Amity

Chapter 15: Friends and Foes

Minutes ticked away as they ventured further into the darkness. There was no telling how long they'd even been out there. The walk began to wear Dré down. He could feel a knot forming in his back. His feet and ankles were killing him. Steel-toe boots were a poor choice of footwear. As much as he didn't want to say, this place was terrifying, even without the Edge Walkers. Excluding the floating orbs that lit up the path, they hadn't run into any type of life, not another Amian or any Edge Walkers. Dré finally broke the silence. "Man, I wonder how far out we are."

"There's no telling," Megumi said. "How are we even gonna get out?"

"What if they send an army out here to get us?" Dré asked.

"Or if they send an aircraft," Kim added. "Hopefully one with a turret on it."

"Dude, if we get picked up by an aircraft with turrets, I'll say that this was worth it," Megumi put in. "Turrets and some muffins."

"Muffins?" Kim asked. "You just ate your weight in food. How could you possibly be hungry?"

"I'm not, but I always have room for muffins. Especially some mini blueberry muffins." Somehow the girls managed to chuckle. Dré however, couldn't bring himself to. Not while they were still surrounded by the darkness of the forest and whatever lurked in it.

"...Can't believe we managed to escape those freaks," Dré heard a young man's voice say at the end of the curve. "Are you ok, Karen, was it?"

"Wait," Dré whispered as they stopped walking. That was someone talking, wasn't it? He strained to hear what the people were saying.

"Katherine. And yeah, I'm ok. I think I just sprained my ankle," a female's voice said with a Hispanic accent.

"We will get that looked at once we get out of here."

"I can't believe you electrocuted one of them," the Hispanic voice said.

"I can't believe it myself."

"You think this was what that Gladestone person was going on about in the Cafeteria?" another man's voice asked with the same accent.

Dré stalked towards the new group. Hiding behind a bush, he pulled back a branch far enough to see a dull orange glow ahead of him. He could hear fire crackling and smell the burning leaves.

"Who cares what that man said?" a woman's voice said, sounding irritated. "We've been walking for what feels like hours and for what? All because that man said that all Amians had to do it! I just want to go home and take a long bubble bath. Screw that man!"

Dré could almost feel the rage coming from Megumi as he heard her muffled voice a few feet behind him, probably saying every curse word in English as well as Japanese. He peered through the trees on the edge of the curve and saw them. Four people were gathered around a small fire. One of them looked like she was massaging her ankle while another person sat beside her, checking it. He could hear both of them speaking to each other slightly above whispers, but it sounded like Spanish to him.

"If what he said was true, then that would mean that two of us had already unlocked our elemental power; Kamatsu and I," a voice said, sounding as though he was talking to himself. "I think that we will have to fight them in order to leave." He spoke louder this time, catching the attention of his partners.

"We've already gathered that much, Daven," Katherine said. "Did you have an idea on what to do?"

"Maybe, but I don't think that- what was that?" He whipped his head towards the bushes where Dré was hiding. Dré gulped as he looked down and saw the snapped twigs under his foot.

"It's probably just a bird or something," he heard the irritated sounding girl say.

"That's not a bird. There's no way that any wild animals would still be here. They would have left as soon as they heard those things roar. We're being watched." He raised his hand in front of him, directing it towards Dré.

Dré's breath caught in his throat as lightning flowed through the other man's fingertips, congregating to the palm of his hand. The chirping of the electricity could be heard through the forest, surely loud enough to catch the attention of anyone or anything in the vicinity. "Show yourself!" he called.

Dré didn't know what he should do. If he didn't show himself, he would most likely be killed. If he left the bushes, he would probably be spared. Probably.

He crept forward through the bush until he felt someone firmly grab his shoulder. "Lower your hand first," he heard Megumi call beside him.

The other group seemed shocked to get a response, but the one holding the electricity, Dré assumed that his name was Daven, hadn't moved his hand an inch. "How can we trust that you won't attack us?"

"Why would we? Do you actually believe that we are Edge Walkers?"

"Well... no." The lightning disappeared from his hand. He fell to one knee, panting. He still held his hand towards Dré and Megumi. "Now show yourselves."

Dré felt Megumi release her grip as she motioned for Kim to go follow. They each walked through the bush and met the other group face to face. Daven was still kneeling on the ground, panting more fiercely as both of his arms drooped towards the ground. He wore a green T-shirt with a pair of blue jean shorts, his blond hair cut short. He eyed the three of them with narrow, green eyes.

"What do you think we should do, Daven?" the annoyed girl said as she walked towards them. She looked just as Dré had expected she would, with blonde, curly pigtails and a slightly tanned complexion, though the tan could have been from the campfire. She looked at Daven with an expression of both curiosity and anticipation.

"How many of you can use your powers?" Katherine said.

Dré was silent, thinking of a way out of this situation.

"You heard her," Daven demanded as he rose to his feet. He looked just as tall as Michael, if not, taller. "How many?"

Sweat dripped from Dré's brow. There had to be a way out of this. Considering how eager Daven was to aim his electricity at him, Dré figured that talking his way out was not going to happen. If they ran, then there might be a chance that either Megumi or Kim would be hit, if Daven was manic enough to attack them. He couldn't allow that to happen. Not if he could stop it.

"If he attacks us," Dré said in a hushed voice, "I want you two to run." He spoke to Daven before either of them had a chance to object. "None of us has been able to yet."

"How unfortunate. I say we practice our powers on them." Daven sneered as he turned back to his group. He heard Kim's breath cut short by his side. Dré, however, braced himself for a fight. If not a fight, then at least a diversion. "Kamatsu? What do you think?"

"Count me out," said the man taking care of Katherine's ankle. "I'd much rather have a clear conscious once we leave here." He had long, silver hair with a white one-sleeved tunic and black samurai pants.

Daven shrugged as he held his hand towards Dré's chest. "More targets for me then." A wicked smile was stitched across his face as the chirping of lightning sounded off again.

Just as soon as he smiled, it disappeared from his face. He and the rest of his group had the same horrified look on their faces as Dré, Kim, and Megumi. Unfortunately for them, Dré knew why. They heard an Edge Walker roaring, and it was only a few feet away.