Wayward Son

Chapter 13

Aerrow awoke slowly, like he was rising out of a deep lake, but didn't realise why he had. The sun wasn't up yet, there weren't any animals in this place that could be making noise and he wasn't facing the fire which seemed to have gone out. Ed wasn't snoring, at least not very loudly. So why had he woken up?

In his state of half-sleep, he realised there was something on him, and when he felt it he found the familiar fabric of Ed's coat covering his body like a blanket. He smiled faintly and settled down to go back to sleep-

-just as something flew overhead and snapped him into full sobriety.

"Ed!" he whispered. "Ed, wake up!"

Nothing.

He crawled on his stomach over to where Ed lay. The blonde boy was lying on his back, mouth wide open and breathing heavily, with his left hand moving up his vest and exposing more of his stomach than was already showing due to his shortened vest. Aerrow would have laughed were he not on the edge of panic.

"Ed!" he repeated, and gently shook his shoulder. "Ed, quickly! Wake up!"

The two halves of Ed's snores collided with one another and he awoke, blinking the world into focus.

"Aerrow?" he said. "What, is it morning already-"

"Ssshh!"

Ed obediently shut his mouth and, along with Aerrow, looked around.

"Something's not right," Aerrow muttered. "There's something here. Something watching us."

The other boy rolled onto his front.

"Any idea what it is?" he asked, equally as quiet.

"I have a hunch," Aerrow replied, "and I hope I'm wrong because if I'm not, then we're in big trouble."

"Why?"

"Just shush!"

Ed got to his knees as slowly and carefully as he could, gently cradling his damaged arm. Aerrow handed him his coat and he slipped his good arm in and pulled it tighter, shivering slightly in the cold night air.

"Do you know what time it is?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Aerrow. "Early morning? It's hard to tell without the moon."

He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out anything unfamiliar, which was difficult since he hadn't been on this terra for quite long enough to exactly feel at home there. So he peered into the shadows...

...and almost had a heart attack when he noticed the shadows peering back.

"Ed," he said as quietly as possible. "Don't. Move. A muscle."

Ed obediently froze. The glowing purple eyes didn't move either, but something definitely did as the faint sounds of movement were just audible in the crushing silence. Aerrow slowly raised a hand behind Ed's back.

There was a 'click' and Aerrow shoved Ed's head down just in time for a bolt of crystal energy to fly in so close that it singed the tip of his hair antenna.

"RUN!" Aerrow screamed.

They scrambled to their feet, Aerrow snatching his energy blades off the ground in the process, and ran as fast as they could towards the trees.

"What's going on?!" Ed shouted.

"Don't ask, just run!" Aerrow yelled back.

They stopped just before they reached the ruins.

"We'll split up," said Aerrow. "You go that way and loop around; I'll meet you on the other side of the village!"

"Gotcha!" Ed said, and he started sprinting away.