Hey readers! Sorry this chapter is short, but I think you'll find it enjoyable. R&R!

Chapter 8

The Rescue

Icefire followed Snowburner through the forest, stepping quietly over a patch of brambles. They had been trekking through the woods for a very long time.

"Sotako can't be too far away, now." Nightsky reported, coming on Snowburner's left, passing Icefire. "Falcon said she sensed Echo's presence close by."

"Then we must hurry." Icefire cut in.

"I agree." Snowburner nodded, signaling to Tiger. The tabby tom leaped away to tell Nebelung and Falcon to rejoin the group.
Icefire picked up the pace, swiftly following the two blond-haired kids in front of her. The other three regrouped and Falcon raced along side her, Tiger on the other side.
The path twisted and turned, but Snowburner lead them into a clearing and suddenly skidded to a halt, causing Icefire to bump into him. She peered over his shoulder and saw a campsite. Sotako and a few others were staring at them in slight surprise.
Falcon leaped to the front of the group. "Where is Echo?" she snarled.
The black-haired boy shrugged. "How should I know?"
Snowburner stepped forward. "You kidnapped her, remember?"

"Yes, I remember perfectly." He stated calmly, "But we lost her on the way here."
"You did what?" Falcon hissed in outrage, teeth clenched.
"A mysterious figure it was," Sotako recalled. "I couldn't its face, if it had one."
"What are talking about?" Icefire shook her head, confused.
"The shadow creature." Keeta stated calmly, brushing her short red hair.
"Huh?"
Sotako cut in with a glare toward the redhead. "Something attacked us on the way to camp and kidnapped the little blind girl from us."
"Where did it go?" Snowburner and Falcon demanded at the same time.
Sotako shrugged again. "Don't know. None of us do."
Snowburner turned back. "We must find this 'shadow creature' and rescue Echo."
"Right." Icefire and the rest of the group nodded sharply.
"You do know you aren't escaping this time, right Icefire?"
She spun around and came face-to-face with her former partner. "I don't think you want to relive what happened earlier. You remember lockdown mode, right?"
At that, the raven-haired boy stepped back.
"I thought so." Icefire turned to leave.
Suddenly, she heard a surprised yowl. Whirling around, she saw Zailon and Kori holding Tiger away from the rest of his friends. The black-haired cat-person hissed and spat, extending his claws, but he could not break free.
Sotako, standing in front of him, smiled. "Looks like I have the upper hand this time."
"Let him go!" Nightsky screeched.
"Sure- no."
Out of nowhere, Nebelung appeared, tripping Zailon. Tiger scratched Kori with his now free hand, making the brown-haired boy yelp and jump back. Nebelung still grappled with her black-haired opponent, who had her pinned down. She suddenly melted into billions of sand particles, which blew away and reformed into a silvery-blue-haired girl, now standing next to Tiger.
Snowburner motioned the group to back away and they escaped the clearing. Their blond-haired leader melted in the undergrowth after them.

After a ton of searching, Icefire started to get tired. Everyone else seemed to share her feelings, except Falcon, who now lead the way, tracking Echo's aura.
Tiger suddenly pricked his ears, staring into the thick undergrowth. "Something's there." He hissed, alerting the others.
Icefire followed the tom's gaze, but she couldn't see anything. "Where?"

"Over there." He nodded toward the left.
This time, she noticed something bushes rustling near her.

Snowburner moved in front of her, watching intently. The bush shook again and he stepped back, but couldn't react fast enough when something jumped out at him. The blond-haired boy wrestled with the shadowy figure, throwing it into the undergrowth. It jumped out again, but was intercepted by a new figure.

It was Echo! The blind girl expertly battled the shady character until she pinned it down, revealing the figure to be a girl of around fourteen. Echo whispered in the girl's ear and leaped away, allowing her to get up.

Snowburner prepared himself for another attack, but the girl didn't move. She wore a winter camouflage (white, silver, and gray) beanie over braided light blond, red, black, and orange streaked hair and lime green eyes. She wore a red, black, and silver camouflage tank top, black cargo shorts, and sported bare feet. Across her back, were four quivers, full of arrows, and a steel bow with ivory vine design on it. Strapped upside down on her upper left arm was a blue dagger, a dragon's head and wings made up the handle, and a curved sword with a jagged blade rested at her left hip. Another quiver was strapped to her right leg, but fewer arrows were in it.
The stranger tried to smile, but she wasn't able to.
"Hi guy-!" Echo didn't get to finish her sentence, for Falcon had swept her up in a tight hug.
"Are you okay?" the raven-haired girl asked worriedly, letting go of her blind best friend.
"Yes, mother." Echo rolled her sightless purple eyes happily. The two black-haired girls were almost sisters, except for the fact that they weren't related.

"Anyway," she continued, "This is Zanna." She gestured to the rainbow-haired girl, who waved.
"You can call me Radar, if you want."
"Okay." Snowburner still eyed Zanna suspiciously, "Got a home?"
The girl hesitated, sadness filling her green eyes.
"Zanna doesn't like to talk about that." Echo explained.
Snowburner shrugged. "No matter, you can stay with us, if it pleases you." He offered.
"Thank you." Zanna nodded. "I'd like that very much."

Icefire watched Echo and Falcon lead Zanna up HomeOak, showing her around the Guardians' Home.
"I wonder who she really is." Snowburner came up to her, staring Zanna through the branches of HomeOak.
"Me, too." She agreed, nodding.
"Something happened to her home, I think. Something terrible."
"She does seem evasive." Icefire agreed again. "You know, sometime we'll have to confront her about it."

He sighed. "I know."
Icefire followed Snowburner into HomeOak, third level, and lay down in her bed. Zanna slept in the bed next to her.
She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.