The A Team

Chapter Twelve

Trigger warning: mild violence

Mumbo struggled to open his eyelids. They felt like they weighed a ton, and pushing them open was no easy task. He was sprawled in the grass on his back, staring at the canopy of trees above. The sky was beginning to transition into a deep ocean blue and twinkling stars winked down at him.

"Why am...?" Mumbo managed before he felt his head pound. "Ugghhh"

He hulled himself up onto his elbows and raised one hand to rub his temples.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement.

"Iskall...?"

A groan of affirmation came from the crumpled body next to him.

"What happened...?"

Images flashed behind Mumbo's eyelids.

Screaming. Choking. Masks. Crying. Stress...

"Grian!" Mumbo croaked into the growing darkness. He heard his voice echo and reverberate inside his skull, and he clutched his head in pain.

Mumbo crawled over to a tree and used the lower branches to pull himself into a standing position. His heart thumped loudly in his chest and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"GRIAN! STRESS!"

Iskall had finally roused himself and sat up. The look on his face was as helpless as Mumbo felt.

Mumbo stumbled over to him and grabbed his arm.

"Get up! We have to go! We have to get the others!"

Iskall stayed seated as Mumbo desperately tried to pull him up.

"They took them" He whispered with a petrified expression as he stared into the trees. "They just... took them!"

Mumbo continued to pull on him.

"Iskall we have to get help! we have to go after them"

Iskall ignored him. He ripped his arm from Mumbo's grasp and stood, his face turning red as he mounted in anger.

"How dare... How could..." He was so angry he couldn't even form a sentence.

"Iskall come on! Please!" Mumbo felt desperate.

"I swear I will rip them to shreds!" Iskall continued, his fists shaking.

"Iskall... Iskall please" Mumbo felt something hot and wet run down his cheeks as he begged. "We... we have to go. We... we have to..."

He couldn't continue.

Iskall finally turned to look at him and his face instantly softened. He slowly wrapped his arms around his tall friend.

Mumbo choked out a sob as he reciprocated the hug.

"Iskall... what do we do?"

Iskall rubbed circles on his back soothingly.

"We do exactly what you just said. We go get everyone else"

He pulled away and shook Mumbo's shoulders slightly.

"It is going to be fine. Grian and Stress are strong, and they know that we will never stop looking for them"

Mumbo took in a shaky breath and nodded. Iskall patted his arm and let go.

"Now come on. It's almost dark"

The two half walked, half carried each other through the trees. The snow that had begun to melt under the sun had refrozen, and their feet slipped on the black ice. By the time they arrived back at the base, the moon was high in the night sky and the ground had frozen solid.