NirSighted Chapter Nineteen: Move Fast, Shut Up
"Run, run, RUN!" Nir was yelling at the top of her lungs. It seemed that every effort to speak was drowned out by a falling explosives or whirring ships overhead. "Let's go!"
Kaylee and Catie were ahead of her, while River ran almost parallel to Nir. None of the babies had made a sound since leaving the copse, and, as Nir looked down, she found that Tessa was asleep. This peace would not last, she knew, and the border was ever farther.
Kaylee's foot caught a tree root and she began to stumble. Nir reached out, her small arms barely stretching toward Kaylee's body, and caught the heavier mechanic before she could fall, squashing baby Gabriel. "Thanks," Kaylee managed to breathe, but Nir had to read her lips; it was impossible to hear anything now.
They kept going, feet pounding hard dirt then compacting soft dirt then scattering pea-sized stones. Nir more felt than saw River listing towards the right, towards the sloping riverbed. "NO!" Nir yelled, grabbing the rope attached to her pack with both of her hands, shifting her weight. "Damn it, River!"
"What?" Kaylee asked, slowing.
"I think she fell asleep again," Nir said, "and she's heavy, and we can't stop!"
Without even bothering to slow down, Nir jammed her hand into her pack and drew out the last remaining syringe of barthic-bromide. "River, I'm sorry," she said, and jammed it into River's shoulder.
The Reader gave a shriek and threw her body backwards, jerking the line connecting her to Nir. Her arms went up instinctively, and a boom-stone dropped not twenty feet from the riverbed. The resulting explosion rattled their ears and sent pebbles and clods of dirt flying every which way.
"Is that the Kushya Bridge?" Kaylee yelled at Nir, pointing to the closest bridge. It was still a good five hundred yards from them, but it was getting easier to see things now that all the trees were on fire.
"Yes, yes, I believe that's it!" Nir yelled in reply.
They scrambled up the incline towards it, pebbles slipping under their feet. The bridge was very old and made of wood. At one time, it had probably been considered a beautiful bridge, but now its paint was peeling and fading, and the boards leading from one bank to the other were warped and twisting.
An explosive fell and caught in the branches of the tree closest to them. Nir grabbed River's hand and Kaylee's grabbed Catie's, and they ran forward, across the Kushya Bridge and into Branford-Tobar.