Ten #2
Or how much longer we can carry on.
“Come on, keep going,” Leon urges Emmy, panic lacing his tone.
Even as the skilled climbers they are, her injury is weighing her down, and there’s nothing we can do.
Being out in the Wilds, we’ve trained with weapons. Ran with dragons, built muscle just from the daily chores of our lives. In previous Games. In sparring.
It never gets easier, and it’s always more strenuous than the last, but this, climbing this cliffside for hours, we are all weakening.
“You doing okay?” I ask Emmy.
“Y-yes, Dragonbond,” she pants, her teeth beginning to chatter from the pain and Leon moves closer to her, concern etched on his face.
“You can do this,” he says. “And when we get back home from The Games… I … Fuck, Em,” he adjusts his hold, looking at her deeply. “We can soak in the river and maybe we can camp out under the stars again, we love doing that, don’t we?”
“Y-yeah,” she says, softly. “I want to do that again.”
“We can,” he assures her. “Let’s just… just get up there and then we can rest, okay?”
She nods, and I have to look away.
“Come on, let’s keep going,” I tell them, trying not to think of the bodies that are probably mangled at the base of the cliff, and that we could be landing next to them at any moment. “It can’t be much further now.”
“Fuck this cliff,” Kaldar hisses, and I couldn’t agree more.
The mist clears a little, and it isn’t long before we see some others above us. They’re scattered, all from the other clans, looking worse for wear like we are.
“Be careful,” I warn everyone.
We either picked up the speed more than we thought, or they slowed down significantly after going as fast as they could at the start.
Either way, it doesn’t matter because in the next moment, one of Highwing’s men slips, falling toward us, aiming straight for Leon.
“Watch out!” I shout, reaching out a hand to grab him, but as soon as he looks up, eyes widening, I know I can’t get to him in time.
Leon looks over at Emmy instantly, opening his mouth as if to say something, but the body falling from above smashes into him, causing him to lose his grip and fall down with him.
“No!” Emmy screams, reaching for him but her foot slips too, and she scrambles for purchase as Kaldar tries to get across to her.
“Emmy, grab on!”
But she can’t, her bad leg won’t hold her and in the next moment, she’s gone too, her screams fading into the night while the crowd shouts in excitement.
“Fuck, fuck!” I rest my head on the cliff, squeezing my eyes shut as Hakkon roars. “We need to go, now.”
I can’t think about them landing at the bottom, their eyes unseeing.
Not now.
Adora, Kaldar, and I race to the top as fast as we can. It isn’t safe with others around us, and not even a moment later, my instincts are proven right.
One of Rivertail’s men comes into view, and he lifts a dagger, throwing it. It lands in my bicep, and I growl.
“Fucking asshole.” Pulling my own out, I send it his way. It punctures the side of his neck.
His eyes glaze over and then his hold loosens before his body is falling, too.
Someone screams their name.
“Stay quiet.” I say, narrowly missing another body, one of Greenhorn’s.
“That was close,” Adora says, breathing heavily.
“We have to be close now, don’t stop,” I say, and they nod.
We move slowly, eyes on the others. Some fight with each other, some pass by like we are.
I don’t want to kill any of them if I don’t have to, but if another comes for me, or mine, I won’t hesitate.
Passing a Firehorn, his head is against the rocks, sweat dripping down his face, he watches me as I pass him by and I can see the fear in his eyes. The tremble in his limbs is much like my own, but I can’t help him.
He could turn around and shove us off without a moment’s notice.
“Hakkon,” Kaldar says, and I eye him. “Go to the top, out of sight.”
The dragon looks at me and I nod, letting him know to do as he was asked.
He flies up, staying away from the cliffs but when a dagger aims his way, the dragon rumbles in anger, slicing his claws through something.
Someone screams, but I don’t have any sympathy.
“Good dragon,” Kaldar calls, to which Hakkon purrs a reply.
“Serves him right,” Adora says,
“It did, but we need to get to the top, now.”
The other clans’ eyes are all on Hakkon, and I don’t trust them not to go for him.
They couldn’t kill him, not while he’s in flight and they’re stuck on a cliff, but they could blind him, tear at his wings, and you don’t touch any of my dragons and live.
“There,” I say, seeing the top. With a burst of strength and speed, we reach it.
“Fuuuck,” Kaldar says, throwing himself over.
“We made it, fuck,” Adora breathes, hands on hips.
Not all of us did.
I look around at the other clans catching their breath, my hands twitching and that’s when I see a Firehorn appear, climbing over the edge where we did, blade in hand. I turn and lift a foot without thought, booting him in the face and he goes flying back, falling.
There is no second guessing here.
Everyone is your enemy.
It’s you or them.
Their clan or mine.
And I choose mine.
“Come on, we need to search and get away from the edge.”
Hakkon flies above us, keeping steady and we walk into the trees here.
“How do they manage to make a little forest up here while continuing to rotate the stone?” Adora asks.
“No idea,” I say, scanning the area.
“Fuck, Rohan you have a dagger in your arm!” Kaldar barks.
I blink and look down at it still poking out of me.
I grab and pull it out with a grunt, blood sliding down my arm from the wound. I hold the blade closely while I feel the weight of my axe on my back.
“Are we alone here?” Kalder asks, and I shake my head.
“We never are.”
I look up through the trees to the night sky for Hakkon. I don’t want to call out to him and bring attention to him, or us, so I try to listen carefully for him.
“Gods, it’s dark,” Adora says. “Wait, look.” She points to the left, where something is flickering.
A torchlight?
“A trick?” Kaldar mutters.
I take the axe from my back, “Stay close.”
I take the front, walking slowly and as quietly as possible toward the light. Just behind it lies what looks like a little shed, and we check the perimeter for a trap, for anyone hiding, but there’s no one here.
“How far into the forest do you think we are?” Adora asks.
“Deep,” I reply.
“We must be,” Kaldar says. “We haven’t seen anyone in a long time.”
Taking a risk, I call Hakkon.
A gentle growl sounds, and his chest lights up for a moment as he flies overhead. He circles a few times, and then he’s landing not-so gracefully, knocking into a tree or two.
We pause, waiting for someone to attack from how loud that was, but the forest is silent.
Kaldar goes to him. “That wasn’t exactly quiet.”
The dragon growls.
“Light,” Kaldar says, and the gentle glow Hakkon gives us brightens enough to see the shack here.
Lifting my axe, I push the door open with the point. Stance ready for an attack.
As light penetrates the space, nothing is inside but a body on the ground, not moving.
Brows furrowed, I walk closer.
They’re turned away from me, sack over their head. With Kaldar and Adora at my back, I gently turn them over and pull the sack away.
Red hair spills out, pointed ears on display and my eyes widen, hands going to her face.
“Alara?” Her eyelids flicker, and then the most beautiful, confused green eyes are staring up at me.
“Rohan?” She tries to sit up, but it’s like she’s too weak to, and my pulse pounds in my ears.
“I have you.” I lift her into my arms. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she mumbles, head resting on my shoulder. “J-just tired.”
“It’s good to see you, Alara,” Adora says, smiling as she comes over.
“It is,” Kaldar agrees.
A rumble comes from our back and we turn. Hakkon’s face is at the door, purring coming from his throat.
“I’m okay,” Alara mumbles, and then her eyes close.
She’s asleep.
“Do you see any injuries?” I ask them.
“Nothing,” Adora says, checking her over.
“What’s that?”
We turn to Kaldar, who has his hand in a box. “Look!”
He comes over and we turn to the light coming from Hakkon when he holds his palm out.
“Well,” Adora says, taking the stone. “This is how we’re getting back down.”
“It’s already set to the Enclave, I imagine,” Kaldar says.
I reach for the stone, still holding Alara close. “Only one way to find out.”