Animalian

Chapter 12: Rescue Mission

 "Soraan! NO!!" Snapping out of her daze, Emily ran over to the Lake's edge, furiously brushing aside the Lake's pull. She watched the bubbles in the water slowly rising to the surface and popping once they reached the air, barely noticing that Rowan had slowly approached behind her. How did it happen so fast? Was Soraan. . .gone?

Emily heard a faint whimpering beside her, and she turned to see Rowan looking sadly towards the Lake. "I'm so sorry," Emily whispered.

"Don't be," Rowan said, rubbing her face with her paw. "It can't be over yet. Soraan wouldn't be tossed aside that easily. He's not gone. Not yet, at least. I would feel it."

A sudden movement in the water caught Emily's eye, and both girl and fox watched with half hope and half dread as a shadow moved under the surface, closer and closer to the Lake's shore. Emily held her breath for a half-second as the figure rose up out of the water, and. . . Soraan emerged.

"You're alive!" Emily said, the heavy weight in her chest lifting with each step Soraan took towards the group. She took a few cautious steps toward the sage, then ran into his arms. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, hugging him tightly.

"As am I to you," Soraan replied. "That was quite a spectacle with the Naturals." he winced as he spoke, and Emily realized that he was hurt. "Why did you save me?"

"Sometimes the right thing to do benefits others more than yourself," the sage answered, his voice growing weak. He swayed on his feet as he sat down on the Lake's grassy edge, trying to regain his breath.

"Jacobita is gone," Soraan said after a long pause. "He will never return." Nobody questioned the finality in Soraan's words as the sage looked out over the horizon at the slowly setting sun. Rowan broke the prolonged silence.

"Soraan, we need to get you back to your cottage," the fox said. "I can help mend your wounds. . .and put my apprenticeship to good use."

Soraan's lips twitched with a smile, then he laughed out loud, wincing slightly. "You are right, my friend. We should all head back soon." He turned to Emily. "First, though, we should find your family and companions. I'm not very conditioned to walk at the moment, so I'll leave that to you."

Emily felt guilty that she had forgotten about her family for a moment. She turned back toward the blackened glade, feeling the weight in her stomach return as she realized the extreme mess that Jacobita left for them to fix.

She would fix it, though.

They all would.

One step at a time.

Emily broke into a run as she lessened the space between her and Jackson. Her twin brother was sitting on the ground, still staring at the spot in the trees where Soraan and Jacobita had been taken. He jumped to his feet as much as the wooden chains would allow as she approached. "Emily! You're safe!"

Emily threw her arms around her twin brother, burying her face into his shoulder. Usually her brother wasn't really a touchy person, but after almost losing him, it felt good to have him back. "I'm so sorry you had to see all that," she said, her voice muffled by Jackson's shirt. "What. . .happened? Is that cat gone?" Jackson said. "How did I get here? How did you get here? What about mom and dad and Matt?"

"I'd answer all of that now, but we still have a few more problems to fix," Emily said apologetically. "Did you see our family yet?"

"Not since I woke up from that cage," Jackson said, pulling back and shuddering. "I will never take my bed for granted again."

"I know the feeling," Emily said. "Let's find mom and dad and Matt."

"Well. . ." Jackson paused. "Are you sure we have to rescue Matt? Right before. . .everything that happened, he slipped dried crickets into my dinner. I was brushing my teeth for almost an hour after that!"