Over The Edge

Chapter 2

He was running. Chest heaving, heart pounding, feet slapping against the forest floor. He no longer cared about stealth, only evasion. He couldn't feel the trees trying to hold him back as he stumbled over the thick, full roots that threatened to trip him.

The pursuers were in hearing distance, following, following, always following. He could hear them now, yelling in delight of the hunt. He was a fox, they were the hounds.

He darted in and out of trees, their grasping branches tore and his flesh and clothes, but still he ran on.

He had to get away from them. All the others were dead.... dead... he was the only one who knew now, the only one who could save them.
Images flashed through his mind. Their bodies, gone. Thrown over the cliff side, tumbling down into nothingness. He tried to blink the images away as he ran.   With a terrified yelp he broke free of the forest tree line.

There was the cliff. There was his choice.

Would he jump? Or let the Others have their way with him? The choice was clear. There was no more grey, only stark black and white.

He was shaking with exertion and lack of food now.
The hunted ran to the edge, looking over. Rushing wind stole tears from his eyes, carrying them away. He shouldn't have done that. All his earlier bravo left him. But there was no time to think now. The predators broke free of the forest line, catching sight of him, they shouted with hair raising glee.

Almost inhumanly fast they were upon him, rushing at him.

And he jumped.

Their hands just missed their grasps on his shirt, their fingers clenching on only thin air.

And he was falling, falling, falling.
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I sat, back stiff from bending over in the same position for a long time, thighs aching from where my elbows were digging into them, my head resting on my fists as I stared at him.  His damp reddish brown hair dripped onto the straw pillow cradling his head. His battered, bruised and broken body spread across the cot where he lay. As I stared , I listened to the familiar soft scratching, bubbling, and splashing noises that my grandmother made as she worked; expertly mixing medicines and rolling pills. A giant pot of water boiling over hot fire created a comforting, crackling sound.
   Suddenly my brother burst into the room. Seeing as to this used to be a daily occurrence, I didn't even flinch. He propelled himself forward expertly with a pair of crudely carved wooden crutches, made for him specially by Theo.

    "I heard you found an Outsider!" He cried excitedly, a happy look on his face. He hadn't noticed the boy laying on the cot yet behind me.

    "Quiet down, Ben," my grandmother scolded, pausing in her work and turning to give him a look mixing a polituce in her hands as she did.
"Where did you hear that?" I had asked, shifting my eyes to look back at the Outsider. Ben was suddenly nervous. I couldn't see him, but I could almost feel his sheepishness.
"Theo told me,"
"Of course he did," I had muttered under my breath, Theo had always told that boy everything, and in truth, it only added to my Mentor's charms.
Theo had been the only other I had confided to about my find.  I don't know why, but I had felt that strange nagging feeling, like somebody pulling the strings in my brain, that I should keep quiet about, well, our unexpected visitor.
     It wasn't like I was trying to hide the boy or anything, no that course of action wouldn't end well for me. I had planned to show him to the elders eventually, maybe when he had become well and was able to answer our many, many, questions. But for now, the little cot he slept on inside our humble cabin would have to suffice.
     I stretched my stiff arms over my head, the bones popping deliciously. It had been a while since I had left the Outsider's side, and when I did leave it was only to perform a few tasks for Healer.
"Ben did you go running your mouth and tell anyone else?" I yawned, sure he didn't. I was positive Theo had told him not to share the news of my find, and to Ben, Theo's word was law.
True to my suspicion, Ben shook his head firmly.
"No, Theo told me not to,"
"Good," I replied, fixing the boy with what I could only hope was a no-nonsense look.
"Listen Ben, you mustn't tell anybody about the Outsider yet, do you understand?"
Ben nodded solemnly.
"I promise Liana," Convinced I smiled and waved him over.
"In that case you may still be my little brother," I had joked lightly, and Ben smiled, hobbling up the me.
He looked cautiously at the Outsider, his bright blue eyes roaming.
"Why, he looks just like us!" Ben exclaimed excitedly. I snorted, twirling my thick braid around over my shoulder.
"Of course, they're human Ben," Healer came up behind my brother, handing him a slice of bread.
"I know," Ben announced, taking a bite of his supper.
"But I've never seen one before, and I thought maybe they looked a little different,"
Healer chuckled and handed me my own thick slice of bread. I took a bite, the thick wheat stuck to the roof of my mouth as I chewed.
"Where do you think they come from?" My brother asked, undeterred from talking despite the fact his mouth was full of food.
"Probably from the top of the mountain," I commented sarcastically.
"Well I know that!" Ben dragged on.
"But where on the top of the mountain?"
"Probably a village like ours Ben, I don't know, why don't you ask the Outsider all your questions when he wakes up?"
Ben's baby blue eyes widened considerably.
"So does that mean he'll wake up?" He had asked, worming in his seat excitedly.
"Not if you don't stop talking and start eating your dinner so I might be able to get some work done," Healer scolded him lightly.
"You have lessons to do anyways before bed, just because we have a visitor here doesn't mean you can skip out on your lessons,"
I smiled at the angry look on Ben's face.
"Don't worry Benny,he'll be here when you wake up in the morning," I announced ruffling my brothers hair.
That of course would depend  on the Outsider's surviving the night, this fact was failed to be mentioned to my young brother though.
Ben, at the time, didn't seem any happier at the thought of seeing the Outsider in the morning, but there was no changing what Healer said.
He mumbled something unintelligible, and for awhile that was the only sound in our small cabin, save for the rattling breath of the Outsider.
I continued to watch his chest rise and fall, as I thoughtfully chewed the last bit of my bread.
Healer had said he had a few broken ribs, a broken arm, and a few bruises, maybe at worst a concussion.
Virtually unscathed if you ask me. Just the fact he had survived the drop from the top of the mountain, blowed my mind.  There was no doubt though, for me, that he had fallen. His Carmel colored hair signified him as an Outsider, seeing as all the others we had found had the same coloring in their hair.
So I waited patiently for him to open his eyes, so I could bombard him with my many, many, many questions. But soon, it was obvious I would have to wait for a long time.
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It was far into the night when he had awoken. Ben had long finished his lessons and retired to bed himself, but I stayed by the Outsider's... well, side. I knew I would have a busy day tomorrow, and I had planned to save my energy and go to my bed soon.
But something kept me awake. Whether it be, excitement, adrenaline, or divine intervention, I would never know.
Quickly though, the sunlight filtering through our window faded into a silvery moonlight, the cold chilling my bones.
I shivered, rubbing the goose flesh underneath my shirt.
The cold helped me stay awake for awhile, Healer doing her endless work around me. It was inevitable though, that I would nod off, despite my valiant attempts not to.
My eyes would slide shut for a moment, before my heart startled and I jolted awake once again.

I'm not quite sure when sleep took me, but I know it was late into the night. Healer had retired carrying the promise that I would soon retire myself, and that I would just be a moment, but I fell asleep where I was sitting, my only company the dragging breaths of the Outsider