The Tribrid

What do we do now.

   
    Emily's POV
    We make it out of the tunnels, it's nearing nightfall. Marcus took us through tunnels I never went through before. I don't think many people knew about it either because we were the only ones who took the dusty, cobweb ridden route. We've come out about 3 miles northwest  of Millerborg. I can still see plumes of smoke rising up from the mountain. I am so preoccupied with my own thoughts everyone else's words are drowned out.
    Hiroen is dead. Marigold is dead, my father is dead. I can't stop replaying their deaths in my head. Hiroen floating out in front of the city with the dragon not far behind. Marigold whole one moment then a second later, she crumbles to ashes. I can't help but feel that their deaths are my fault. Im the Tribrid. Shouldn't I have been able to save them? The voices of the refugees ring through my ears.
    "Save us Tribrid, protect us Tribrid."  I should have been able to save them all.
    I'm walking through a dense forrest but I'm not sure where I'm going.
    I should have killed myself to become the full Tribrid a long time ago. I would be more powerful and would stop losing the people I care about. It's all my fault. I feel someone's hand on my arm pull me back.
    "Emily!" Liam says harshly. Of course he's mad at me, I'm the reason all those people are dead.
    "Are you ok?" His face softens. I just shake my head knowing my voice will betray me. I can feel my chin quivering, but I hold it in.
    "We're coming up with a plan. Come on." I guess I had wondered away from everyone. He holds my hand as we walk back to the group.
    "We should go to my home. No one knows how involved I am. I think it will be the safest place to go for now." Cyran says.
    "How far is it?" My mom asks.
    "It's just a few days journey." Cyran says.
    "Anyone have any better ideas?" She asks. We are all silent. I stare at the ground.
    "Ok then, we will go there." My mom says.
    "It's this way." Cyran says. We start walking through the woods, Liam still holding my hand and leading me. I feel empty, like a shell of a person.
    "Will she be alright for the journey?" I hear Cyran ask my mom.
    "She's lost some important people to her. Goddess only knows what's going through her mind." My mom says. She's right. I just want to crawl into a bed, under the covers, and never come out again. It almost hurts as much as when I lost Liam. Like a big hole in my heart, but this time it's filled to the brim with guilt.
    The sun sets and we walk in the darkness. Marcus says we need to get as far from Millerborg as we can. I'm not sure how long we walk for, but I know I did it in silence. I can't get out of my head, and when we do stop and make camp, I still remain silent. I know everyone is worried about me, but I can't shake what I know I need to do. But how am I going to do it is now the question.
    Liam has gone out to hunt for food. Marcus made a fire, while my mom sat with me. Cyran and Samson were out scouting our route for tomorrow.
    "I wish you would tell me what's going on in your head." My mom says to me.
    "I'm just tired mom. I want to go to sleep."
    "But you haven't eaten all day. Liam should be back shortly."
    "Can you wake me up when it's ready?" My mom sighs, but nods her head. I get up and lay down on the ground next to a tree. I turn away from the fire. I lay there, knowing I'm not able to sleep. I just wanted to be away from everyone. I stare at the tree bark and think about the how. After a while I hear Liam come back.
    "She didn't want to eat?" He whispers.
    "We will wake her up when it is ready." My mom says. I feel Liam sit close to me. The mate bond does help to calm me down, but it also helps me to think more clearly. I listen to the crackle of the fire. I hear Cyran and Samson come back.
    "We should get there in about two days." Cyran says.
    "That's a long time." My mom says.
    "Well we could get there faster..."
    "How?"
    "Samson and I could take Emily and Marcus. You two could run there in your wolf forms." Cyran suggests.
    "I don't have any clothes." My mom says. That's my mom, always thinking of practical things.
    "We will carry them for you." He says.
    "I guess that could work. How quickly will we get there if we just run?" She asks.
    "If we really push ourselves we can get there by tomorrow."
    "I think that will be best for Emily." My mom says.
    I continue thinking through my plan. There will probably be more ways to do it there correctly than in the middle of the woods.
    I can smell the rabbits cooking on the campfire. The smell makes me realize how hungry I am. But I still don't move. My body feels like I have a weighted blanket over me.
    "The food is almost ready. Go ahead and wake her up." My mom says.
    I feel Liam's hand on my shoulder.
    "Em, foods ready." He whispers to me. I use my last bit of strength to sit up and join them. I manage to eat a few bites to satisfy my hunger. Liam offers me more but I turn it down.
    "I'm going to go back to sleep." I say and lay back down next to the tree.
    "I don't like this." I hear Liam whisper.
    "I know. But she needs to work through this. There's not much more we can do for her than just be there for her. Like how she was there for me when I lost Max.. We just need to get somewhere safe." I hear my mom say. I feel Liam lay down behind me. Our mate bond washes over me and relaxes me again. Suddenly it's like a dam breaking and tears just flow out of me. I cry in Liam's arms. He holds me tight.
    I don't remember falling asleep, but I must have. I wake up to the sound of birds chirping and the sun shining. I sit up and see my mom by the fire. The sky is clear blue and the trees are very green.
    "Morning honey. Come join me." She says. I get up and join her by the fire. She looks so clean and put together. Everyone else is gone. The wind blows through the trees.
    "How are you doing?" She asks. I don't say anything.
    "Come on. I know what you've been thinking." She says. I look at her confused.
    "I know." The wind says through the trees.
    "I know you've been thinking about taking your own life." My mom says.
    "H-how did you know that?" I ask.
    "Emily, your life is more precious than just becoming the Tribrid." She says.
    "Do you really think I created you for just that purpose?"  The wind circles through the trees.
    "You? What are you talking about." I ask.
    The wind blows harder.
    "The deaths that have happened are no fault of yours. Even if you were the fully realized Tribrid, you could not have saved them." The wind says.
    The sky turns dark like night time. My mom disappears.
    "But I could have saved some of them. I could stop being so helpless. They looked to me to protect them and I let them down!" I yell as the wind whips my hair around.
    The fire is blown out from the wind. Now it's pitch black. The wind blows through my hair and my clothes then suddenly the wind stops.
    "Emily, you will save them. When your time comes. You will save them all. Don't forget what the prophecy says."
    "Great war, great fire, great death." I whisper. The winds whips at me again.
    I jump awake and gasp. All my muscles tighten. The sun is almost up and I feel Liam's arms tighten around me.
    "You ok?" He asks.
    "Yeah, I just had a bad dream." I say. I relax in his arms. I breathe in his scent.
    "Liam."
    "Yeah?"
    "I want to leave." I say.
    "Ok, we'll wake everyone up." Liam says. He kisses the back of my head and gets up. My body is stiff and I feel like I didn't get good sleep. Liam walks around waking everyone up, but Marcus. He was already awake, and it felt like he was watching me.
    "Are we ready to go?" Cyran asks after everyone was up. I nod.
    "Samson will take Marcus and I will take Emily. You two go shift and we will collect your clothing after you are done." Cyran says. My mom and Liam go behind separate trees and shift into their wolves. Liam's wolf rubs up against me. It's been awhile since I've seen his wolf.
    I can hear Sam growl happily in my head at the sight of him. I pet the top of Lucas' head. Then I go behind the tree and gather my mom's clothes. She folded them into a neat little pile. I pack them into a bag.
    "Ok, we won't go too fast. Follow our scent. If at any point you lose it, reach out to Emily and we will come back." Cyran says.
    Cyran wraps his arm around me, picks me up, and I close my eyes. I feel the wind through my hair as Cyran rushes through the trees. Every few minutes I feel him stop. We rest for a moment before we go back to running. We do this for several hours. I know everyone is tired, but they keep pushing. Half way through the day we stop for lunch to regain our strength.
    "How much farther?" I ask.
    "Not much. We should be there before night fall." Cyran says.
     My mom mind links me explaining that her and Liam are not far behind. I place my mom's clothes behind a large tree, and then I help gather some blackberries Marcus found. My mom goes right for the tree and shifts. She comes out fully dressed. 
    "Where's Liam?" I ask her.
    Just then Lucas runs up with 2 rabbits in his mouth. He drops them on the ground. Then goes and shifts behind the tree where Marcus put his clothes.
    Marcus makes a quick fire and we roast the rabbits. We have a meal of hare, blackberries, and some warm wild mint tea made from some wild mint my mom collected yesterday.
    It's getting colder and colder the closer we get to Cyran's house. The tea helps a lot. I feel more calm and at ease since my dream. Im comforted that even though I feel like I'm doing everything wrong, something out there is telling me that I'm doing it right. I sit in between my mom and Liam. Everyone is tired and we don't talk much. But I can feel their love for me, and their physical heat. It warms my soul.