Ch.2

The spot was a fairly good one Guy had to admit. He would have been happier if he could have been even closer to the ocean, but at least from this vantage point, he could basically see what was happening on the cliff with very little risk of being spotted. He scowled at the brilliantly blue sky before turning his attention back the proceedings upon the cliff. The weather had no right being this beautiful on a day like this, he thought. He spotted Jade's thankfully upright figure and in front of him a shorter, rounder figure that Guy guessed was Voris. The name caused him to clench his fist around where his sword hilt normally was. The sword lay beside him in the grass. It would only be a hindrance when he would try to rescue Jade. His gaze slid along the cliff over to the sombre crowd before staring at Grand Chokmah in the distance.

"Please let Luke and Tear pull this off safely," he murmured to himself before dragging his gaze back to the cliff. Voris' voice floated down, but he couldn't quite make out the words. He shifted nervously as Jade was turned and forced to the edge. "Come on guys. Any time now," he muttered glancing back at Grand Chokmah. He turned his attention back to Jade just in time to see him pushed off the edge. With difficulty he resisted the impulse to rush forward and moved slowly and carefully towards the shore. He didn't want any sudden movements that might catch someone's attention. What were they doing? Had something gone wrong? Guy went cold at the thought. A sudden thunderous roar and echoing boom shattered the silence that had fallen over the area. There was an uproar from the cliff top. Guy looked back to see a pillar of smoke rising from Grand Chokmah and a red haze over a section of the city. The crowd and Voris started making noisy progress back to the city. Guy heaved a sigh of relief. They'd done it. Now it was his turn.

He ran to the shore and waded until he could dive in and swam swiftly to the spot where he thought Jade went down. He spotted a shape in the gloom of the ocean and resisted speeding up. He couldn't tire himself out if he wanted to help Jade. He reached Jade's still form and felt a small shock at seeing the man in such a helpless position. Jade lay on his side, his hands bound behind him. A gag had been stuffed into his mouth and tied tightly around the back. His hair floated eerily around his pale face. Guy manoeuvred to Jade's ankles where they were bound by a chain. He scowled angrily at the chain attached to a heavy looking ball of metal. He pulled out a piece of wire and jiggled it around the lock binding the chain to Jade's ankle chains, praying all the while that he wasn't rescuing a corpse. The lock sprang open and Guy shoved away the chain, which sank back into the sand. He then linked an arm around Jade's and started pulling him up through the water.

It was hard, very hard. Guy had already spent longer than he would have liked under the water and Jade's water logged clothing was adding much unneeded weight. He could feel his lungs starting to demand air. That would be fine irony to drown while trying to rescue someone who was drowning. He broke the surface with a loud gasp, and started to greedily gulp down air. Jade, however wasn't breathing. Guy dragged him through the water until he could awkwardly lay him on the shore. He left Jade half in the water more concerned with getting Jade to breathe rather than getting him onto dry land. He was already soaked anyway.

"Come on, Jade. Don't let this be a wasted effort. We need you." He pulled out a small knife and cut off the gag and flung it viciously to the side. He then pressed his hands to Jade's chest and pushed. "Come on…" He forced Jade's mouth open to give him air, feeling slightly odd at performing the procedure on the older and seemingly invulnerable man. Jade lay limply on the sand dead to the world. Guy continued his ministrations, starting to feel the edges of panic. Jade wasn't waking up. Was he too late? Just as he was losing hope, he tried one more time and was rewarded with a gasp. He leaned back as Jade's eyes flew open. Guy winced sympathetically as Jade tried to sit up but was prevented by his bound hands and his own weakness. Guy managed to sit him up just as a coughing fit tore through him and he retched up water. His coughing subsided and he started taking deep shuddering breaths. Guy sighed with relief thanking his training in maritime rescue.

Jade looked sideways at Guy, his face drawn, his eyes tired. Water ran off his clothing and dripped from his hair. Guy blinked unused to seeing Jade's current appearance. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could remove these manacles," he said, his voice raspy.

"Oh right," Guy replied still thankful that Jade was alive. He pulled out the wire again and swiftly removed the manacles.

"Thank you Guy," Jade said quietly while massaging his sore and swollen wrists.

"I was worried we'd lost you," Guy said still looking worriedly at the Colonel. "You still look half dead." Guy rose to his feet. "Wait here." He walked away from Jade back to his vantage point. He scooped up his sword and a water skin then returned to Jade who was sitting, his shoulder slumped with weariness.

"Here. You need to drink." Guy passed the bag to Jade. He sipped at it slowly, though Guy could tell that he was trying to resist gulping it down. He passed the bag back to Guy.

"We really need to get out of here," Guy said hesitantly, not wanting to disturb his tired friend but knowing they were in danger. Jade nodded and slowly rose to his feet. He swayed slightly but managed to steady himself. "We're meeting Luke and Tear in a copse of trees a ways away from the city," Guy explained.

"So they are here as well."

"They were part of the rescue plan. I just hope they made it out alright." Guy said, his voice tinged with concern.

"Tear is an intelligent and capable woman," Jade responded.

"Yeah? What about Luke?" Guy asked with a chuckle.

"He has his uses as well," Jade said with an attempt at a light tone, but his voice was still rough. He stumbled in the sand, but Guy caught his arm and prevented him from falling. Jade irritably brushed a wet strand of hair clinging to his face away while trying to steady himself. The sand was starting to spin and for a moment Jade thought he was in his jail cell. No, he was being irrational. Did he really expect to feel instantly better now that he was free? His legs were starting to tremble making walking difficult. He was exhausted…more than exhausted. He felt empty, deadened, though not empty enough according to his roiling stomach.

He realised that Guy was speaking and forced his attention to the young man. "We can take a break just over there. We'll just get off this beach." Ah, he was trying to support him, encourage him. When had he taken his arm to help him? He was not an invalid. He stumbled and would have fallen if Guy hadn't been holding onto him. On the other hand, perhaps this was the only logical option. The grass was supposed to be ahead but it seemed to keep spinning away from him. Only feeling the ground change under his feet told him that they had left the beach.

"Here. Let's just sit down for a bit," Guy said. Then they must have made it. Guy released his grip on Jade causing him to nearly pitch forward. "Whoa. Okay, let me help you." Guy said apologetically and lowered Jade to the ground.

The sun shone around them yet Jade felt as though he was once more in his cell. He was cold, very, very cold. He wanted nothing more than to lie down on the grass and cling to the ground to stop it from spinning away from him, close his eyes…sleep…

"Jade!" Jade blinked hard. Guy was crouching in front of him giving him a worried look. "We can't stay here. You have to stay with it."

"I…" His voice shook as he tried to keep his nausea back. "I apologise. We should move on." Move on…he knew they had to, but he really didn't want to move. Guy proffered a hand, and Jade reluctantly took it with a shaking a hand. It was the practical thing to do, but he still felt annoyed at needing the help. Guy pulled him to his feet with little assistance from the trembling Jade.

"Okay," Guy said, his own voice a little weak from the worry and weariness of the day. "We don't have too far to go." What did they do him? Guy thought.

After what seemed an eternity to Jade, they reached a group of trees. Guy led him through a gap and leafy branches and mossy trunks soon surrounded them. The air felt chill to Jade, more chill than it had felt already now that they were out of the sun.

Guy looked around. "Damn, where are they?" He took Jade to the centre. "This is where we were supposed to meet. Here lean against this tree." He helped Jade lower himself to the ground. Jade leaned heavily against the tree trunk shivering violently. Guy leaned back on his heels and studied the trembling man properly for the first time since he had rescued him.

Jade was not a pretty picture. His face was gaunt and white with a greyish tinge; his eyes were sunken and shadowed. His hair was a mess, sticky with salt and sweat and hanging in clumps around his face. His uniform, still left on, no doubt to serve as a symbol of Malkuth's defeat as Jade was executed in it, was tattered and filthy. Jade's appearance was unsettling, but Guy found himself more disturbed by his friend's eyes – hollow, dull. There was no spark of amusement, of life. His look seemed vague and almost lost as though he was unaware of his surroundings. If Guy had passed him in the streets, he was sure he would not have recognised him.

"Is there something I can assist you with?" Jade asked dryly seeming to snap out of his daze, his voice still faint, but at least Guy could detect a hint of Jade's usual sarcastic manner.

"Er, sorry," Guy said awkwardly and hopped to his feet.

Jade watched as Guy started to pace but felt dizzy watching him, or perhaps it was just his illness…Jade let loose a small sigh - that Guy thankfully didn't seem to notice – and looked away. He tried to remember how long it took for the drug's effects to vanish before remembering that the guards had never allowed it to run its full course always reinforcing the dose as Jade started on the road to recovery. He just wished he'd stop shaking, but he was so cold.

Guy suddenly stopped his circuit and gave Jade a look that was mixture of horror and apology. "I'm so sorry. I should have been paying attention." He rummaged around a small pile of bags that Jade only just noticed and pulled out a blanket. "Here, hopefully this'll help," he said passing it to Jade who gratefully took it and wrapped it around himself.

He was utterly exhausted and finally, despite feeling horrible, he could feel his eyes drooping and sleep coming at last. Guy looked over from his sitting position a feet away to see Jade's head bowed over his chest. He smiled slightly, glad that the colonel was finally getting some rest. His smile quickly faded as he wondered where Luke and Tear were. Darkness crept into the small area and Guy battled with himself over getting some sleep himself. He was tired, but he didn't want to leave them defenceless. He settled on staying up and hoping that Luke and Tear would return soon.