Kami's courage - A Born of Shadow Fanfiction

1 - Run, Kami, Run

Kami ran through the tunnel, forcing herself not to look back, her heart pounding as tears of guilt and fear stung her eyes and burned her cheeks. Part of her knew that it was the only way, the only reasonable thing to do. If she was caught they would never get out and all would be lost. But it tore her heart to think of her friends stuck in the tunnel with those shadow creatures and that terrifying Shadow Queen. Especially knowing the horrible things she'd already done. What was she after, why was she spreading such evil? Kami knew she had to find a way out of this, but she was alone and they were so many… and that power the Shadow Queen had… it was scary. Kami stumbled and fell on the cold stone floor. Forcing herself to ignore the pain in her elbow, she got up. Even though her lungs were getting unhappy with her and she was getting breathless, she ran on.

 “After her!” came a faint voice from behind her.

With a gasp of terror, Kami ran faster, willing herself not to give in to her protesting body. At last, she saw the light of day some fifty yards ahead. She pushed on.

 Come on, Kami! She told herself.

 When she finally reached the end of the tunnel, she stopped, clutching a stitch in her side. She heard a noise and made her look round. It sounded like a high scream, and Kami prayed to whoever was listening it wasn't one of her friends. Her heart thumping, breathing heavily, Kami took a deep breath and ran on. The sand was uneven. The wind had swept it around. A low rustling noise made her look round. The shadow was coming! She rushed into the sunlight, hoping it would stop the shadow in its tracks... but to her horror, it didn't. Panic starting to crawl its way into her already very present fear, Kami hurried away, though she had no idea where or what to do. She couldn't look for civilization. One, they could be under the Shadow Queen's control, and two, if they weren't, she couldn't very well give her a chance to ensnare even more innocent people!

Liam was being chained to a wall by the shadows. The clinking echoed ominously in the cell. But he didn't care. Kami was free, but the Shadow Queen had chased after her personally, and that was not a good sign.

Please let Kami be alright... he prayed to himself.

He had almost thought she wouldn't listen to him when he'd wordlessly asked her to run. He couldn't blame her. He would have reacted the same way. How could one save themselves and leave their friends behind where who knew what could happen to them? But she had also understood that without her free, they were all finished. Liam was fairly sure that was what had given her the courage to leave. Love for them and the prospect of saving them. Liam looked around to see how the others were doing. They were all Gedo was still unconscious, but seemed unhurt. Yasmin, of course, was struggling like a lioness against her binds. Chris was glancing around, trying not to look scared, even though he clearly was. Samuel just stood still, like Liam was. Liam's mind went back, as it often did lately, to Kami. What would she do? Had she outrun the shadows yet? He had no doubt she would try and save them, but wasn't sure how. He was just glad she hadn't been caught. And he realized that he had never told her. Oh, he'd hinted strongly at it, but he'd never actually said the words... and he swore to himself that if they made it out, he would.

“You okay, Chris?” Samuel asked.

“Yeah,” the boy replied, though his voice betrayed him slightly.

“Don't worry, Chris,” Liam said kindly. “We'll be okay...”

 He hoped.

“Where did that freaky woman go, anyway?” Yasmin asked, her voice strained as she continued to struggle against her binds.

She had probably been so focused on her binds she hadn't heard anything else.

“After Kami, of course. Though why, I'm not sure...” Liam replied with a frown.

“D'you think it's that scarab thing?” Yasmin asked.

“Maybe.” Liam admitted.

“Well, whatever it is, there's not much we can do about it,” Samuel said. “Yasmin can testify to that.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Yasmin retorted sharply.

“Merely that you have been battling those restraints for the past ten minutes and haven't gotten anywhere,” Samuel shrugged.

“Yeah, well you wait until I get out of these, you-”

“Guys, this is no time to argue!” Liam interrupted firmly. “Enough. Yasmin, stop struggling, you'll only wear yourself out. And Samuel, that's not very helpful.”

Yasmin sighed but obeyed, and Samuel simply shrugged again. Liam glanced at Chris, whom he worried most about. He was clearly fighting to be brave, but he was only a kid...

“Hang in there, Chris...” he said. “You're doing great. And this was not your fault.”

Chris nodded mutely. Liam was almost sure he felt his young age had somehow made this mess his fault. But it wasn't. Just then, they heard the queen return. And the sight made Liam's eyes widen in horror.

The sand crunched under Kami's feet as she pushed on, her stitch more painful with every breath. The heat was weighing her down too. She was panting, covered in sticky sweat, and completely lost. She was getting exhausted, as well. But she knew only too well she could not stop. But what was she supposed do now? She couldn't just run forever! It was impossible physically, and besides, it wouldn't solve the problem: saving her friends and family. Liam's eyes urging her to flee and save herself tore at her heart. How had she not seen it before? It was so obvious to her now... and she had no idea if she would ever get a chance to tell him anymore.

No! She chided herself. I can't think like that. I have to keep thinking it will work out. They will be okay. I will get them out and we'll be fine. If I don't... I'll go crazy.

She wished she could feel as confident as she wanted to... what was one seventeen year old to do against a woman with such terrifying powers? Glancing over her shoulder to see if the shadow was still after her, she noticed it wasn't. Or she couldn't see it anyway. Unable to take it anymore, she slowed down and stopped, bent double and gasping for breath. Running a hand through her hair, she looked around, as if hoping to get a sudden epiphany by staring at endless dunes of sand. Just then, a hiss made her look round. The shadows had found her! Without stopping to think, she ran in the other direction, but stumbled and rolled down a deep dune, the hot sand hard and rough against her skin. She only just had time to close her eyes to keep any sand from snaring them. At last, Kami stopped and lay on the floor dazed. She felt like she would pass out.

“No...” she muttered desperately.

But before she could react, the shadows were on her, pinning her arms down as the Shadow Queen stood over her. Kami didn't even have the strength to try and break free.

“It was a valiant attempt, but you could never have outrun me.” she told Kami softly.

Kami's vision blurred and faded into blackness.