C.R.A.N.E (Strange Editing WiP)

Chapter Five: Light

"What are the fucking chances," wheezed Roukan, nearly on the verge of fainting from the extreme pain focused on where Aatu had directly hit him.

Jake ran towards Roukan, looking over him with his ears perked up and his mouth slightly opened while he ventilated. His smoky breath hit Roukan's face, and he used his hand to move him away and avoid the horrible dog breath. He sluggishly looked to his side while he stayed on his back, seeing Aatu keeling down in the snow, striving to find his breath.

After a long pause, both struggled to get up, especially Aatu, holding his side as he exhaled to relieve the pain in his back. He cussed before he nearly slipped on the ice, but steadied himself and looked up, overjoyed that his eyes were looking directly at his best friend's.

Despite the aches, Roukan couldn't help but rush towards him and hug him tightly, digging his face into his shoulder. He thought that he had lost his only trusted friend in a matter of hours. After losing his daughter, he didn't know what he would do if he lost Aatu as well. Roukan didn't know a world without him. Ever since he could remember, he was always by his side. He was too shocked with relief that he had lost track of how long he held him.

"C'mon, my back is killing me already. Hug me any tighter and you're gonna have to piggyback me, and then your back will just be as bad as mine."

"You should be grateful, since not many people get a hug soon after you shatter their ribs with a punch."

Roukan chuckled. It had been a while since he genuinely did. It was almost unfamiliar to him, and he flinched at the thought of it.

Aatu guiltily apologized whilst Roukan released him, and Roukan soon realised that his torch's beaming light was too bright, being an explicit dead giveaway of their position. He impulsively switched it off, and their sight was completely shut.

"Shit. There's no way we can move along in the dark," Roukan mumbled. His hearing senses became dominant, focusing on the howling blizzard wind travelling ahead of them. He also heard Jake's feeble whimper, and Aatu shuffling in the snow.

"I haven't got anything. What about your lighter, Rouk?"

"Not a bad idea, actually. It should be here."

Roukan reached into his coat pocket and grabbed his zippo lighter. A special custom one received from Roukan's previous boss, Hugo, for his 25th birthday, if Roukan recalled correctly, as a thank you for what he had given to the bar while he worked. He dragged his thumb across the engravement with his name and stage name "Ace" right under it to remove the ice off the steel. He popped the cap off, and flicked the wheel around three times, igniting a small flame.

"Hopefully that will last us some hours," Aatu said with a grin.

Soon after, the flame died, jinxing it.

"Of course, it's soaked." Roukan muttered. "I was passed out for longer than I thought. Things were going too well at this point anyway."

"You were what?" Aatu said, alarmed at the bluntness of his speech.

"N-nothing." Roukan's voice rushed, seeming more suspicious in Aatu's view. But he let it go. He knew that Roukan would tell him what had happened to him and Accalia sooner or later anyway. This thought brought up an interesting question in Aatu's mind. Where exactly was Accalia?

"Should we just risk it and use the torch again?" Roukan suggested, disrupting Aatu's thoughts.

"If there's nothing else we can do..."

Jake walked up to Aatu and wagged his tail happily, glad to see another familiar face. Aatu scratched Jake's head, causing Jake to run around in circles in delight.