Finding the Fallen

Chapter 16

As another wave of pain wracked his body, Merik pondered the irony of his earlier amazement that he hadn't been impaled by a wayward branch after running headlong off that damn bluff. The pain was intensifying by the minute, but he didn't dare admit it to his two companions as they traipsed through the dark woods searching for an easy path back up to the highway. He must have been clipped by a sharp branch somewhere near the bottom; he hadn't even noticed it until after they'd started walking. His left side was bleeding fairly heavily and he was seeing white flashes at the corners of both eyes periodically. 'Dammit,' he thought to himself, willing his body to keep moving. Despite his bravest attempt, he knew he wouldn't make it much further without assistance.

"Where are we headed?" he gurgled, catching himself as he nearly tripped over a downed limb.

"I know we're all tired," Logan replied from the front of the line. "But we need to keep going. Those other Servants could be hunting us right now...and once someone finds Leanne...well, let's just say we'd better be long gone by that point. There's a small encampment about 7 or 8 miles north of town near an old quarry. I don't expect us to make it tonight, but that's our ultimate goal. I've got some friends there who can help. If nothing else, they can hide us until we figure out our next move."

"Or until Tannish figures it out for us and sends an army to hunt us down," Merik finished for him. A sharp pain lanced through his gut, causing him to double over briefly. He grunted a bit too loudly, suddenly annoyed by his own mortality. Realizing he was only putting the group in danger by not admitting he was injured, he decided to let go of the tight grip he maintained on his pride and said, "Look, I'm not gonna make it much farther tonight, folks. I have this little problem..."

Kala stopped suddenly and Merik nearly ran into her. "What is it?" he asked, glancing behind them warily.

She turned to him and put both of her hands on his side directly over the wound. How she knew instinctively where it was given the lighting situation...or lack of...in this thick forest was beyond him. What little remaining moonlight that trickled down through the trees was only enough to make out the faintest of shadows. But somehow she knew.

Her close proximity soothed him somewhat. With her face only inches from his, he could feel her breath on his cheek. She stood in silence for a few brief moments, as if she were listening for some distant sound she couldn't quite identify.

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Kala could sense the severity of Merik's wound even without seeing it. She could feel the pulse of his heart as it flushed blood out of the wound onto her hands with each rhythmic beat. Merik was right; he was done for the evening. They needed to find shelter soon or they would be carrying him when he passed out from blood loss. On second thought, what they really needed was water...

"Logan," Kala finally spoke. "I need water...a pool of some kind, preferably natural." She opened her eyes and turned her head away from Merik, carefully directing her next words over her shoulder toward her fellow Servant. "He needs to rest and heal...now." She punctuated the "now" in a manner she hoped accentuated the urgency of the situation.

Logan's reply was hushed, "There's a tributary of the Elk River not far off the highway. If we can get back up to the road, you'll probably be able to sense it." She could barely discern the outline of his muscular body, but she could tell from the tone of his voice that he understood what was happening. Timing was critical.

"I remember passing over it the last time I traveled north to visit my friends," Logan continued. "Unfortunately, that will probably be one of the first places Tannish's goons come looking for us. They'll be hoping we're all injured, and they know Kala's a Water Servant, so they'll naturally assume she'll go hunting for water."