Shai Soi

Chaptere 24

"Run!"

"Over here!"

"They're coming!"

Red. Everything was red.

"Help!"

"Where's my son? I can't find my son!"

Footsteps stamped into my skull. My ears rang like a microphone too close to a speaker. Ice cold pain stabbed at my eyes until my corneas snapped thread by thread.

What's... happening? What's with... all... this this noise?

"Rebecca! Rebecca, where are you?" That voice... smooth as honey. Momma...

I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. My vocal cords scratched like sandpaper on gritty wood. A weak moan escaped my lips.

"Rebecca? Cub!" Momma's smooth hands brushed against my face.

The touch made the weight lift from my muscles. My heart pumped with renewed vigor. 'Momma was here!' I wanted to shout. The problem was, I could barely open my eyes. Light seared into them. Tears pooled from my tearducts.

A golden heart shaped face. Golden brown eyes. A scar from a fight with a younger brother near her hairline. "M-muhma?"

"Oh, sweetheart! You used too much shara, didn't you? I'm sorry, cub. We have to leave-now- your father's holding them off with the others. We have to leave."

"Ummmmghhhh..."

Her forehead crinkled. She bit her lip as if she were decided something.

ROAPHM! The tiers groaned. The arena floor shook. When did I get back here? A sound continued, crunching its way into my brain. My veins tightened. It sounded how I imagined the sinking of Titanic. The squeal of metal on ice and the sickly crrss crrss of ice crystals shattering inside the frozen time capsule.

A crack errupted in the stone. Debris exploded from the break. Momma hunkered over me taking the brute of the impact. Still something sharp bit my calf.

Momma growled. The rumbling eased and she threw me over her shoulders like a hunter and it's kill.

Or a sack of potatoes, I thought.

Her strong legs propelled us forward, past the rock spires, over the unweilding forest brush and into the dark woods.

Even with Momma's lioness strength, I was surprised at the distance she had already put between the chaotic Council area and us.

Her bony shoulder dug into my stomach. I nearly vomited my next words. "What's h-h-hap-ning? W-who's d-sad fi-t-ting?" My teeth caught my tongue. I tasted copper.

"Namuh. Some organization..."

She stumbled. Adrenaline aurged through my veins and I held out my arms before we crashed into the dirt. I spat red salvia. "M-Momma?"

She sat up, pulling me with her. My heart lurched. Her lips were busted. Blood sputtered down her neck. "Sorry, cub." Momma swiped a hand under her eyes. Was she crying?

I steadied her shoulders. Swallowing what moisture I could I tried to speak clearly. "Momma, if some random Namuh government is here, shouldn't we just p-pretend to be squirrels or birds or something?"

"They know." My mother gulped and swiped more tears from her face. "The Numuhi know about Shai soi. And from the looks of things, they've known for a while. They have guns-"

"Guns!?" The nerves in my body tingled.

"Tranquilizers, yes. But they are especially developed to-"