Not That Far

Chapter 10-Trust?

  I blinked in the substantial light of the full moon that was veiled by a filmy cloud cover. Not a single solitary needle stirred in the motionless, icy air. I laid stone still, as I wasn't sure what had woke me.

  Nocturnal life sang brazenly in the trees around me, so I knew that it wasn't a predator at least. But I had been too exhausted from the side effects of the poison and shuttling Shay around to have any dreams, so I hadn't just woken up on my own. No, something wasn't right. Strangely enough, I wasn't cold either, despite the chilly air, which put me on high alert.

  And as I lifted my head slowly and did a 180 I figured out what was wrong with this picture. Sattari. I scrambled to my feet eagerly. In the back of my mind I briefly wondered why she would be contacting me now, but I pushed the thought aside. Maybe she just wanted to see me.

  She stood there in the shadow of an abnormally tall tree, her eyes gleamed with a strange light. I could tell she was looking in my direction, but I wasn't sure if she could see me. She seemed to be staring right through me. I realized we weren't in the same clearing I'd fallen asleep in, rather it was only close replica.

  "...Sattari?" I called after a moment of indecision. Her eyes snapped into focus before the word was even halfway out of my mouth.

  "Shhhh!" she hissed quietly, leaping forward and somehow silencing me without touching me. She glanced around like she knew someone was listening, but she didn't know where they were hiding.

  I opened my mouth and then closed it, afraid to make her angrier. Much as I cared for her, she was not someone to anger if you valued your life. I'd learned from experience that if she was mad for any reason whatsoever, get out of the way.

  Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot like she'd been crying, but from sadness of anger I couldn't tell. She wore a strange look as she stooped down to write in a patch of dust that appeared at her feet. I could do nothing but crouch down beside her.

  'We can't talk here. They're everywhere.' she wrote then looked up at me. I only nodded like I understood what she was talking about, when in reality I hadn't the faintest. But she didn't give me long to guess or even form a coherent thought for that matter. She grabbed my arm and drug me deep into the forest.

  "I'm sorry Terry, but they're on to me. We have to keep moving." she said hurriedly, pulling me through the thick bushes while she held my arm in a death grip.

  "What?! Who?" I struggled to keep my voice low, as her shifting eyes suggested that we might be overheard by unfriendly ears.

  "The slave mistress. She knows that I'm contacting someone from the outside. She's sent something after me. I don't know what it is though." she had released her iron grip on my arm and now held me hand tightly, like she was afraid I might disappear if she let go for a moment. That thought made me unconsciously tighten my own grip.

  "So moving throws it off?" The fact that I couldn't protect her from this supposing force in any way ensued a deep, resounding ache within me. A feeling I was unfamiliar with.

  "So far, yes. But I don't know how long it will take for it to pick up my trail again. And creating new places to move around in is exhausting, so I have to keep recreating places I've already been."

  "That makes sense." I nodded. She liked to explain her abilities in vivid detail. It was like her way of venting since Saiden and Aris hadn't been available for a while. She suddenly got right back to business, and her next words piqued my interest.

  "I have to tell you something important, and I can only say it once so listen." I nodded, leaning in so that I could hear her whispered words more clearly.  "They moved us from the central camp. I don't know where we are now other than we're near a large body of freshwater. This camp is well-hidden in a mountain chain with high security so it'll be difficult to get close enough to find us." she said it in a rushed whisper.