Legend of Kataria (Draft Version)

Chapter 10

"I officially hate you."

Red chuckled as Greeny painfully slid onto a stool next to him. He sipped his drink but gave no retort. Greeny scowled and dropped his head into his hands, reaching painfully for a glass of water. Red slid it across to him. "That bad?" he questioned.

"I have been beaten, kicked, jeered at, and thrown against the floor so many times that my vision is worse than it was before, " Greeny growled. "I learned nothing, and on top of all of that, Pinky still hates me. She thinks everything that happened was somehow my fault! As if I could control what Morto's men did!" He took a small drink and then pushed the glass away with a scowl. "I mean," he went on, twisting to face Red. "Doesn't she think I would have done something if I could have? That I wouldn't have willingly let my best friend die? Doesn't she understand that--" He stopped his rant when he saw Red's expression. "What?"

"She understands," Red said firmly. "She understands probably the most how it feels like to lose a loved one." He lowered his voice as though afraid someone might hear. "Her parents and her brother were killed by Morto when she was eight," he went on. "She grew up like you, without parents. She went through the foster care system, did you know that? No one would take her. Anger issues, they said. That's when the resistance found her and took her in. She doesn't know anything about her past except that Morto destroyed her life."

"Oh..." Greeny instantly felt guilty. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

Red sighed, pushing his lemonade away and turning fully to face Greeny. "She doesn't like people to know," he warned. "She thinks it makes her weak. I'm only telling you so you can understand. Every one of us here has lost something. We've all had pain that the rest of the world will never know. We're here because we agree Morto needs to be stopped before anyone else is forced to suffer what we have." He stood up abruptly and pulled on his leather jacket. "Come on. I want to show you something."

A minute passed before Greeny's brain registered what the boy had just said, but still, he remained put, staring firmly at his drink. "No, thanks."

"It wasn't a request," Red retorted. He started toward the door and only paused when he had pushed it half-way open and Greeny hadn't budged. "Come along, Bush."

With a sigh of resignation, Greeny stood up and, stuffing his hands into his pockets, followed. "Where are we going?" he questioned. Red didn't answer as he started away from the house. Greeny hurried after him, blinking as he emerged into the early morning mist. As he took his first look at his surroundings, a warm breeze ruffled his hair, along with a strong scent of pine and ash. He was standing in a small clearing. Trees surrounded the house on three sides. Beyond the fourth was a small meadow. Though Red started to walk down a small dirt path in the opposite direction, Greeny snuck a glance toward the field. It was bare. Nothing but grass. But, beyond it, he could see a sudden drop, and even further on, green mountains disappeared into the clouds.

We're in the Crimson Mountain Range, he realized. His mind immediately went to a map he'd once seen in his history classroom. They had to be at least four hours away from Catrial. Maybe more depending on how far down the range they were.

"Just trust me!" Red called over his shoulder. "You'll wanna see this!"

Greeny raised an eyebrow in confusion but followed the overly-enthusiastic boy anyway. They walked away from the house and it wasn't too long before Greeny found himself parkouring across a hill of tall boulders to keep up with Red. A light drizzle met him about halfway to the top and he quickly wiped it from his glasses. "Red! Seriously, where are we?"

"Almost there!" Red answered from a few meters ahead. He was clambering over higher, more jagged rocks, ones that Greeny was forced to jump for. Everyone was taller than him, he decided with a small huff. He sprinted after the brunette, knowing at the same time that he'd never catch up. He could already feel his lungs burning and the sweat condense on his brow. Again he really regretted cutting PE.