Dawnpoint

Chapter 31

The grass crinkled beneath their feet and the trees towered over them like guardians protecting a sacred ground. They were in awe at the majestic branches knotted above them the appeared as a walkway through dimensions, a perfect bridge between death and life. The other world had become more prominent in theirs, almost as though they were feeling everything as they ventured across the wasteland. Although, it still appeared grey.

A pair of hidden birds fluttered through the leaves, screeching a song that they couldn't understand, and the other inhabitants of the forest responded enthusiastically. Furry creatures scuttled across the floor, their sharp claws scratching into the bark as they climbed up them or buried into the small groves under the roots.

Since the seventeen years Phoenix had been in the inhospitable surroundings, he had never seen a sight as wonderous as this when he strained to see the world he had been ripped from. He whistled lowly as the mansion ruins came into view, a brief shimmer of three stars catching his attention before they disappeared once again.

"Why aren't they here?" Micah asked, ignoring the stretch of his homeland that tried to lure him into a false belief he was back.

"I don't know," Phoenix whispered, using his foot to move the wooden sign beside the stuffed dinosaur.

A few insects scurried away from it, trailing over the words etched into it and weaving through the hazardous debris.

"They should be here! We left that four sleeps ago. The previous one six."

Micah fisted the hair at the back of his head and spun around. There were no indications of another person being there: there were no notes, no water bottles, and no subliminal messages for any reasons his friends hadn't visited. His heart began to race, although his anxiety was non-existent. He clenched his jaw and picked up a stone, lobbing it toward the town. It clunked against a pile of rotting plaster and rolled back to them, stopping between two rocks.

"Maybe they've been busy," Phoenix tried to reason, watching him pick up more stones and repeat the action. "Maybe they're onto something to get us back."

"Or they've given up."

He grunted as he lobbed another stone down the hill, rolling his shoulder and picking up another. His wound had completely healed, only a dull, reminiscent ache residing and flaring up when he strained his muscle too much. He continued throwing the stones, each one propelling further the more his blood boiled.

"Kato never wanted to do this in the first place," he said. "And Alex would do anything to keep Levi safe. She probably pulled out and Kato gave up."

"You don't know if that's true," Phoenix retaliated and placed a hand on his shoulder as he released another rock. "They're your friends. They wouldn't give up on you."

"It's happened before," he spat, shrugging Phoenix off him and storming back in the direction of home.

Phoenix stayed silent as he followed him, not bothering to tell him to be quiet when he started kicking the floor and cursing. He suspected there was something more to his anger, but he didn't know how to approach it. With Liliana and Oryn, he could ask them outright and get an answer. But he still hadn't figured out what Micah needed: that was Oryn's specialty.

Micah pulled out his blade as he spotted a Kicadin beside the fallen wall, just a few inches away from the entrance where the others waited, unsuspecting. Without flinching at the sudden unhinging of the creature's maws, he sprinted toward it and thrust his knife at its face.

It shrieked as Micah sliced off a tendril of skin from the furthest mouth, now unable to close it. He wasted no time lunging for it again, his stance unbalanced and frantic as he ruthlessly attacked it. The Kicadin had no opportunities to fight back as he slaughtered it, still slicing it open when it collapsed and remained still.