Chapter 33 - Jay

That was Ebony, I was sure of it. I had heard that voice in my head, in my dreams, for a week, screaming in pain and defiance and begging for mercy from some unseen horrorthat I couldn't protect her from.

Shaking my head and blinking I tried to clear the colors that filled my eyes after the flash, straining to see what that maniac was doing to her now. As my eyes cleared I saw a dark shape laying in the grass where Ebony had been and then a sudden disparate scream of

"Get it off"

I broke out of the dazed group of Mallrats, I didn't care anymore, I had to know what he was doing to Ebony and stop him somehow. As I rushed through the rain she appeared trying to push something off her in horror, then I saw what it was. Zoot's smoking body. Suddenly I realized what must have happened

"Get down!" I yelled at the Mallrats as I dropped into the grass "Lightning!" they seemed to get the idea because after a slight pause they too dropped into the grass and began crawling towards where I was helping Ebony push the grizzly remains off her. By the time she was free her tears were coming freely and as soon as possible I swept her up into my arms cradling her tiny body against me as she vented her sobs on my chest while I kissed her head glad to have her back in my arms again.

After a moment or so the Mallrats appeared in the grass around us. Ebony pulled away slightly rubbing at her eyes but I didn't let her go fully, she wasn't getting away from me again. The tears and the rubbing had smudged the red marks across her face, giving her a giant red smudge in the center of her face.

"We have to get out of here," Pride yelled over the storm when he appeared through the grass on his hands and knees.

"What about that hut we passed?" Amber yelled, referring to the hut we had see a little way back under the cover of the trees.

"Fine, meet there" Pride yelled back turning away in the grass.

It took about 15 minutes to reach the trees, it was slow going, I would have carried Ebony but we had to crawl through the grass so I couldn't. I was quickly realizing she was in a far worse state than we had ever envisaged, probably because we weren't used to Ebony being week, it just wasn't natural. However I had to face up to the fact she was exhausted, weak and disorientated.

When we reached the trees and it was slightly safer to stand up I scoped her small frail body into my arms and she wrapped her arms around my neck gratefully and leaned against me. I was shocked at the difference in her weight since Java had attacked her, she could have been a feather in my arms. As we walked along silently I listened to her gentle breathing and relished the feeling of her body pressed against me, but all too soon it seemed we reached the hut and I was forced to put her down.

All the Mallrats who had come were gathered in the tightly packed hut talking, but even as tightly packed they were from somewhere they produced a tiny space in one corner where Ebony could sit with a bit of space around her.

As I was checking Ebony was comfortable, Salene pulled me aside so Ebony could not hear us

"Jay, we think it would be better if you and Ebony went away for a while" she said quietly "You could go into the woods until she's better and this Zoot business is sorted." She looked at me pleadingly as if she expected me to object but I wasn't going to, it sounded perfect, somewhere alone where I could look after Ebony.

"Fine" I said turning away to push through the Mallrats to where Ebony was sitting and squatting down in front of her.

I looked into her eyes and was shocked at what I saw, before she had always had secret places in her soul she hid away in her eyes but now it was like she had pulled veils across her eyes and behind those veils lurked shadows and pain. Her eyes barely seemed to register, as if she were half lost in a place far away.

"Ebony" I said trying to call her back to the present "What do you think about me and you going to the woods for a while?" I asked her

"Sure" she said mutely and vaguely, as is it didn't really matter, I straightened up and turned away, you could only look at those eyes for so long, after that you either had to turn away or cry for the pain within her.

As the storm raged around us I organized our retreat to the woods, getting directions to an Eco hut we could stay in and organizing food, clothing and things we would need and arranging for someone to bring these things out to us regularly.

Finally the storm stopped and we could step out of the crowded hut into the fresh but slightly chilly woodlands. Saying our goodbyes Ebony and I set out to our hut in the woodlands.