A Second Chance // Thorki

Chapter twenty eight

Morning came early, though because they were in a cave, in a gorge, there was not much light to show that the sun had risen until about noon. Along with the rumbling of hungry stomachs, the sun filled the cave in glorious, warm beams of light.

That was how Loki was awoken, the light painful and piercing, even if it did bring a pleasant warmth.

There was a problem, however, Loki realized as his eyes finally began to focus, and he forced himself up on to his elbows.

He was alone. He was alone, in pain, sick, and tired.

There was no sign any of them had left in a hurry, beds neatly folded away and supplies in neat piles, the remains of a long-burnt out fire by the entrance. There were no voices to be heard, no sounds whatsoever except for the sweet songs of the native birds and the rustling of the leaves in the gentle wind.

The trickster's eyelids were heavy from sleep, and he yawned gently, tugging his facade back up in case someone should see him. The tickle of an oncoming cough had been inhabiting his throat for hours, but he ignored it for now, focusing on bringing strength to his sore muscles, forcing himself up on to his hands and knees. He managed to stand rather shakily, placing a hand against the cool stone of the wall, stumbling to his feet and towards the entrance to the cave. His entire body felt as if it had been tied down with sand bags, everything suddenly so heavy and shaky and impossible.

When he finally managed to get to the entrance of the cave, though his throat was scratchy and it was painful to make any noise whatsoever, he called out, "Thor? Bruce? Korg? Mi-" he cut himself off with another coughing fit, stars dancing in front of his eyes as his body was wracked with each cough.

His mouth tasted of nothing but iron, and god, was he dizzy, falling to his knees right there and then. He sucked in a few shaky, shallow breaths before he managed to raise his head again, the world swimming before him.

God, this thing was kicking his ass.

He pulled himself to his feet again, placing a hand on the wall as he took another few steps forward, before he was forced to drop his hand and walk on his own as he left the cave.

It seemed as if even the birds had ceased their singing, and the wind had died down- it was truly silent, his own breathing far too loud for his liking. His shuffling steps almost seemed to echo, the terrifying silence leaving his ears practically ringing.

"Thor? Thor, where have you..."

Loki made his way to a tree, a thin one with turquoise leaves and strange, twisting branches, one of which he grabbed and gripped tight, using it to steady his balance and stay upright. He was weak, insanely weak, the god rendered feeble and almost delicate. Even from the small, shuffling walk from where he'd been laid in the cave to where he stood, he was dizzy and out of breath.

With his free hand, he felt the patch on his stomach- it had mostly fused with him by then, the only sign it had ever been there being a small circle of white that was practically invisible on his pale skin. He was healed, for the most part, but his immune system was weak, and the illness or infection or whatever he had was kicking his ass. While the wounds on his stomach had been sealed and he was generally back to normal, his body was still recovering from the event, and because it'd been fighting so hard to keep him alive, he was absolutely exhausted. He wasn't exactly surprised that he'd caught something.

"Thor?"

He took a moment to tie up his messy hair, pulling it into a bun the best he could, glancing around his surroundings.

He looked up at the tree, sucking in a shaky breath before he started away from the tree, the tall grass brushing against his legs as he moved.

He was slow, but after he'd come this far, he was not giving up. He would find the others. He had to.