The Wilds (Part IV of the Runner Series)

Chapter 1

all places, characters (except my oc's), and terms, belong to so1tgoes
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It never gets old.

One moment they are content, resting under the shade of a growing tree, and the next they are flying, their feet pounding against the hard-packed earth with no intention other than knowing that they are free to do so.

The wind whips at Kay's hair as she runs, the scent of rain and wet sand filling her senses and lifting her spirits into the sky, where they've always belonged. She spreads her arms out like she's trying to catch the wind within her fingertips, but it rushes past with a force she's all too familiar with.

But running this time is different. She's not being chased. She's not running to something. Kay's just...running. It's in her nature to. She may not need to be the Runner anymore, but her alter-ego will forever and always be a part of who she is deep within herself.

Luca runs beside her, the backpack across his shoulders jolting against his back. He looks over at her, and even with the wind and hair in her eyes, Kay can tell that he's breathing heavily—though he still smiles, the crooked movement of his mouth hiding behind his beard still managing to send her heart into the sky. Kay smiles back, nudging Luca's shoulder as she sprints faster, hearing his muttered protest as she runs ahead of him.

The world seems to change a different colour the further they run. Luscious green foliage turns to orange-and-yellow desert, the sand filling Kay's mouth and nose as they approach a looming dune that almost appears to touch the clouds.

Kay stops at a plateau, hands on her knees and smiling as the air rushes back into her lungs, burning and feeling so amazing and familiar it's like coming home.

Luca stops beside her, walking the remaining distance towards the bottom of the dune, collapsing face-first onto the soft sand. Kay can spot his shoulders rising and falling in tune with his heavy breathing, perspiration already gathering on the white sand below his head.

Kay laughs to herself over the fact that she barely broke a sweat over the run. She moves to sit beside him, pushing his shoulder and making sure he isn't dead. Luca slowly rolls over onto his back and stares up at her, red-faced, still breathing heavily. Curls of his sweat-damped hair have been plastered on his forehead, brushing into his eyes and intermingled with the sand. Kay brushes the strands away with her fingers, curling them back behind his ear. He swallows and closes his eyes against the touch, leaning into her palm only slightly.

When he opens his eyes again, bright blue and shining in the sunlight, they look tired. "How you have...the energy to run for hours...still amazes me."

"Well then." Kay taps his nose and Luca almost flinches at the sudden touch. "Perhaps you should exercise more, desert boy."

Luca laughs, leaning his head back against the sand and letting the sun wash over him, the breeze brushing through his still-damp hair. "We get plenty of exercise, Miner."

Though his words were probably not implying what her mind immediately goes to, Kay still feels her cheeks burn. She looks away to hide it, concentrating on tipping the remaining drops of water from her hip flask into her mouth.

Kay screws the lid back on and attaches it to her belt again. "You ready to continue?" she asks, already standing up and taking the pack from him to shrug onto her own shoulders. "We need to find some lunch. I'm famished."

Luca releases a breath through his teeth and rises from the sand in one smooth motion. "Absolutely." He slings his bow from his back and Kay does the same. "Whoever catches something first has to cook it. Deal?"