The Lost

38- Chase

Lyn

Once, when Lucius had a really hard test in a class at the school, he had stayed up all night studying. The next morning he came downstairs looking like a zombie. Pale-faced with these scary black sags under his already dark eyes. I had watched him from my place on the bookshelf as he paced around the clutter-room, book still in-hand, squinting desperately at the words. Maybe it was the concentrating, more likely it was the tiredness. On that day, at the ring of the bell, Lucius had run for the door without looking where he was going and ran face-first into the wall. Gave himself a nosebleed and everything.

Lucius calls hitting your head really hard 'braining yourself'. I think it sounds silly, but it makes me giggle when he says it so I don't really mind. He says he brained himself that day when he ran into the wall. One time when Edward had fallen out of the tree in the garden and bonked the back of his head on a branch, Lucius said he brained himself. And today, in the soft afternoon sun of the forest, I brained myself too.

"Don't!" I was shrieking as Rosin chased after me. Her outstretched hands were an inch away from scooping me off my feet. In my fit of screaming laughter and hair flying in my eyes I never even saw the tiny root twining out of the floor. I was facedown in the dirt before I knew what had happened. Slam, just like that, then I was seeing stars.
Far above, the trees stirred, a few leaves fluttered lazily from the canopy. I became aware after a few moments that I was laying on my back and staring up at the huge forest. I could see a little glimmer of blue sky through all the trees up there. So far away...

Hitting your head makes you all spaced-out and dizzy for a minute. But I eventually realised I was laying on my back in the middle of our chase. A chase! And I was in danger of being tagged and tickled to death by Rosin and her strong arms.
I sat up, already laughing, already breathless, already forgetting my throbbing head. I half expected Rosin to be jumping on top of me even as I sat up. But what I saw wasn't quite that.

My mouth dropped open and I emitted a sound like a laugh.
"Lyn-" Rosin half-laughed, half pleaded. She was totally, hopelessly tangled up in the blackberry bush. Long brown plaits had snagged in the prickle of the leaves. Her ripped petals had become ensnared in a mess of green and brown, thorns and brambles. Every and any move she made seemed to entice another coil of the stretchy twigs to curl around her legs. She was struggling, looking to me for help. But I couldn't stop laughing. Big strong Rosin, tangled in the blackberries.
"Lyn!" She pleaded, breaking into her own inevitable laughter. Her hand reached forwards a little bit, grabbing to tag me, before being sharply restricted by her entanglements. It only produced another spasm of laughter from me.
"You have to catch me!" I wheezed.
She breathed a laugh, "I can't catch anything like this." But then the girl dissolved into heaving laughter. Rosin hung her head, her laughs making me laugh, before she managed, "For goodness sake... just help me!"
I wiped pointlessly at the tears in my eyes.

"What's going on?"
We turned at the same time to find Aspen walking towards us. A smile was already starting on his face. I managed to contain my laughter as he approached, paused, and took a few steps backwards. The game arguably wasn't finished because Rosin hadn't caught me, so I was not loosing on the chance that Aspen decided to play too. He might untie her and then she would be on me in an instant— Rosin was way faster than me. The only reason I had managed to keep a distance between us so far was by running in and out of the bush. Being the smallest in out group had its few advantages. So no, I was not losing now. Better to keep my distance. I took some big steps away from the bush.

"Aspen..." Rosin started, "Look at this. Can you help me-"
But Aspen was already doubling over. "Look at you!"
Rosin glared at him while he fell to the floor. I started giggling like a little child all over again. If Rosin had hoped to be freed by Aspen, she would be waiting a long while. "Lynnn." She moaned.
"Azure!" Came Aspen's yell as he doubled over with laughter. Azure, who was currently by the tents, turned to look towards us.
"Look at you, Rosin!" Aspen wheezed again.
Rosin jerked her shoulders out hopelessly, glaring un-seriously at me, "This is not fair!"