Eliuteria

Chapter 28

"We are going to be okay," I said with a conviction that I didn't feel. "We're small enough and it'll be dark enough that we will go unnoticed."

The reassurance seemed to sate them, at least enough to eat and pack up our things—not that there was much to pack. In the distance, the crafts had disappeared into the sunset that painted the clouds in pastels. I'd never seen anything quite like it from the city, but I couldn't enjoy it. The closer it grew to dark, the faster my heart pounded in my chest.

Why had I thought we could do this alone? I was going to get us all killed. Or lost in the forest which meant we were as good as killed.

As the last of the sunlight disappeared, we walked toward the barrier, or where the barrier had been. As I'd been told, the barrier had vanished and we walked through easily. A weight seemed to settle over us all as we continued, the stark understanding that we were open and vulnerable until we reached the forest.

Nobody spoke. Too scared.

We stayed close, linked together at our hands. It had been easier when the Morri had been with us, their eyes more adaptable to the night, but without them, or any lights, or any glow from the moon, we stumbled over bumps and dips in the earth.

By the time we were close enough to really tell the size of the trees, my legs burned with fatigue. It wasn't the time to rest though, hovering just ahead of us were the crafts, their focus still on the forest even as they blended into the night.

"What if they see us?" Rae asked the question that we'd all been thinking.

"We run. As fast as we can, we run."

She nodded.

"They're scared of the forest," Analiese reminded us all. "Look, they aren't searching them or anything. They're just waiting outside."

"We should go separately," I said. "Five of us together will be easier to spot."

"Whose gonna go first?" Rae asked.

"Maybe we should all go at the same time, different directions," Fairyn suggested.

"We could lose each other doing that."

"I don't want to be alone in the forest," Camille said.

"Nobody wants to be alone in the forest."

"I think Fairyn's right," I said. "We go at the same time. Once you get into the forest, keep going until you're deep enough in to be well-hidden and then walk in toward the center until we all meet."

Truth was, this was the best chance we had of anyone making it. If we all went together, there were five targets instead of just one.

"Rae, you need to be on the far end."

"What?" Camille said, defensively. "No."

"She's going to be the slowest," I argued. "So its better if she's further from the craft."

"I'll take the other end," Fairyn said.

I remained in the middle. I was the fastest, so it only made sense to take the path closet to the craft.

"Don't stop running until you get through the trees. Not for anything. And try to stay low to the ground."

We agreed that everyone would take sixty steps out to put enough space between us. Analiese walked with Fairyn to my right before stopping probably half a block away, far enough that I could barely make out her figure in the dark. Beyond her Fairyn continued to walk and to my left Camille and Rae did the same. Once we were spread out I forced my feet to move ahead, hoping the others would follow along, slowly picking up my pace.