Eternal Souls

Chapter Seven

Hazel couldn't hear anything for a few moments, her eyes locked on Azeas, Ren firmly grabbed Hazel's arm, keeping her in place.

"We have to help him!" Hazel said, pushing Ren's hand away.

"No! Those lights are getting closer, I'm not letting us get into a mess like that!" Ren said, desperate. "Hazel, we need to- HAZEL!"

Hazel tried to get up, but her leg gave way, leaving her to slip and partly slide down the hill towards Azeas. Hazel just wiped the small specks of blood in her bruised and cut legs and arms and quickly tried to control herself and she slid further.

Finally landing next to him, Hazel felt her determination wither away as she saw his unconscious figure.

"Azeas, we have to go!" Hazel yelled, trying to lift his head up. She was able to push him onto his back, and noticed his right hand was tightly shut, even red from how hard he held his fist.

Hazel only glanced at it for a moment before trying to pull Azeas up the slope, soon joined by the other three.

"I am going to KILL you." Ren seethed.

The four struggled as they made their way up with Azeas, Ren constantly whispering how close the lights were now.

"Two are reaching the edge of the forest, it's dark enough they won't see us, but they will see Azeas's light we left behind." Ren noted.

Hazel looked around, making Falen, who was partly holding her up, follow her gaze.

"See anything?" They asked. "Azeas might not have been alone. Do you know anyone else who came with him?"

"No." Hazel whispered. "It was just him... I think."

"Alright." Falen smiled in the darkness. "That's good to know, it means we're not leaving anyone behind."

They turned back towards the hill, noticing They needed to move around some large rocks.

Hazel wasn't carrying Azeas much due to her ankle, which led to Hazel receiving the look out duty from Ren. She noticed as the two closest lights finally left the woods, she could easily see the flickering embers on their torches.

So it really is fire. She thought. Isn't that dangerous in a forest?

She alerted the others of the two figures walking on the edge of the forest, making them all speed up. Koji muttered her favourite curse words of the night, earning a small whack from Ren.

When they had finally gotten onto flatter ground, Hazel could feel the ground was rougher, what little grass there was far sparser than the area behind them."We're on the path." Koji told everyone. "Not long now, just head towards the lights of the children's home."

Off in the distance, Hazel could easily see the faint glow of the main building, glimmering with a warmth Hazel longed for, reminding her of the cold eating at her legs and arms. They walked on, watching warily as the figures kept stalking the forest edge. Hazel kept herself ready for their moment of realisation, and it didn't take long.

The distant yells of people echoed from the forest as the figures met up, finding the light orb left behind by Azeas. The four tried to speed up, but they were weighed down trying to carry Azeas.

"Should we hide instead? They're going to catch up." Falen said, eyes darting from the figures back to the path ahead..

"No, we have to get to the children's home, whoever is after Azeas has lights, and we can't all hide, there isn't anywhere good enough for that." Ren countered. "We just have to go for it"