The Time Hopper

Plans Run Out

The ground opened up above us and we started to run up and into the forest. I slowed to a halt with horror rushing through me as I realised that Rosie hadn't been able to summon the light, and we hadn't been shielded from view, and that those who were coming after us now saw exactly where we were. My plan crumbled around me, and I didn't have another one lined up. Well, I always had another couple of plans, but they were always burn things or run. Looking around, I didn't have time to start and spread a large enough fire to help us, so we were just going to have to run for it. 

"Run! Go, run, don't stop to attack!" I yelled, pointing and gesturing for them to run for it. Maybe we could make it. God, this was going so badly wrong. Usually, when things got this dire, I would just grab Riley and my book and leave, but that wasn't an option anymore. The others all began to run, desperately and blindly, Kat and Riley hanging behind. I gave him a shove. 

"No, you lead them!" I told him. He had to be out in front because then it was unlikely that he would be caught, even if I was. He knew how to get to the sanctuary, and he couldn't be used against me. I didn't want to be separated from him, but if it kept him safe, I would be. 

Kat was clearly tired after making a tunnel beneath the ground, but she gritted her teeth and turned towards the charging group, raising one hand. With a low groan, the earth shuddered, and then erupted up in hard shards, uprooting trees and giving us a barrier. She stumbled, almost falling, and I grabbed her. She leaned against me, struggling to keep herself upright, and I set off running. It was hard to keep dragging her along, and we were going damn slow, but I couldn't leave her behind. 

"Come on, we have to keep going. I know that you're tired, but we've got to keep going." I panted to her, rushing through the undergrowth as best as I could. A glance behind me showed that while they were struggling with the earthern barrier, it wasn't doing much anymore. Felix was already fighting through it. 

"Kat, drop the barrier. They're getting past it and I need you to run with me, okay?" I told her, gazing through the trees. The others were still in sight, but only just. Took glanced behind him and then said something to the others, and they all started to slow down. The earth dropped and Kat sped up a little, but it was clear she was still exhausted, unable to keep up with me. 

"Come on, they're gaining on us!" Took yelled as we caught up, only because they had slowed down so much. I glanced at Kat's exhausted face, and knew that she couldn't keep up with the pace that she needed to, not if we all wanted to get away. My mind raced, and I realised what to do. 

"Split off! Riley, take them to the nice place, I'll meet you there!" I yelled. He looked at me in alarm and I forced myself to wink at him, our signal for having a plan and asking the other one to trust us. He looked unsure, but nodded anyway. 

"Follow me, quick as you can!" He insisted to the others, taking off at a dead sprint. The 'nice place' was a fair way away, but we both had money, and we both knew how to get to the lake that we both liked. He sent me one last worried look, and I forced myself to smile at him. 

And then I turned away. I dragged one of Kat's arms over my shoulders and took off at a dead sprint, forcing her to keep pace with me. I glanced over my shoulder once to make sure my plan was working; sure enough, most of Obsivian's forces, Felix at their head, were coming after me. Good. 

I didn't have much of a plan, though. There were fragments, involving getting the others out of here and leveraging myself to get Kat out of this, and the rough knowledge that there was a cliff nearby. I continued, knowing they were gaining on us, knowing that the odd earth shard that Kat threw at them bought us mere seconds at a time. Yet she seemed to trust me, and she kept going. We had always thought in similar ways.