The Elementals : The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 17 - All Aboard The Crazy Train

Ah running. One of my favourite past times. In my mind nothing was more relaxing than a long-distance run around the school or around our tower block to clear ones thoughts. However, like many things in my life as of now it was becoming increasingly likely that we were sprinting away from danger and there was almost definitely something behind us. Running away from something as fast as our legs could carry us was becoming as likely as being betrayed, knocked out and set on fire. All of which were happening with startling regularity.

But anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming. We were running for our lives. Again. Sheira and I were sprinting northwards, making the most direct path we could towards the location that our escape vehicle was sat in. Sheira was naturally leading as I have no bearings to my name and all Sheira had to do was look up towards the night sky to see if we were at least going in the right direction. I knew there was a North Star, but I had no idea what you were supposed to do with it.

But even then it wasn't all that easy to head in a straight northward line. Some of the steel crates were packed in so tightly it was impossible to get around them, so we had to take a detour to get around them. To top that off whoever built this place did not make it easy to manoeuvre through, in fact this place probably resembled a child's scribble drawing from above. Intertangling tracks and roads that lead to nowhere were seemingly trying to throw us off.

But so long as we were moving away from the constant destruction in the centre then we were just peachy. Shadow was doing a very good job at keeping everyone else busy as every now and again a pulse of pure energy would rip through the site followed by a, I kid you not, mushroom cloud of sparkling blackness. Other minor explosions also popped up every now and again and on one occasion a terrified scream hurtled through the air towards us. A figure who was slightly singed dropped out of the sky, hit one of the wooden walls and fell on his back and didn't get up. Sheira ran forward to check his pulse, waited a few moments, nodded, happy that he was still breathing and left him to lie in a pile of his own drool.

Well at least Shadow hadn't killed him. That was a plus.

We wove our way through the towering crates, a clear path set out in front of us and then the last thing we wanted to hear happened. Footsteps. Sheira and I looked at each other and you could tell we both had the same idea at the same time.

Split up? She mouthed.

I nodded, and she nodded back.

"Keep going forwards, alright?"

"Sure thing. See you at the finish line."

And with that I sprang forwards, Flame hugging my heels, darting along the stone floor and squeezing between two carriages. Being alone became very unnerving as near silent footfalls echoed all around me. At one point I saw a flash of light, momentarily illuminating three figures as they crept through the darkness. The Harpy must have sent them off in case Sheira and I managed the miraculous and escaped. I moved as silently as I could, my ears straining for the sound of any noise over the pulse of my own heartbeat and to make things even worse, I was feeling ridiculously jumpy as the adrenaline fed my fight or flight reflex.

Flame dimmed his fire a low as he possibly could and kept low to the ground creeping along by my side. Every now and again he would lean forwards and sniff the air, which meant that we would occasionally dart off in another direction because he didn't like that particular smell. I trusted in his senses more than my own, which was probably wise since everything where he's come from was either A.) Trying to eat him or B.)Trying to steal from him, or possibly both at the same time. Nature's rough.

Flame also meant that we were going in the right direction because apparently he could "Hear a living engine" and apparently it was quite close. Humans are useless, I mean why couldn't we develop better senses? Surely being less good than the things trying to eat us cannot be a good evolutionary strategy. While I was lost in the ideas of what superhuman hearing could do to me, Flame had suddenly paused. He lifted his head, curling out his tongue to taste the air around him and then he frowned.