The Plague

Ch.9

Yay! New pen!

Hopefully I can put it to good use.....

Here we go!

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Adam's POV

My mouth gapes open as the man gives a cheery little wave to Quirren.

"Hey, little lighty. How's it going? You do all this fine work?" He asked, gesturing to Mitch, Jerome and I. Quirren giggles and nods before sliding off Mitch's back and running over to the man.

"S-Seto?" Mitch stutters. "You- what- How do you know Quirren?"

Seto looked up. "She's a sorcerer! How could I not know a sorcerer, especially one like her!" He poked her in the stomach, and she started giggling again.

Then he turned serious again, pulling Quirren onto his back where she eagerly looped her arms around his hood.

"Right, we need to move. At least get out of this clearing and find you guys some defenses. I can hold off most of them, but not all. If you head east," He pointed in the direction behind him, "you should be able to get out of these woods fairly quickly. There also shouldn't be many slow ones the closer you get to the edge. They don't like light." He muttered, casting a wary glance around the area.

"You guys go. I'll catch up with you." He said and took Quirren off his back. She jumped onto mine. Jerome shot Seto a look.

"You sure you don't need help?" He asked hesitantly, but Seto brushed him off.

"I'll be fine, now go!"

I immediately took off into the woods, fearing more for Quirren's safety than my own. She had lost all her cheerfulness as Seto had explained, and was now clutching my shoulders quite tightly. I tried to mutter reassurance as we ran.

Behind us, there was suddenly what seemed like an explosion of purple light. Jerome halted to a stop beside us, panting.

"What was that?" He asked. I shook my head grimly.

"Seto. Let's keep moving." I growled. He nodded and took off again, barreling on all fours through the trees with Mitch beside him.

I started jogging along, being too exhausted to keep sprinting. There didn't seem to be any light coming through the trees yet, so we probably still had a ways to go. I almost groaned at the thought, also along with the fact that Mitch and Jerome had run out of sight.

Quirren suddenly tightened her grip painfully on my shoulders and I instinctively ducked, just in time to see a slow one chomp the air where my head had just been. Quirren whimpers as it swipes at her, but I toss her aside and take the hit to my shoulder. Grunting in pain from the force of it's fist, I kick out and manage to send it toppling to the ground.

Panting, I scramble up and grab Quirren again, this time holding her tightly against my chest. I take off in a flat-out sprint again, trying desperately to ignore heart climbing into my throat and how my lungs seem to be trying to fold in on themselves.

My sight begins to blur around the edges as I run, fading into darkness. I merely shake my head and keep sprinting, repeating the same mantra in my head.

Get Quirren safe. Get Quirren safe. Get Quirren safe. Get Quirren safe.

I stagger out of the woods into blinding light and immediately collapse, spilling her out onto the ground before me. My back arches and I begin to retch.

My mind dimly registers that someone is picking up Quirren and that someone else is pulling me to my feet. As we stumble along, my vision clears enough to register that its Jerome.

"Seto?" I whisper. He shakes his head. "Still not out yet. I'm sure he'll be here in a mo'."

I shake my head and cough. "Quirren alright? Slow one attacked us.." I slur.

"She's fine!" Mitch calls from in front of us. "Scared to death, but fine."

We stagger on in silence for a while until Jerome finally lets go of me. I sway a bit at first, but slowly regain my balance.

There was a large pool of water in front of us, which Mitch and Jerome were already eagerly drinking while Quirren sat happily in the shallow water. I scrambled into it next her and took a long sip.

"Well, that went well. didn't it?" I ask cheerfully. Mitch glances up from the water and rolls his eyes. The Forest in now a distant horizon, very far away from us. Purple mist seems to be rising above it.

Quirren pokes my arm. "Where's Seto?"

I frown. "I dunno... I'm sure he'll be here soon though..."