Running
Voor Ultimate Queen of Cliffies
op haar twintigste verjaardag
PART I:
They were running through the forest.
He could barely see a thing. What little was discernible in the dark mostly appeared as a blur.
All he could hear was the air rushing about his ears.
He felt numb. The icy wind whipped his face. His boots separated his feet from the ground. All he could feel was her hand gripped tightly in his.
Vaguely, he thought he heard her voice floating back to him, but he could not determine the words. Suddenly, the meaning became clear when he ran directly into what he presumed was a tree. So that was what she had been trying to tell him. He wondered briefly how she was able to see anything in here, but he had no time to dwell on the thought as he was jerked back to reality with a sharp tug on his hand. Returning his attention to the task at hand, he began running after her once more, his heart pounding in his chest.
For how long had they been running like this? It couldn't have been any more than half an hour, but it felt like an eternity. He wished he knew where they were running to; in which direction they were heading. But he could not answer those questions. They were simply running. They weren't running to any place in particular; they weren't running towards anything at all. They were trying to run away. To escape.
They were closing in. He could feel it. He didn't have to see them or hear them; he just knew. And what's more, he knew that she knew. She always knew these things before he did. As much as he wanted to stop and rest his weary body, he knew he couldn't. He had to keep pushing on. For her sake. For their sake. He couldn't give up now. He had risked too much. He had risked his life. What was the point in doing that and not keep fighting for it?
Behind him, he heard the crack of thunder. Mere moments later, lightning lit up the sky, and he saw her silhouette and the outline of the trees before them so briefly he didn't have time to register what exactly it was he was seeing.
Fortunately, she did, and suddenly he found himself taking an unexpected right. When the next flash of lightning crossed the sky, however, he realized one of the tall trees had been hit by the lightning and was making a rapid descent to the ground. He thanked Oz for her amazing night vision and kept running.
The next thing he felt was the rain. As lighting lit the sky yet again, the heavens opened up, raindrops piercing his skin like knives. Thankfully, his uniform was very thick, but he was more worried about her than he was about himself. Her dress was rather thin and the rain was leaving a stinging sensation in its wake. He started to slacken his pace slightly, but she kept running, her actions leaving no room for argument. He pulled against her – too hard. His hand slipped out of her grasp and they both stumbled. He quickly righted himself and helped her do the same. Before she could yell at him or protest, he shed himself of his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She flashed him a grateful smile as she pulled her arms through the sleeves and buttoned it up, then he took her hand again and they kept running.
They didn't run much further. They couldn't. For there, standing in front of them, were the soldiers. Not all of them, but some. Enough to outnumber them and prevent them from doing anything. One wrong move and it would be over. He didn't know what to do. He had to protect her at all costs. Facing spears and rifles, he lunged forward, pushing her behind him.
A shot resounded throughout the night skies.
