I leapt off the roof and landed beside him, breaking into a run the very second my feet hit the floor.
"Az!"
He didn't turn, and neither did the other boys, each so fixated on the feel of the weapons in their hands that they didn't seem to notice my voice over the crowds around us. Well, notice wasn't actually accurate; with the sheer level of noise around us they probably hadn't heard me at all.
Heart hammering as my legs carried me closer, I summoned all my strength up in my chest and tried another shout, "Hey, Aspen!"
This time he glanced over his shoulder. There was a look of confusion on his face before he saw me and almost fell over.
"Azure?" Aspen cried, voice going high with panic, "What are you still doing here?! I told you to leave!"
The group hadn't stopped their sprinting, but my brothers had lost just a little of that unbreakable fixation on the gigantic invader. Now, Aspen included, they were throwing their eyes towards me.
I glared at the boy, struggling just a little to keep up with his charge, "Leave and do what? I'm not running away without you!"
Aspen's glare became fiercer as he shook his head, "Azure!"
"I'm not leaving you!" I repeated. Obstinate.
All of us were sent to a skidding halt in the middle of the path, the sounds of people's panic only just louder than our own panting. It took all I could to keep my eyes away from Sam and fixated on my friend's pink cheeks. On nothing but the growing scowl in his expression. My eyes narrowed, but so did his, and it seemed that neither one of us was about to break the fierce stare. Or change our minds.
Aspen spoke, and though I didn't hear his low snap over the mobs, I knew all too well what he had said.
Go.
Neither one of us was about to let the other face that monster.
This is ridiculous! Every second spent glaring at each other was a second that Aspen and I were wasting, and more helpless people were disappearing into the brown fabric.
"Look around!" I yelled as my chest took in short breaths, "He's got Rosin! There's no time for this!"
The scouts around me could only ogle at the terrors ahead before desperately looking back to their Captain for guidance. I too turned to Aspen, face scrunched up, waiting for him to answer. Because he seemed to be having trouble with that.
He could only stare back despairingly, head shaking back and forth. He still wanted me to leave, that much was painfully obvious, but I remained rooted to the floor.
"Zuri!" He pleaded, "You saw what just happened! Rosin's stronger than both of us put together and she could barely scratch him! Please go."
"No!" I cried, then snatched his hand, "No! What about you?!"
I was about to point out how useless we were all being by standing around when there was a sudden pressure spiking on my shoulder.
I turned on my heel to see the hand of a boy, his face firm in the frown that he bore.
Hair like orange peels, curled and mad— It was Ronnie, eyes alight with resolve.
"The hell are you still doing here, huh? You can't fly!" His hand remained where he had taken my shoulder as he yelled over the crowds, "You think staying here is a good idea? Really?"
I let out a hopeless groan, "No! But I won't leave you!"
Ronnie frowned for a few seconds. Then without warning he had thrust something into my hands; something smooth yet sharp, heavy yet not overweighted. A... I blinked in amazement, looking down at the green blade with awe. A sword?
Beside me, Aspen gave a yell of surprise.
"What in th- what are you doing?!" He fumed. He probably would have snatched the sword from my hand had Ronnie not stood between us.
The boy retorted with a scowl of his own, "What am I doing? What are you doing, Aspen? We need all the help we can get. Azure's the only one that's seen this thing before."
Aspen was just as quick to fire back his own argument, "She can't fly. She's hurt."
With a shake of his head, Ronnie was locking eyes with his friend, "You know she won't leave us here."
And for that, the only answer Az could give was a breathless scowl. He knew. He refused to accept it, but he knew.
Now Ronnie turned to me, a dim smile on the corners of his mouth, "Whether you want to admit it or not, we could use her help."
Beside him, a boy I knew to be Rowan was nodding in fierce agreement, "Aspen, we ain't gonna let him take her again. No way in hell of that."
That look, an expression of pure love from each my brothers, was the only reassurance I needed. I dipped my head in a nod, hand becoming a fist around the weapon of grizzled verdant. Alright then. I would stay and I would fight with them, or at least try to help the panicking people of the tribe.
Aspen ran a hand through his hair, "You can't say that. We can't do anything against him."
My blunt words speared him, "Then what are we still doing here?"
People all around us were in uproar, in danger of being captured just as Rosin had, yet here we were, bickering about running away. As much as the boy was refusing to admit it, we truly didn't have time for this nonsense. He knew it. He looked at me, then to Ronnie, then at me again.
Perhaps he could see the determination in my bright blue eyes, because after a few more moments of pleading looks, Aspen finally caved and let out a groan.
Without anything more than a quick glare, the boy had turned his attention back to the scouts, shoving the altercation far from his mind and working to regain his composure. These boys were relying on him to lead them. Aspen stood tall before them, bow looped onto his arm.
"Alright, fine! She'll stay with us— but you listen to me." The boy demanded their attention with that tone, voice somehow louder than the cries around us, "You lot let anything happen to her and I'll kill you myself!"
The boys that had surrounded me let out yells of their own, brandishing the array of weapons out ahead of them. I tried to lift the green blade that Ronnie had given me. Who it belonged to, I had no idea. Maybe him. Thanks, Ronnie. I would have to remind myself to thank him after all this was over.
A green cape was suddenly shoved into my hands by my powerfully displeased friend. I blinked, staring down at the hooded item of clothing.
"What's this for?" I demanded cautiously. It was crafted from leaves and woven together with strips of vine and moss. Aspen's cloak.
"Cover." Was his grim reply.
Oh. All of a sudden, I noticed how he was still peering at my bruises, however discreet he was trying to be. The boy hadn't forgotten those faded marks left by the human.
"I don't want him seeing you..." Aspen frowned, loosing the loudness of his voice. As if he momentarily forgot the predicament we were in, he looked only to me and into my eyes.
"...please go," he said softly, arm raising from his side in a shaky slowness, "You're so stupid for staying here."
There wasn't time for my heart to be throbbing like this, this wasn't the place for these feelings to be suddenly swelling in my chest.
I smiled, holding the sword tight and pulling his cloak around me, "Stupid like you?"
But didn't laugh at my joke. He didn't even smile.
"Zuri, I'm serious," Aspen pleaded, attaching the front of the green onto my vest.
"The second that guy sees you, he'll..." When he reached to pull the hood over my head, his fingertips brushed against the back of my neck. A little shiver went down my spine. He was still frowning when he pulled the hood up and hid my face beneath its folds.
Aspen... the look on his face was pure urgency, because the situation hadn't changed... and yet, as his hand fell away from the hood, I found Aspen's fingertips lightly brushing down my cheek, hovering over a nail scratch.
My pulse quickened the more his eyes bore into me, such a ferocity in that scowl, but gentle too; so deep with emotion... and what that emotion was, I couldn't tell. After staring for a moment, he hastily tugged the hand back to his chest, grabbing at his vest, "Azure, I-"
"Fucksakes Aspen! Can you focus? We have a situation!" A boy thrust himself between us, hands balled up into fists around his daggers.
Right, I started, heart thumping with heat in my chest. Right, of course, of course. Yet a part of me couldn't help but wish that Kovu hadn't stopped my friend. What was he going to say? But within a second, all that complexity in Aspen's face was gone, vanished behind a scowl, cast out from his body. There was no emotion that remained in his face other than violence.
"Right." He grimaced.
Aspen pointed his battered bow towards the huge human, scowling as he did so. "We need to keep him occupied long enough for everyone to get out of here." His green eyes flicked back to us, "You know that we won't be able to kill him."
The words were like a cold slap across the face.
He glared, "We probably won't even be able to hurt him. But there's no other choice."
A slap, yes, but one that was doused in truth.
There wasn't a drop of distrust in the way my brothers nodded their heads.
Aspen glanced at me, "Distract him whilst I free those captured people," the boy continued, "Usual groups, but Azure is coming with me and Ronnie."
Kovu opened his mouth and Aspen snapped at him, "Deal with it! She's staying with me. The human already holds every advantage in this- the only thing we have in the chance to surprise him. I'm not wasting anymore time talking." Nobody could argue with his authority.
Alright, I tried to breathe steadily, hood drooping just in front of my eyes, I can do this. The boys blazed at the monster, preparing themselves for the fight that was about to come.
Hand reaching onto his back, Aspen pulled an arrow from his quiver, attaching in onto his bow. Wait... I narrowed my eyes.
"What?" Ronnie nudged next to me, noticing the look on my face.
"Look," I gestured towards on the strain that I could see on my friend's weapon, "The wire. It's stringing." Stringing was Aspen's word for fraying, when he overused a wire on his bow and it began to unfurl into smaller strings.
Ronnie shook his head, "You know how many times he's used that thing in the last three days? I'm not surprised."
Well, I grimaced, not that it mattered anymore. We were out of time.
Aspen gave us all one final glance to make sure everyone was ready before he raced forwards, and in an instant we were at his heel, rallying behind the boy.
The scouts were swift in their movements. A few of them dashed past me, swords, bows and weapons of all array at their hands. Distract him, that was their job. Help people if they could, but focus on keeping the human busy whilst we freed everyone. Ronnie was at my side, the two of us following Aspen through the slightly less crowded streets. Everyone is will get out, I told myself, but unable to feel any relief about that fact. The person that had caused all this was still only meters away. And the fact that we even had to run away was horrible. My tribe, my home... gods knew what state it would be in when all this was over. We would never be able to come back here.
As the other scouts began to separate from the three of us, the cold stone below our feet became littered with debris of broken houses. I could hear their furious cries from over the houses as they fired arrows and spears at the human. The tribe was in ruins. The closer we got to Sam, the more houses were crumbling apart. Even the stone path below us had cracked from where the monster had carved a hole through the tree. If we don't hurry, he'll end up destroying everything. Slowly, I looked up, already dreading the idea of seeing the cause to all this damage.
Sam carefully dropped someone else into the pouch despite their attempts to stop him. That was when a spear came flying at him from the floor, lodging itself into his hand. He let out a surprised yelp, popping my ears with his thunderous voice. But it was only momentary. When he actually saw the spear, Sam only produced a wry laugh. He simply pulled the thin weapon out of his hand, snapping it clean in half as he did. Like it was a twig. To him it probably was.
Then, he turned his eyes to the many scouts now swarming around him.
He raised an eyebrow, "Who are you all supposed to be?"
I tried not to watch as the green figures continued to fire an onslaught of arrows at the human, but to no avail. Sam simply swatted the projectiles out of the sky.
"Little soldiers?" There was a thin smirk tugging at his lips, "That's cute..."
Sam had reached towards the scouts quicker than I could comprehend, the same amused smile still on his accursed face. His hand quickly found one who was holding a sword in their hands, and I found myself unable to look away as we ran on, eyes refusing to blink. The boy let out a cry and stabbed upwards as the claw descended upon him, but his weapon was knocked aside with just one of the giant's fingers. No-
Then, to my horror, the hand closed around him.
Despite how he struggling and and kicked out his little legs, the scout was plucked from the ground by the merciless human. My eyes grew wider as I saw the boy's silvery, soot-like hair, just a shade lighter than Kovu's. Alder?! Kovu's little brother.
"Hey, hey," Sam let the boy thrash and kick between his fingers, "Take it easy, squirt."
Keep running, I ordered myself. Ignore it, they'll be fine. Their job was to distract him, not me.
The other scouts below Alder launched whatever they could at the enormous hand, desperate to free their comrade, but nothing worked. Before I knew it, another gigantic hand swooped down and grabbed two more of the green figures, plucking the from the floor effortlessly. Among them was Alder's older brother who had been trying desperately to help him. Don't look, I flinched, forcing my head to snap back ahead of me.
Ronnie shook his head jerkily, but I could still the the terrible wincing in his face as he too glared at the floor. Those were his best friends, his family being captured, and he was letting it happen.
Regardless of the terror happening beside us, our trio ran as fast as we possibly could through the wrecked trail, and soon we were almost at the pouch.
I gulped as we rounded the corner of a street, grey of the path becoming lighter underfoot as the shadows grew a little blacker. The gaping hole that the human had made was close now. It lit up the area with a cold white luminance and let my eyes scan around with ease for what we had come for. The only downside was that it made him a whole lot more obvious, and a whole lot closer to the three of us. Sam came into view once more, his huge head of brown hair and duo of dark blue eyes sending a jolt of fear running through me. Come on, don't do this now. I couldn't afford to be afraid when my family were throwing themselves into danger for us.
The pouch. I tried to keep my mind off the fact that he was right there next to me, towering above us.
He can't see you, I reminded myself with a low breath. I had my hood up. It was fine.
"There," I murmured, pointing to the brown bag. Aspen and Ronnie followed my hand. I could see movement coming from inside, countless people trapped within the fabric. Including Rosin, I recalled.
"What's the plan?" Ronnie muttered, glancing to Aspen.
The boy stared at his arrows for a moment, brow furrowing in thought, then back to the bag.
Aspen shook his head, "I can't shoot it," he admitted with a scowl.
Ronnie and I both said why? in unison.
"This thing is battered," he scowled, looking down at the bow with contempt, "It works, but I'm not risking hitting someone inside with aim like this. I barely managed to get Azure out before. And I don't think an arrow will tear it enough."
Great, so shooting it was completely out of the question.
I stared at the bag a bit more. "So... what? We cut it?" I gave my sword a twirl, seeing how heavy it was.
Beside me, Ronnie gulped, "That's an idea. Bet it wouldn't end very well..."
All three of us looked up at the monster.
Sam was still occupied with the other scouts- not that I liked to dwell on that thought for more than a moment. If we cut the bag though, there was a huge chance he would notice us...
"What other option do we have?" Aspen tutted, and we both knew that he was right.
"I'll do it." I breathed, ignoring the pounding of my heart
He scowled at me, "Don't be ridiculous."
Here we go again.
"Aspen," I began, cheeks already flushing with annoyance, "You don't think I can?"
His own cheeks flared red at my demand, "I don't even want you here! Let alone anywhere near him!"
I raised an eyebrow, "Okay, where's your sword then? You can do it instead."
He scowled at the floor and hid his red cheeks, knowing full-well that his sword skills were as good as my bow skills. Non-existent. "Ca-"
"Chrissakes," Ronnie growled, "Stop your bickering- this isn't the time! I'll do it with her, together. Problem solved," he glared, "It'll be quicker with the two of us anyway. Can you go and help the others? Please?"
Aspen was helpless to say no to that. They desperately needed some leadership. But he couldn't help glancing at me, "You... you look after her, Ronnie. That's an order."
Ronnie nodded, smiling weakly, "That's the plan."
In an instant, all three of us rose from our crouching positions and readied up for the task ahead. Aspen pulled an arrow from his quiver and attached it to the string of the bow as Ronnie and I adjusted the hold on our swords, and perhaps our hold on staying level-headed. You can do this.
There wasn't a second for me to dwell on the boy's pained look, nor was there any time at all for him to utter any words to me. There would be things he wanted to say, I was sure of it, or warnings he would want to beg my caution of. Be careful, don't get too close, keep the hood up. Those were just my own ideas of his relentless worrying.
Don't go.
But any moments that could have been used for such a soft conversation had long since passed, and all the boy could do was wince in my direction as he rose. And with that, he had turned on his heel. Aspen... but he disappeared in a moment. I turned away from where he had departed, his face already leaving my mind.
Ronnie and I gave each other a swift nod before dashing towards the pouch at full speed, feet thundering, swords held strong. My heart was hammering and my head felt light, but I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. We ran in unison, stopping only to hide if Sam glanced towards us.
"You don't have to do this." From Ronnie.
"I'm ready. Are you?" I asked him as we grew inches away from up the fabric. We came to a stop behind the wreckage of a house. Even if it was a complete lie, it had sounded beautifully convincing.
I stopped, breathless, "Ronnie?"
The boy blew out a curt breath, "Good thing you're braver than me. Bloody hell. I'm shaking like a damn leaf."
He peeked out from behind the broken house to make sure Sam wasn't looking at us, then gave me the all-clear nod. I clutched my sword, palms sweating and shaking. I can do this, I assured myself, as if repeating it would make the statement come true.
"Kay, just slice a big enough opening. It's a simple job, right?" He looked to me as if searching for something, "Right?"
"Yes, now come on Ronnie!"
"Alright, alright!" He spluttered, before gulping down an uneasy breath. "Kay, okay. Ready... and..." Ronnie let out a breath, crouching low and readying himself to break into a run. I did the same.
But then air whizzed past my ear, followed a dim shadow not a second after. Heart dropping through the floor, my head snapped up just in time to see Sam's hand sinking down to us.
"Ronnie!" I screamed just a second too late.
The boy turned to give me a startled looked, just as four fingers grabbed onto the back of his hood. No-
His sword slipped from his hand as the giant human snatched my friend off the ground. Ronnie screamed with pure terror as Sam lifted him far away from the floor, and even his ferocious thrashing couldn't help him.
Stop- stop it stop not them.
I couldn't move, frozen with utter fear as I watched him be pulled further and further away from me. I couldn't breathe.
"What a sneaky thing you are," a voice boomed, raising Ronnie higher than the houses around us.
The boy pushed and shoved against the fingers that were holding tight onto the back of his cloak, gritting his teeth and kicking his legs about madly.
"Get off me!" A fierce cry erupted from his throat. My own weapon almost clattered to the floor from my weakening hands. Stop, Ronnie stop it. My eyes followed every movement. Sam could drop him, didn't he know that?!
Ronnie didn't seem to care, landing another harsh slap on the fingertips.
He snarled with all the reckless confidence he had within him.
"You bloody beast!"
Ronnie was still thrashing around, spitting and hissing, when the human's hand finally stopped hoisting him upwards. Now, he was being suspended metres above the rock-solid floor, held up by nothing but a pair of fingers that were lightly pinching his hood. Ronnie wasn't being lifted anymore, he was being held... held directly before Sam's face, and he didn't seem to care.
Heart pounding in spastic bursts, I found that I was rooted to the spot as I craned my neck to see the terrible scene. The scout was dangling in the centre of the colossal human's vision, two curious eyes settling on his small figure. I watched breathlessly as those spotlights swept over my friend, snagging on his reddened face.
I saw the interest light up his eyes.
Sam's face pulled back into a slight smirk. He was enjoying the show; the tiny boy kicking and screaming, fighting against him- and I knew that he would be feeling nothing from Ronnie's furious slapping, apart from a few skittish taps on his fingertips. Even his strongest blow would cause the human no pain.
The look was making my knees weak, yet still, the scout threw himself about with maddened cries, fighting like there would be no tomorrow.
His nose was flushed red as he smacked at Sam, "Get off! "
Perhaps he hadn't quite realised how much danger he was in.
He made another move to smack the fingers, "Let me g-"
That is, until he caught a glimpse of what was before him.
It was as if the cry was pulled from his chest. Ronnie's yell faltered into a weak rasp, his throat seizing.
Sam's gaze was utterly dominating. The look on his face was a clear indication of just how little effort it took to hold my friend before him. And that taunting grin, those terrible, voided eyes... all the smile did was tell Ronnie that his thrashing was pointless.
Ronnie's kicking slowly faded into motionlessness.
The two of them stared at each other for a second, neither one moving, before realisation seemed to dawn on Ronnie. He was being dangled in front a giant creature, who was looking at him like you would look at a little insect.
Humans usually crushed insects like us for fun.
Ronnie's hands weakly slipped down to his sides, balling up into fists, but he wasn't trying to fight anymore. He was scared. The human chuckled softly, eyes fixated on the growing dread in his little captive's face. I watched as my friend's features cooled to a pale white, eyes pooling with fear.
The severity of the situation was clear as day, and it was obvious by the look on his face that my friend finally knew it.
The human leisurely turned his hand to the side, tipping the boy backwards and letting him fall into his palm. Ronnie had barely sat up before his knees were weakly kicking him backwards.
"Green like the others." Sam looked over him, raising his eyebrows at the panicked movements. Behind the boy, his fingers shifted ever so slightly to pinch at the green hood.
Ronnie stopped dead, feeling the small movement course through every inch of his being. He began to tremble gently in the hand, frozen in place and with nowhere to go.
The human merely tilted his head to the side, voice dropping into a low hiss.
"I'm guessing that you're part of this little resistance?" He murmured with that same sinister smile.
I felt my strength shudder away as the horribly quiet tone fell dead on my ears.
Oh gods... I had heard it too many times already.
I tried to tear my eyes away from the scene. All I was doing was terrifying myself out of my wits. But I just couldn't. I hated Sam with all of my being, and he had my friend, my brother! He had Ronnie...
Sam yanked sharply on the boy's hood before finally letting it go.
Ronnie's hands were sill tight in fists as his face scrunched up into a strained scowl.
He was trying so desperately to be brave, forcing the defying look onto his face with such ferocity, he almost look fearless.
"You-" he bit back the fear, "Y-you let them go," the boy managed quietly. Gulping back the shaking, he found a desperate glare from somewhere within himself. That made the human smile though... and my friend didn't like that. Not at all.
"Don't you smirk at me," the tremble in his voice had vanished, "You bloody bastard, let them go! " It didn't last for a second though, because Ronnie's expression dropped through the floor when he saw a hand descending onto him.
Sam's finger— almost bigger than my friend's entire body— gave the boy a violent flick, smacking the digit into his ribs. He cried out in a horrible, pained yelp, making me cover my mouth.
The amused voice was a roar in our ears, "You're brave."
Ronnie was doubled over from where Sam had flicked him, moaning in what must have been agony. Even from the floor far below, I could see his chest heaving with anguished breaths.
He was breathing in hisses when the hand that held him shifted just the slightest bit, wobbling him dangerously above the floor. His pain seemed to vanish in one alarmed cry that shrieked from his chest. The boy clung to the hand, eyes wide and petrified at the sight of the floor.
I froze.
Ronnie may have been a scout, but he was no Winged; heights weren't something he was accustomed to like Aspen or me. He was frozen in place, shaking like a leaf.
His eyes pulled back to the human, face suddenly paling with an obvious dread. Both Ronnie and I were horribly aware of the fact that he had just shown his fear to the enormous monster.
Sam's smile grew as he tipped the hand further, making sure that the boy was fixated on the faraway floor, "Oh, you're scared of heights?"
Ronnie's hands flew to grab at something solid, feet scraping up and down as the hand began to tilt more and more. In a few moments, the boy had leapt off his knees, trying desperately to find a grip- but the giant hand tilted further. When Sam finally stopped, it was barely an inch away from being totally vertical. There, he held it, watching as the tiny boy struggled to stop himself from slipping off the edge.
Ronnie clutched for a grip, tears pooling in his eyes as death was dangled before him. From that height, there would be no chance he would survive crashing into the rock that lay below... and he was one flick of the human's hand from being sent hurtling down to that fate.
His feet were slipping, sinking to the very edge of the hand despite all his pleading efforts. He was going to fall.
When a low chuckle vibrated through his body, Ronnie hid his face away from the creature that made it. He could only scrunch his face up to hold back tears, toes slipping over the edge of the hand.
And my own being seemed to freeze. He's going to fall.
I would try to catch him, but my wings could barely support me at the moment. I couldn't save him from that drop. Oh gods, do something-
"Want me to drop you?" The human hummed, cold eyes staring daggers into my friend. Ronnie uttered a choking cry. He could do nothing but tremble as he turned his teary face away, wordlessly begging that the cruel beast wouldn't kill him. Do what. What?!
With that, Sam tipped his hand back and let the boy collapse into a trembling pile in the middle of his palm. I could see the pure terror on his face, clear as day. Ronnie coiled into a tiny huddle and stared up at the monster. He wasn't fearless anymore, he wasn't being brash and yelling swears. He was terrified.
Sam's hand shifted to the side, moving to put Ronnie in with the rest of people he had captured. My eyes seemed to blink in slow motion as I watched the boy hug his arm over his bruising ribs. The pain on his face spoke volumes. That was my brother, my own brother. And before I could meet his eye, call out some sort of solace to him, Ronnie had been dropped down, disappearing into the pouch with barely time for a cry of terror.
Ronnie, Ronnie! All of a sudden, I could move again.
Alder, Kovu, Ronnie- All of a sudden, I wasn't frozen with fear or unable to breathe.
No. He could do whatever he wanted to me, but how dare the human hurt my family. Yes, I was still terrified, but seeing my brother's face so twisted up was stronger than any fear, like a rush of realisation.
How I had got myself captured in the first place? I had been trying to save Micah.
I held my sword tightly and scowled. Ripping my eyes away from Sam, I turned back towards the pouch. So you're going to save everyone else now.
My legs moved on their own. No. He didn't get to destroy my home- he didn't have the right to hurt my family! I barrelled towards the pouch with a cry swelling within my chest. No: Sam could torment me all he wanted, but he couldn't hurt my people, he had no right! I heaved the sword over my shoulder, clutching it with both hands. Slice the bag. Run.
No- everyone would be frantic to get away. I had to protect them. Okay then. Slice the bag and... fight him. I leapt off the floor and swung it round over my head- protect them! And began to bring it down into the wretched fabric. I swiped the sword with all the flaming strength I had, driving it down into-
The blade was suddenly ripped upwards from my hands, knocking me into an uncontrollable spin. I collided with the floor, the harsh stone knocking the air clean out of my lungs.
My hands were burning, I had to just splutter in a pile on the floor for a second before I could get my breath back. Palms on fire with the red-hot friction, the pain ran down my arms and into my shoulders, fierce whiplash punishing the sudden movement.
I picked myself up with a dizzy head. What was... what happened?
I managed to balance on my two feet and come to my senses, the green hood of the cloak hanging down in front of my eyes. I resisted the urge to throw the irksome thing backwards. Stay hidden, Aspen's eyes lingered in the back of my mind. I wobbled at the slightest breath, but eventually managed to look up.
And then my heart froze.
He was looking at me.
I became rooted to the floor as Sam looked down at me. Focused on me. Eyes darting to his hand, I saw that he had the miniature sword pinched between his thumb and finger. He had ripped it from my hands.
Wait- heart skipping a beat, my eyes darted to the left. I felt as if the floor was crumbling away under my feet. He had ripped the weapon away a few moments before I could strike the blow. The horrified realisation made me want to be sick.
Everyone was still trapped.
The human leant in through the hole to get a closer look at me.
"Hello." He murmured. My eyes snapped back to face him.
Sam peered at me, raising his eyebrows at my skittish movements, "I'm guessing by your clothes... that little one I just picked up was a friend of yours..."
As I trembled stupidly, unable to move from my own fear, it suddenly dawned on me that my hood was still up. I could barely see out of the stupid thing— of course he couldn't see my face properly. With a breathless gulp, I felt strength returning to my legs. He doesn't recognise you.
I began to stumble backwards and away from him, before my eyes fell on the pouch. Everyone was still trapped inside...
I hesitated for a split-second. I couldn't just leave them, but what was I supposed to do without a sword?
Sam's thunderous voice rang out through the cavern, "I'm impressed, little guy..."
That babying voice only added to the hate that swelled in my chest for the human. But at least he assumed that I was another boyish scout. By the time my gaze returned to him, all I found was a hand stretching towards me. Wait no- no no! Muffling a scream, I turned to run. Whether he recognised me or not was irrelevant, he would still try to catch me.
"You almost cut everyone out of there," he laughed, with the slightest hint of admiration on his tone.
I spun on my heel to sprint back towards where Aspen had been, when I felt a sudden tug on my back. No- driving my heels into the floor didn't help, I found I couldn't progress one inch. He was pinching the back of the cloak I had on.
To my horror, my feet scuffed backwards. He pulled me backwards, backwards past the bag of people, backwards and towards him. The floor swung away from me as his hand raised. I grasped at empty air, heart thudding straight out of my chest. No- oh gods, Aspen, Aspen! Help me! Don't let him-
A shadow came over my head as he lowered his other land, poising it to pull back the hood. He would pull back the hood and see me.
"Don't fuss," he soothed when I started kicking, "I'm not going to hurt you. Let me have a look at you..." Pressure erupted on the back of my head.
The world was moving way too fast- too fast for me to have even a second to think!
I did the only thing I could and pushed away from his hand.