Kealor gave a sheepish laugh. "Well. It's not that bad, and I am still alive," not meeting anyone's eyes.
But Lucian was already noticing Kealor had ashened beyond his vibrant brown skin.
"When did it happen—"
*A FEW MINUTES EARLIER*
Spikes descended like turrets as Nirro evaded them, weaving through the forest. Every fiber of his body screamed alongside danger.
Light grazes covered him but weren't severe.
Quick and nimble. He dodged even when death closed in. Nirro was in flight mode — the only mode possible for someone who had experienced a situation of similar likeness.
But his endurance was wearing thin. Running nonstop for this long was already an achievement. But he couldn't stop; he had to find Kealor. That was the job Sapphire had entrusted to him. He couldn't rest now.
Just when he was about to take a left toward higher ground, a silver streak cut through the corner of his eyes. Nirro paused as he sensed familiarity.
Voiding his initial destination, he decided to follow the path where the silver streak went.
...
Kealor dodged countless spikes, then rested against a tree to catch his breath. Running had put too much strain on his wound, one he didn't even know he had.
He was already feeling disoriented and dizzy but hadn't found any of them. And he didn't know when this training would end.
Kealor looked past the tree leaves that shielded the earth from the sky.
Dusk was approaching and no one was in his line of sight.
'Where are you guys?' Kealor thought, looking around, planning where next to go.
After steadying his breath, he was ready to move again, only to feel a slight touch at his nape. Before he could say a word, he was pulled back.
Just as he was being pulled, a spike cut through the air, grazing his neck, drawing a thin line of red.
The very tree that Kealor had been resting on now existed in front of his view. He blinked a couple of times before turning to the other person beside him.
"Nirro," Kealor said ecstatically. Nirro quickly quieted him, hand over his mouth, then looked around for possible attacks before turning back to face Kealor.
Two pats to the top of his head. Nirro greeted him. Kealor let him, offering a slight tilt in response.
Then he perked up immediately.
"Have you seen Kira?" Kealor asked.
Nirro shook his head. No.
"What of the others?" Nirro responded with his right hand, index and middle finger to the baseline of his hair. Kealor recognized the gesture — Nirro had met Sapphire.
Nirro's hands then pointed to his eyes, across the trees, two flicks forward, before following up with left hand, pinky and the next finger below his right eye, then left thumb to the chin — Sapphire had gone to look for Lucian and Kira.
Kealor understood each detail, nodding.
"So what should we do? Run forever or wait until a fateful crossing?" Kealor asked, pausing between breaths.
Spotting the difference, Nirro did a quick scan, then immediately grabbed Kealor's torn cloth and ripped it further, revealing it was soaked with blood.
Behind it was a deep gash and roughly torn skin. Blood seeping out.
"Ugh! So ugly," Kealor commented.
You carried it like this? Nirro's eyes retorted in question.
"Yeah, can't last much longer," Kealor said, then nearly screamed, "Ou… Ouch! Do you want to squeeze me dry?"
Nirro gave no response to Kealor's whining and continued.
"Wow, it stopped. Where did you learn this?" Kealor asked with amazement.
Nirro arched his lip before returning it to its original position.
With the last knot tied, Nirro got up and stretched forth his hand, which Kealor took and used to pull himself up.
And they continued forward, before another eventful meeting with Lucian and Jex.
____
Lucian wanted to ask more but Kealor cut him off.
"Have you seen Sapphire? He said he was going to find you and Kira."
Immediately hearing Kira's name, he soured, voice neutral. "No, we haven't been able to cross paths with him."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and find them," Kealor urged.
____
"Why are you so mean?" Kealor retorted to Lucian's jab.
"The quicker we get out of this situation, the better for us," Lucian said, walking beside Nirro. Jex and Kealor just slightly behind, as Jex aided Kealor, whose hand was over his shoulder for support.
"I wonder where Sapphire and Kira are? Why haven't we seen them yet?"
Still fully in their bickering, unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching their approach.
.....
Little shuffles formed beneath Kira's feet as she contemplated if she could run to them or call out their names. Her mind wandered as her heart raced.
Kealor, Nirro, Lucian, Jex — laughing, arguing, limping forward.
Oblivious.
And the ground beneath them was humming.
She could feel it. Eoman wasn't just watching. He was playing.
A faint tremor. The air got tight before a spike burst.
Eoman whispered beside her. His fingers drummed upon his folded arm as he counted their steps.
Crunch, A tap. Crunch, A tap.
Like a makeshift clock. Was what she could only hear alongside her beating heart. Unable to take it,
Kira snapped.
"No!"
She ran.
Forgetting that where she stood was different. Forgetting the danger.
She just ran toward them and shouted. The surrounding warped then collapsed as it came in contact with her.
Catching Eoman unaware.
.....
The four boys heard a girl scream from nowhere.
A figure tore out of thin air.
Kira.
She appeared out of nothing, arms out.
"GET DOWN!"
Lucian stumbled back in fright. Kealor tripped over Jex. Nirro pulled them all down hard
_SHHHHRRRK!_
Four spikes erupted from ground to a height exactly where their chests had been a second ago.
If they hadn't fallen, they'd be dead.
Silence.
Four boys on the ground, staring at Kira who stood shaking before them, breathing like she'd just broken through water.
"K-Kira?" Lucian choked.
Eoman clicked his tongue. _Tch._
Annoyed.
With a flick of his wrist, he stopped the other spikes mid-air before they pierced Kira. They hung frozen, then dissolved into dust. Kira stumbled back a bit.
"It's not good to dive into danger, my lady," Eoman said, almost pouting.