The Fence

Chapter 66: Knight

I wonder if this is how Ky felt all this time.

Numb.

I know Sutikka is trying to talk to me, to pull me from this state I'm in, but I shut him out. He keeps buzzing in my grasp, so I drop him. Before he can hit the ground, he starts to float. He follows me obediently, giving up his attempts.

The rain pounds against my skin, so hard it feels like hail. It drips from my forehead and into my eyes, making it incredibly hard to see. I don't think it matters, anyway. I'm doing what Grey did: I'm walking just to walk.

Grey.

No, I don't care.

A sudden blast of wind shoves me to the side. I look around dazedly, trying to figure out where it came from. Another one comes from the opposite direction, pushing me into a tree. The bark cuts the palms of my hands when I use them to catch myself. I peer down at the blood rising to the top of my skin. The rain washes it away as soon as I hold them out. I flinch when a crack of thunder booms over my head.

More wind thrusts me around, each gust seemingly harder than the last. The ground under my feet begins to shake. I whip around in every direction. The largest gust of all throws me forward, and my foot gets stuck in a tree root. I slam to the ground, the breathe knocked out of me.

I can't move. I can't breathe. I can't do anything. I couldn't even...say what I wanted to say. I don't know if the droplets streaming down my face is rain, tears, or both. Mud smears itself across my skin, my clothes. It streaks itself through my hair.

I don't want to be here. I want to go back to my bed and curl up under my fluffy white blanket. I want Furisu to snuggle up against me like she would every night. I want Donte to be right down the hall, ready to comfort me when I need to be comforted. I want my brother to wake me up in the morning the way he used to, handing me a clementine. I want Val and Merida to tease me about guys. I want Luci and Neveah to play cards with me. I want Pine to give me his goofy grin. I want Grey to-

I want him to be holding my hand.

Blackness fills my vision, and my head falls to the ground.

__________________

Light fills my eyes when they snap open. I'm too weak to move, or speak. My vision finally focuses on the figure above me.

"Kirbena?"

His green eyes sparkle with concern, and his tan skin glistens with sweat.

"P-Pi-" I try to speak, but my voice catches in with throat. I spin to my side so I don't cough on him. Mud spills from my mouth.

"Don't," he murmurs. He reaches for something beside him, and reveals a water bottle. He holds it to my lips, and I drink eagerly.

Pine pulls it away before I can choke on any. "Bena, what happened? I heard you scream, and then I heard your brother scream, and then someone's horse caught on fire."

"I-I b-blacked out," I splutter. "W-When I saw N-Nixon."

"Who's Nixon?"

"T-The guy who s-shot me."

I feel Pine slide his arm under my neck, and the other under my knees. He gently lifts me up off the ground, and Sutikka rises to follow us. I feel my eyes begin to flutter shut again, but I force them to stay open. "Where is everyone? Are they safe?"

"The war caused all of the recruits to scatter, so we're with a smaller group. Our squad is there, along with a few other stray people who lost their own squads. Raven is with us, along with Holt."