Spectator

Chapter Forty: Then

They moved slower now, a determined trudge, due to the injuries Jae and Revlon had sustained. Kali was pretty sure Jae could move fast if he wanted to, but he didn't want to leave Revlon. He was limping, but not noticeably, and she thought it more the mangled boot than an actual injury. So they had become an unofficial trio. If anyone wanted to chastise them for 'working together', Kali really didn't care. They were headed the same direction; it was idiotic to take a more arduous route just so they were going up separate paths. Besides, she didn't think Jae would let her go off on her own anyway, especially after she had told him about Ainsley.

Now he didn't want to get more than a couple meters before looking at her like he was worried she'd do something reckless. His jokes were flippant, frequent. Whenever he got close, he would flick her hair. It wasn't Jae's modus operandi to instigate a big deep conversation, but he wanted her to know he cared. If she wasn't so numb to everything, she would find it sweet.

But nothing was sweet right now. There were no more vertical climbs but the incline of the hill grew steeper and steeper, until the three of them were nearly hand in hand and crawling up the surface. They were drenched in sweat and had to rest once it plateaued. Kali's water was basically empty, but Jae had enough to share with them. He'd found a stream before, because of course he had.

From here, they could see the peak, and the large white circle that preluded it. Anyone within those confines would be safe once the hovercraft landed to pick them up. Jae helped Kali to her feet when they were ready to go, his hand lingering around her waist for a few seconds too long, until Revlon called for his attention and he was back in the middle. It was just pity. Probably.

She'd lost her only real friend here and she had only herself to blame.

The trees were thicker here now that the ground had evened and flattened, although they were still spindly things that didn't bear leaves, let alone fruits. They survived this harsh, unoxidized environment, but they certainly didn't thrive. A metaphor for her? Maybe. The trees broke away, and there was the peak just a kilometre from them. Twenty fellow students were milling around it, including Nari, who straightened up when she saw Kali. They were keeping a healthy distance from each other, not like an uneasy alliance but more like a standoff. Not too far from the peak was a very sharp drop, and she wondered if anyone had tussled for the right to be here and be rescued.

But for now, there was peace, as uneasy and fraught as it was. The three of them kept moving, ignoring any looks of disdain; Kali and Revlon received them more than Jae, as if they had only come this far due to his assistance. In part, that was true, but he wasn't the only one that had helped her get up here. Ainsley deserved to be one of these, milling around at the top and waiting. She probably had been waiting, for Kali. The guilt swirled back up again.

They stopped just inside the circle and Kali all but collapsed, taking some of her remaining water. She saw a stream bubbling, but it was on the other side of the peak and closely guarded by a few students, and she didn't want to test to see if they'd let her by. Zakariah was one of them, because of course he was, so she gathered not. They redid Revlon's bandages and then they waited like everyone else. There were twenty minutes to evacuation, and students were still trickling in. Not all of them walked in alone either.

Kali had resolved not to move until she had to when she saw a blonde haired teen exit the copse, striding over to them arrogantly. Then all that resolution melted away, and all she saw was Gasquet throwing Ainsley off that cliff when she hesitated, sending her to her death.

Kali moved. Even Jae wasn't fast enough to react before she was on her feet. He grabbed at her but missed.

"Kali, wait."