"Hey, wake up, we have to hurry," a voice whispered.
Jun lazily opened his eyes, only to shoot open when he saw Minghao with a furious expression. He sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes.
"What's happening?"
"Hunters," Minghao spat out, his breath smelling like nightshade, "they are coming here, we need to leave."
"Wh-" Jun couldn't even speak before Minghao stood up from his crouching position and dragged Jun into a run. The flower boy led Jun farther and farther away from his little sleeping spot in the canopy of trees and shoved him into a huge, hollow tree. They both squeezed to fit, and then use the vines on the inside as a ladder to the top of the tree, secluded by branches. From this vantage point, they both had a perfect view of what Minghao called "hunters."
"Sorry it's a tight fit," Minghao muttered, eyes never leaving the two figures, "I'm only used to hiding myself."
"It's fine, Ming. Can you please tell me what is happening? What is a hunter?" Jun asked, looking at his flora friend with confusion evident on his face.
"Hunters are people who kill our kind, Jun. They've suspected that there was someone, me, living in this particular forest due to its size and health. They kill a lot of special animals and plants, too. I doubt they'll do anything, though." Minghao quietly explained, his hand finding Jun's and holding it in a bone-crushing grip. Jun could tell the latter was anxious; his hand wouldn't stop shaking and sweat beaded at his forehead and neck. The elder decided not to say anything about his behavior , not wanting to further fuel Minghao's already racing thoughts.
They sat for what could have been hours, staring at the straggling shadows that carried semi-automatics and nets. Minghao could only assume that they were drunk, what with the wheezy guffaws and uncoordinated steps. He shuddered. If humans were already dangerous, drunk ones were lethal.
"All clear! No freaks to be seen!" One of the men shouted, stumbling as he took out a small shiny thing and huge red container. "Light 'em up, baby!"
"Wait, what?" Minghao froze at this man's words. They were speaking English, evidently, but he knew enough to realize what they were doing.
Jun saw Minghao struggling to move in the small space, and grabbed his shoulders, "What the hell are you doing? Stay here."
"No, they're gonna burn my home, let me go, I have to stop them," The ravenet sputtered out, panic arising. Jun only pulled him closer into an awkward embrace.
"Are you mad? They'll kill you!" Jun whisper-shouted. Minghao turned his head to look at the men , and saw the liquid pouring out of the red cans.
He didn't have to see the label that it was a mixture of gasoline and lighter fluid, the putrid smell burning his nose and stinging his eyes. Minghao looked a Jun with murder in his eyes, pushing against his chest.
"Let me go!" Minghao seethed, thorns growing out of his skin and puncturing Jun's exposed skin. Jun hissed, his eyes prickling with tears, but he held his friend closer. "Let me go, let me go! I hate you, let me go! I'll kill you!" Minghao continued to punch and kick as he watched one of the men take the metal object and flipped it open, a small burst of light illuminating their evil faces.
"Well, bombs away, I guess!" The man snickered, and dropped the lighter. He ran, ran like the coward he was and leaped into the truck with his friend and sped away with a fire trailing behind him.
Minghao screamed and sobbed as he saw his home for centuries light up in explosions of orange and yellow. He cried tears of poison, the liquid dripping onto Jun's face. Jun still held him close, muttering weak apologies over and over as he tried to shield Minghao's view of the ever-growing forest fire. He closed his eyes, channeling his thoughts to every water source in the area.
Minghao's sobs and the crackling of burning vegetation faded out. He called out to every drop of moisture that he could find, breathing slowly in and out before opening his eyes.
"Stop."
Millions upon millions of gallons of water fell from the sky that night.
A/N: when your brother decides it's a good idea to close an open Microsoft Word window, proceeding to close 10+ chapters for each of my books: uhh there is no meme
