Silence

Chapter 8 - Out to Sea

With the teleporter in hand, I trudge down to the shore, letting the cool water lap at my feet. The sea is calm, shining in the rising sun. I'm wrapped up in the moment. I reflect back on what had just happened, through my capture, my escape, the room, my parent's deaths.

Doctor Cayson.

I shiver, scared of myself. Why did I do that? I killed him. I killed him. But why?

Something caws overhead, bringing me back to the present. I slowly drag my feet through the waves, feeling the sand flow through my toes. It's peaceful, the sea. My parents loved the sea.

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath, relishing the cool, salt-filled air. I was free, for now.

The door behind me creaks open. I spin around, my flamen spreading quickly up my arms. Sal was standing there, bruised, burned and bloody. I stiffen, watching him stumble out into the sun. The light glistens off of his blood, covering him in a crimson glow. He slowly falls to the ground a few feet away from me, grunting in pain.

"You know what, kid, Kyri is pretty pissed," he says, sighing. "If it isn't obvious."

"What'd he do to you?" I ask tentatively, keeping my distance. All I can smell is the sharp stench of drying blood.

Sal smirks. "What does it look like? After he almost killed me, he stormed off to find Quinnian and Falrevour. Dunno why, but man, was he upset."

I frown. "Falrevour?" He smirks.

"You really don't know anything, do you, kid?"

I scowl, crossing my arms. "I didn't spend all my life secluded on an island to be ridiculed by a bloody man who can't even stay on his feet." He chuckles, looking down at the ground.

"Kid, I saved your butt, you could give me a little credit."

I sigh, sitting down in the water, watching the waves lap at the now blood-stained sand on the shore.

"What do I do now?" I ask him, staring at the ground. "I can't go back to Senapri, and I can't stay here." He looks up at me, his eyes full of sorrow and strength.

"Mount Felihari."

I frown, surprised. The mountain is miles high, and on Ransumi, which is on the other side of the planet. "How would I even get-"

"The teleporter, kid," he interrupts. "And I'd come with you, of course," he adds, shifting his legs. "I can't stay here, not after helping your sorry excuse for an escape." I scowl, meeting his eyes.

"I thought I did well for never seeing this building." He smiles, shaking his head.

"No wonder Kyri wanted to kill you. You're exactly alike." I turn around, watching creatures swim out in the open water, happy and carefree.

"We can't go to the mountain, you'd never survive there," I begin, turning my back on him. "Desert nadic don't exactly belong somewhere that barely reaches five Celsius."

Sal shuffles behind me, dragging himself into the water. He flinches when the salt hits his wounds, but relaxes as they cool. I turn towards him, watching as he do douses himself with the water, cleaning the blood and sweat off of his body. A question keeps nagging at the back of my mind, desperate for an answer.

"Why did you help me?" I ask with a scratchy, quiet voice. He glances up at me, then back down to the foamy blue and green.

"Do I have to explain everything I do to you?" he grunts, his tone sharp. I look away, now awkward in his presence. He sighs, letting his hands drop in his lap.