Chapter 6
Sundown was approaching fast. Roy made his way through the thin rocky edge of the forest, stopping to hide whenever a Cyclonian Skimmer passed nearby. Panting, he halted at a rather stunted tree to nurse his left side, the arm was surely broken but maybe the ribs were only bruised. He waited for the drone of the skimmer to fade before continuing deeper into the forest. The trees soon grew wider and closer together so Roy slowed down and relaxed a bit. He reached one of the larger trees and leaned against it heavily and worked on catching his breath without breathing too deeply. A low whistle reached his pointed ears, he froze and listening to the forest noises around him; wind, birds, insects, beasts underfoot, his tawny tail swished back and forth slowly, he was starting to wonder if he even heard it when another low whistle sounded. Roy locked onto the direction of the whistle and answered with a chirp, followed by his identifying trill. The sound of the whistling wind came from the same direction, and Roy made his way through the undergrowth. He finally rounded a large boulder to see Breeze sitting on the ground, leaning against the rock. The blond looked up at him, he was pale and his golden eyes no longer smiled.
"Finally, I was worried you had gone deaf!" He tried to sound cheerful but was hunched over his right side, the tip of his flaxen tail quivered with pain and fatigue.
Trying not to jostle his broken arm, Roy kneeled down beside him and reached out, gently lifting away Breeze's ebony claws from his side, a nasty energy burn greeted his electric blue eyes. Roy cursed under his breath and lowered his friend's hand back onto the wound just as carefully.
Breeze had been staring out into the forest vacantly as Roy inspected the wound but now looked up at him. "The first wave took me out before we even reached the edge of the tree line."
"Where are Sonya and Bhoom?"
Breeze looked away again. "They-…" his voice cracked and he took a weary breath. "They managed to draw most of them off and then made for the wall, the Cyclonians didn't follow but I had no time to wonder why." He paused and squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to shut out a memory. "The Wall's defences activated as they passed over."
"No…" Roy sat down heavily against the rock beside his friend, ignoring the flash of pain from his injuries and stared blankly at the dirt. He could just imagine the molten crystal lasers cutting his friends out of the sky. "But how…? They were riding Switchblades – we all were."
Breeze shook his head, but stopped short, wincing, and put hand to his head. "The Cyclonians must have reset the defences at some point to target everything, even the Talon Skimmers."
Roy let his head hang. The wall surrounding their terra that was once used to defend against Cyclonians and keep them out, now kept the Theran people in. Only Cyclonian skimmers and ships could pass over the immense wall safely without being blasted out of the sky.
"What about Gryphon?" Breeze's asked hopefully.
His voice drew Roy out of the dark pit of his mind and reminded him of the purpose of their mission. He turned his gaze to Breeze. "The last I saw of her, she was flying as if the entire Empire was on her tail."
A smile brightened Breeze's face, easing the pained look in his eyes. He leaned his head back against the rock and looked up into the trees. "I knew if anyone could do it, she could."
Roy looked up into the canopy as well and noticed the angle of the sun through the branches. He stood up, using the rock as leverage then stepping over his friend, he helped him to his feet "Come on Breeze," Breeze groaned and leaned against Roy's good side. "Let's try to get home before we miss another meal."
Breeze snorted "If it's your cooking I think I can stand to stay out here another day and a half." He said as they began to limp towards home.
"Ha ha, very funny."
x x x
Klipse shifted her weight on the wide branch, trying to get the feeling back in her legs after crouching for so long. Sighing, she flexed her claws into the bark beneath her and tried to deny the worry slowly gnawing away. Where are they? She searched the forest with her bright yellow eyes, tail swinging rhythmically as she scanned and processed the deep shadows and sounds of the night.
A sharp whistle sounded of to her left. Pitch! She thought excitedly. He must have found something! She looked over to the tree where her twin brother was stationed and managed to spot him, but it wasn't easy. His dark complexion, like hers, blended with the night. She sounded a questioning whistle at him and waited. There was a moment of silence before he answered with a short low and high whistle consecutively. Her smile faded; something was wrong. She raced down the tree, claws flashing in the bark, and dropped the last few meters into a sprint to her brother's tree. The worry was starting to gnaw a hole through her mind. Klipse caught up to her brother just as he dropped out of his tree and they continued together at a slower pace.
"What is it?" She asked him in a harsh whisper. Pitch looked troubled. He was never troubled.
"It might be nothing, but…" He glanced at his sister then looked off into the forest ahead. Klipse watched his face intently, not caring if she tripped.
"It's two . Just two. He finished. Klipse returned her attention forward with a lump in her throat.
The two picked up their pace, leaping over fallen debris and dodging around trunks skilfully. Pitch, ahead, suddenly raised his hand and hissed. Klipse stopped immediately and crouched, tail lashing impatiently. Pitch sounded the low whistle that announced their presence and demanded a reply. Two chirps answered as friendly, and a trill followed by whistling wind identified them Roy and Breeze. The dark twins added in hushed gull laughter before running to their friends. The twins found the two leaning on each other and limping their way slowly, both of them looked ready to fall flat on their faces with exhaustion. Pitch hurried over to them.
"Here take Breeze." Roy told him and helped transfer the blond over to lean on Pitch's right side. Breeze was so worn out he could barely lift his head and it looked as if he was concentrating only on breathing and standing.
Klipse, taken aback at the state of him, turned to Roy, who was still on his feet but had a slightly glazed look in his eyes. "What happened?" Roy turned his head toward her and started to wobble, and almost fell until Klipse rushed over to help him. She caught him under his right arm and he gave a small gasp of pain but steadied as she supported his weight.
"Sonya and Bhoom," he whispered, breathing heavily. "They didn't make it."
"What? How-"
"Later Klipse, we have to get them home." Pitch interrupted.
Still in shock, Klipse looked back at Breeze, and realized how tired and in pain they were. Her lips tightened. "Right, let's go."
