Chapter 7: 100 Klicks
Unlike training, Ezra was running with no real goal in mind except to get as far as he could from the memories of the last several months.
The teenager was scared that if he used the force, Kanan would find him and he would be risking the safety of everyone.
"No..I can never use the force again." He thought to himself as he continued through the dense forest.
Branches slapped past him, he didn't try and dodge them, except for the ones that would cause major damage.
He wasn't wanted. He was going to hurt everyone. His family was disappointed in him. Every single negative thought, fear, and sad memory kept slamming into his mind dragging the teen lower and lower into depression and closer to the goal of the dark user.
"Do you see now young one. I tried to tell you. They think you are some kind of monster. They wanted you gone. You don't see them looking for you…Hera is actually going to stay with her new family. They were going to abandon you." The voice actually sounded very soothing, but Ezra wasn't in the mood to listen to anyone right now.
"Go away! This is all because of you!" Ezra shouted at the nothingness as he ran.
"How is it because of me? I've only been trying to talk to you. In fact, I will leave your mind if you promise to come see me. That is all, just a harmless face to face chat." Ezra stopped, he was out of breath this time.
"Wait…So if I come see you, you promise that you will leave my mind and never come back? Why do I keep having seizures? Will those stop too?" Had anyone been watching, they would have thought the teenager was crazy because he was staring up at the branches talking to no one.
"I promise young one. The seizures are merely me being forced out. If I'm not forced, there will be no seizure and no pain." The voice crooned softly. Because of his state of mind, Ezra was finding it calming and didn't bother to think. Had he, Ezra would have immediately known he was lying.
"How can I trust you? You tried to kill me and Kanan." The teen was on his own now, no one was going to look after him so he needed to take all precautions.
"That was not me young Jedi. That was my apprentice going against my wishes. You and your master were not to be harmed. He disobeyed; You saw the fate that happened to him. He was supposed to be there to talk, nothing more." Ezra nodded slightly as he continued.
"Alright…So where can I find you? And I…. I don't have any kind of transportation." The youth had stopped looking up and was just looking down at the ground, waiting for his instructions.
He started trying to think on how he could locate a ship and get to his new destination.
"I am on this planet, 100 klicks to the South, at an abandoned temple. I will be waiting for your arrival. Oh and young one? Come alone. I don't want to deal with the people who have hurt you. It would not turn out very pretty I'm afraid." The voice faded out as did his presence.
"No problem with that…They're probably not even looking for me…" Ezra looked up to get his bearings.
"South…" Ezra looked around, he would have no way of knowing south unless…
The young Jedi, gone rogue, shut his eyes and ever so slightly opened himself to the force. He "manipulated" it a little as it willed him to return to the ship.
"The force is wrong. I can't go back…The ship is not safe. Besides, tThey don't want me…" He thought to himself as he continued to feel around. Finally, he had his answer and Ezra headed off in the direction he needed.
Kanan ran for what seemed like an hour. Just as he stopped to catch his breath, he heard a speeder bike coming towards him. He turned and recognized Sabine immediately because of her helmet.
"Hera filled us in. We can cover more ground with the bike. Any luck finding the kid?" Her voice was slightly muffled because of the helmet that she wore, but she could be understood perfectly. Kanan shook his head.
"I felt his presence for a second and then it disappeared again. I think he's heading southbound though. I'll drop you back off at the ship and try that way." Kanan got on behind her as they headed back.
"Try again. Hera's already informed Commander Sato that she is remaining with you to search for Ezra and find some kind of cure for him. You know Kanan, she feels horrible and is blaming herself, so maybe be a little nicer to her when you see her next." Sabine dodged trees and shrubs easily as they sped through.
"Then I need to at least head back and get Ezra's lightsaber. He didn't take it with him. I hope that kid hasn't gotten himself in trouble." He was half yelling over the noise of the bike. Sabine nodded, arriving at the ship moments later.
"Yeah, trouble does seem to follow the kid." She said dryly as she took her helmet off.
Hera had left with Zeb to check in the city as a just in case. Chopper greeted them explaining this tasering Kanan for good measure.
Sabine radioed Hera.
"I picked up Spectre 1. He's grabbing some supplies and we're heading to a new location." The girl waited a few moments before she got her response.
"Alright Spectre 5. Spectre 4 and I are heading back now. We'll rendezvous and fly, it will be safer and quicker." Hera's voice was a little crackly from poor reception.
"Copy that Spectre 2. We'll be waiting." The Mando teen clipped the com back onto her belt before locating their leader and updating Kanan.
"We don't have time to wait around." The Jedi had clipped both sabers to his belt and was fixing to leave as Hera and Zeb pulled up.
"It will be easier to find him from the sky love." Kanan could hear the guilt in her voice. She wouldn't look at him.
The older human sighed and nodded.
"You're right, Thanks. Keep us as low to the trees as you can." They all clambered up to the cockpit and took off.
As one of the suns broke the horizon. The crew had yet to find their youngest member.
Ezra finally collapsed from exhaustion. Had he really been running all night?
The sun was starting to peek through the trees. The young Jedi saw that he had landed in a mossy area. He sat up shakily looking around before forcing himself up.
"South…" He turned in a direction and started to walk. He had already covered a lot of ground. How the teen had been running all night was a surprise to even him. The forest had thinned out greatly and was almost a plain of tall grasses. He continued to walk, running when he had the energy.
With no one to talk to Ezra became lost in his thoughts and memories. He started to hate himself even more wondering why the others hadn't dumped him sooner.
"I just get in their way and cause trouble." He kicked a rock and sent it flying.
"If I would have known this person just wanted to talk I would have done this months ago…none of this wouldn't have happened and it would have saved Kanan a month of recovery…I wonder what they want to talk about anyway…" He continued walking. He hid under the cover of grass as he heard a ship fly-by overhead. It had made two rounds but the youth didn't bother to look up, he figured it was just an Imperial ship. His focus remained on the ground.
"I could have sworn I sensed something in that field…Thanks for the second fly-by Hera…" Kanan along with the other crew members were exhausted trying to find his student.
"Hey, according to this chart there is an old temple near-by." The Mandalorian had been checking maps and searching around the any possible locations of their missing member.
"Yes, it was turned into a "secret" Imperial landing base during the clone wars. It's probably abandoned and forgotten. Maybe that's where he's going. Let's try there Hera. Good job Sabine. "Kanan said as he stood up to go get more coffee.
"Alright love, but first I need to return and refuel. We're running low and if we have to make a quick escape we won't make it too far." Hera was doing better, but still felt bad. Kanan had apologized again, but his sole focus was on Ezra at the moment.
"How long is that going to take?" Kanan had stopped, turning around and watching her.
"Probably a few hours depending on the line at the bay…You…don't want to wait that long though…" She sighed. The Twi-lek didn't even have to ask.
"I'll drop you off to continue going that way. First sign of trouble and I'm sending Zeb in the Phantom okay?"
"Right. I'll most likely be at the temple by the time you return." Kanan spoke as he left the cockpit heading for the ramp. Hera moved a little lower so Kanan could open the ramp and jump out. The pilot turned the ship around and headed for the city.
"Stay Safe Spectre 1. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Copy that Spectre 2." Kanan didn't watch her take off. He continued his trek to locate Ezra.
