Wisteria

Chapter 7: Marrow Valley

North woke up with a gasp. She was cold, wet, confused and her heart was racing. Once she regained the rest of her senses she slowly sat up and looked around. She noticed Chai was laying a few feet away from her still unconscious.

"Caesar..? Icarus..?" Her voice was coarse and dry as she slowly got to her feet. She called out their names again as she made her way further down the riverbank. She didn't go too far because of Chai. When she had decided to go back, she heard the snapping of a twig and the rustling of some bushes. She spun around and sighed in relief as Icarus stood there with his head down.

"Icarus! There you are! Where's Caesar?" Her relief dwindled a bit when she didn't get an answer as he walked past her and back in the direction Chai was. North decided to follow him in case he did give her an answer. Instead, when he got back to Chai, He took off his jacket and laid it over her before sitting down.

"Icarus..?" North sat down next to him. "What's wrong? Did you find-"

"No. I didn't." His voice was cold and held pain within it. So much that it was easily noticeable. "I'll wait until Chai wakes up."

"Alright." North's voice came out as a whisper. She gave him a side hug which he accepted without any hesitation. They sat there for what felt like a day but what was really a few hours.

Chai had eventually woke up with a fire nearby as Icarus tossed more wood into it. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah.. kind of." North answered as she finished checking their supplies. "Nothing's too damaged.. we'll last three to four days."

"Mmm.." Icarus hummed.

"Where's Caesar?"

Icarus went silent and only gazed into the flames. He then let out a sigh as he swallowed the knot in his throat. "I don't know. He could be gone.. I.. I couldn't find him."

"Gone..?" Chai moved over to him and closer to the fire for more warmth. "W-what do you mean gone?"

Icarus just looked down. North decided to step in. She placed a hand on each of their shoulders and squeezed gently. She then took Chai off to the side to explain.

"Icarus told me that.. that Caesar could be dead.."

"How..?"

"He.. he may have been crushed before he could get out or the river took him. Icarus said he went as far as he could before he reached the waterfalls."

"Those.." Chai began to tear up. "Those dang Terrors! It's all their fault! If it wasn't for that huge one, we'd all be here!"

"Chai." North held her still. "Please calm down."

"But.. but I.."

"I know." She then pulled her friend into a tight hug as she began to cry. "I know.."

After some time passed and everyone finished eating, they went to bed so they'd be ready for the next day, which had come faster than expected. Once they made sure the fire was properly put out, they were on their way again. Silently again. After getting through a small patch of woodland, they were met with the infamous Marrow Valley.

"Okay.. here we are. Marrow Valley." Icarus stretched. "Let's get through this. Together."

"Yeah. Together."

Icarus tied a rope around their waists. "That's dense fog. So it'll be really hard to see even two feet in front of you. And the fog is supposedly filled with some weird brain stuff that makes you hallucinate. With these, we won't get lost or separated. Plus, we'll hold hands just in case."

"Okay. How long is the valley?" North asked as she made sure her knot was tight. She was in the back, Chai was in the middle and Icarus was at the front to lead the way.

"Hmm.. I think about two and a half kilometers or so."

"That's... a lot of walking." Chai sighed.

"Well, we made it this far. No use in giving up now!" North looked up at them. "We'll get through this for Caesar too."

Icarus nodded. "For Caesar."

Chai smiled with a small hint of longing in her eyes. "For Caesar."

With that, they made their way down into the mist of the valley. Icarus had been right. It was very difficult to see even a foot ahead of you. It was oddly silent but nobody minded since they were used to it by now. A few minutes had passed and things were going decently well so far which North found a relief. She knew she wasn't ready for anything horrible to happen again. She shivered a little before bumping into Chai who had stopped in front of her.

"Huh? Why'd we stop?"

"I don't know Icarus just stopped moving."

"Icarus?" North called out confused. There were a few moments of silence before she decided to call his name again but before she did, he spoke up.

"Sorry. I was trying to check the Digi-Map again."

"Is it working?"

"No. Still broke and the compass is going crazy."

"I think the fog might be messing it up." Chai moved forward a bit. "Let's keep going straight."

"Alright." Icarus put the compass back in his pocket and began walking again. The other two followed after him. Chai was noticeably squeezing their hands out of nervousness. Nobody could blame her. They were nervous too, scared even, but they refused to turn back now. Not after how far they had come and especially not after losing Caesar. They were going to make it to Generation 10. Even if it was the last thing they would do.