3: Beads of Blood

You know of the disclaimer.

Corliss' eyes blinked, and regained focus. She noticed that a soldier was leaning against the tree they were in, scanning the bush around him silently. She heard the crunching footsteps as the other soldiers crept through the underbrush, guns raised and at the ready. She noticed they were all young, in their early twenties. The one at the base of their tree was even younger, their age, about 17-18. He was the most nervous, and a finch sat on his shoulder, nestled against the crook of his neck. Whereas the other four soldiers, dogs at their heels, moved like a well-oiled machine, methodically covering the ground in all four directions, the young soldier was flinching at every noise, gun flicking around to noises, like a moth to a flame. She scanned the surroundings. In front, and to the left was filled with typical Australian scrub. Behind, however, in about 200 meters, was a large dam. She knew that if she struck out due west, then maybe they could get a means of transport. Looking down again at the jittery soldier, she felt a glob of snot detach itself from the inside of her nose, something it did regularly, and she would just blow it out. Now, this was a different story. She could not sniff for fear of being heard. She cursed her sinuses quietly. It hung suspended, then dropped. It fell onto the soldier's helmet. He jumped, flailing his gun everywhere. One of the soldiers came back and barked a series of stern, guttural words. He hung his head, then stomped off into the bush. The commander then stood at the base of the tree, a falcon resting on his shoulder.

Corliss looked at her friends. Eliana was rocking slowly back and forth, clutching her necklace, eyes wide and lips moving as she silently uttered a prayer. Eka sat on her knees, and rubbed her head against her soulmate. Maeve sat, stroking Meri, who had changed into a robin. Loreli stared into Lari's big golden eyes, having a silent conversation. Corliss looked at Cam, and the raccoon looked at her. Cam nodded, then silently changed into a peregrine falcon. She took off, and glided silently to a far side of the lake. The sound of a stick breaking from there echoed across the bush. All soldiers simultaneously paused, heads turned towards the sound. The sound of crashing footsteps and a 'shh! They'll hear you!'. The soldiers immediately vanished in the direction that the sounds came from, following the leaf brushes and twig snaps at random intervals. Corliss turned, and motioned to her group. They slid as quietly as they could down the tree. Corliss started running west, but was grabbed by Maeve. 'What are you doing? That's the way the soldiers went!' She whispered vehemently.

Corliss shook her head, and then melted into the trees. Maeve glanced at her companions, hesitated but a moment, then ran after her. Unlike Maeve expected, after only a few metres, Corliss cut right and ran back up the hill to the school. She followed the fence until the corner, and continued. Here there were not many trees, so with darting steps she hopped from one cover to the other. They could still see the dam. Using this method, they came to a small copse of trees. The group dived under some thick bushes, and lay there in the dirt panting. Corliss pulled a Ventolin puffer out of her bag, and sucked on it for a minute. Her breathing slowed from haggard to calm. Loreli looked at her. 'You ok?'

'Yeah, now. I just was feeling pretty wheezy. But we gotta keep the enemy guessing. C'mon, let's go.' Corliss stood, and turned. She walked off, staying low, following the natural bushline. They came to a road, dirty and dusty. A sign announced the name as 'Rifle Range Road'. Maeve chuckled dryly.

'Named after our schools' famous rifle range, eh?' They crouched, following the trees. Next was Shiralee Road, with was bitumen. They were a fair ways from the school and dam, but they didn't want to take any chances. They hadn't seen any soldiers though, nor any convoys.

'Where are we going?' Eliana said, sounding a little shaky, but staying strong.

'To a place I know. Don't worry, we're not too far.' Corliss replied, still walking.

It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at a small house, with a large barn right next to it. Corliss walked immediately to the house, and knocked on the door. The others looked at one another. 'Hello? Johnno, Noni, are you there? It's Lissi. Hello?'

Corliss knew it was futile, so she ushered the others inside. She threw a few logs in the fire, and dumped some twigs and paper on top. Striking a match, she lit the flame. Leaving the door a little open, she walked over to the kettle, and turned it on. Pointing to the table, she told the others to sit. She pulled four mugs out of the cupboard, and filled them with tea. She set them on the table, along with sugar and milk. They sat silently, sipping the hot tea. Maeve broached a question. 'Liss, where's Cam?'

Corliss looked up. 'She'll be along soon, don't you worry. She fooled those lackwit soldiers all the way up the dam, then led them far away from us.'

'But how can she leave you? I mean, our dæmons can't go further then a few meters, before it hurts.'

'It started when I was a little girl. Me and Cam wanted to be apart from each other, so we could play more effectively. So every day we would strain at the ends of the invisible tethers, making the length longer and longer. We can go so far now; I've lost count how many kilometers! It's relatively quite simple, we can do it when-' She stopped abruptly.

'Something's wrong, I can hear- GET DOWN!' She dived under the table, mug cracking and spilling tea all over the floor. The others followed a split second later. The roar of a car covers the sound. It pulls into the driveway. Soldiers jump out, boots slamming into the gravel driveway.

'Move, move!' Corliss pulls them all through a back door through the laundry, and they duck under a sprawling hedge. They hear the soldiers walking through each room, checking them for signs of habitation. A shout rings out; they have discovered the hot tea on the ground. Corliss then knows they will find them in a matter of minutes if they don't move soon. Biting her lip, she tries to think of a way out. Then she realizes. The most obvious place of all.