Chapter 8

A great stillness…

~Emma Taylin~

The chaos of the rocks ended in a deafening silence, one that bit at her ears. Emma coughed through the sobs that were wracking her body. Her shoulders heaved uncontrollably up and down. She couldn’t see through the tears, but still she tried to see Forest. To see if he was alive…

Everything in her body shook at the raw fear of him having died saving her, it made getting out from under his limp body all the harder. But she managed. She spun around trying to see him, but it was all a blur. So her trembling hands slowly moved to where she last felt him. As her almost numb fingers touched him, there was no movement.

Her breathing got haggard as she desperately tried to get the stones lying on top of his back off. The more she swiped, the more she realized what he had saved her from.

It was too much.

Her mind screamed that no one could have survived that. But her heart couldn’t bear that reality. Not for a second…

She wiped at her tears, yet it only added dust to the wet streaks. It got worse, so she grabbed the collar of her shirt finally and wiped at her face. However, her tears didn’t stop.

There were no sounds. Not one apart from her sobs.

Emma wailed into the cave, her keen piercing through that weight of silence. As desperately tried her best to ease the weight off of Forest… her friend… Hiro…

“H-H-HELP… please… please… I can’t…” She shouted, still fearfully trying to get all the rocks and gravel off of him.

Then a hand clapped over her mouth.

Emma stiffened. It wasn’t Forest.

But instead of fearing for her own safety, she pulled forward and hugged herself to Forest, protecting his limp body.

“Get awaaay… GET AWAY!”

Yet a moment later, a familiar voice stopped her line of thought.

“Emma, lower your voice!”

“Yandré?” She asked loudly.

A hand moved over her mouth and he said, “Shhh. It’s dangerous Ems. Wait… is that Fores—”

Emma began to cry again, but kept her voice as low as she could through her sobs. “Yandré, you have to help, I can’t see if he is okay!”

Everything got quiet as she heard rustling and a couple of noises she couldn’t place.

After a few seconds, a single word sprung out.

“Dammit.”

Horrified, Emma almost shouted,

“What?!”

A blurry hand drifted to her shoulder and settled on it.

“No.” Emma blurted. “It can’t be!”

“Ems, quiet down. He is breathin—“

“Is-Is he okay?”

“Let me speak will you?” Yandré said exasperated, but a seriousness slipped into his voice. “He’s in bad shape Emma… I don’t know if we can save him.”

“We have to try!” Emma sobbed but did her best to keep her voice down.

A cloth then dabbed at her face, getting the most of her tears and the dust. As she opened her eyes again, her vision had cleared. Yandré’s face was close to hers, his eyes were intense, but with a warmth in them.

Finally, Yandré said, “I’ll try my best Ems, remember, he’s my friend too.”

Emma just nodded, trying to be brave in the situation.

She had always been borderline fearless. But the moment Forest’s body went limp above her —in the rock shower— it broke open doors she held closed for years.

“But listen, Emma,” Yandré said sternly, “Things are different this side, we are in danger.”

Emma wiped at a stray tear, but then clarity of the situation started coming back. She looked up at the closed off cavern.

“Where is the sea?”

“I don’t know… But Emma listen, we need to move him. We can’t stay here.”

Emma nodded, she didn’t understand, but she was familiar with emergency protocols. So she blew out a deep breath and steeled herself.

“Okay,” She said, “We have a forward base—“

Yandré’s look silenced her, as he stare over her shoulder.

“This wasn’t here when we came here. Maybe… Emma, how far was the forward base? Tell me quickly.”

“A few hundred meters that way… But what’s going on Yandré?” She asked nervously, the way he kept glancing in all directions unnerved her.

“I can’t explain here, Emma, trust me on this, we don’t have that luxury. The base—”

A noise in a side cave made Yandré jerk, Emma couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Yandré gritted his teeth.

“We can’t stay her— Quiet!” He hissed as the noise became louder. It sounded like footsteps. Emma’s eyes were wide when he hurriedly grabbed her flashlight and shut it off before pushing her down onto the ground and dropped down flat himself. She could hardly keep the fear down as he silently pointed to the other direction of the cave. Past the strewn about rocks from the earthquake, or whatever it was, two darkly clad figures ran through the massive cavern, only to pause to glance around, searching.

Yandré’s hand signals were frantic for her to stay quiet and down. It only brought panic to the situation.

Emma blinked and looked back to the two people, but they were just gone. Her breathing intensified. Yandré had made it clear they were in danger… What was going on?

His gaze drifted towards her, and she glared her questions into him. But instead of saying anything, he pressed his index finger to his lips.

She could just nod.

Slowly he got up and motioned that she stay down. Her first reaction was to get up, but the urgency in his eyes made her stay. She shifted over to Forest as Yandré moved off silently.

This was the first time she got to look at Forest since…

She shivered. The image was imprinted in her mind, him going limp above her. But the slight movement of his chest was enough to shine a sliver of hope. She bit her lip and tried to see where he was hurt.

There was blood all over his shirt, hinting at what was underneath. Emma took a shuddering breath to keep off the tears that threatened to spill…

Be okay Forest…just be okay…

~Yandré Skai~

Yandré held his hand to his chest. The aching had gotten worst since he had run to warn Eria of the stranger.

But before he could reach the area which led up to Haven’s Scar, a piercing wail filled the air. It sounded like a girl in great pain. The thought of Eria being in danger was enough to make him push his body harder to reach her. He didn’t care about his ribs at that moment.

But then within a minute it became clear, the wail came from a different passage. Yandré had followed it to find the original cavern, the one he had not yet been able to get back to and there was Emma sitting over Forest.

Yet now he was stalking in the direction of the now two strangers in their weird armor. Yandré’s heart beat irregularly in his chest. It was as scary or even scarier than the quilled beast, if they were hostile. People were cunning… they solved problems, where monsters couldn’t.

Although, he couldn’t be sure as to if they were hostile yet.

Yandré tried his best not to grunt with pain as his muscles tensed the next moment when a voice filtered through the passage.

-“Samé, where was that noise from?”

-“I don’t know… it stopped before I could get to you.”

Yandré held his breath as he leaned softly against the rock wall.

-“You should have gone to scout immediately Samé.”

There was a pause before the female voice said, “I was distracted…”

A questioning grunt followed.

-“Fine, I saw a male at the waterfall, I was still deciding what to do…”

-“Samé! YOU KNOW THE RULES!”

A nervous whimper flitted through the passage.

-“I-I’m sorry…”

Then the noise of hurrying footsteps disappeared further down the passage. Yandré breathed in deeply. It sounded as if they were heading away at a speed. But… what was worrying, was the fact that the female, Samé, had not followed the rules. The real fear of it being attacked on sight was not far from his mind. For a moment Yandré wanted to follow them, but Forest being in the state that he was… every second counted.

He hurried back through the passage and within a few minutes found the cavern. As he reached Emma and Forest, he again looked at the now completely blood soaked right side of Forest. He grimaced, this was not good. The only chance Forest had was the forward scouting base Emma had talked of.

His eyes darted back to the cavern and first glanced at the one the strangers disappeared through and then the one that led the complex of caves that led to Eria.

She was probably freaking out by now. He had been gone too long.

But with a sigh, he leaned down and said,

“Help me get Forest onto my back. We need to hurry.”

Emma sat up startled at his sudden presence but nodded a moment later.

With her help the limp body of Forest was dragged up onto his back, the man’s arms around his neck.

Yandré grunted as he forced himself up with the added weight of Forest. His legs burned on the upward press, but the real pain was in his side as the added tension was pressing against his ribs.

The pain was horrible, but Forest was his friend and so he endured.

“Do you need help?” Emma asked the next moment.

But Yandré forced the words out.

“Just show the way.”

*

As Yandré rounded the corner of a passage, the forward scouting came into view. It was more a row of smaller tents and two larger ones marked as housing emergency medical supplies, than a base. But Yandré took what he got.

He hurried into the closest medical tent and dropped Forest on the portable stretcher there and grunted holding his side.

With a push to the side, he shoved a worried Emma a little back and grabbed a pair of scissors and cut Forest’s shirt off of his back. The blood made it stick to wounds and Yandré worried that they won’t be able to tend to Forest’s wounds. But with a little help from Emma, the shirt came off.

The sheer amount of cuts and bruises stunned both of them into silent.

Yandré noted Emma trying to still the trembling that threatened to burst forth. His first instinct was to comfort her, but there were no two ways about it.

Forest was in a bad shape.

With a groan, he dragged his hand through his hair. But when he eyed Emma and Forest again, he set off to start treating the man as best as he could. It helped that everyone that signed up for the expedition had to be trained in CPR and field wound treatment.

But even so, his nerves were taking a beating as he meticulously cleaned the worst of the open wounds. At least there were only two bigger than five centimeters. Though, that was a worry onto itself. They were bleeding away Forest’s lifeblood.

At least Forest’s shirt had kept most of the dust and dirt of the event out.

As he cleaned, he tasked Emma with dabbing the smaller wounds with disinfectant. The minutes passed slowly and the open wounds glared at them. Finally done with cleaning the wounds, Yandré turned to Emma and asked, “How steady are your hands at the moment?”

Her gaze dropped to her hands and he held out his own. A frown formed on her forehead and finally she shook her head.

“I don’t know… yours look steadier Yandré.”

A sigh escaped him. Emma was more precise than him in a normal situation. But it can’t be helped.

He steeled himself and took hold of the thread and needle.

His hands threatened to shake as he brought it Forest’s skin, but he quickly recovered and started closing the wound one bit a time. It wasn’t perfect, but it would prevent the worst of the scarring.

Al his nervousness funneled into his foot as it tapped on the ground at a brisk pace. He feared for Forest… but there was a real and pressing danger of what was moving around in these caves. If something came through that passage…

He shuddered and shook his head clear, his hands had started shaking. But with a deep breath, it steadied again.

He eyed Emma to the side and she was already busy getting the stash of bandages and antiseptics from the side when suddenly the tent flew open and figure entered.

Yandré spun around and grabbed the sword he had placed on the field table. Within seconds, he leveled it at the newcomer.

Emma gasped and so did Selia who was standing in the door, but they were both staring at him wielding the sword.

“Whoa! Yandré, relax!” Selai uttered, raising her hands in a calming gesture.

Yandré breath whooshed out of him as he lowered the sword and placed it back on the table. As he glanced to the side, Emma had clearly been surprised by his reaction. He shrugged, there was no use telling them of the monsters yet…

He leveled his gaze at Selia and asked, “Where are the others?”

Selia’s head jerked up from staring at the wounded Forest, a bewildered look on her features.

“Wait, where did you come from? We have been searching everywhere for you and Eria! And what on earth happened to Forest?”

Emma started sniffing to the side and then said, “F-Forest saved me… the earthquake… r-rocks fell everywhere!” Her speech was broken through her tears. But the girl composed herself somewhat when she said, “Yandré found us afterward.”

Selia was in thought for a second, but she looked to him and said, “Forest and Emma aside, where have you been?”

Yandré didn’t himself. It had been a puzzle from moment one. So he shrugged and said, “I don’t know myself. But as much as catching up is important, there just isn’t time. We need to get Forest stable, and then we need to get to safety.”

Selia looked poised to say something else when a growl from a quilled beast echoed in the distant. It sounded closer than last time.

Yandré eyed Emma. The girl’s wail could cause some real big trouble.

“What was that?” Emma hissed.

Their reactions to the chilling sound clearly warranted his immediate attention. Another sigh escaped him. He had hoped to leave this conversation off to when they were safe.

“Listen to me—“

“It sounded like...”

“Oi! Listen, you two.”

In a moment they spun back to him, to his relief.

“I’ve been up against one those things that growled just now, and let me say this; If we don’t hurry and get Forest patched up and move somewhere safe… Falling rocks would be the very least of our troubles.”

Emma hugged an arm around her middle as she glanced outside.

“What is out there, Yandré?” Selia leveled seriously the next moment.

“A monster.”

Silence followed and Yandré regarded the two before he went on the wrap bandages around Forest’s entire torso.

On the one turn, he turned to Emma and Selia and said, “You two grab all the medical supplies you can find and stuff it in a rucksack. Get your sleeping gear, but keep it light weight. Everything luxury wise can stay for now. Oh and Selia, who assisted you in the coordination effort?”

Selia paused, startled before she stammered, “I uh it was Alan.”

That was good. Maybe they would lucky.

“Did he bring his garlic in raw form like usual?”

“Yes, um why?”

Yandré sighed in relief. If they were to help Forest, they would all the field supplies they could get. Garlic happened to be a great antiseptic. He just hoped they could get it to grow in one of the light crystal caverns. Forest’s healing was not going to be fast and the last thing he wanted to worry about was infections. The meager supply of antiseptic wouldn’t have cut it.

“I’ll tell you later,” He said a few seconds later, “But for now get that and get ready for leaving.”

“But what the others? Alan, Yuki, Emma’s father? Shouldn’t we get them?”

Yandré groaned, if they had to search for the others, the risk would just get bigger and bigger… and he feared Eria too.

Still, he nodded and said, “Where were they last?”

Selia got a confused look and said, “Um, I don’t know… The passage they left through was in the direction of the waterfall, but I tried going there, but there is just a rock wall now. I don’t understand how it happened? There should have been a big noise with that kind of cave in. But nothing…”

Yandré wiped a hand over his forehead, so it happened again.

“It was the same with me and Eria,” He said, “One moment we were standing at the edge of the cliff looking at the camera and the next it was a rock wall and the other half of that cavern… Can’t explain it. But if what you said was true, then they are in different cave set than ours. There’s no way we can get through to them from here if the tunnel to the waterfall is blocked off.”

His statement clearly lanced into the two girls as they started babbling. But there was no time to waste on trying to figure anything out, so he barked, “Hey! Get ready! We’ll figure all this out somewhere that is safe… okay, Emma? Okay, Selia?”

They stopped and both looked at him with uncertainty, before Emma nodded silently and moved off.

Selia stayed a moment longer before she moved off as well.

*

Outside the tent, Yandré dropped to one knee next to the skeleton with the armor. Without even the slightest hesitation, he picked up the scabbard for the sword he had. It was dangerous enough to have the thing, never mind having to carry it around without a holster.

He fumbled with the belt and with a little pull, got it loose. It was a shame the armor itself was too big for any of them. Maybe with some time and the right kind of tools it could have been resized, but it wasn’t to be today.

After checking the tunnel to the others of the search team, it was indeed blocked off. He just hoped they got stuck on the right side of this madness.

With a grunt, he got ready for the next part of the trip. At least with Selia and the portable stretcher, they could carry Forest together, unlike the previous go. He held his side. It was never his intention to push himself so hard after he had been struck. But things changed, and the presence of those two strangers complicated matters big time.

He lifted the flap of the tent and inside stood Emma and Selia both with rucksacks on their backs. Emma even had an extra knapsack. The two had started to protest earlier about going away from the forward scouting base, but he then went on to the describe the monster that was roaring in the distance. The size was what silenced both of them. He hadn’t wanted to scare them, but it was necessary at the time.

Now they stood ready and he grabbed the one side of the stretcher with Forest on it and asked,

“You ready for this?”

“No.”

“Nope.”

But they took hold of the stretcher on both sides and he smiled weakly. It was better than nothing.

The trek to Haven’s Scar began.

© Omri Hope 2016. All Rights Reserved.