Phoenix: The nuruk beast.

Chapter Nine: A Choice for oneself

 Great fear clouded her mind as the rope suddenly broke. The only reason she found herself gripping the end of the rope supporting Aldrich was because of her enhancer increasing her speed. With all the strength she had, she began to pull back trying not to slip off the edge. She gritted her teeth now acknowledging how heavy Aldrich was. Even with her enhancer she couldn't keep up with the weight pulling her back, slowly she felt the rope slipping from her hand when suddenly, the behind the rope weight vanished.

Aldrich had noticed the way the ropes suddenly tugged him down and up and could only deduce that Evelyn was now the one supporting him. No matter the reason for this he knew she couldn't hold him much longer so he grabbed hold of the rough wall and cut the rope using a sharp crevice. There really wasn't much to hold on to but it was either that or the bottom of the water fall, and he wasn't about to choose the latter. Blood started to leak from his fingers as he gripped the sharp crevices of the wall with all his strength. With his arm still aching, he forced himself up catching his breath whenever he could. This privilege however didn't last, as he approached the top of the water fall there was now only water. He took a deep breath and climbed through it draining all of the stamina he could possibly muster.

Finally, the whole painful and daunting experience had ended for both Evelyn and Aldrich. They both laid there beside the waterfall. Aldrich was relieved he was still alive but he could tell that Evelyn's silence this time was different. She felt responsible for what had just happened and it was more than obvious to Aldrich how she felt. She pondered how the rope had suddenly become worn given she had inspected it before.

"Are you okay?" she said in with a hint of guilt in her tone.

"I'm fine."

She sat up and noticed how injured his palms were. How she was going to apologize, she hadn't the slightest idea, but she was going to try. She hoisted herself up and offered Aldrich her hand.

"Come" she said to him instinctively avoiding his gaze. Aldrich took her hand while trying not to wince at the pain. They made their way into the forest, Aldrich understood Evelyn's guilt but he wished she could at least end the silence between them. He tried time and again to start conversations with her but she shrugged them off sometimes giving only phrases as replies. They got to a part of the forest Aldrich strangely though was familiar. The trees were blocking all but few of the sunlight that tried to seep through the leaves of the trees. They arrived at a small wood cabin. Aldrich recognized this place as where he first met them, though he didn't get much of what the outside looked like the last time, but he could tell anytime that he'd been there before.

Aldrich sat on a stool near the door of the cabin wondering why Evelyn brought him here. She seemed to be looking for something in a small shelf just above the small bed he once laid on.

"Does it hurt?" she said ending the stretched silence.

"It does." he replied in a mild tone.

Aldrich felt bad for her, but he didn't see any reason to be dishonest. She sat beside him holding a small roll of bandages. She began to wrap Aldrich's wounds with this now maintaining her uncomfortable silence again. After tightening the first palm with bandages she let out a deep breath and said;

"You don't have to do this anymore." Silence filled the room once more but this time it was different. A silence that pressed against Aldrich's chest for every second that passed, he always found the idea of not being trained anymore rather pleasant but the option being given to him made him doubt himself now. He had found a strange pleasure doing something new and even if it was the painful experience of being trained by Evelyn, he wasn't sure he wanted to give it up.

"What do you mean?" he said trying not to believe it.

"You no longer have to train with me."

"What caused this?"