Resurrection {NaNoWriMo}

Chapter 13

"And upon the violation of your vows, you are no longer a member of Community. You are no longer one of our people, and the punishment for such will be exile."

Acacia flinched as she remembered the words that echoed through the building. Everything had changed the moment he had uttered that word, and now they were abandoned and forced to brave the elements of a distorted world.

Thankfully, Alias was more familiar with the winding paths of the cave than his own name. He had expertly wove through them, guided her as he slithered through them. He had said no words to her in the twenty-four hours that had followed his banishment, and in return hers. He had asked no questions, had not quipped any of his snarky remarks. He had simply prowled through his caves, and wordlessly expected her to follow.

She sighed gently as she glided over the rocks and dips in the path. The caverns were pitching black, and she surprised herself as she sought the weak glow of the torches from Community. Her eyes had adjusted easily to the darkness, despite her dismay, but she dare not complain. The shadows were a tiny thing in the events that had followed the exile.

They traveled for hours through the caves, exhaustion fleeting at first at they possessed a grace that pushed them through the dark effortlessly, but as a day spanned on and further hours passed; their movements became more forced and clumsy. Each would trip from time to time, and Acacia's head began to grow light. She needed rest, and her body demanded that she stop and shut her eyes.

"Alias," she whispered, her voice first to break the heavy silence. "I think I must stop."

The only indication that he had heard her words was the way his back suddenly tensed, and he halted. The bond was still numb, frazzled by her earlier burst of power as she had reawakened. What he felt was lost to her and she struggled to read him through the fog that swam in her head.

"Okay. We will rest." He traveled ahead quickly, out of sight as he searched. He came tumbling back after a brief flash of time. "There is a give in the cavern wall ahead. It is large enough for us to slip through." He busted ahead, and slowly she followed him.

He stopped and waited for her to catch up, and then he crouched down and crept through the break in the wall. It led to another cavern, much smaller and more compacted than the one they had just been traveling through. The front of it had caved in, leaving a wall of crumbled rocks and then other end led back in the direction they had come in. Acacia assumed that it was not the people behind them that Alias was weary of, it was what waited ahead, and the rock wall provided a safe barrier between them and it.

"It is safe enough here. We can pause for a few hours, but then we have to keep moving. Sometimes creatures wander into the caves." He offered no more of an explanation as he lowered himself to the ground and leaned his back against the red rock.

Acacia did not have it in her to sit up anymore. She allowed herself to lie on the harsh unforgiving ground, roll onto her back, and look up at the same rock ceiling. She sighed, and allowed her eyes to drift shut, sleeping quickly consuming her as she knew Alias would look out for her if something went amiss.

Nothing had changed when she awoke. She was groggy as she sat up and stretched her limbs, eyes drifting open. They fell upon Alias curled up in a ball, and his serene and unshielded face tugged at her heart strings. If only he could find that peace in waking moments.

She struggled up to her feet, and paced around, trying to get the blood rushing through her once more. She kept her steps muted, so as not to wake him, and then sat back down, but she must've been louder than she had expected because two coal eyes met hers in the dark.