Sidekick

Chapter 9

As I move through the portal it's like my worries, my thoughts and fears are muted. All I can think of is how peaceful it would be to live like this forever. With no worries, or fears. It would make it easier to live.

But like all things it doesn't last long.

The portal releases its hold on me and throws me onto a rough ground. Before I can land face first into it and get a mouthful of grass, I throw my hands out in front of me. They scrape against the grass, along with my knees. The impact knocks all of my breath away. The world stills as I try to gather it all back.

Then something lands right on top of me. Knocking the air out again.

This time it isn't so easy to get air into my lungs. It isn't until the thing is off me that I can breathe again.

"Sorry!" Cam exclaims. He runs into view, crouches down and offers me a hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I manage to squeeze out. But really, I'm not. It's like my lungs got stepped on by an elephant.

I take Cam's hand. He pulls my arm as I start to get my footing underneath me. I stumble a little and almost crash into him before I get my balance. When I can stand on my own I check both my hands and knees. They're just stained green with no cuts. I sigh in relief.

It would have been a bad start to the rescue if I showed up hurt.

When I look up my breath stops... again. But not from being crushed. It's taken by the beauty of this world.

The sky is painted like a galaxy of purple and pink, with silver streaks throughout it. White specks that almost look like stars dance their way through the sky, without stopping once. The clouds look like blue and pink cotton candy.

I've never seen a sky so pretty and unique. Where did it come from?

I can feel Cam move next to me. Even if he has something on his mind he doesn't say anything. I'm glad for that. After all the craziness we've gone through I just want to take a moment to breathe and admire the scenery.

My gaze travels down into the big oak trees that surround us. The leaves are a vibrant green against the pastel sky, while the barks are a healthy brown. But as I look around and try to see past the trees, something moves.

My gaze snaps back to a shadow that moved out from behind a tree. It's vaguely human shaped.

I take a step forward. A crack echoes around the opening. The figure darts away, deeper into the trees.

"What was that?" I ask.

I don't give Cam the chance to answer before I dart into the trees after it.

"What was what?!" Cam calls after me. His voice gets smaller the farther I move.

My gaze darts around, trying to find something that's running, or hiding. I never realized how much the runs with Peggy have helped my speed, because before I know it I spot a shadow darting through the trees and jumping over bushes.

I take a deep breath before kicking my legs into overspeed and darting after it.

When I get closer I notice that it's a human.

They have bronze skin that lights up when it's hit with a sun-beam that has made its way through the heavy leaf coverage. Their blond with brown streaked hair stops at the nape of their neck.

"Hey!" I call out.

Their head snaps back towards me. Their hazel eyes are wide. They whip back around and make a sharp turn.

I skid to slow myself from being thrown into a tree, before running after them. "We don't want to hurt you!" I call.

Finally they slow down at a more open area, where the trees gather around like they're praying.