Legend of Kataria | Outcasts Book #1 (NEW VERSION)

Chapter 8

The roar of the rapids was lost amid the torrents as he tumbled beneath the river bed. Consciousness slithered in and out of existence. His body collided with the bank but he was helpless to do anything. He couldn't move, his arms wouldn't work and his lungs drew in nothing but water. The gash in his head had ceased to bleed and he did not know whether to take that as a blessing or a bad omen. He wasn't sure what to think at all. His intellect failed him. He couldn't fight death on this standing. Dying was the one thing he couldn't study and understand. It did not fall into any subset criteria; it was not something that could be broken down and reasoned.

He was not prepared to die.

The surface blurred to a grained mixture of reds and blacks, fire launching into the trees and raining cinders back onto the shore and through bleary vision, he reasoned the flames had been the byproduct of the grenade (for that was the only tactile weapon he could envision with such a specific aftermath and range), not that that made the situation any better.

The world went dark a second time and the icy grips of fear took hold against the mind's calm bliss of denial as his spine hit the granules at the very undersurface of the lake and the silence gushed into his ears as death once again latched onto his soul.

A rush of confused bubbles suddenly whooshed past his head and out of the deafening stillness, arms hooked his waist, wrenching Blake upward through the murky waves. The moment Greeny's head broke the surface, all the water in his lungs retched for his throat and he gasped, floundering wildly as his unexpected savior pushed above the cascades beside him, choking and spluttering, ducking beneath Greeny's wild swings.

"Hold...hold on..." heaved a voice, raspy and ragged, masculine, but definitely not belonging to Sky or Josh or Mr. Grasslake or any man he knew. "I've...I've got you! Please...stop thrashing! I can't...can't hold on to both of us..."

Who...who had saved him? Who was this? A classmate? A random passerby who happened to be in the area? Greeny didn't know but he could only cough and nod, allowing the male to heave the both of them toward the flaming shore.

They hit the sand and his rescuer collapsed to the sand, wheezing. Greeny flopped down beside him, shivering and still feeling the urge to vomit. What...what had just happened? What was doing on where were the others? Leah had been with him and Sky and Josh just feet behind, why had he been the only one to land in the water?

He turned his head, finding his rescuer doubled onto his hands and knees, face partially blocked by his hair but brown eyes visibly alight with fear. Who was this guy? He wasn't a classmate of theirs, at least not one Blake had ever met and he definitely hadn't been around for the party. An absolute stranger who just so happened to be around when—

"Red!" crackled a voice out of the stillness and Greeny jumped, sitting up and scanning the clearing for the source. Instead of a secondary person standing there, the boy lurched, a hand jumping to his ear and Greeny realized he had an earpiece. "Re...d...come in...stat..us?"

"Alive," the boy coughed, starting to right himself and twisting to face Greeny. "Are you okay?"

Was he alright? He was soaking wet, he had nearly been killed by both a grenade and the lake—half sure he was going to catch hypothermia—and there was absolutely no sign of his friends. It was almost as if they had completely vanished from the planet entirely.

"Who...who are you?" Greeny managed, arms shaking as he began to push himself upright. A large crack ran down the middle of his right lens, making it nearly impossible to distinguish the grass beneath him, let alone the identity of the teenager beside him.

 "Logan," the boy answered shortly. "Come on, can you stand? We need to get out of here. No time to explain, but I need you to trust me."

Trust you? Greeny's waterlogged mind stalled. What do you mean 'trust you'? I don't even know you! And where were the others? Had this boy saved them as well? Why were there no signs of them at all?