Drakan (The Chronicles of Eli) [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 21

       

        The sun sat at its highest point in the sky. Its soft rays seeped through the thin clouds, shinning directly down on Eli. He shielded his eyes as he remained sitting on the highest branch the tree offered. A cool breeze passed by, weaving itself in and out of his hair. Eli pushed his bangs out of his sights and scanned the immediate area. Still he saw no one. He looked down at his watch before letting his arm fall to the side, as he leaned back against the truck. Where is she? She should’ve been here by now.

        Eli found himself thinking about how all this started out. How not to long ago he lived everyday as a normal day. How his best friend of years was willing to throw all of it away in a blink of a second. How all this time he had been living with Vampires and never knew. And Valen? How could he have kept….

        Flowers and an assortment of exotic fruits caressed the hairs of his nose and latched to its walls. The romantic scent pulled him from his thoughts and sent his eyes flying to his right. Once they fell on Abigail he smiled. She’s the one person I know that will come to Black Forest drenched in perfume, he thought as he shook his head. Eli stayed perched on the branch and watched her movements.

        Abigail stood and looked down at the piece of paper she held in her hands. She looked up for a second before eyeing the parchment once more. She then folded it and held it in her hand as her eyes roamed around. Abigail turned in a complete circle. Not seeing who she came to see, she sighed and began to unfold the piece of parchment. Eli looked down at his watch again and saw that his time was running out. He placed the straps to his backpack over his shoulders and stood. Before he turned and began heading down the tree, he took one last look at Abigail.

        The sight left him bamboozled. He shook his head while his countenance flustered. Is she…sniffing the air? The question rang loudly in his ears, repeating itself over and over again. Although the piece of parchment was at face level, Eli’s eye level was much higher. He saw her trying to hide her animal like behavior, despite her attempt to hide it.

                    “I know you’re here Eli”

        His brows shot up. How is that possible? Distracted, Eli began to walk backwards. He looked down just as his foot left the comfort of the branch. He fluttered about trying to remain balanced. With his arms outstretched and one leg in the air, Eli quickly found his balance. He looked slightly to his left and spotted Abigail. She turned his way, looked up and smiled.

        The shock from her awareness was just enough to send him off the edge. A loud gasp emitted from the bottom of the tree. Eli fell through one branch, and then bounced off another. Falling, head first, he crashed into yet another tree. He tried his best to reach out and grab hold of a stable branch but the ones he tried were too feeble.  Eli looked around, as he continued to fall, and realized there was only one branch left. Panic and anxiety rushed through him like a ragging storm. The weight of his fall was carrying him toward the end of the branch instead of towards the middle as he would’ve liked.

        He only had one shot. Eli unlatched the straps over his shoulders and held his pack in his left hand. One shot. After taking a deep breath, he clutched the strap tighter and held up his right hand. The last branch came closer in sight. In that instance everything slowed. Eli zoomed in on the edge of the branch and readied his arm. 10 inches, 7 inches, 3 inches. Eli flung his arm outward then quickly brought it in, simultaneously reaching his right arm toward the branch.

        A broken stem pierced his palm as his fingers wrapped around the branch. A loud screech emitted from his mouth as he latched the strap to the branch. With clenched teeth, Eli pulled his hand slowly off the stem. His lungs burned and his eyes searched for a solution. He looked to the ground and saw that he wasn’t as close as he thought. SNAP. Eli’s head immediately turned to the sound on his right. The branch was breaking.