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Mina and Kyle -- Pre-simming
Part 4/4 The Resolution
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Weary, Mina leaned against the hard rock of the cave gratefully. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyle do the same. The trek through the pounding rain had not been easy on either of them. All she wanted to do was rest, but now that she knew someone was chasing them, she supposed they would have to keep watch.
Even if you don't know why they're chasing you, she said to herself.
Kyle turned to study her. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she responded. "It's good to rest, though."
"We'll have to wait until this storm passes to find out where we are and how to get back home," Kyle said, sighing. "Do you know how to make a fire?"
"If there were any dry wood left, sure," she answered sarcastically.
"Fate must be with us, then." He raised an eyebrow, jerking his head towards the back of the cave.
Mina followed his gaze, and saw timber and sticks against the wall.
"Wow," she said dryly. "What a coincidence. There must be some great faery watching over us, eh?"
She saw Kyle frown, as if seriously pondering her question, but then he shook his head.
"I wouldn't suppose," she continued as she walked toward the wood, "that you would have matches or a lighter with you?"
"No," Kyle answered causally. "I wasn't expecting to get lost after riding on a crazed horse this morning when I came to school."
Mina winced slightly in guilt. She quickly glanced up, to make sure Kyle hadn't seen it, and was relived to find him focused on the wood.
She walked to the front of the cave and looked at the pouring rain. "How long do you think it will last?"
"Well into the night," he answered. "We'll have to stay here. Your horses should be fine back there. We'll be able to go home tomorrow morning."
Mina sighed. "Loren will be going crazy."
"Don't worry," Kyle said. "We'll be fine."
She shook her head ruefully then looked at the dark sky once more. Words that would be empty platitudes from anyone else always seemed like more when Kyle said them.
"Yes!" he shouted, and a small fire blazed into the dreary darkness. Mina moved to it, sitting close for warmth while Kyle built up the fire. She rubbed her arms, annoying at only having worn a short-sleeve shirt. When she went riding, she loved to feel the wind, not only through her hair, but across her body as well.
She looked into the flames, watching them swirl and twist around themselves, performing an intricate dance of heat. Fire always fascinated her -- not in the sick way some pyromaniacs were fascinated, but because of the way it moved, flowing around itself, an energy impossible to harness, to capture.
Looking up, she saw the light playing across Kyle's features: his rough jaw, his cheeks outlined in shadow, his deep blue eyes. His long dark hair looked lighter, like it was on fire itself.
She stared at him for several moments before she realized he was staring back. His eyes were soft, a ghost of a smile flickering across his lips. He was studying her, as well. And Mina didn't look away.
They stayed that way for a few moments, tracing the other's features with their eyes until Mask snorted, and Kyle looked away.
As if by mutual consent, they moved around the fire so they were sitting next to each other, their backs leaning against the cave wall. They stared into the fire, the only sounds the pounding rain and their breathing. Mina drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.
"You should get some sleep," he said finally, still gazing at the fire.
"Yeah," Mina agreed. "What about you?"
"I'll sleep, too," he answered after a moment, and she knew he was telling the truth. He knew lying to her was useless by now.
"What if they find us?" she asked, and felt absurd for worrying about an unknown threat.
But weren't the unknowns always the most dangerous?
Kyle was silent for a long time, and she thought he wasn't going to answer her. Then, he said in a whisper, "I'll protect you, Mina."
She had never felt more safe than at that moment.
In the morning, she awoke to Mask's tongue. The fire had burned to embers and ashes. Her head was on Kyle's shoulder, his head tilted onto hers.
"Okay, okay, I'm up," she grumbled at Mask. Oh-so-gently, she slid Kyle's head to lean against the wall, and stood without waking him. Stretching, she walked to the mouth of the cave, peered out at the chirping forest. Everything was still wet from the storm, and the smell permeated the air.
Now that she could see the sun, Mina knew she could find her way home. Turning back into the cave, she knelt by Kyle and gently stroked his hair out of his face.
"Good morning, merry sunshine," she started reciting softly. It was a distant poem, one she could hardly remember the words to. "How did you rise so soon? You woke up all the buttercups, and scared away the moon. I watched you go to sleep last night, while I was out to play. How did you get way over there ..."
She trailed off, frowning. She didn't remember the last line. Staring at the cave wall, she struggled to recall the final line to the litany.
"****," Kyle said softly.
Mina's head jerked to face him. "How did you know the poem?"
"I'm not sure," he answered, shifting to a more comfortable position. "I think someone used to say it to me, when I was little."
She stared at him for another moment, then stood and turned to the horses. "I know the way back now. I don't know how long it will take, but I do know the direction."
Kyle stood. "Then let's get going." He moved to Desperado, but Mina stopped him.
"No way are you riding him again," she said firmly. "You'll ride on Mask, I'll take Desperado."
He eyed both horses warily. "Are you sure? I mean, Mask doesn't know me that well, and Desperado is a menace to society."
"I'm used to dealing with menaces to society after hanging around you," she teased lightly. "And as to Mask, you've known him for almost eight months! Of course he knows you. Now get on, you big baby."
Such insults, of course, had no impact on Kyle, but he climbed up anyway. Mina set out at an easy trot, enjoying the sounds and sights of the forest as she went. Despite the unknown danger that had chased them, she felt that last night was very peaceful, overall. Sleeping against Kyle's shoulder had felt so right ...
Stop, she commanded. Kyle is a friend. Nothing more. You know that.
After half an hour, they finally reached the outskirts of town. From there, it only took a few minutes to get to the barn. Kyle gave the horses to a stable hand while Mina called Loren.
"Oh, God, you're safe! Where have you been? I have-"
"Loren," Mina interrupted, her heart speared with guilt. She had worried Loren so much! "Kyle's horse went psycho, we got lost. We spent the night in a cave. I'm fine." Why don't I tell her of the people chasing us? she wondered to herself, then answered, Because it would just worry her more, that's why.
After a few more assurances that she was fine, Mina hung up the phone. Turning, she found Kyle walking towards her.
"Loren's coming to pick us up," she said. He simply nodded in response.
They waited for a couple minutes, silent. Finally:
"Kyle?"
"Yes, Mina?"
"Promise me you'll tell me someday."
"Mina ..."
"Not right now. But someday, someday, tell me what happened in those woods."
There was a long silence. Then, "I promise, Mina."
The matter was never spoken of again. When Loren disappeared, Mina was only a year away from being able to live on her own. Instead of being moved across the state to stay with a foster family, Kyle helped her run away. They lived in the same cave from years ago, sneaking a visit to Mask every now and then. A little while later, Kyle started getting bursts of unexplainable pain. Worried, Mina insisted that he go see a doctor. Finally, he agreed.
"Stay here," he commanded as he left. "Don't you move from this cave. I promise I'll come back."
He didn't come back that night, or the next, or the night after that. Mina would sit, huddled against the cave wall, refusing to cry. If she cried, it would mean he was truly gone.
A week went by before he appeared again.
"Mina," he said simply, standing at the cave's entrance.
With a cry, she leapt to her feet, and fell into his embrace. A single tear tracked its way down her cheek. "I thought ..."
"I've found some people, some friends, who can help us," he said softly, stroking her hair. "I think they'll let us stay with them. They're an odd bunch, but we'll be safe with them." In more ways than one, he added to himself. The "Andalite Bandits" -- in whose house would you be safer?
"You trust them, Kyle?" Mina asked.
"I do," he answered solemnly.
"Then let's go," she said, smiling. "As long as we're together."
"Together," he nodded.
Mina and Kyle left the cave to begin their lives as Animorphs.