Leaves and twigs crunch under my feet as we walk through the forest. Jude and Hayes walk in front, Brady and I behind, and then the rest trailing behind. Brady hasn't spoken to me since we left camp, which worries me.
"Are you ok?" I ask him.
"Of course! Just... thinking." He offers me a small smile before turning away.
Not quite the answer I was hoping for but ok-
"Where to Firecracker?" Jude's voice snaps me out of his thoughts as I step over a fallen branch.
"We should get some rest before heading into Athanatos. Maybe we can camp a mile or two from it."
"Sounds good." His eyes flicker down to a watch strapped on his wrist. "9 o'clock. We should radio in to Lan in an hour."
Before I can say anything, he turns and asks Hayes, "What's the range the radio can go?"
"As far as Athanatos. Once we are in, I have to set it up to answer only Camp's frequency, not the Elxi's.
"So do you want to use it now?" She asks and kneels down, slipping the backpack off her shoulders.
"Not now," I say. She raises her head and looks me in the eye. "Wait an hour. Thanks though."
She nods, but hands me and Jude each a radio. "This is to contact each other, and this..." She holds up another radio, a bigger, bulkier one and says, "This is to contact Camp."
I turn the smaller radio over in my hand and slip it in my backpack. "Hey!" I raise my voice to get the other's attention. "We need to rest before entering Athanatos. The safest time to enter is night or early morning, meaning we have a couple hours to rest."
Jude interjects, "A mile away from Athanatos, we make a quick camp and rest, got it?" A chorus of yes's and yep's are heard. We turn and continue walking. The forest is alive with creatures: bugs, owls, wolves. The moon lights our path, along with the flashlights we brought. I use the time to think, how the hell are we going to get Ralph back?
"Plan, Firecracker, what you got?" Jude's voice breaks the silence.
"Get to Athanatos, find a place to stay and work from there." I keep my voice low; not wanting everyone else to hear just yet.
"Ok, but work immediately once we get there. Find an Elxi. We're gonna need to find someone who can get inside information, or at least to get our news to them." He adds on. Brady and Hayes slow down, leaving us to talk.
"And you expect to find an Elxi alone? One that can help us?"
"They travel alone at night and early morning." He states bluntly. "Once we figure out what they want, we can work on getting Ralph back."
"Getting him back with the least amount of casualties." My voice is laced with determination as I continue, "They see both of us as a threat, so we need to be careful. We can't just waltz in there." I think back to my last visit to Athanatos, remembering his face on the Wanted For Excess Power posters.
Jude abruptly stops and faces me. "What did you say?" His previous calm voice is now dripping with venom.
I take a step closer to him and lower my voice to keep the rest from hearing. "I've seen the posters. They want both of us."
"Well shouldn't you have though that through before giving the extra gun to the wanted guy, huh?" He spits at me.
"And why wouldn't I?"
"Because they obviously want you and me. So two wanted criminals leading a group?"
"You want to know why I gave it to you? I gave it to you because they," I jerk my head in the soldier's direction, "trust you. And you've been here tons of times."
"Great... You gave it to me because you want them to trust you." His voice is full of sarcasm as he continues. "Good to know I plan this whole thing and what-"
"I didn't use you." My voice raises slightly at the end, causing heads to turn in our direction. "I didn't use you." I lower my voice again and turn to look at him. "If I wanted to use someone, just to get them to trust me, I wouldn't have given it to anyone. Get them to listen to you by keeping them afraid right?" His head jerks in my direction again. "But no. I gave it to you because they already trust you. Because as much as I hate to admit it, I need someone's help. We can't do this alone." He doesn't answer, just nods and walks ahead.
I sigh angrily and run a hand through my hair. I didn't lie when I said that we couldn't do it alone, but I wasn't completely honest either. Truth is, I can't do this alone. I can see the walls I've built up around my emotions slowly start to crumble. I'm scared. I'm scared that this whole groups life is in my hands, I need to bring them back safely, I'm scared-
Snap out of it Kira. Get your shit together. They need someone strong, not weak and afraid.
I stop walking and squeeze my eyes shut. I imagine the walls being built up stronger, more resistant this time. I will not break down. They depend on me and I have to protect them. I open my eyes and continue walking with a new found strength in my eyes.
"We rest here!" Jude's voice rings out in the silent forest. "Get comfy on the ground, it's only for a couple hours."
As everyone starts to lay down and go to sleep, Hayes comes up to me. "The radio should work. Just wake me if you need help."
"Thanks, get some rest." She looks warily around at the forest, her eyes twitching with anticipation. "Hey," I gently grab her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. "Your gonna be fine. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Ok?"
She nods fiercely and smiles slightly at me before leaving and laying down next to the tree Jude is sitting against. I skip the backpack off my shoulders and sit opposite of Jude. He stares at me for a second before pulling out a knife and twirling it in his hands.
Time to rest.
I lean my head back on the tree trunk as the groups' breathing slowly evens out. I stay awake keeping guard until my watch reads 9:55. As I get up, I hear a noise from the left. My head snaps towards it as I hear another twig snap. I pull out my dagger as I slowly step towards the sound.
"Don't kill me, Firecracker." A voice says.
I'm about to say something sarcastic to Jude when a blonde head comes out of the trees.
"Brady?" I ask bewildered. I didn't expect him to be here, I didn't hear or see anyone get up.
"Get your own nickname." Someone snaps from behind me. I turn to see Jude walking from behind me.
"Leave her alone." Brady snaps back.
"Stop. Both of you." I walk back towards the small group to grab the radio. "Jude." I call him, but he doesn't come. "Soldier boy. Jude!"
"Coming Firecracker. Don't burn yourself." Apparently he thought that was hilarious since he broke out laughing.
"I'll help you Kira." Brady sits down next to me.
I smile thankfully at him and press the button. "Camp Aeras? Come in Aeras." We wait in silence for Lan to answer.
"C-Camp F-Fir-Fire?" Her voice is interrupted by the static.
"How did the meeting go?"
"B-Bad." Her voice is clearer now. "He flipped out. He gathered everyone in Camp and told them that if they knew and they didn't step up there would be consequences."
"Did anyone turn themselves in?" Brady asks.
"Not yet."
"Ok. Thank you Lan. We'll radio in tomorrow."
"Stay safe. Aeras out."
I set the radio down and lean my head back on the tree again. Brady settles down next to me, Jude across from us.
"Get some sleep Firecracker." Jude keeps his voice low, glancing at Hayes to make sure she's still asleep.
I nod and close my eyes, my head still resting against the hard tree, Brady's hand hovering close to mine, and let the darkness take me.
|||||
"Kira. Kira, get up." A woman's voice calls from somewhere.
I'm in a blood red room. Flames sweep up the walls, trapping me in. There are no windows, no doors, no way to escape.
"Listen to me." There's the voice again.
I jerk my head in the direction of the voice as it speaks again.
"The prophecy wasn't complete when I told you about it."
"Prophecy..." I mumble.
"Listen carefully." Finally I put a name on the person. Cheri. The prophecy about the Fire Shifters.
"The prophecy, it said that people only became Fire Shifters, alone, when they were betrayed by someone."
My pounding heart is the only thing I hear as the flames swipe towards me again.
"Be careful and trust your gut." Cheri's voice becomes fainter and fainter as I try telling for her.
"I love you Kira." The voice changes again to one I would recognize anywhere. My mother.
"Mom?" I ask.
"Trust him. Trust you gut, but most importantly don't be afraid to ask for help. Trust him Kitty Cat. Understood? Trust him, and only him."
"Who? Mom, who?" I yell into the darkness. The flames sweep up and cover me, dragging my into darkness once again.
|||||
I wake with a start, jumping up from the tree trunk.
"You good there?" Jude's voice cuts through the dark.
I don't answer him, just nod slightly as I try to slow my pounding heart. My hands curl around my knees as my mother and Cheri's words still ring in my ears.
"Betrayed by someone." Betrayed by who?
"Firecracker."
I hear twigs and leaves snap as someone crouches next to me. Slowly lifting my head, I see Jude's curly brown hair and green eyes.
"I'm fine." I stand up and check my watch. "3:45! Jude how would you let me sleep that much? You need sleep too!"
"I slept. Brady woke for two hours and watched." He replies bluntly.
I give him a small nod and start gathering my pack up again. "We need to go."
In response, Jude yells, "Everyone up!" The camp jolts awake and in no time, we are ready to continue.
We walk in the same format as yesterday: Jude and Hayes in the front, Brady and me behind, and the rest trailing after. After half an hour of waking, Jude stops and motions us to hurry. I crouch down next to him as I see what he's looking at: The Wall. Now we have one more challenge, how are we going to get 16 people into Athanatos without being noticed?
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There's the next chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment. xoxo