Fire on Fire: A Koralie Story

Chapter Four: Kenric

A/N: Hehe okay so I know I said updates would be much sooner and more routine but um. Oops. BUT. it's okay. I have published now. Kenric pov again because him <3. Please vote and comment!! Enjoy :)

Kenric

Kenric hadn't survived this long because he was a survivor. He wasn't.

He survived this long because the Neverseen wanted him alive. That much he knew. He was a bargaining tool, or blackmail. A backup plan they never intended to use.

Or perhaps a plaything to quiet those a little too excited at the prospect of violence. The thought made him sick.

But he didn't know how to explain that to the girl, who seemed to think he actually wanted to live. She didn't know that if the only freedom he could find was in death, he'd take it in a heartbeat.

He was not fighting for a cause; he was trying to give up.

But according to her, he was her way out. She was searching for her freedom, too. Kenric would not stand in the way of that.

Death was easy. Death was nothing. If he had to live for this girl, he would.

They staggered along a silent hallway, just as dark as the cell behind them, trailing behind a tiny sphere of light the girl produced with a snap of her fingers. Their footsteps echoed against the smooth stone walls, each one a thunderclap against Kenric's heart, but the girl seemed unconcerned.

"Identities are protected here," she said. "They'll think you're someone who got injured in the battle outside, and now you're searching for the physician."

"And you?" His voice was repeated back to him over and over by the darkness, like a chant, like a promise.

"I'll fake a limp. Or I'll pretend to be sick. Oh, man, have you ever seen a sick Flasher? When my older brother sneezes, it rains light particles."

Kenric tilted his head, studying her again in the faint glow. Her eyes were dark with silken shadows, but he could've sworn they were alight with something. Something he hadn't seen in anyone in a long time.

He hadn't really been alone. For as long as they held him, he had some horrid companion or another to be terrified of, people who liked to trace his veins and draw his blood and watch him shake beneath their gaze.

But something about this kid made him feel a little less lonely.

Perhaps it was foolish to trust her so easily, but Kenric didn't care. Whatever she might trick him with, he'd faced worse.

She turned around the corner and down another hallway. Their progress was slow — even Kenric was beginning to get frustrated with his own exhausted body, but if it upset the girl, she made no indication.

She hauled open a thick door, and he winced when light flooded through the path. Black spots enveloped his vision, something roaring in his ears. He couldn't move. His legs threatened to collapse beneath him, but she held him steady.

"Almost there," she whispered, tugging up a hood of her own. "Just keep your head down. There'll be more Neverseen members in this wing, but it's faster."

He tried not to think about how heavily he leaned on her, or how much it hurt to try walking on his own. Or how easily she handled his weight like he was merely skin and bones and scars.

They passed rows of short windows lining one wall, too high for him to see through, but ones that let dimmed sunlight flood the hall. Several doors were spaced evenly on the other side. Hushed, frantic voices sounded behind a few of them if he listened carefully, but little else rose above his thundering heart.