Cloak and Dagger

CHAPTER 8: PERCÉE

Hina's voice broke through the tension, her breath ragged as her steps slowed to a halt. "Just how long have we been walking, Pierre? We're really tired." The frustration in her tone was undeniable, her usual patience had worn thin with each exhausting hour. Her legs ached with every step, and her chest heaved as she tried to control her breathing.

Pierre didn't respond immediately. His face was a mask of grim determination, but underneath, there was something else—something that none of them could quite place. 

He marched forward, his gaze locked on the horizon as if the act of stopping would allow everything he was holding inside to unravel. Behind him, the others—Yua, Rhys, and Hina—dragged their feet, just as weary but unable to voice the depth of their fatigue.

The night had stretched endlessly, the darkness swallowing them whole, as they trudged forward. Every time someone wanted to rest, Pierre would urge them forward, always insisting they needed to keep moving. Now, as dawn painted the sky in soft pinks and oranges, it felt like a cruel joke. 

The sight would have been beautiful under different circumstances, but to them, it only underscored how far they had come—and how little had changed. Exhaustion hung on them like a second skin, but more than that, there was a gnawing sense of fear that none of them dared give a voice to.

Yua glanced up at the rising sun, her eyes dull, reflecting the faint light and the growing unease within her. She looked at Rhys, who was quieter than usual, pale and drawn. She had been trying to keep herself together, but it was obvious to everyone that something inside her was close to breaking. The sight of her only made Yua feel even more unsettled.

"I'm tired, Pierre. I can't do this anymore," Yua finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of her despair. She had always been the quiet one, the gentle support, but even she had limits. "Where are we even going?"

Pierre's shoulders tensed, but he didn't answer, his footsteps never faltering. He couldn't stop, wouldn't stop. Not now. Not after everything.

"We need to know," Yua pressed, a hint of desperation in her voice now. "Kia and Kura... how are they? What if they're—" her voice cracked, the thought too painful to finish.

"They're not dead," Pierre said sharply, cutting her off. But the quickness of his response only made his guilt more obvious. His eyes flickered to the ground, and for the briefest moment, he faltered. "They can't be."

"They're missing!" Hina interjected, her voice rising with frustration. "They're out there, somewhere, and we don't even know where we're going! Pierre, we're running blind. It's been days! Kia and Kura could be—" she stopped herself, unwilling to say it aloud, the fear choking her words.

"I'm doing the best I can," Pierre muttered, his voice low and strained, but even he didn't sound convinced.

Rhys, who had been trailing behind in silence, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, her fists clenched so tight her knuckles were white. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, the anger that had been simmering inside her finally threatening to boil over. She couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't keep walking in silence, pretending Pierre had everything under control when it was clear he didn't.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Rhys demanded, her voice trembling with barely contained fury. Her entire body shook as she glared at him, her blood boiling. "You've been leading us for days, Pierre, and now you're telling me you don't even know where we're going?"

"Rhys, just—" Pierre started, but Rhys wasn't about to let him brush her off again.

"NO!" she snapped, her voice echoing through the stillness of the early morning. "Don't you dare tell me to calm down! We've been running, hiding, for days, and we don't even know what we're running from! Kia and Kura are GONE! And you're not telling us ANYTHING!"