Drake - The Wooden Room

Little Thief

I hit the ground hard, jarring my already-strained knee, and scrambled to regain my footing as I continued to run forward. Pine needles pricked my palms, and thorny undergrowth scraped at my calves. I was bleeding from a myriad different small cuts and scrapes, and one not so small cut underneath my collar bone where Vas's man had hit me with his knife.

Behind me, a group of them crashed through the forest, not bothering to hide their pursuit. My heart was pounding in my ears, and I could taste copper. 

"Come on, you little thief!" one of them shouted. He sounded way too close for comfort.

But I had come too far to be caught by Vas now.

My eyes darted back and forth as I ran, trying to find a place to hide, an avenue of escape. All around me the forest extended in every direction; I knew the ocean was somewhere to the East, but God knew which way that even was.

If I could find the tower again, I'd know where I was, where I was heading. But the trees grew too thickly; it was all I could do to avoid running head on into one every few seconds. I didn't know enough about the area. All I knew was that I couldn't let Vas catch me, or he'd know what I knew. He couldn't find out.

Blinking tears from my eyes - or sweat, as I tried to convince myself - I strafed left and right at random, trying to lose them; but I was making too much noise myself.

And then, in the distance, over to the left - 'North, then,' I thought - the tower rose, pale pink in the setting sun, half-collapsed and majestic. 

North. 

I veered away from the tower a little; I knew the immediate area well enough, if not the rest of the forest. My heart began pounding faster. I knew what was ahead. I knew what I was heading for. They wouldn't follow me; couldn't.

Forcing my legs to pump harder, I gritted my teeth and pushed off.

Below me, the ravine howled with trapped wind, and far ahead, a cliff wall loomed. There was no way down the ravine other than to fall, and as I fell, a thrill ran up my spine and escaped me as a strangled yell.

-

The water hit me like a wall of concrete. All of the breath I'd been straining to hold burst from my mouth, and I was carried away from the tower, from pursuit, from consciousness.

-

"Jesus Christ, she's alive."

"Do you know CPR?"

"What, you think they taught me that shit in prison?"

"Well I don't -"

-

My chest erupted - or that's what it felt like.

Water spewed from my mouth, and kept coming, waves of it, more than I would have thought possible. A hand was jerked quickly from my chest, and somebody else's breath on my face was warm, ragged.

The hand yanked me up by my collar, and another slammed me on the back. More water. It was excruciating, but I forced it out, aching for air.

"Come on," said a voice. "Jesus, she swallowed the whole damn river -" He was cut off as I coughed, hugely, one last time, and collapsed forward, sucking in air with huge, strained gulps. My forehead hit somebody's chest, and a hand patted me awkwardly on the back. "You're all right," the same voice said, uneasily. "Okay. Jeez. You're all right."

I passed out.

-

When I finally came to, the sun was down, and I was dry. A fire crackled nearby. The air smelled of pine and clay dust. My eyes fluttered open.

I was in the ruins of what looked like an old storage warehouse, but not a big one. The walls were crumbling cement and rotted wooden beams holding up what was left of the roof. The floor was mostly broken away, covered in dirt and leaves. A denim jacket was thrown over my legs, trying but failing to cover me up.

I sat up and clutched my head at the stabbing headache behind my eyes.

"Hey."

Slowly, two figures sitting across the fire from me came into focus.

"Who are you," I croaked. My throat was raw. I coughed, and tried again. "Thank you, I mean."

The one closer to me snorted. "Didn't give us much choice about helping you," he said. "You almost killed us."

I frowned.

"What my charming brother is trying to say," the second one said, throwing his brother a look, "Is that when you jumped off the cliff to get away from Vas's men, you almost landed right in our boat."

"You were rowing up the ravine?" I asked incredulously. And then the use of Vas's  name hit me. "You know Vas?"

The brothers exchanged a look. "Not exactly," the second one said. "Maybe we should start over. My name is Nathan. This is my brother, Sam."

Sam gestured at me with his cigarette, but said nothing.

My heart rose and sank almost simultaneously.  "The Drake brothers are after the Wooden Room, too," I said dully. The fact that I'd been on the same track as the infamous Drake brothers was exhilarating; their being  here almost guaranteed my own failure.

Sam sniffed. "What's a kid like you doing hunting for treasures left behind by some dead Duchess?"

"Same thing you are," I said defensively. "The mystery. The excitement." I shrugged. "The money."

"What's your name?" Nathan interrupted. "You have ours - it's only fair."

I eyed him warily, and crossed my arms across my knees. "Tai Caire."