Mystic

Chapter 26, Amira

The group continued down the well-worn path, and though it was significantly easier with the smaller group, it was no less treacherous. Amira's feet were sore from a full three days of walking, and she was extremely dehydrated. They were trying to ration food and water, but Amira knew they would run out soon. No one said so much as a word while they traveled, for it was far too hot, and everyone was too fatigued to make conversation. Even Cairo was completely silent. The tall grass on either side of them did little to shelter them from the harmful rays of sunlight beaming down on them in relentless waves, and the cracked, dry earth did nothing to cushion their weary feet. Dry shrubs grew out towards the road, and scraped against Amira's skin when she passed them. Insects scuttled on the ground, making Amira cringe in disgust. Finally, after two hours of this torture, Cairo spoke.

"When I said I would follow you through 'hell and high waters,' I didn't realize that we actually would be." Cairo said.

"What?" Pirin said, looking exhausted.

"Everyone shut up!" Farah said angrily.

"No." Cairo answered, giving Farah a pointed look.

"You making ridiculous comments isn't helping us."

"It's better than wallowing in shame and misery." Cairo answered.

"I agree. Continue." Amira said. Farah gave a little huff, and Cairo went on and on, talking about anything that came to mind, and continued to do so after everyone stopped listening. Then, while Cairo was talking about the noodles made in Yamen, Amira heard a noise in the grass.

"I completely understand why their noodles are so famous, I--" Cairo rambled.

"Shh!!!" Amira whispered, quieting him. Everyone looked around in silence.

"What?" Cairo asked, clearly confused.

"I heard something." Amira said.

"Probably nothing." Gala dismissed. Amira looked around one more time, and just as she started to let her guard down, a tiny man wearing a pointed red cap stumbled out of the grass.

"What is that?" asked Gala, curious.

"That's what you were afraid of?" Cairo said, amused. The little man lunged at Pirin, who easily stopped the creature with his foot.

"Vicious little thing. All bark and no bite." Pirin said, picking up the creature by the foot and letting it dangle helplessly. The little creature cried out, and the grass surrounding them rustled, stirred by an unseen force. Hundreds, even thousands of the little creatures rushed out onto the path, surrounding the group. They piled on to Pirin, bringing him to his knees with sheer force of numbers. They began pulling ropes towards him when a figure leapt from the grass on the left side of the path to the right. behind him he dragged a long net across the path, trapping the majority of the creatures underneath. Cairo was already brushing the little men off of Pirin, and Amira kicked one of the little men that was busy banging at her toes with a miniature war hammer. Now that most of the swarm was pinned down, the remaining creatures were enough for the group to handle. Gala was tackling several, while Farah chased them away from the path. Cairo had freed Pirin and was now helping him up. The army of little men writhed beneath the net, and Amira could already tell that it would not hold for long. 

"Everybody run!" Amira yelled, and everyone took off down the path as fast as they could. Amira jumped the huge net strung across the path, and she saw that the creatures were trying to saw through the ropes. The net would not hold them for long. Amira kept running, stopping only once to be sure that the others were behind her. Once they were a safe enough distance away, the group stopped so that everyone could catch their breath.

"What were those things!?" Gala asked, looking back down the path where they had come from.

"Redcaps. I remember Matthew found one in the forest. It didn't seem so dangerous then, but the swarm..." Amira thought about the defeated little creature Matthew had caught, violent, yet hopeless. She would never have thought that tiny creature capable of swarming a group of five people. Six, Amira corrected. Six. Someone was following them, and they had saved the group from the troll and given them an edge over the swarm. Amira wasn't sure whether to be nervous or grateful towards this stranger.

"Someone is definitely following us." Amira declared.

"YOU HEARD US! COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR FACE, YOU COWARD!!" Cairo shouted into the air. He would have yelled much more if he were not silenced by Gala moments later.

"Those creatures are still behind us. If they hear you they might decide to attack again, and you provoking this stranger is not helping our situation." Gala told him. He nodded and remained completely silent. 

"Cairo, Gala, search the left side of the path; Farah, Pirin, you search the right. We need to find this stranger and decide whether they are friend or foe." Amira said. Cairo let out a loud exhale, as if the act of staying quiet were extremely difficult. Both groups disappeared into the tall grass. Amira giggled slightly, for she could hear Cairo quietly rambling on from where he was searching. Amira looked down the path a little and saw nothing. Each group returned and reported what they had found.

"Nothing on our side." Farah said.

"Well, we saw movement, but whatever it was, Cairo scared it away." Gala reported, rolling her eyes. Cairo just smiled sheepishly.

"Everyone keep an eye out. If you see anything, shout it out. Whoever is out there seems to be on our side, but you never can truly know. We need to find this stranger and deal with them, and quickly." Amira told the group. She looked at each one of them, and received dutiful nods in return. Whoever was hiding out there somewhere had helped them so far, but the last stranger Amira had encountered had first seemed friendly, then ended up stabbing her in the back a few hours later. Amira knew that they had to be careful, and she would not rest until the stranger was finally found.