The sun's rays struggle to penetrate the thick foliage high above as we venture through the forest. Nobody utters a single word. The moss coating the forest floor mutes our footfalls, and Killian expertly slashes aside unruly foliage out of our path with his machete.
I stick close to his heel, Casimir not far behind me. Any space between us feels like a threat, room for someone, something, to intercept. With no warmth from the sun, ice lingers in the air, burning my throat with each breath.
We cannot see them through the thick forest, but the Saulun mountains loom ahead.
Shadows clothe us as the earth starts to incline. With each rustle of trees from the breeze or dash of forest animals, my mind plays tricks on me, my heart rate at a constant, quickened pace.
Ahead, Killian halts, straightening his back to stand tall. I stop moving, stop breathing, as he turns his head to survey the path ahead. Left, right, then left again. He takes a small step back, his coat brushing against my hand.
"Killian?" I whisper.
He turns his head to look behind, eyes still darting in every direction. "Do you hear that?"
I strain my ears, but all I hear is the rustling of the branches overhead. "I hear it," Juem says, stepping closer behind Casimir. He reaches for his belt, unsheathing a machete. With quivering hands, I reach for the dagger at my ankle, brushing past the gun Killian handed me.
Lei pulls out her knife, lowering into a protective stance. "I hear it too."
Lei appears behind me, making me jump forward. I hadn't even heard her move. "Killian?" She looks to him, her own weapon in her hand. "What should we do?"
"Into the trees, all of you, quickly," he says. "I'll lead it away."
Lei nods, nudging Casimir and Juem towards the trunk of a tall, nearby tree. "Freya," she orders, "come here."
I watch the others. Juem climbs up first, easily manouvering himself onto the lowest branch and scaling higher from there. Casimir follows, disappearing in the foliage.
"I'll give you a leg up," she says, offering her hand. "Here."
I swallow, looking up to the branches above. "What about you?"
"I'll be right behind you."
I glance over her shoulder, putting my foot in her hands. My stomach tightens. The path behind her is empty. "What about Killian?"
"He'll be fine," she says, unbothered. "Hurry, we don't have time."
I take the leg up, launching into the tree. The bark scratches against the fabric of my coat, bunching my trousers up my leg. I glance down at Lei, clambering up behind me. "Keep going!" she whispers.
I climb higher, only stopping once my view of the ground is almost entirely obscured by the branches below. Lei swings herself up onto the trunk opposite me, straddling it in the same way.
I open my mouth, heart hammering against my chest. Lei reaches out, covering my lips before anything comes out. With her free hand, she points down below. I follow her finger.
That's when I see it.
Silent and deadly, the beast prowls through the underbrush, halting only at the edge of where we rest in the trees. My heart hammers as it sniffs the air, bones of its spine poking through its fur. Hungry.
The bark of the tree digs into my nails as I grip the branch. The shifter prowls in a circle, sniffing the air for a few more moments, before darting its head in the direction Killian went. It shoots off.
I release a shaky breath of relief, glancing to Lei. Her eyebrows are furrowed, a line of concern etched between her brows.
"There's more," she whispers, noticing my glance. "They... they don't usually travel in packs but..." she trails off, just as low growling fills the ground below. I glance down. Three shifters pass through the bush, heading after Killian.
Lei curses. "Wait here. He can't take them all by himself."
She clambers down from the tree, expertly maneuvering the low hanging branches and landing on her feet with merely a crunch of a leaf to alert the shifters of her presence. But her silence doesn't matter. Lei notices it before I do. Even from above, I see the tension shoot straight to her shoulders as she reaches for her dagger.
The shifter is already on top of her, sending her flying across the clearing. Lei lands without a yelp, scrambling to her feet as the shifter stalks forward, drool hanging from its mouth as it growls at her. She brandishes her dagger in front of her. My grip tightens on the branch as it lunges for her again. Lei ducks out of its way, but it catches her arm at the last moment.
Her knife contacts its shoulder the same time she falls to the ground, grimacing in pain, teeth gritted to conceal her scream. The stab to the shoulder doesn't deter the shifter, its hunger surpassing the potential pain. It pins her to the ground with its paws, knocking the dagger from her hand.
I scramble for my waist belt, searching for something, anything, to help. The cold metal hilt of the gun rests in my hand. With shaky hands, I pull it from my waist, aim towards the shifter.
The shifter lunges. I pull the trigger.
Bang.
The force of the bullet shakes the whole tree. It hits the ground, shocking the shifter momentarily and drawing its attention from Lei.
Bang.
This time, the shot is closer.
Bang. One in the leg. It surges backwards, a low pitched whine. Bang. I clamber down from the tree, heart hammering, gun aimed towards the shifter. Bang. In the shoulder. The shifter falls to the ground, whimpering.
Adrenaline surges through my veins, heart hammering.
Lei stares, watery eyed as she clutches her bleeding arm. My hands quiver, the gun suddenly feeling a million tonnes. Juem drops down from behind me, rushing over to Lei just as Casimir grabs the gun from my hands, knocking my shoulder.
"Freya," he says. "Can you hear me?"
My ears ring from the volume of the shots. I don't have time to form a response when Killian appears between the trees, entirely unharmed but expression dark.
"What happened?" he demands. "I managed to lead them away, but I heard the shot."
Lei can't answer, her face a picture of pain as Juem helps her up.
"There were more. It got Lei," Juem says.
His eyes zero in on the infected on the floor, to Lei's arm. Then, to my gun in Casimir's hand. A growl rumbles through the forest. "We have to leave, now. Whatever heard that shot is on their way."
"We... we don't have time," Lei says, wincing.
"If we don't find shelter now, we're as good as dead anyway."
The feet pounding against the earth hammer his words. My stomach clenches as I look at Killian, fear pulsing through my veins. "What do we do?" I ask.
"Run."
Nobody cares much about being silent, not when we're focused on speed. The icy air sucked is like daggers in my chest with each heaving breath, the snagging of branches at my skin, tearing out hair, catching on my clothes--it's all secondary to the pumping of my heart, lungs, legs.
Run.
All we can do is run. I follow Killian blindly as he skids through the bush, Lei an inch behind me. I have no idea how she's running with the state of her arm, but she's so close I can hear the heaving of her breath. Behind us, howls echo through the forest, closer with each passing step.
My mind tricks me, playing up the sounds of Casimir and Juem behind me as the infected. It propels me to go faster. Somewhere in the distance, a white noise drowns out some of the howls. Killian heads towards it, the earth declining. If it weren't for the fact that we were running for our lives, I'd be disheartened at all the height we're losing, but I can't bring myself to dwell on it.
Killian skids to a halt, so abruptly I slam into his back. He stumbles forward a few steps, but steadies, grabbing my arm. Surveying the space ahead, I suddenly realise why he stopped, and the source of the white noise.
The earth gives way to a cliff. To our left, a waterfall cascades off the rocks in sheets of water, crashing into the deep lagoon below. Out of the shelter of the trees, the sun shines so bright it's almost blinding.
"What do we do?" I pant, glancing at Lei. Her face has grown grey, arm still bloodied.
Killian looks behind us, in the direction of the howls, then back at the waterfall. "Jump."
"What?" Casimir demands.
"They can't track our scent in the water," Juem says. "It's our only option."
"Look just there, behind where the water breaks," Killian points at the rocks just behind the waterfall. "It looks like there's something behind, a cave maybe. When you jump, swim as hard as you can against the current. Try to reach the rocks behind. We can shelter there until things cool off."
I shudder. "We have no idea what's down there--"
"Only one way to find out," Juem says. And without another word, he leaps off the rock face. I hold my breath, grabbing Casimir's arm as Juem hits the water below.
A second passes, then another three. Finally, Juem surfaces, waving a hand in the air to signal us forward. He treads the water, expertly managing to stay in the same spot despite the current.
Killian looks at Lei. "Lei, Juem will help you to the rocks--"
"I'm fine."
He puts his hand on her arm. She flinches away, wincing. And despite the icy air, a sheen of sweat coats her gray forehead. Killian puts a hand on her shoulder.
"You're hurt," he says, voice stern. "Let Juem help you to the rocks."
Lei hesitates, pulling her arm to her body. Eventually, she nods, taking a leap off the rockface. She plunges into the water, surfacing seconds later. Juem swims over to her, slinging her arm over his shoulder and guiding her to the rock. They disappear behind the waterfall.
Casimir squeezes my hand. "You okay?"
I glance over the ledge. A memory washes over me, when Killian catapulted us both over the pier and I sunk against the wild currents of the ocean. "I... I don't know if I can swim against the current."
"I'll wait for you at the bottom," he assures me. Then, he jumps. I watch as he surfaces, expertly managing to fight off the current.
I take a shaky breath.
"Ready?"
I glance to Killian at my side. He stares at me steadily, the sun burning the edges of his hair a dark red tint. Despite the howls growing closer with each second, his expression remains calm.
"My last experience with you and water wasn't that pleasant."
"This time," he says, reaching out. His hand finds mine by its side, intertwining his fingers. His touch is warm, comforting. "I won't let go."
Without warning, he leaps over the side of the cliff and pulls me with him.