Not That Far

Chapter 11-The Hunt

  I must've dosed off sometime or other because I was jolted awake from a two-minute dream near sunrise by the shouts of people not that far away. I was on my feet in an instant, shaking my companions and scrambling for my pack. Shay was up and moving as soon as he heard the voices, his motions controlled and precise. Drayan was much slower to rise. He even tried to go back to sleep.

  "C'mon Dray, get up." I pulled him into a sitting position as Zurii got to her feet.

  "Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh..." He groaned, climbing wearily to his feet. I scattered the ashes of last night's fire while Shay quickly and efficiently rolled up our blankets. Drayan only managed to get in the way.

  "Come on already!" Shay whispered-shouted impatiently at the both of us. He was already mounted on Zurii's back and ready to leave.

  "It's too early." Drayan complained, dragging his feet. Something told me that he wasn't a morning person...

  "Last warning!" Shay proclaimed in a sing-song whisper, grinning from ear to ear. "You don't wanna make Teirin mad!"

  "I'll take my chances." he grumbled, shooting him a bleary glare.

  "You asked for it then." I growled, finally losing my patience as I climbed onto Zurii's back and hauled him up behind me by the collar of his shirt. The moment Drayan was on she was off a shot. He woke up after that.

  She bounded silently away from the scene, avoiding the deep drifts that piled up under the trees. I don't think we were discovered because they didn't give chase. But they might be shadowing us, I had no way of knowing for sure.

  After a few hours of nothing but hard riding, we slowed for food. We couldn't afford to stop for an actual meal though. So we ate on the move. We paused for only a few precious minutes so Zurii could eat.

  Sometime after noon I heard them again. But my companions didn't seem to. I kept glancing back, but it was impossible to see through the trees at this speed. I urged Zurii on faster, just to be on the safe side. I was becoming more and more paranoid by this point.

    But it was useless. They caught up to us by dusk and they made sure to leave no way of escaping- they ran beside, in front and behind us, flew above and behind us, we were trapped. They had us completely surrounded with no escape route to be found. And if there's one thing I hate, it's not having an escape route.

    We were forced to stop and raise our hands so that they could see them. I didn't even have to guess who it was. I was even beginning to wish I'd crashed on the other side of this jacked up world. I would've never known my uncle even existed if I'd been that lucky.

  But I was surprised when Daichi himself came into view. So he'd actually came to see my unfortunate capture, how considerate of him. With any luck on his account, I'll be in solitary confinement in the Sanctuary by morning. I was sorely starting to wish I'd died in that cave right about now.

  Zurii had began to rumble darkly when Daichi had come in sight, a signal I knew meant: I'll kill you if you come a millimeter closer. I was afraid to hush her though. If he knew how much sway I had over her...I didn't want to even go there. I knew it'd be bad for the both of us. So I let her snarl, unabated.

  "Good evening." He said pleasantly, as if we were only exchanging cordial greetings as we passed by each other in the hall. He looked anything but pleasant, unfortunately. He was grizzled and disheveled, like he hadn't seen a night's rest since I left. I stared through him however; not even acknowledging his presence.

  "You're at my mercy, Ooarashi, one would expect you to behave like it." he chastised me, giving me a irritated look. I felt the old rage building up inside me, and I was tempted to let it boil over. But I would be running the risk of losing what little control I had. I couldn't kill these people, not even if my life depended on it. So I opted for silence instead of answering my uncle.