Chapter 25: Vir Venari- The Hunt Is On
Rey blinked at Finn; she felt as if she'd been suddenly awoken from sleep- slightly disoriented. "Of course I'm up for manhunt," She said automatically, she turned to look at Kylo but he had walked away, his shoulders tense.
Rey wondered what would have happened if Finn hadn't arrived at that inopportune moment, it felt as if she and Kylo had been on the cusp of something momentous…
"You okay, Peanut?" Finn asked as he draped an arm around her.
Rey shook herself mentally, quashing the feelings Kylo had elicited moments ago and smiled back at Finn, "I'm fine. So, who are the teams?"
They split into two teams, one led by Kylo and one led by Poe. Maritan and Kenjad had gone back to the dorm to chill out but Jess had stayed on.
Kylo's team consisted of the Knights of course, (Ingalan, Zainmar, Javiell, and Leonmar) as well as Brobard, Shaadr and Ashtjac.
Rey was on Poe's team with Finn, Jess, Ismasta, Muhager, Kalhale and Leojova.
Rey found and pulled her boots back on whilst they worked out which team was the hunters and which team the prey.
Poe's team ended up being prey, and Rey felt her adrenaline spike in anticipation, though the boundary they agreed upon wasn't huge, at least, not to Rey's mind.
It was from the back of their dorm, to the far side of the gym, down to and including the tennis and basketball courts, around the back of the library, the gardens and of course the field they were currently on which was in the middle. They weren't allowed inside any buildings, but to Rey's satisfaction no one mentioned anything about the sides or tops of buildings.
The teams separated for a quick chat on strategy before starting.
"Okay people, I think we should split up into twos, though one shouldn't be held back by the other if it comes to it." Poe stated.
Finn immediately put his arm around Rey, she looked at him in amusement, "Finn can you climb?" She asked.
He frowned and shook his head, "Then sorry, but you should go with Poe, you won't be able to follow where I'm going."
He looked a little hurt so she hugged him, "Doesn't mean I don't still love you."
He smiled back, "Okay, Peanut. So, are any of you good at climbing?" He asked the others.
Ismasta was opening his mouth when Jess grinned at Rey and said first, "I can." And she came up and linked arms with Rey. "Let's show the boys how it's done!"
"Okay," Said Poe laughing, "Finn, do you want to come with me?" Finn nodded fervently and Poe dimpled at him before continuing. "Any preference the rest of you?"
Ismasta and Leojova nodded at each other and Muhager and Kalhale looked at each other and shrugged acceptance too.
"Awesome, so, let's go in different directions too, any preference?"
"Can we have North East," Rey said immediately, then clarified, "Round the gym," when Poe gave her a puzzled look.
"Sure," Poe said, "Finn and I'll go down to the library area, Ismasta you okay to take the courts and Muhager you guys take the dorm area? Cool, then I guess we're ready to go?" Everyone nodded and they went over to the other team, who immediately stopped talking when they saw them approach.
"You have two minutes, then we will come for you." Kylo said seriously, He flashed his dark eyes at Rey for a second, and she shivered, it felt as if those words were meant for her.
"When we catch you, you join us, and you must pass on any information you have on your ex-teammates plans."
Rey watched as those words brought about a change in the posture of hunter and prey alike. The hunters seemed to almost grow in stature, take on a threatening aspect. Of course it didn't help that they had the Knights in their band, all of whom tended to be on the tall, muscular scale.
The prey in their turn started looked shifty, as if they were on the edge of fleeing. And of course they were.
"Go!" Kylo barked at them and they all split off, pounding the earth, hearts racing, adrenaline pumping in their veins.
Rey had to shorten her stride for Jess, it made her think of her run a few nights ago with Kylo, when he had done the same for her... Could it really have been only two nights ago? It felt so much longer.
She shook her head, she could not think of that right now, not think about him. At least not like that.
When she and Jess had cleared the far side of the gym, Rey led Jess to the drain pipe she had climbed previously.
Jess looked at her doubtfully, "Stars, Rey, when you said climb I didn't expect this!"
Rey frowned, "I've done it before, on Tuesday night, it's easy and the roof is large and mostly flat, and there are several other places we can get down."
Jess raised her eyebrows, "If you say so. Perhaps I should go second, I'll probably be slower than you."
Rey chewed her lip, if she went first then Jess may be caught and Rey's position given away, on the other hand if Rey went second she'd be stuck behind Jess.
"Okay if you're sure. Our time is almost up." And Rey started climbing, she was halfway up when what could only be described as a blood curdling war cry, floated to their ears from the field on the other side of the gym.
"Shit, Jess, they are coming!" Rey said, climbing quicker. She scrambled over the lip of the roof then turned and laid down on her stomach reaching down to help Jess get up quicker.
Jess gasped as Rey hauled her over the lip and she fell on top of her. Jess quickly rolled over, gasping for breath.
"Shit, I can't believe we made it! What now?" Jess asked Rey quietly once she got her breath back.
"Now, we crawl away from the edge, as silently as possible." Rey said and began to do just that.
They stopped in the middle and rested on their elbows, unable to be seen. This also meant they were unable to see, which made Rey uncomfortable but she figured they had at least a little time to have a rest.
Jess smiled up at her, "This was a really cool idea, but what the hell were you doing up here on Tuesday night?"
Rey tried to shrug but couldn't because she was leaning on her elbows and only managed a sort of hunch, "I couldn't sleep… I did a lot of climbing back in Jakku, high places were good places to go if you wanted to be left alone. I like to look at the stars."
Jess just nodded thoughtfully. The silence between them stretched, but not uncomfortably. Occasionally their heads would swivel in the direction of shouts or laughs, but no sounds of climbing came.
"So, tonight," Jess said eventually, "Reckon you'll pop your kissing cherry?"
Rey looked at her in bewilderment and Jess let out a soft laugh, "I mean, do you think there is anyone you may like to have your first kiss with?"
"Oh." Rey said faintly, a faint blush on her cheeks and Jess laughed again.
"I can't believe you grew up somewhere that sounds so harsh and yet you're so… innocent. In some ways anyway."
Rey couldn't think how to answer such a statement. Jess gave her a gentle smile, "It's okay, I have a feeling Finn will always be looking out for you now, as will Poe and I."
Rey felt a warmth grow in her chest as she gave Jess a small, grateful smile. "Thank you, I've never had a female friend before… I might not be very good at it, but please don't think it is because I don't appreciate it."
Jess gave her an open mouthed horrified look at that, but Rey put her finger on the other girl's lips, and cocked her head to the side, listening.
There were male grunts, soft but definitely there, they were climbing up the way Jess and Rey had. Jess stiffened too as she heard, looking at Rey with wide eyes.
There was no where appropriate to hide. "Okay, we are going to run, but stay low, they will have split up and there is no use being seen by the others and met at the bottom. I will go down first. Are you ready?" Rey said and Jess nodded.
They went down the middle to the end rather than come off the side that was next to the field, at least the courts would provide some cover and obstacles.
As they ran they heard the hunters hit the roof behind them, shout and start running. Rey didn't waste time looking back.
She took the drain pipe, wishing she had gloves on, Jess was seconds behind her but when Rey reached the bottom Jess was only a few feet down from the top, she looked down at Rey, "Go, they're feet away from me, go!"
Rey gave her a last fleeting look then legged it. At least Jess would slow the hunters in their descent.
From the roof there came a loud whistle, she thought it was some sort of code or communication. Her neck prickled as she ran through the basketball courts, heading for the path that ran between them and the main school building, it was lower down, providing more cover.
An answering whistle pierced the air, off to the north east, she could hear feet pounding the asphalt.
She ran to the west and into the the small wooded area where her favourite bench was. She picked a large, thick bush and dived inside it, hunching in the small open space in the middle. She pulled Finn's hoodie over her mouth and tried her best to calm her breathing, pulse hammering in her throat.
The sound of feet and voices burst through the trees and she went perfectly still, barely daring to breathe at all.
Some of them continued running on, though others paused and she could hear low voices murmuring to each other.
The Knights were hard to pick out, they were all in black after all, but she recognised the timbre of Kylo's voice instinctively.
The sound of the other feet returned, "We can't see her Kylo," She thought that was Muhaga, she wondered how many others of her team were left.
"She was talking about climbing," Finn said, breathing hard and Rey stifled a betrayed groan.
There was a pause and then she heard Kylo say, "We should check the dorm roof then and perhaps the trees around here too."
Rey shivered; the quiet, determined command in his voice was… she shook her head, this was not the time.
So the dorm roof and trees were out. She didn't have time to reconnoitre the school or library roof.
She chewed her lips again as she thought. If they were heading to the dorm area and garden, they wouldn't be anywhere near the gym… she smiled to herself in amusement, she could just go back to the gym roof.
They moved off, but something made her remain where she was, the hair on her arms was still up. Her instincts turned about to be right, almost five minutes had gone by when someone sighed and moved off from the treed area in an easy run.
She waited longer, but the hair had gone down and there was relative silence, so she left the bush cautiously, staying low to the ground.
Rey pulled the hood over her head, leaving the way she had come, going back alongside the school building until she came to the end of the courts, she peered up the top of the incline before heading onto it, going as quickly and as quietly as she could, still crouching low.
The sun was setting, the sky turning pale violet and pink, changing how things looked, casting new shadows to hide in, or to be watched from. All at once Rey heard another whistle, echoing from the north and one answered it to the west. The dorm and the garden areas, had they found others from her team or did it mean they'd found nothing? She wished she knew how many (if any) were left of her team, she only was certain about three being caught.
Rey reached the east side of the gym, giving her relative cover, she was just congratulating herself when a whistle came from much nearer, she turned to see figures running down from the back of the gym. Bloody idjit! She thought at herself and started up the nearest drainpipe she could find. A stream of whistles sounded from her pursuers, and she assumed they were letting others know her position somehow. Fuck nuggets.
But there was no going back, so she went up, thinking furiously. But she was coming up blank, even if she found a free drain pipe to descend she'd be seen as she went down and they'd probably get there before she reached the bottom. If only she had some rope. She growled in frustration. She was going to have to jump.
She ran at full speed up towards the back of the gym, there was a drop of about ten feet onto a lower part of the building and she had noticed the ground at the back of the gym was softer, than elsewhere, probably due to the lack of sunlight. As she ran she heard a shout behind her, then one off to the west, feet started after her, she didn't hesitate, she leaped of the roof onto the lower level, somewhere behind her Jess screamed and she felt a twinge of guilt. Rey absorbed the impact with a roll, tucking her left shoulder so she didn't roll straight, and then tucked her head in so she rolled onto one side, jumping up almost immediately.
Panicked cries arrived with feet and dark shapes peered over the edge, Rey grinned up at them so they knew she was okay, then ran forward and threw herself of the roof.
This fall was much further than the previous one and she tucked her legs in to her chest, leaning forward slightly; as she picked a good landing spot she extended her legs again to help absorb the impact. She landed on her forefeet with her knees slightly bent, then collapsed her legs and transitioned into a roll, once again tucking her shoulder and head so she rolled on to one side.
It had occurred in a number of seconds, but time had slowed for her, it quickly sped up again and she sprang off the ground, thankful to find she was only bruised and jolted and started running. There were relieved shouts behind her.
She turned to look behind her, such a rookie mistake, and ran straight into Kylo Ren. He caught her in his arms, holding her tightly to him as she automatically struggled; it was no good, his grip on her was like iron, almost desperate.
He was breathless, his hold on her was more like a crushing embrace than a triumphal capture.
Running feet approached and he pushed her back from his chest but kept hold of her, his eyes burning in a face more pale than usual.
"Are fucking mad? What the hell were you thinking?" Kylo's voice was shaking as he spoke.
Rey frowned up at him but before she could answer Finn barreled into them, crushing her back against Kylo's chest, hands fluttering over her, tears in his eyes, "Never, ever do that again." He said, voice rough.
Then everyone else started arriving, swearing at her, touching her, amazed at her being alive.
Eventually she fought them off, "Bloody ashes, I've jumped that far before, possibly further!"
Stunned silence met her, then Finn said quietly, "That may be so, but have you ever watched someone else do it?"
Rey frowned, "Of course I have, how would I have learnt otherwise?"
"How are you even still alive?" Ismasta said incredulously.
Rey shrugged, guilt gnawing at her despite her thinking what she had done wasn't that bad.
Finn took her firmly by the shoulders, "Do not, ever, EVER, do that again, Peanut."
There were noises of general agreement.
Rey didn't answer, she may have to one day, so she wouldn't lie to them, she changed the subject, "Who else have you got to catch?"
"You were the last." Finn answered as the group started to break up. Rey grinned jubilantly but it slipped when she saw Finn wiping his eyes on his sleeves. Having friends was turning out to be rather more complicated than she had expected.
She took his arm gently, "Shall we go get dinner?" She asked and he gave her a small smile and nod.
Jess took her other arm as they walked to the refectory, "And after dinner, we are having showers then we are making you over, then fire pit!" Jess grinned at Rey's resigned face, "You have a brush with death almost everyday and yet the idea of a makeover freaks you out? Rey, you are all kinds of special."
Rey got the feeling Jess was not using the word special as Rey knew it.