Starhoppers

29 - The Walk

I'd nearly left my emotions back in the village. They hit me all at once, tears streaming down my cheeks as I raced through the forest. The roaring of the inferno died quickly behind me, replaced by the gentle rustling of leaves overhead. Even still, my brain ignored the calm in the air, each snapping twig and rustling bush a threat in my mind.

The Ceythodian tower grew with each step, a looming reminder of the people I'd left to burn.

My scattered thoughts were pushed aside as I heard the voices of my companions up ahead. I wiped at my eyes, holding my breath.

Ellie spotted me first, pivoting on her heel as I stumbled out from within the trees.

"Zach!" she cried out, sprinting towards me.

"Whoa!" Ramsey winced as Ellie collapsed into my arms. "What the hell are you thinking? He could have been one of those things."

"He's bleeding," Ellie mumbled, squeezing me tightly. "He's real."

I pulled away, glancing down at my arm. My old wound had opened, a fresh trail of blood coursing down to my fingers.

Ellie held my arms. "Where's Ezra?" she asked, struggling to hold my gaze. "Is he...?"

I shook my head. "He's going to meet us here," I said as she released her bated breath. "We took down the spider. Ezra's slowing the rest of the parasite down."

She nodded. "We heard the explosion. And then the..." she blinked as her eyes began to water. "Ralph."

She hugged me once again as Ramsey sighed, sympathy entering his gaze. Ellie continued. "I'm just glad you two are okay," she sighed, pulling away.

"You got here just in time, too," Faith chimed in, a smile on her lips. "We were starting to worry you'd miss the bus."

Serena appeared above Ellie's shoulder, nodding. "I'm awaiting a connection with my other half. If all of this worked, we should be back aboard the Tourist any minute now."

Anxiety surged within me as their voices melted into one. The convulsing flesh of the spider's face painted my mind with each blink, its words rumbling still within my ears. I opened my mouth to speak but found my lungs empty.

Ellie frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

My voice cracked as I finally spoke. "None of this feels right, Ellie," I murmured. "The parasite... it's been saying things to me. I don't think we're safe here."

She sighed. "What are you talking about?"

My arms shook by my sides. "Inside the facility, the parasite told me that I'm too important to die," I croaked. "Tobias said the same thing on the bridge. And the spider... it was surprised to see me in the village. It told me I wasn't supposed to be there."

"Zach," she murmured, peering curiously into my eyes. "You're okay. Just breathe."

I shook my head, exhaling heavily. "You don't understand," I said. "It told me it knows the future. I didn't want to believe it, but... I think it knew what Ezra was trying to do with Albright's ship. It didn't even try to run away. It didn't care."

Ramsey scoffed. "The kid's lost his mind," he rolled his eyes. "Why the hell would the parasite want to get burnt to a crisp?"

"I think it wanted Ezra to die with it," I stammered. "I don't know why, but it knew what it was doing. I know it did."

Ellie groaned, turning me away from the others. "The parasite was just trying to get in your head, Zach," she sighed. "Don't let it. There's no way it could see the future. You know that."