The Hunt for Freedom

Chapter Thirty Nine

    From the ledge they were perched on, Lainey could see the water rising quickly. She turned to Dakari but he was frantically searching for a higher landing. As the water crested their ledge the waves ceased to crash outside on the cliffs as the water levels inside reached the height of the water level outside. The eerie silence, coupled with the lack of sunlight caused Lainey to start to lose hope. Had they really come all this way to be drowned so close to freedom?

She felt Dakari tap her shoulder, the only light the red glow of the crystals. His strength was waning but he grabbed her wrist and whispered.

"No matter what happens, don't let go." He placed her hands on a red crystal entwining their fingers. "This is our circle, we need each other to do this. If one of us lets go the circle will be broken and all will be lost." His face was ashen and drawn, his eyes heavy with dark circles.

He murmured some words Lainey couldn't quite make out and a red bubble engulfed them. Inside the bubble the air was cold, goosebumps rose on her arms as she felt her insides shaft to shiver. As the water churned around the outside of the bubble, Lainey could see a fish swim by at eye level. Her hands began to shake and Dakari deep in concentration rubbed his pinky over hers. He offered what comfort he could while never breaking his focus. He kept muttering words in a language that was foreign to her ears but the rhythmic words offered solace.

The sway of the water started rocking their bubble and she held on tighter. The red crystal glowed bright and she could see Dakari squinting with mental effort. She hoped he had enough strength to last until the tide went down.

It seemed like an eternity but the tide began to decline within the hour. Painstakingly slow, they watched the tide recede until it was below their ledge. Dakari wiggled his fingers and signaled that it was ok to let go. Nervously, Lainey slid her hands back and noticed the raw blisters that had formed on her palms in her effort to hang on. The red bubble vanished and the warm moist air surrounded her once again. Light began to filter back through the cracks and from her new vantage point Lainey began to look for a way to get outside.

As the water kept receding Lainey noticed a crevice in the cliffs across from her larger than the rest. From her vantage point, it looked big enough for her to squeeze through. She couldn't see it when they stood on the cave floor and made a mental note of its exact location. She could see the relentless whitecaps battering the rocks on the other side and knew that she would have to wait until low tide before attempting an escape.

Dakari was still resting on the ledge, his energy gone after holding the bubble together for so long. He had gone so long without food, his body did not have the stamina for what was to come. She prayed his will to live was strong, for he would need something to keep him going. If only there was a way to get him food. She wondered if any of the sea life was edible. Too bad she hadn't studied marine biology in school like Dak, she felt so helpless.

The red crystals were sparkling again, reflecting off the sun. It dawned on her that the sun was coming in at a horizontal angle allowing the crystals to shimmer. It must be getting late in the day, she thought. Sunset would pass quickly with all its brilliance and soon it would be night, its total darkness upon them like a blanket. Without sustenance, there was no way Dakari would make it tomorrow. They must make their escape tonight!

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Dalya stormed out of the basement and went looking for some air. The look on her face left no doubt of the anger burning within. Alpha Kundam, Katalea's wonderful grandfather followed her out and put an arm around her tense shoulders.

"I am sorry to leave like that, I just couldn't take Abe anymore." She turned, eyes brimming with tears and looked up at her former alpha.

"It is better that you take your anger out here than air family business with the others. We can't help Dakari if we don't stay focused." He counseled.

"Abe doesn't care about helping Dakari, he just wants to help himself to Katalea," She scoffed.

"Agapito, calm your anger. Katalea is a smart girl, she will see what she needs to see when it comes to your brother. Why don't you go for a run and come back and join the meeting. Your input is needed."

"I have come to respect Katalea over the years, it wasn't always so." At this revelation she looked down sheepishly. "She is my alpha and I will do whatever I can to serve her, even if she picks him for a mate. I just hope his thinking on women gets out of the stone ages before then." With that she shifted and ran down the drive.

Grandfather picked up her pile of clothes and now broken phone from the ground and placed them on the grass in a neat stack. His dear friend, Mr. Kalb, stepped out from behind a large potted palm.

"You handle her better than most, my friend. I am grateful that you have such patience. It was insolent of her to storm out like that." Mr. Kalb fumed. His thoughts tended to lean toward the old ways, but his love for his daughter had him re-examining his rigid views on a daily basis.

"She will be fine, she is trying to come to grips with her brother possibly taking an Alpha position. She has had her eyes on the throne a long time now, this must be hard to fathom." Grandfather stepped lightly here, it would do no good to insult his best friend's children.

"My children's ambitions know no bounds. I fear Abrax is too set in the old ways to have a mate such as Katalea. I don't see her staying home to tend the house and children." At this both men laughed.

Dalya ran until her heart could take no more. She sat preening in the sun and watched a little red sailboat on the horizon. There was a light breeze that felt good to her fur. She loved being in her feline state and often wondered why she bothered to shift back. She closed her eyes and let the sun do its best to calm her enraged heart.

In her semi-conscious state she didn't notice the wind begin to stir. She opened her eyes as the dust storm was upon her. Her first thought was of Katalea and her mastery of the weather. She must have sent the dust storm to rouse me and bring me back to the meeting. Not feeling any danger she languidly stretched in the sun and prepared to run back.

She never saw the talons that grabbed her torso but she felt them. Sharp piercing pain ripped through her abdomen. She was accustomed to pain in battle but she had been caught unprepared. Never once had she felt danger while on their own island. She screeched a feline roar of distress. As her feet began to lift off the ground she tried to wriggle away and escape. Her powerful legs were useless, clawing nothing but air. She twisted and turned, trying to bite at her captor but instead found herself looking into the deep black eyes of an enormous black dragon. Her body shifted instantly on its own and she felt her consciousness fading slowly, as if a heavy blanket was being lowered over her till there was no more thought left at all.