Seeing Lies

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Chapter 26: Running Slow

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For five days, I followed them everywhere. Wherever they stepped, I stepped; whomever they talked to, I talked to. It was a game: I was the player, and my goal was to help them without being noticed. I was a spy, a secret agent. That's how I thought of it every day I woke up in my sleeping bag. I would open my eyes, take a whiff of the tall grass or pine trees, glance at my surroundings, get up, stretch, and then prepare.

They would always be at least a hundred or two hundred feet away. I had to make sure they were there, and not to mention wake up considerably earlier than they aroused in their places. And I could never, and would never dare step closer. Sometimes, I would lose them. Sometimes, I would be closer than one hundred feet. I would panic, turn Kane around quickly, and then get the hell away.

And yet, sometimes, it wouldn't be so difficult. I could prowl around them when they slept and grab a few things here and there. Kado knew, but the others didn't have a clue. He would create distractions for me, in case they heard a twig snap or a horse's breath in the hot air. It took all my energy to not lash out at my own stupidity when I became too close.

Kenny was too smart to stay this naïve for very long. He would figure it out soon, as they delved deeper into the forest. He would realize someone was following them, or he had already figured it out and was waiting for me to give up and show myself. I could never do that, no matter how crazed, how tired, how naïve, how angry I became- I just couldn't, I wouldn't, I shouldn't… It was impossible.

However: those voices. They were still there. I could hear them when the stars were shining above through the thick foliage of the oak trees. They were more familiar to me, now. I could separate one from the other, and even a few sounded a little familiar. But, I had to be out of my mind to think such a thing. They were just voices! Maybe even unwanted thoughts!

I would be able to ignore them, sometimes. Yet, there would be a few times when my head would spin, my world would fade, and I would feel like my body was collapsing inside of me. It took nearly all of my strength not to scream out for Kado or Link. I was alone; there was no one to turn to. Kado couldn't help me even if he wanted to because then I would be discovered. Although, he did try to help a few times, and I had to admit I had been stubborn as hell.

Through the dense, green forest came life of everything possible. Animals of different species emerged from every crevice. every niche. Insects of all sorts would be hiding beneath the brush. I could only imagine how Grissom would act if I brought him an insect he could study.

But past the beauty, the mystery, the hiding, the constant need for company, there was one thing I needed most of all, and that was food. I was running low, too low. My body needed food, and sometimes I would find myself eating extra of what I had planned to eat that day. I had to have at least eaten two day's worth more of food than I had planned. My supply was supposed to last for a week and a half, and I was afraid if I kept up with the extra eating- by the end of week one, I would be starving. I couldn't control myself, really. My body was dying slowly, either way, but my metabolism seemed to have gone up the roof since the last time I checked, which was bad because this was the time in my life where it should have begun to slow down.

It was only a matter of self-control, to say the least. I could remember all those songs in elementary, about self-control. They had tried to brainwash us with them, but it didn't work, did it? I was slowly starving if I continued to eat two Nutri-Grain Bars a day, and possibly a cracker or a piece of hard bread. Yeah, it seemed that all Middle-Age food didn't last very long, and the only other choice I had was to go kill for food. That was near impossible. Even Kenny wouldn't do that, and all the foursome lived on was tough bread, and other odd foods I didn't always see. But, at least, they had an enough supply.

Don't scream, don't cry, don't eat, don't sleep, don't panic…

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"I can't believe you!" Liyanne's voice screeched through the dry air. I was startled from my spot under the large oak tree where I had tried to rest for a few bare minutes. I swung my head the direction from where her voice had come from, afraid they were closer than I had thought.

My surroundings were clear, however, when I didn't notice anyone in the small setting. I craned my neck behind the large oak tree where my back had been resting, to see two small figures at least one hundred feet away. I emphasize the at least.

"That is so funny!" the blonde bellowed on, and I squinted my eyes. So she's laughing, I thought to myself blandly, whoop-dee-doo… "Kado, you should know that I just might know what the problem is."

"There's a problem and she's laughing…" I mumbled before ducking my head beneath plain view. Kane snorted and pawed at the ground not too far away, "Oh, hush. I'm not doing anything wrong." I waved my hand at the stallion as he shook his head, "But I think she is…"

"I think it's her; you need to forget her." She said as she leaned in closer to him, her hand lying on his chest. I gasped before screaming profanities in my head. They suddenly began to walk this way and my body tensed, you jerk! Not only were they flirting with each other, but also he just had to walk closer to me, didn't he?

"What are you talking about?" he asked, leaning slightly away from her, the small smile that was on his face had slowly begun to fade.

"Jade," she hissed, her eyebrows furrowing. Don't say my name, I thought vehemently as my nails dug into the soft soil beneath me. "She's worth nothing; she doesn't deserve you." Kado's eyebrows furrowed as he began to look around nervously. His eyes snapped towards me suddenly, and my breath caught. Goshfriggindarnit! He saw me! I continued to watch him. So, what if he cared that I was there? Was he disappointed? Did he want to answer her with: Of course, I'll forget her for you, Liyanne. I love you! Aghh! That wrenched at my heart. It was the corniest response, but it was possible, wasn't it?

He suddenly broke his gaze and I slumped onto the grass and sighed. The bushes behind me shuddered slightly, but I paid it no heed thinking it was Kane eating the leaves. However, the horse began to paw at the ground. I glanced at the black stallion, ready to calm him down. Something up in the oak tree to my side suddenly caught my attention and my eyes widened in shock.

Black fabric decorated the middle-sized man hidden behind the leaves of the oak tree. A samurai sword was strapped to his back and sharp knives were strapped to his red cloth belt. His body was crouched low on the large branch; his balance was uncanny in its own strange way. I glanced at his contorted yet hidden face as he stared at me monotonously. His eyes had formed slits, allowing beady eyes to stare at me. His nose was sharp and pointed underneath the black cloth that hid half of his face, his skin was dark, and his fingers were long and bony from under the thin gloves he wore over them. He raised his finger to his covered lips and I panicked, suddenly moving my hand to grip my sword.

I stopped and stumbled when out from the bushes came at least four more other men, all dressed in the same manner. I gasped, clawing at the ground with one hand and reaching for the hilt of my sword with the other. With this I only made two inches progress before the most burly of the men had taken hold of my ankle. I thrashed at him, trying to yank my ankle free from his solid grip. I grunted angrily as I tried to gain hold of the soft soil underneath me.

The dirt slipped through my fingers as I turned over onto my stomach, trying hard to crawl away. I finally reached out and grabbed the trunk of the tree and dug my claws into the bark. I winced in pain, striving to pull myself up and away. However, my grip suddenly loosened as I caught a glimpse of what was ahead of me. My heart had felt as though it had just collapsed; Kado's lips were pressed against Liyanne's as he pulled her closer to him. She complied as he twisted her so that her back was toward me.

That was when I let go. The man toppled over me as if I were really trying to get away. My mind had stopped for those few split seconds when I couldn't even process anything around me. Once the other three began to descend on me, I finally processed the fact that I was going to be killed. I inhaled sharply, my heartbeat rising again as I tried to unsheathe my sword. It wasn't much of a shock, though, when I felt a rough hand rip the hilt of the sword away from my grasp. A sharp sensation coursed up my back as I was flung over onto the ground only a few meters from where I had been before.

I groaned just as a hand grabbed a fistful of my hair, forcing my head up and into the face of one of the olive-skinned men. I felt as though the roots of my hair were being pulled from my scalp as a knee continued to dig into my back. I inhaled sharply just before a cold blade was pressed against the skin on my neck.

"Who are you and what business do you have here?" the man dressed in the dark cloth said darkly. I breathed in shallowly, trying to calm my heart and find my voice. The man pulled furthered his restraint on my hair and I winced, feeling the skin on my forehead stretch backwards as pain shot up in my scalp.

"Do not make me ask you, again." He breathed, his eyes narrowing into slits. I eyed the samurai sword in his hand before the warm blade against my neck began to slowly dig deeper into my skin.

"I-," my voice was hoarse as I began, "I- my, I'm watching out for Ka- a friend of mine." Don't use names, my mind screamed.

"Who are you?" A gruff voice growled from behind me as my head was pulled ever more slightly upward.

"My name's Jade." I said angrily, my voice barely above a whisper. The skinny man in front of me stared me down a few more seconds, which seemed all the more like hours. Soon enough, the one on top of me lifted his knee from my back. I inhaled deeply, trying to bring back the oxygen I suddenly needed.

It didn't help as much as I had hoped because as soon as he had lifted his knee, he began to pull me up by my hair. I gasped, trying to hold in my scream as I tried to break his grip, hoping it would shorten the pain slightly.

My feet made contact with the ground and I tumbled onto it, crazy for something to help me fight back. I growled and writhed and pulled and did all I could to get away, but it was all lost and hopeless.

As soon as the one holding onto my hair let go, I turned around to make a run for Kane. However, I stopped dead in my tracks when another one of the groupies stepped in my way, the hilt of his samurai flying towards my head. I ducked and tried to block off the blow. It didn't work, however, when I felt a sharp, stinging feeling in the back of my head.

After that, my world went black.

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Heh, sorry for it being so short, but I've been busy and all, and I didn't have time to write and I'm sorry if it was so short. Usually my chapters are longer than 6 pages. Not this time, I guess. I'll do my best to update next week, so hope you all stay posted.

And, I just want to thank all of you wonderful people for reading and reviewing!

xbluxmoonx