Not That Far

Chapter 4-Mercy Is Not Getting What You Deserve

 

  For a second or two I was free-falling till at the last moment I decided that is was safe enough to let my little light shine on the fast approaching ground. And, just as my earlier thought had encroached upon, I nearly skewered myself on a stalagmite.

  Stepping back a bit to avoid getting my cloak wet on the rock pillar; I silently but quickly squeezed through the stone forest. The voices were almost right on top of me when I finally found a place to hide. Two stalagmites that had formed right next to each other and had merged to create a humongous, double tiered rock. I slipped behind it just as the ecstatic voices got to the edge of the chasm.

  I knew exactly when that happened of course because none of them had a light so they were running blind. Consequently, one fell right in after me. He squealed like a cornered qaute when he landed (which is apparently the name of those animals that I'd killed to leave that blood trail for my uncle's hunters when I'd first come to Xai all those months ago).

  His horrified howl brought the rest of them to a screeching halt and I heard pebbles grinding under their feet as they backpeddled. After that there was a lot of confusion and the fallen hunter was apparently severely injured.

  I slid my light into my bag and peeked around the edge of the rock to see if I was close enough to see him. I was indeed. His silhouette laid there motionless and the way his leg was stuck up in an awkward position made me assume that his leg had either been broken or...impaled. I bit the inside of my lip and ducked back behind the rock.

  He hadn't made a sound after his fall so it was most likely safe to say that he was unconscious. I refused to consider that he'd been killed. The rest of his group was milling about the precipice of the ledge, calling down to him. Someone finally had the sense to find some kind of light and they shone it on him. The shadow of my hiding place went above and beyond concealing me.

  I heard a girl give a small cry. A young girl. So they had brought children out to look for me?! She had most likely never been out of the sanctuary in her little life. What good would she be able to do if she 1. didn't know the area, 2. had never seen a forest in her entire existence and 3. probably couldn't fly very fast or for long. It was insanity. This wasn't like Daichi at all.

  I felt bad for both her and the injured guy. Neither of them deserved to be out here in the middle of the night looking for someone whom they probably knew wouldn't be found. Some of the Rebels knew me well enough to know that if I didn't want to be visible, I simply wasn't.

  The voices rose and fell as they debated on what to do. Some said that he was too far gone and there was nothing they could do for him while others called them cruel and heartless. The argument went on for what felt like hours but they finally compromised by leaving someone with the guy. They chose the little girl.

  As much sense as it made it was almost as cruel as leaving him here alone. What could a little girl do for a terribly injured guy? They chose her because her wings were small enough to be able to easily fly to him, even in the confined space, or so they said. But I also had the feeling that they were trying to get rid of her. She probably was slowing them down, which was fine by me, but she was terrified of coming down here. Her wild, wailing protests against it said that much.

  Eventually they calmed her down enough to tell her that they were going to get help and would be back soon. I knew better though. I recognized several of the voices and none of them could I identify as trustworthy or remotely honest. No, they would continue to look for me till I was either found (which I wasn't going to be by the looks of things) or day light came.

  She still cried till they left and even after they had been gone for quite some time. I knew right then that I couldn't leave her and that guy here alone. I'd seen and experienced too much suffering to be able to walk away from someone who was completely and utterly helpless. I just couldn't bring myself to.