Naihabi Ridge

Chapter Twenty-Three - Mission, Part III

The first flush of the rising sun was in the sky by the time Romia had helped the last refugee into the southernmost hideout. But she hadn't seen Avi.

She looked once more to the brightening dawn, then closed the latch on the trapdoor at her feet and sprinted off down the path.

+++

I hurried behind another building just as a vigil came out from the other end of it. Apparently, there was more than one of them. My head felt like it was splitting apart, my arm and shoulder throbbed, and I was terribly nauseous and tired, but I still held the medical kit over my shoulder and took what shallow breaths I could. At least I was still breathing.

I stared intently at the vigil as he walked past and then I darted around the edge of the building and down the path again. I was headed toward the eastern hideout as I only knew of three and that was the closest. I didn't think Master Romia would take my cabin-mates very far—she wasn't the type of person to make nervous people walk the extra mile—and I wasn't particularly feeling like walking that extra mile either, so I snuck down the last stretch to the eastern breakfast building and cursed under my breath. People would be coming to breakfast any second now. I would be the luckiest refugee on the planet to be able to sneak into the trapdoor in the very back of the building without any of the breakfast staff seeing me.

I ran forward to one of the windows on the side of the warehouse and went up on my tiptoes to peer into the building.

Rats... Several people had already sat down at the tables and begun chatting. Just wonderful.

I went down on my heels and stared at the sand for a second to stop all the hurting for a moment. It didn't work very well. Would it be safe to assume that Master Romia and the others couldn't have gotten here before anyone arrived?

I cursed again under my breath, my headache becoming worse, and I started again down the winding paths between the buildings. I would have to go to the one near the southern border. That had to be where they were.

+++

Romia strutted confidently down the path as a vigil eyed her suspiciously. She had the sudden urge to stick her tongue out, but she merely smiled instead. Smiled cynically.

The vigil walked faster.

Once he was out of sight, her smiled disappeared and she sprinted again toward the breakfast building. This was hardly the time for smiling.

+++

The sand became a blur beneath me and my heart thumped hard and fast against my chest. I was fairly certain I had slowed down and I lost track of the buildings that I swerved between. I was probably almost there, though. No, I was certain I was almost there and if Master Romia wasn't there—which she definitely was—then I would just have to rest until I regained enough energy to continue. I... I just had to get to the southern border... they would definitely be there...

+++

Romia muttered a string of curses when she saw the breakfast building. No, Avi wasn't there. He wouldn't have been able to get past the staff. He was alright, though, she was sure of it. He was her apprentice, after all. He had only broken his collarbone and not even gotten through half of Stephan's suggested healing period. What if he had gotten hurt?... what if he was dead?

No, he was definitely fine. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead and she bit her lip. Definitely.

After a moments' thought, she headed down the path where she had come. The only other hideout she had shown him was behind her, and now she was returning to it. He had to be okay... he had to be okay... definitely. Yes, most definitely.

+++

I let out a sigh of relief as I came upon the hideout: a small trapdoor in the back of one of the medical shacks. I had finally reached them after what seemed like an eternity. I tried to crouch down to the trapdoor, but I think I did more of a half-hearted stumble, then I pulled the handle and open it went. I climbed down the short ladder to the dugout and my stomach dropped. I was so dizzy and sick, but it didn't take much to notice that no one was there. I had missed them. Again.

I let out a despairing moan and fell to my knees. I was done; I couldn't possibly do any more. My head spun and every joint in my body protested, but I stood with shaky legs and lit the lamp that hung from the roof of the dugout and made my way to the back of the small space. Everything was dug from the packed sand and it was really only the size of a small room, but I ignored all that and fumbled my way over to the little alcove in the back with a filthy, rundown quilt in a pile over it. It was supposed to be a makeshift bed and right now it seemed like the most hospitable, fitting place I'd ever seen.

I sighed shallowly and didn't quite make it to the alcove before I fell down again and didn't get back up. I reached out and grabbed a fistful of the quilt and dragged it over my head. It was dark, hot, dry... a great place to end things.

+++

Romia muttered nervously to herself, trying to remember the last time she'd run as fast as she currently was. The sand stung her cheeks, but she still ran faster; she had finally found a trace of Avi, but she couldn't even be sure it was him. Actually, she would have preferred it not be him.

Blood.

She'd just barely spotted it after she went past the breakfast building: a small bead of blood, almost dried, in the sand at her feet. She had buried it immediately with her foot and she'd seen eight of them since. She was no longer following her instincts, now she was following a trail of blood.

Romia skidded to a stop at the southern border right in front of the last bead of red before a small medical shack.

She shook her head, running inside and flinging the trapdoor open, then her breath tightened at the sight of a lit lamp. She jumped right to the floor of the dugout and gasped, staring in disbelief at the bloody mess of quilt and limbs in front of her.

Avi?...

She rushed forward and fell down to her knees, yanking the quilt off to reveal a knotted mat of white hair, clumps of sand, and a worrying amount of blood. His skin was paler than ever, his breathing thin and barely noticeable, his back was bare and smudged with red, and his arm, oh, his only uninjured arm was no longer uninjured. What in the world had happened?

Romia took a moment to let her emotions well, then she took in a deep breath and her expression calmed, her hands steadied, her shoulders loosened, and she could do what needed to be done. She carefully slid her arms under Avi, then lifted him just enough to lay him down on the bed. She slipped her medical bag down from his arm, then opened it up and began her work.

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What do you think will happen? Votes, questions, and comments are always welcome. ♡