Forsaken

Forsaken:Chapter II - Pursuit

Her eyes swelled with tears. She knew she had to hold onto her emotions. The young lady steadied her eyes and watched with curiosity and frustration. She watched as the fearsome figure in black released his grasp on the soldiers neck. She was locked onto the trooper as he floated out above the couloir beneath him. With a unexpected shriek he was silenced as his body erupted into a mass of blood and bone fragments. What was once the trooper showered down to the combat zone below.

Her eyes protruded wide as she let out an inconsequential sigh of horror. "Master? Shouldn't we have done som ..." The middle aged gentleman in long robes and tunic of varied shades of grays had placed a hand upon her shoulder cutting her off. "No, or we'd be dead as well padawan. Now still your mind." He looked downward from the precipice they were perched on. The devastation and carnage was beyond that of any battle the Master Jedi had ever witnessed. Then he looked up to see the tenebrous figure on the ridge across the steep ravine motion in their general direction. His heart fluttered slightly. "Kriff." he muttered softly to himself.

"We must go. Now!" He yanked at the collar of his younger apprentice's tunic, jerking her upward to her feet. She landed on her feet but had to catch her balance from being caught off guard by her masters sudden aggressive maneuver. At first she didn't question the older man. As they begin to sprint through the thick vegetation of the jungle she couldn't resist asking as she had evidently been distracted. "What is it Master? Shouldn't we stay back to follow them. Why are we running?" Looking onward to see if her master would give a response, curious yet again. Her master responded fleetingly and to the point as he leapt over, under, then around the massive Boughs, bushes and roots from the immense flora of this jungle. " Assassin's!"

Her head slung backwards in an attempt to catch a glimpse of their pursuer's. Nothing, she saw nothing at first glance but the rustling of tree limbs above in the distance. How was this even possible she thought to herself. Then there was an explosion that reverberated out with a thunderous chorus of echoes. As she spun her head forward once again it happened to be a split second to late. The medium radius of the blast threw her back, sideways, and off her feet. Her body instantly went limp as she impacted against an enormous tree nearly twenty meters away. There was a loud snap as the young Jedi learner made her collision with tree.

He heard a deafening orotund explosion behind himself and sensed a painful tremor in the force. He immediately snapped around to see that his apprentice was missing. He headed back while scanning the surrounding area. The master caught something in is peripheral vision. His apprentice was laying collapsed and lifeless beneath the sundry a large trees. Rushing over to her side completely disregarding the approaching threat of the assassins. She wasn't moving and was barely breathing.

"Laris! By the Force, hear my voice Laris. Hear me speaking to you, please." Vaguely panicked he probed her body quickly for obvious severe injuries. Her eye's began flutter and open ever so slightly, flickering just a small bit. She was trying to speak to him. Blood bubbled and trickled from the edge of her lips as she made her attempt. She gasped a few times trying to catch her breath. "Laris, don't speak. We need to get you to safety. No I need to get us to safety. Silence yourself child. save your energy." He said the words with sadness resonating from his voice.

Laris ignored his preaching and finally spoke out. " Master Cyn, I have failed you. I was reckless. Forgive me." She winced in pain as she finished speaking. She couldn't move even though she tried. Her legs felt numb to her. Pain flared from her neck and back sending agonizing spikes into her cerebrum.