Torment-A KOTLC Fanfic

Chapter 44

Hey guys! I'm on time! Sorry for updating a bit later (in my time zone at least), but its on time! I had Pep Band today and got home only recently. Anyway, I hope you guys have had a great start to February! Did anyone do anything for the superbowl *insert obligatory how 'bout dem chiefs here*? I hung out with some of my friends that are super into football, including LightLeopard (Me.Snuggles). I hope you guys have been having a good time, and if not I promise it gets better. Finally, as always, Enjoy!
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       After what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, he heard something. A sound that filled him with hope. He heard the faint noise of footsteps. They were far away, but they were there. Someone else was here. He had a shot. He imagined himself yelling for help, but didn’t scream out loud. He wasn’t sure that he could if he tried. He tried to mimic what telepaths did when they were transmitting, hoping that whoever was coming was by some chance a telepath that happened to be strong enough to sense his mental pleas. He guessed the chances of those exact circumstances going down were somewhere around 1 in 3000.

        But apparently, this was that 1.

        He heard the footsteps speed up, into the pace of a run, followed by a few words. Whoever was coming was too far away for him to understand what they were saying, but they were growing closer by the second. 

        Soon, he heard one set of footsteps stop, and a gasp rang out. Well that’s reassuring, He thought. The next thing he knew someone was rolling him onto his back and gripping his wrist, then they sighed. It sounded like a sigh of relief, which made him relax a bit. That’s when he fell into utter exhaustion, worse than it had been moments before. The little trick he used to get these people’s attention had drained him a lot more than he realized. He finally recognized a pull coming from the back of mind, and it was strong. He wanted to let it take him away, it felt so warm and welcoming, and he was about to. Until someone started talking, and any color that had been in his face drained as he recognized the voice.

       "No," Linh said, and it made Tam’s heart splinter into a million pieces. He wanted to tell her that he was okay, and he’d be fine. But he didn’t have the energy. "Is he….."

       “No,” The other, closer voice responded. He recognized that one too, and would have smiled if he could have. Of course Sophie would be the one to hear his plea. "Can you hail Elwin and ask him to be ready for us?" 
There was a slight pause.

       "I don’t have a crystal to Foxfire," Linh answered, sounding hopeless and defeated. Hearing her like that made his heart feel a thousand times heavier, and he wished he could wrap her in a hug and promise it was okay. But it was hard enough to resist the pull and keep breathing, moving in any way is out of the question.

        "I'm not sure if he would even be strong enough for a leap." Sophie admitted. Tam silently agreed. " I saw some cliffs through a thinner patch of trees a little farther back. They should be tall enough to teleport." He could feel himself getting weaker, just holding semi-consciousness was getting to be too much. 

       He tried to use the transmitting trick again, he attempted to tell Sophie Please, tell everyone I’m okay. But he was too weak. All of his strength was gone. All he could get out was, please, before he was completely drained again. The pull returned, stronger this time. He wanted so badly to let it take him away.

       We’re here Tam. Just stay with me, Sophie transmitted, making him try harder. The pull was almost irresistible by now, he could barely hold it back.  Please. You waited this long, just hang in there a little longer. He could feel the desperation in her transmission, and he tried fighting it back again. Sadly, the pull was winning. You're stronger than this, so you HAVE to stay strong. For Linh.

       That was all he needed.

       The reminder of why he was fighting. For his sister. For the group. For Biana. It was enough to banish the pull, or at least most of it. But that took whatever energy he had left. He lost the small grip he had on consciousness, and finally fell into a blissful sleep. The last thought on his mind before he went under, was an image. An image and a promise. He saw the image of a beautiful girl with brown hair and teal eyes, and silently vowed to her that he would see her soon. He would see everyone soon.

       "I think she’s coming back." Someone said nearby. Their voice was familiar, like it had an accent she couldn't quite place. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder."Stay calm, alright Sophie? Everything’s going to be okay."