Obi-Wan ran.
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He was desperate, every cell in his body was screaming, every neuron in his brain firing as he tried to will himself to go faster. There was nothing, nothing that would stop him from running.
The branches and brambles that sliced his arms to ribbons were the farthest thing in his mind. His lungs burned but he couldn't think about that. He couldn't think about anything except running. But something was wrong. He was slowing down. His body, sore from days of abuse and torture, was starting to give under the immense strain. He couldn't use the adrenaline pumping to keep his body working.
He had to run faster.
He needed to run faster.
If he didn't...
Well, he wouldn't die. But what awaited him was a fate far worse than death.
Obi-Wan slipped, his footing failing, and he slammed face first into the earth. A great roar rose up behind him, rattling his bones, and when Obi-Wan turned to look, his scream echoed through the jungle as he-
Anakin ran.
His body ached, his lungs burned, but he kept running. He had to make it, he had to run faster. She was depending on him. If he didn't reach her in time, she would die.
He was bleeding, the blood soaked through his tunic and splattered onto the sand, staining it as he sprinted towards his destination. He would die, he knew that. The wounds were too severe, too deep for him to be saved. He knew there was no hope, but that wasn't the point. The only thing that mattered was saving her. If he saved her, he could die in peace.
But he wouldn't.
He was slowing down, he couldn't run, couldn't breathe. Spots swam in front of his vision.
He went down, hard, collapsing against the ground. He felt himself slipping away, but he had to do something, anything.
As his final act, he lifted his head and-
Ahsoka ran.
How can he do this? He can't do this. I can't run forever.
She gasped for breath, stumbling blindly. She didn't know where to run, she didn't know what to do, she only knew that she must run. She couldn't stop, she couldn't pause to breathe and look around. There was nowhere to hide, no way to escape, all she could do was run.
He had been hunting her for days. She hadn't slept, hadn't eaten, hadn't thought of anything else but running. It was impossible to stop. She couldn't show weakness, not now, not when she had come so far. He was not going to catch her, not going to tear her apart like he did all the others. She was not going to give up. That wasn't what she'd been taught.
But she couldn't run forever.
She was strong, incredibly strong, stronger than she could have ever imagined.
But she wasn't strong enough.
Enough running. I have to stand and fight.
She turned around, bracing herself, and grabbing her saber.
As she ignited her weapon-
Uh oh! The only thing worse than one cliffhanger is multiple cliffhangers. Super sorry, but I was feeling particularly evil, and instead of writing a super long chapter I decided to break it up into two. What do you think is happening to our padawans? I promise to update soon...or will I? Just kidding, I'll have the second part within the next day or two. Have a great day!