The Cinders of Dezu

10th: Firus the Great (3)

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Cairo came to a sliding stop under a tree with its roots exposed. They had been running frantically and fruitlessly for about twenty minutes. He was out of breath and separated from his friend. Firus had split both of them up as he toyed with them in the woods. His speed was so impossibly superior it had become clear rather quickly this was all just a game. Now Cairo was skin chilled and alone.

He was hiding but he couldn't be sure that it mattered. It was evident that Firus could hear exceptionally well. He couldn't be sure how else he was tracking them. He let himself catch his breath as quietly as could before trying to peek his head carefully around the trunk of the tree. It was quiet. He felt a chill run up his spine. Fingers were on his shoulder.

"Geeyaagh!"

"Shh!"

A finger was on his open mouth. He was looking back into the captivating green eyes of Talia. His voice came out in a frantic whisper

"How did you-"

"Firas never lets me hit the ground," she said.

Then she shrugged.

"Not from that height, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

She gripped his hand tight and began lifting him to his feet.

"Come on, I know where your cut up friend is."

In a separate part of the forest, Julian gripped his arm tight as he reached a clearing in the trees. He was out of breath and was battling his own lonely panic. The glimpse of a medium sized boulder in the clearing was a sight for sore eyes and sore calf muscles. One that looked almost identical sat nearby. It was about the size of a stump, just large enough to sit on. He stumbled towards it and did just so. He glanced at the bandage on his shoulder and saw it oozing more blood. He began to unravel it. He was on the verge of rewrapping and securing it when Cairo and Talia came dashing through the trees. They suddenly came to an abrupt stop as Talia lifted her arm to halt Cairo in his tracks. Julian looked up at them in relief followed quickly by surprise.

"Oh my- I thought you were dead!! Weren't you like, in the sky-!?"

"Shh!"

Talia pressed her fingers to her lips. Her arm was held firmly in front of Cairo. He was looking at her confused.

"Don't... move..." she whispered to Julian.

Her hand changed from a finger on her lips to a palm against her forehead. Her eyebrows were lifted and her eyes widened in a look that spelled disbelief.

"Okay..." she said, staring at him, "This is... okay..."

She turned around briefly in the direction they had just come from, then down at the ground in front of them and then the rest of the clearing. They could tell she was trying to puzzle something out. She looked to Cairo.

"You're going to climb up that downed tree and up into that canopy," she told him still in a whisper as she pointed to the fallen trunk on the edge of the clearing, "You are going to back up and hug the tree line. Pretend this is whole area is a pond and you can't get wet."

Cairo's eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you talking-"

Talia immediately put her fingers to her mouth again as her nostrils flared.

"Okay..." he whispered.

Cairo backed up to the tree line and began walking along its edge until he reached the downed trunk. The incline wasn't too bad. Talia spoke to Julian as Cairo was make his way up.

"Do. Not. Move."

Julian was frozen, bandage in hand.

"Don't talk. Don't wrap yourself. Don't move. Do you understand?"