Surface R: Reunion

Part 01.4

::SEAN::

"It's okay, Sean." The one called Lexie assured me.

Cody agreed. "Yeah, Trey's here. He'll take care of it."

That's not logical, I think. I've never ever been this scared in my life. And I have a good reason to feel that way—the flames are so close that I can feel them even from here.

"Get going! NOW!"

I hear Trey yelling up ahead.

"There,"

Cody has to pull me off the ground when I realize I was barely standing anymore. I have a brief glimpse of Trey in the center of a break in of the flames with his arms spread as if he can make them obey him willingly. Then we're past him, joining the front group ahead of us.

"AHH!"

"CODY?!" Corrin briefly glances back to us.

"I'm o-okay! Keep going Corrin!"

I have no time to register that. A few minutes more, the smoke thins suddenly and then, incredibly, we're stepping out on to the parched earth. We've survived. I gasped with relief as Cody collapsed when I dropped down. Moisture floods his eyes—is he crying? The only thing I see to have caused that reaction is a scorched mark on his arm.

"Ow! Ow! It really hurts, ow!"

Something in me is triggered to move that I took his arm into my hand before Corrin could reach us. The child stares at me, wide-eyed. "It does not seem like the damage is something permanent, it's not so horridly burnt that your tendons are damaged. The epidermis is still mostly intact. A long soak in cold water should lessen the sting, and after a few days, it'll be as if nothing happened to it."

"Sean..."

"You'll be okay," I looked at Cody then I caught myself. I leaned back, looking away. What did I just allow myself to do?! I should be greatly bothered by this. But for some reason, I am only embarrassed. That can't be the right response.

"Rest here," Kytes leads Nina and Thomas over to where we're sitting as the main healer, Corrin, is looking over Cody's burn. "See, I told you we'd be all right!"

I looked at the forest and shudder. The fire is spreading. The trees writhing and twisting under it. I don't think I'll ever forget the sound they made as they burned for as long as I live.

"Are we all here?" Rhys walked down the rows of exhausted, smoke stained people. I have to admit that the organization of these people is well done. "Everything okay?"

Meeko came over, and I must be really dizzy after that exercise. For a moment, I saw four of them. After a blink, he's one again. "I did a clone count. A few injured, nothing big though." He tells the Second-in-Command.

"Wait, where's Trey?" Nina demands suddenly, fearing coloring her voice. "He's still out there!"

Thomas starts, coming out of an almost shock-like state. "He's not—he didn't—"

"He should be back by now." Rhys frowned. "His watch should warn him of his limits."

I raised a brow. "A Watch tells time."