Abel, Art, and Ari continued through the forest riding Hyde's back at a rapid pace. The sun broke through the trees making everything easier to see as they dashed through. Abel sat comfortably between the elongated spines sticking out of Hyde's deformed back, gripping the one in front of him tightly. Ari sat behind him with her arms wrapped securely around his waist, and her head against the center of his back. Art sat further toward the rear gripping Hyde relentlessly as he was bounced around. Hyde continued to run in a zig-zag pattern avoiding trees as if they weren't there at all.
"How much further til we exit the forest?" Art yelled, clenching his eyes tightly.
"There's a clearing up ahead, that leads to a cliff, and that's where we begin our descent," Abel replied, confidently.
"Descent?" Ari asked, softly, lifting her head from his back.
"We have to climb down the side of a cliff," he said, clicking his heel into Hyde's side once more.
"How do we do that without gear?" She asked, nervous about the response.
"That's what he's for," he replied, lightly patting Hyde on the back and chuckling. She gulped slightly, tightening her grip around Abel's waist and digging her head back into his shoulder blades.
"Relax, I won't let anything happen to you," Abel said, placing his hand atop hers. The feeling of a fluttering stomach put her on edge. She could feel her face, it was warm, and red like a tomato. She couldn't explain it, but she felt shy like she was back in middle school. She caught herself in deep thought and shook herself out of it before it could go too far.
"While we have a second, what really happened to your face?" she asked, tightening her grip around his torso.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not that dumb. Plus, you took way too long to think of a cougar," She said, chuckling.
"We got into a fight with a bear. It wasn't...normal it was huge and had this odd glowing blue line wrapping its body, like Hyde, and it was...dead," He replied, trying not to sound insane.
"What do you mean dead?"
"I mean dead, I could see its skull and its ribcage. Its intestines were dragging along the ground, but it didn't seem to notice. I saw inside of it. It didn't want to kill me to survive, it wanted to kill me for the satisfaction of killing me," He said, shakily.
"Ho...how is that possible?" She asked, with a scared tone in her voice, as her grip squeezed tighter.
"Look around, how is any of this shit possible? We're riding a giant dog in a forest that should be filled with radiation, instead, it's flourishing with life," He replied, looking at the foliage surrounding them. Ari fell deep in thought, she thought about what Abel said and he was right. This forest that should be decaying and dead is instead flourishing with all sorts of vibrant colors and flowers. She stayed silent and loosened her grip around his waist. She slowly removed one hand and extended it as far out as she could.
She ran her fingers through the plants and flowers that she could reach attempting to grab onto them, when she brought her hand back she had a fist full of lavender. The most vibrant and beautiful of all the flowers so bright it was almost glowing. She brought the bunch to her nose and sniffed deeply. The most beautiful of scents filled her nostrils with each whiff. It set fireworks off in her brain, it had felt as if she was listening to the most beautiful symphony anyone had ever heard.
A large toothy smile spread across her face as she extended her hand once more and released the flowers to the wind, sending them behind, as they dashed further through the woods.
"Here it comes, hold on tight!" Abel yelled, tightening his grip on Hyde's spine. In the distance, a tree break revealed the cliff's edge just beyond it. Ari closed her eyes tightly as they approached the end of the forest. Art tightened his unrelenting grip. Abel confidently kicked his heels into Hyde's side one last time, and with a swift thrust, they leapt off of the cliff. Hyde's body tilted vertically until he was able to jam his jagged claws into the side of the mountain. Art and Ari shrieked as they scraped down the side leaving jagged cracks along the surface.
As the dog's claws dragged through the rocky terrain shards of rocks, dirt, and other debris launched into the air. The journey down the side of the rocky cliff felt like a lifetime, Abel sat confidently as the wind rippled through his hair pushing himself up to avoid crushing his groin on the spine he straddled. Art was gripping Hyde's back so tight he was digging his long nails into the beast's skin, he could feel the rough scaly texture below the fur scraping against his fingernails. Ari was squeezing Abel's waist so tight she nearly squeezed all of the air out of his lungs like an empty tube of toothpaste, Abel felt his breath shorten as his ribs were pushed closer to each other, but didn't seem to care much, as he now rested with his fingers interlocked with hers. As they shredded the side of the mountain, the ground got closer very quickly. They prepared themselves for a rough landing, but with no warning and no preparation Hyde leapt from the cliff's wall and landed on the ground.
He kept the same pace not slowing down for anything. A sigh of relief escaped from all three parties as this meant the hard part was finally over and each of them could finally breathe again. Art removed his nails from the rough skin he had been scratching at, Ari loosened her grip around Abel's waist, and Abel realized he had been holding her hand the whole time. This time, his face was the red one, as they awkwardly released their grips.
"From here it's smooth sailing, there's a lake about a mile and a half through the forest, that leads directly to the river which will take us straight home," Abel said, attempting to relieve some of the tension and avoiding the awkwardness.
"I think I'm going to puke!" Art shouted, leaning his head over the side, his face pale as a ghost.
"Don't puke on Hyde, he'll return the favor," Abel said, chuckling to himself lightly.
"Nevermind, I'll hold it," he said forcing his vomit back down with a loud gulp.
"What are you hoping to find? At the shelter I mean?" Ari asked, looking up at Abel.
"I want to find my mom, I want to say goodbye," Abel said, with sorrow in his voice. She dropped her head, she knew what that was like. She lost her mom to cancer last year. She still remembered her pretending to be healthier than she was whenever she came into the room. She knew she wasn't getting better, but it was nice to see her like that, even if it wasn't real. When she died Ari was at school. Her mom was doing better that day, she was able to eat and she was even walking around the hospital with assistance. Around 1:30 pm she took a turn for the worst.
The doctors did everything they could but she was already gone. Ari was never able to say goodbye. A tear rolled down the side of her cheek as she gently placed her chin on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," She whispered, as she forced the tears from her eyes. Abel sat quietly, knowing he wasn't prepared to see his mom, and secretly hoped he'd find her alive.