Daniel was unconscious. The shock and pain he had experienced had him out like a light. He had suffered severe damage and now even his arm was gone. The Nobles were clearly trying to take the Runners down one at a time. This much was obviously true but why was it this way?
"It's like Kai gets more traitorous each time," said Ali.
"You know what he needs?" Asked Alice. A dagger. A cold hard dagger right in his little-" Alice said before being stopped by Konnor.
"As much as I'd love to decapitate that dishonourable piece of trash, being angry about it now won't really help anything, now will it?" He said.
"What we need to do right now is figure out who this is," began Ali as she tossed the Dark Hound's collar onto the table the group sat around. "Belongs to a man named Amon Khazir."
"Who says it's a guy?" Asked Leo?
"I'm guessing," replied Ali.
"First order of business is finding Daniel a new arm," said Mikey.
"We can do that?" Chirped a confused Leo.
"Just a matter of having the right resources," smiled Tyron.
"Well, then let's send someone to find the pieces," said Alice.
"It's not that simple, you see? The only places with good enough tech are the Noble owned places, like the Southern Mountains or Fairvale," explained Mikey.
"Okay, so then who's going?" Asked Konnor.
"I'll go with Alice and Tyron," Ali decided. "The rest have to hold the fort while we're gone. Cool?"
"That's fine. Let's go," said Alice as she got up to go and prepare.
Mikey handed walkie talkies to the trio to keep in contact with both the other Runners and each other.
"Okay you guys, the stage is set. We're gonna get going now," said Alice.
"August is gonna be back up soon, so I'm sure I won't have too many problems," replied Konnor.
The trio began their journey, each of them seemingly prepared aside from Tyron, who was only truly prepared when he could use his technological skills to aide Mikey. The Runners were some way into the forest by the time Ali heard the sound from behind them. It generally consisted of snapping twigs and crunching leaves. She knew it was potential danger but chose to ignore it until she could formulate a proper plan to draw it out and kill it.
"Guys, you've heard it as well, right?" Asked Ali.
The two Runners nodded, indicating their knowledge of their follower.
"Alice, in a few seconds, I'm gonna need you to turn and throw a dagger into the trees. Don't aim for it, just try to scare it, okay?"
Once more, Alice nodded and dug her hand inside her coat's inner sleeves, pulling out a non-enchanted throwing knife. She paused for a second and, soon after, whirled around, throwing the dagger exactly where she thought she heard the sound.
The sound of cruching leaves sounded once more, followed shortly after by the sound of steel piercing bark.
"Come out," said Ali threateningly.
"Don't make us come and get you," added Tyron.
"You guys don't have to be so aggressive," came a familiar voice. August emerged from the trees with the hood of his sleeveless jacket covering his face. He then removed it, allowing his face to bask in the light that broke through the trees at random areas.
"What are you doing here?" Cried Tyron. "You shouldn't be on your feet yet, let alone running around dodging flying knives."
"Calm down, brosef. This new blood is amazing! Check it out," said August as he grabbed his dagger. He then proceeded to create a long cut along his left arm and watched everyone's awed expressions as it healed almost instantly. "Amazing, huh?"
"I'm smarter than I thought," said Tyron as he grabbed August's arm in an attempt to analyse his shockingly speedy recovery.
"So, as you can see, I'm pretty fit to come with. Let's go." Said August.
"Are you sure you're capable," asked Alice.
'Please, I'm in tip top shape," the youth arrogantly announced.
"Well, if you think you can handle it, then sure," Ali said.
With that, the group carried on through the forest, their newly recovered member keeping up with their pace the way he couldn't have done a mere few hours ago. The trip to Fairvale would not be short and they would need a lot of energy for the trip but, together, they knew they could make it work.
The group stopped for their first night. They had picked an open area as their campsite and were well prepared for any random attacks from wild animals. The Rhino Stags were wild during this time of the year but they generally kept away from colder temperatures, Ali having been the protection of the group an with her cryogenic gauntlets.
Each Runner was assigned a task. August would make a campfire, Alice would set up the tent, Ali would secure the area and Tyron would collect wood to keep the fire going. The night would be long but the Runners were ready.
Back in the village, things had gone from bad to worse. Konnor and Mikey had become so occupied with Daniel that they had not even noticed August had slipped away.
"What's wrong with him," Konnor asked.
Mikey had taken a sample of Daniel's blood and had observed it through a low tech microscope.
"Things are looking bad," said Mikey as pulled the slide out from the microscope. "It looks like Kai's Dark Hound was poisonous. It also looks like, after a few days, Daniel won't be waking up for a long time."
Konnor looked at the brave young warrior who was slowly but surely dying. "Is he comatose?"
"Right now, yes. The only chance we have is finding an antidote or using August's blood," replied Mikey.
"You guys are really bad at surviving," said Leo, who had just entered the room.
"Now isn't the time for jokes," sighed Konnor.
"Yeah, especially since you're only option is to find an antidote," replied Leo.
"Weren't you just listening to me?" Sighed Mikey.
"I was... and I think you should know that August isn't here," Leo revealed with a catty smile.
"Come again?" Konnor asked in shock.
"I repeat, August isn't here," said the cat. "I saw him sneaking off in the Recovery Team's general direction."
"Guy must've been desperate for some action," laughed Mikey.
"Well I hope it was worth it cause now Daniel is probably gonna die," Konnor stressed.
"Well, only if you keep this negativity up. Let's just try and keep the guy's spirits up," said Mikey. "I just hope the others get back in time," said Mikey as he placed a warm cloth on Daniel's cold forehead.
'Let's hope he doesn't die,' Konnor thought to himself as he began aiding Mikey.
Nowadays, death had become far too easy to come by and sadly, the ones who needed it less were the ones who found it most often.
