Haven

Five

--Unedited, probably going to be changed in the future... I'm not a big fan of the development in this chapter. --

The crowd slowed down a bit more as the street ahead narrowed and the people tried to re situate themselves. This irritated Sanctus, but he tried to push this away by instead focusing his entire attention on the side road. They were no more than a couple steps away. They just needed to fight their way to the side of the crowd, and then they would be home free. Alonya was casting her gaze quickly from side to side in search of a way out, obviously eager to get away from the crush of people.

One more step. Sanctus found himself holding his breath as he darted forwards, pulling Alonya along behind him. They pushed through the crowd, elbowing those who failed to move away quickly enough aside. A low murmur of annoyed grunts and small shouts rose up behind them, but Sanctus paid this no heed. They all seemed too focused on their set task to actually come after them. They were just a small annoyance to be swatted away, a fly to be brushed off.

A faint orange glow in the direction the crush was heading lit up the otherwise dark street just slightly, allowing Sanctus and Alonya to take the last needed step and squeeze their way out of the crowd. An audible sigh of relief left both of the two. Sanctus relaxed, his pace becoming less choppy and forced as they fled down the side street. The roar of the crowd dimmed, and the light of the houses lining the street they were on faded away.

Alonya squeezed his hand again, capturing his attention for long enough to cast him a small smile that briefly lit her eyes up. "Thank you, Sanctus." She murmured in a soft tone.

Sanctus returned the smile, inclining his head slightly towards her in an apologetic manner. "Sorry about that." He offered another smile, this one a tad tighter. Now that they were out, his mind was free to once again stress over the fact that this would most likely be their last time out. He tried to push the thoughts to the side and experience these last few moments to their full extend, but they kept on clouding in on that and preventing any other thoughts.

They rounded another corner, and suddenly this dull thought was flung with vigor from his mind. Unfortunately, this was only so that it could be replaced with more worrisome pressures. Before them was a cement and brick wall, stretching up to the roofing of the houses and extending across the width of the street. Sanctus and Alonya stumbled to a stop before it, heads tilting up to peer towards the top of the wall.

A deep sigh let Sanctus' lips. "Well then." He murmured quietly, eyes dulling. There went that easy escape.

"Maybe...." Alo started. She pulled her gaze away from the towering wall to glance over at Sancus' dark figure. "Maybe we could go over?"

Sanctus didn't immediately put down the idea, even though the probability of it working was very slim. He didn't wish to snatch away whatever hope it had built up in Alonya- and he couldn't yet think up anything to replace it with. She had remained calm enough thus far, but Sanctus still didn't want to risk having to deal with her panicking if he took away the sliver of hope this thought set had given her.

Instead, he reviewed the possibilities at hand.

He ran her suggestion over in his mind as he eyed the wall skeptically. Even if he could somehow hoist Alonya up there, they had no way of knowing if the wall would actually hold their weight, or what was on the other side.

Most of the structures in this part of town were like the road; crumbling, unstable, and all-around best to be avoided. This wall was no exception. Yes, it looked alright, but they had no way to know whether this was because of a clever patch-job or the actual construction.