Ander - Part 1: Subchapter 19
19
"That's your big plan?" Kiana said, not bothering to suppress her chuckles. She didn't think she would ever smile again, let alone laugh, especially not while riding piggyback on a Wolf tearing through the forest at breakneck speed in the dead of night.
"What's wrong with it?" Ander asked, now laughing himself, dodging and weaving through trees Kiana could barely see.
"Well, it just seems so simplistic."
"The best plans often are."
"First, you break me out of that cage -"
"Complete success, by the way."
"- then you carry me over the wall -"
"Also successful."
"And now you're running through the woods, hoping nobody will come after us -"
"The rain is doing a great job of covering our scent, and we're downwind, too."
"- and then you're going to carry me to the edge of the Fox border and just leave me there?"
"They're bound to find you. Sooner or later, anyway."
"And then you plan to run all the way back to that barracks you call a village, sneak in before anyone wakes, and then act all surprised when they find the lock picked and me gone?"
"They won't know the lock was picked. Maybe Wardo unlocked it."
That made her laugh. "Wardo!? The one who trapped me?"
"Yeah. Maybe he wanted to cop a feel and you just slipped past him."
"With this ankle?"
"Maybe Foxes have supernatural healing powers. Maybe you were spirited away by the demons that undoubtedly inhabit all 'unholy agents of corruption'."
"Oh, and I'm sure Wardo would just love to take the blame for all this?"
"He might have to. At least partially. He could say that somebody must have sneaked into his tent, took his key, freed you, then snuck back in to replace it, but that would still make him look bad."
"Oh, really? And how do you intend to 'spirit' yourself back home before sunrise?"
"You managed to walk most of the distance in one night. Surely I can get there and back at a run?"
"So you just intend to run for eight hours straight, is that it?"
"If I have to, yes."
For a while, the only sounds to be heard were the patter of rain on the leaves overhead, and the splashing of Ander's feet as he bounded through the woods, seemingly aware of every twist and turn and mischievous tree root. Then, "Ander?"
"Yes?"
"They'll know it was you."
Ander sighed, and she could feel his breath on her hands. "I know."
She waited for him to say something more, to reveal some plan that would save him from whatever punishment would surely come at the hands of his brethren, but he didn't. He simply ran on, and Kiana's thoughts once again drifted to the one thing that has been plaguing her mind ever since they scaled the wall, the one thing she simply couldn't leave alone. It scratched at her in much the same way she scratched at that lock on her cage: frantic, desperate to get out. Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer.
"Ander? You... you don't have to go back. I mean, if you don't want to..."
"What?"
Oh, now you've done it, you silly, stupid girl. "I mean..." There's no use in backing out now, so she might as well try to make a good case for it. "It doesn't sound like you're very happy in your tribe, and I'm sure Father would be very grateful to you for saving me. He's got this thing about 'honour' and 'paying his debts' and I know he wouldn't mind if you stayed for a -"
"I can't do that, Kiana."
The speed with which he rejected her offer struck her like the stone that had struck her ankle, and she was grateful for the fact that he couldn't see her face in that instant. "But why not? Ander, those things back there will hurt you. Don't you realize that? Even if they don't, just living there... it's grinding away at you. I hardly know you and I can see it plain as day. That whole village might as well be one giant biter around your ankle."
"You don't understand, Kiana. That's part of the reason I can't leave. I'm barely welcome among my own people. They see me as Ander, 'the different one', and that's a name I've come to accept. But what makes you think yours won't see me as anything less than a monster? If given the choice, I'd rather be 'different' among Wolves, than a 'monster' among Foxes."
"But that won't happen!" Kiana said, squeezing him by the shoulders. "Well, maybe at first, yes. But I'm sure they'll come around once the initial shock wears off. I mean, most Foxes think Wolves aren't even -"
"You're asking me to leave my family," Ander said, cutting her off. "I can't do that, Kiana. They need me. Especially..."
There his voice trailed off, but Kiana didn't need to hear any more. She wondered how Ander could care so much for his family, who were practically killing him, while she was willing to abandon her own perfectly loving family just for pressuring her into marriage. It put things into a harsh perspective, one she didn't want to -
Ander suddenly skidded to a stop, throwing up a muddy spray of water. The sudden shift in momentum caused her whole body to press up against his back and she couldn't keep from crying out in surprises and alarm.
"Ow! Why are we stopping?"
"Shh!" Ander said, his ears pricked, and suddenly Kiana was very, very scared. She listened as hard as she could, but couldn't discern anything other than the constant patter of rain and the frantic beating of her own heart.
Ander turned around, back the way they came, and sniffed the air. "I'm letting go for a while."
"Ander, what's wrong?" Kiana whispered as she hooked her legs around his waist again.
Ander pulled his bow from between their bodies and drew a single arrow from his quiver. "We're being followed."
Visions of cages and sacrificial fire flashed through her mind, and she held onto him even tighter. "By who?"
"I can't tell. The rain is breaking the scent, but he's coming in fast."
And suddenly she could hear it, too. Faint at first, but growing steadily louder, the slapping sounds of feet running through the mud, increasing in pace until she could barely tell where one ended and the other began.
It was too dark for her to see anything through the thick sheets of rain and the towering trees save for the rapid parting of the underbrush, closing the distance.
"Ander, I'm scared..."
"Just hold onto me, and don't let go, no matter what." Ander drew back his bow until the string itself seemed to moan under the pressure. A single drop of rainwater collected on the arrow's tip, jittering slightly as he adjusted his aim to compensate for the motion of whatever was coming to meet them, growing heavy.
A Wolf erupted from the underbrush just as the drop finally broke free, resuming its journey to the earth.
Ander fired.
Happy Worker's Day (aka Labour Day)! Since I'm such a lazy bastard I won't be doing any writing today. If nobody else is working, why should I? Lucky for you guys, I had the forethought to build up a little backlog in case of emergencies such as this one. Free fiction for all! *Fist pump* ^_^
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