Boots pounded the ground, followed by panting.
He narrowly dodged spikes that erupted from different directions.
Hands struck leaves that posed as obstructions as he ran.
His legs carried him forward.
Then he stopped. Confused.
Sapphire stared at the sight before him.
He had been here.
The destroyed tree looked identical to the one that had been destroyed when he was first attacked.
Had he run in a loop? He looked around. After a few more recognitions, he came to a conclusion.
"Oh. Someone's smart." Eoman said, appreciating Sapphire's awareness of his craftiness.
"While you're at it, you can take the time to understand the terrain. It does serve as backup to your motives." His voice echoed to everyone.
Spikes burst out once more, partially hitting Sapphire head-on. They tore at his cheeks and forearms. The force knocked him into a tree, the air knocked from his lungs on impact.
He didn't have time to breathe as spikes rained down. Sapphire forced his body to roll.
Dirt mixed with his open wounds.
The spikes embedded themselves in the ground.
He quickly got up and ran, changing direction to avoid ending up back at the starting point.
Soon he collided with someone a short distance away. They both stumbled back to stabilize themselves. Sapphire looked up.
Both of them: covered in sweat and blood, hair sticking to foreheads, clothes torn.
"Nirro." Relief was evident.
Nirro nodded. 'How are you?' he signaled.
"I'm good," Sapphire responded with a smile.
"What of the others? Have you seen any of them?"
Nirro shook his head. 'No.'
_Fwoosh_
_Brrrr. Showers._
They ducked and dodged, evading the spikes.
"Let's split. You go find Kealor. I'll find Lucian and Kira," Sapphire said.
Nirro nodded in agreement.
Spikes separated them as they rolled out of the way.
"Let's meet back here," Sapphire said as they got up. Nirro nodded once more and ran. Sapphire went the opposite direction.
______
The sun hammered down, trying to set everything on fire.
The forest was screaming. Kids running. Spikes raining.
Kira felt her head burn. Exhaustion crept in as her body began stiffening and aching. Sweat stung her eyes. Hair stuck to her face and the back of her neck.
_Burst._ Roll.
_Fwoosh._ Duck.
_Brrrr. Showers._ Take cover.
Rhythm. And just when she got the hang of it, it shuffled, forcing her to adapt again.
She'd been running so long she didn't notice the others disappearing one by one.
Until eventually, screams turned to silence.
She stopped and looked around.
The air was still, as if paused.
She couldn't hear a thing. No footsteps.
'Where is everyone?'
Treading carefully through the sparse trees, she made the foolish decision to call out.
"Is anyone there?!" she shouted.
"Can you hear me?!"
"Sapphire."
"Kealor—"
"We hear you loud and clear, my lady," Eoman answered.
"But is that a good choice? You might divulge your location to the very monsters who want to hurt you."
"Third rule of survival… you're not always alone when you think you are."
His voice came directly from above. Kira looked up to see Eoman
on a branch, legs crossed, chin in hand.
Kira took a step back.
"Where are you going?" His words sang beside her ear.
He was behind her. When?
She hadn't seen him move.
Her body went rigid.
Eoman chuckled at her reaction, stood, and walked out from behind her.
"One shouldn't fear their subjects, my lady," leaves crushing beneath him.
Then he continued walking forward, ignoring her confused look.
She waited for spikes to ambush. Nothing came. She was jumpy.
She looked around, took a step forward, then immediately jumped back, waiting for something to happen.
Stuck in this predicament while the cause of it casually walked away.
When she was sure spikes weren't going to erupt, she looked at Eoman's retreating figure. A good amount of space was now between them.
Should she follow? Stay?
Looking around, she confirmed: he was the only one left in this forest besides her.
Losing sight of him here was like losing a lifeline.
She decided to follow, keeping a small but visible distance, jumping at every noise, head swinging side to side as she took in her surroundings.
Eoman smiled as he felt her trudging behind.
Silence played between them. Kira didn't dare speak, though she wanted to, and she didn't know how he'd react.
A few more steps and Kira felt blisters.
She winced as her leather boots cut deeper into her skin. She shifted her weight, kicked the air to free her feet inside the shoe, did the same to the other foot, then kept going.
Just as she was about to climb over a log, she felt a chilling breeze. It came sharp and fast, then disappeared, leaving only rustling strands of hair as evidence. Kira jolted and turned, but saw no one.
This was the third time it had happened, and she didn't know what was causing it or where it came from.
Only a slight graze. It came from different directions on different paths. She'd been waiting for an attack every time, but none came.
She scanned her surroundings once more, then looked forward.
_____
Air escaped Lucian's lungs in large puffs as he pushed his body past its limits. He'd been running and dodging for a long while with no time to stop.
_Brrrr. Showers._
He took cover under the tree canopy, catching his breath.
Anger coursed through him. As if spikes weren't enough, grey creatures were appearing at the corners of his eyes. They didn't move, and Lucian did his best to avoid them, running in a different direction.
Only the boy he'd conversed with appeared at a closer distance.
Headache ensued.
'When will I ever know peace?' he screamed internally.
While the thought was still in his head, a muffled sound came from behind him, jolting his spine like electricity.
Had they decided to come closer? Behind.
On the other side of the tree.
Is it the boy?
His mind spiraled. He didn't want to turn and look. His fingers dug into the bark as he tried to calm down.
The murmuring came again, more clearly this time.
This was different. If it were those grey creatures, Lucian wouldn't be able to hear their voices without his ears bleeding and his brain pounding.
He stilled himself, turned, and crept toward the voice.
As he got closer, his body visibly relaxed.
He knew that habitual muttering.
Coming into view was a crouched figure, the crown of black hair visible. Hands scratched against each other in agitated nervousness as he existed in his own world.