Run With Me

Run With Me
by Debra Fehr

Prologue



“You wish to run with me?”

“I...no, I can’t...”

“Come now, come run.”

******************

“We’ve lost four people so far.”

“The children, too. Seems like this is happening at night.” The hiss of a cigarette ash being dropped on wet leaves.

“We only have the boy left.” A quick glance to the small boy, about four years old, huddled under the huge boughs to get out of the rain. “That isn’t enough, we needed all of the children to get in.”

Rain spattered down on the two men, conspicuously huddled apart from the rest of the mismatched group, only the boy near them. The wind shook the branches of the trees above them, increasing the downpour. The taller man, the one with the sandy blonde hair, bent over slightly, trying to shield his cigarette even more. He took a long draw, reveling in the heat traveling down his throat into his chest. “We need to get more, then. Let me borrow your hat. My smoke is getting soaked.”

Black eyes flicked up to meet grey. “It isn’t that easy.” Pushing his glasses further up his nose, he cocked his head to the side, pointing with his chin. “I don’t think they will cooperate anymore, they aren’t as scared as they used to be. And I need the hat, otherwise I can’t see out of my glasses for the rain.”

“Fine.” Shrugging, he dropped the rest of the cigarette on the ground and crushed it out with his heel. “Martin, all we have to do is renew it. That’s it.”

The shorter man looked up under the brim of his hat. “Look at them. They look directly at us. They know us, now.”

A frown. “That isn’t possible.”

“Maybe you should spend more time with them then.” Illustrating his point, Martin walked up to the closest group, two women and a man clutching one another underneath one of the huge trees. Woefully underdressed for such weather, they were all shivering and drenched. As he approached, three sets of eyes swept up, maintaining eye contact with no hesitation. “Look down.” Contact. “Look down.” They turned back to each other, craving the shelter.

Martin trudged back the few steps to where his partner was standing. “You saw, Alexander?” An answering nod.

“This isn’t good. If they know us for certain, we cannot renew.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Alexander frowned, his smooth brow marred with worry.

“Exactly. So we need to get those children back.” Turning swiftly, Martin performed a quick head count of the group. “Only 11 to test. We have to make sure. If it’s as I suspect, we take the boy.”

“Yes.”

The small figure stared up at them with eyes the color of leaves.

******************

“Come away, with me...”

“Are you...?”

“Yes. We can run, together.”

******************

Sunlight filtered in among the laden branches, illuminating the straggling travelers below.

Alexander carried the boy on his shoulders, walking slightly away from the rest of the group, which was noticeably smaller by one. The trees formed an inconsistent barrier, showing either side glimpses of the other. Martin met his eyes from the other side, a worried frown upon his face. Martin seemed to have a sort of connection with the rest of the group that Alexander did not; therefore, it was accepted that Alexander tend to the boy while Martin subtly tested the adults.

“I’m hungry.” The small voice captured his attention.

“We aren’t ready to stop yet.” The ache that had begun a couple hours ago in his neck was traversing its way across his shoulders and down his back. For such a small child, he was abominably heavy. His hand twitched toward the cigarettes in his pocket.

“But I’m hungry.”

Gritting his teeth against his annoyance, the tall man stopped and lifted the boy off of his shoulders, settling him on the ground. Pulling out a cigarette, he regarded the boy with weary eyes.

“What’s the hold up?”

Shading his eyes with one hand, the other holding the lighter, Alexander looked up at Martin. He spoke around the smoke in his mouth. “A break, we’ll catch up.”

The other man shrugged. “Just be careful. We are still losing people, remember.”

“I remember.” How could I forget?

Martin jerked a bit as the strands of hair twined around his hand were pressured a bit. “Stop it! You can’t go ahead!” He straightened his hat and hurried off under the watchful gaze of his partner.

Lighting his cigarette, Alexander narrowed his eyes against the plume of smoke and reached behind him into his pack, retrieving an apple. “Here.” He handed the boy the apple, meeting eyes with him. A thought flickered through his mind. He frowned, and crouched in front of the little boy. “What’s your name?”

“I don’t want to tell you.” He spoke around a huge chunk of apple, his face solemn. He sat down on the ground, taking another bite.

Exhaling the smoke away from the young boy, Alexander nodded and stood, gazing up to find the rest of the group. “Can’t let them get too far, can we.”

A shrug. “Tell me your name, first.” Curiousity shone from his down-turned face.

Alexander flicked his eyes down, taking another drag. “Alex.” He even ate the core...

“I’m Gabriel.” He wiped his hands on the front of his shirt, marring the yellow fabric with yet more stains. “But don’t call me that, ‘cause I don’t like it.”

Alexander let an amused smile creep onto his face after a few moments. “Then what do I call you?”

The boy looked up. “Bug,”

“Bug?” Alexander barely reigned in his laughter.

“You should stop smoking. You wouldn’t cough like that.” A solemn nod. “Yeah. I like bugs. They are so cool.” Gabriel gestured grandly. “My gramma calls me little bug, and I like that.” He wrinkled his nose. “Better than Gabriel.”

Alexander shook his head, a slight smile still present on his face as he crushed out his cigarette. “Come on. You can walk for a little ways.” The boy rose and started walking, falling into step beside the tall man. They immersed themselves in companionable silence, picking their way through the undergrowth.

“We have to catch up to that crazy man, don’t we.”

“Don’t call him crazy.”

Grave emerald eyes regarded Alexander from under a thatch of dark hair. “He is, you know.”

Alexander focused his eyes on the path, his ears on the sound of his partner exclaiming loudly in the distance.


*****************************

”I’ve found this book, Alex...Look at it. It’s so old, and there’s a map...”

“Martin, seriously.” A skeptical glance at the tattered and worn book on the desk. “How many times have I followed your lead, and been arrested, nearly killed or both?” The blonde man shook his head, tapping his cigarette into the ashtray. “Not this time, my friend.”

“This is going to work Alex, I know it. I can feel it.” Martin beamed at his prospective partner, pushing his glasses back up along his nose.

Alexander smirked and leaned back in his seat. “Tell me then. Tell me your plan.”

Martin grinned, walking back to the door and latching it securely. “We’ll start with the book itself.” The cover was pushed back, the faded leather of the inside pages exposed. The smell of decay wafted forth. “And then we can go through the research I’ve compiled...”

What have you gotten into this time?

*****************************

“We are getting closer...Can you feel the change in the air? The way it feels on your skin?”

Alexander looked up from his book to regard Martin with a tired stare.

Martin pushed his glasses back up his nose and continued to gesture wildly. “It has been a long two years, my friend. Soon, this will be over.” Martin grinned, turning from his silent partner and scooting underneath the tent flap to the outside.

Shaking his head, Alexander gently shut his book, propping himself up on one elbow. The sleeping bag rustled underneath him, momentarily obscuring the other night noises, the murmur of deep breathing. He gazed at the opening to the tent, as though he could burn through it to look beyond.

A faint voice. “You all stay together, tonight...There is enough for everybody, don’t fight.” Martin.

Alexander frowned. If they were fighting now...that means most of them couldn’t be renewed at all. He turned his head to check on the sleeping boy huddled on the other side of him, farthest away from the door.

He lay back again, holding his book over his chest and exhaling slowly. We gave it enough time...They are just becoming a nuisance. We only have to get four more children. We don’t need any of the others for that. Four more and I can get out of this nightmare.

Closing his eyes, Alexander fell into a sleep that didn’t allow him to hear Martin come back into the tent. Holding his decaying little book close to him, as though it’s mere presence could aid him, Martin slept.

*****************************

“We run...”

“I can’t leave....”

“Yes, you can. Come with me...”

*****************************

“It’s not light out yet.”

“That doesn’t matter, get up.” Martin was patting the ground beside Alexander, cursing under his breath when he found nothing. “The boy is gone.” His voice was low, laced with desperate worry.

Alexander blinked, allowing the words to sink in (and his eyes to adjust to the darkness) before becoming completely irate. Checking for himself that little Gabriel was no longer in the tent, he pulled the rest of his clothes on and hefted up his pack. “Come on.”

“What are you doing? We can’t just leave, now. It’s the middle of the night.”

Alexander turned his frozen gaze upon his partner. “The boy is gone. We are either going to find him, or I’m leaving.” He pushed away the ache threatening to consume him. It’s not fucking over yet! His eyes swept over an inconsistency. “What’s that?”

Interrupted from his inner diatribe of self pity, Martin pulled his hat lower to hide the trails of salt water sliding down his cheeks. “What?”

Alexander gently set his pack down on the ground and gestured at the far wall of the tent. Kneeling in front of the fluttering fabric, Alexander ran his fingers over the slight imperfection that had caught his eye. A hole, no bigger than that of his smallest fingernail marred the otherwise featureless canvas. Alexander frowned.

“What is it?” Martin scrubbed at his face with one hand, the other clutching his book. Squatting beside Alexander, Martin peered at the hole. A moment where only their breathing interrupted the night. “We have to get out of here. This is worse than I thought.” Rising swiftly, he lifted his own pack onto his back, turning toward the tent flap.

“What the hell are you talking about? First you don’t want to go anywhere, and now we need to?” Alexander rose as well, settling his bag onto his back with the air of a man resigned to the situation, and followed Martin into the dark air.

****************

”16? Are you sure?” The cherry of the cigarette glowed.

Martin glanced up at the other man. “Yes, I’m sure. We need 16, the book says 16.”

Alexander shook his head. “And what are we going to do to when we have 16 other people?” Smoke expelled in a thin stream. “There is no way the two of us can control 16 grown men and women without some help.”

A laugh. “I’ve got it, Alex. Don’t worry.”

Eyes glittered through a cloud of smoke. “I hope so, Martin.”

******************

“I found it.” Martin adjusted his hat slightly, absurdly proud with himself for chancing on the small trail.

Alexander frowned, staring at the small blade of bent grass. “You found nothing.”

Martin spun on his heel and shoved his face in Alexander’s, his finger in his chest. “Don’t. You don’t know what we are dealing with here, I do.”

Alexander resisted the urge to get out a smoke. “Then why don’t you tell me. I am your partner, am I not?” The grey deepened until it was almost as black as the eyes they were meeting; Alexander could feel the anger rising in him.

“Not yet, we may need to use that, my friend.” They froze.

“Who’s there?” Martin managed to whisper, though his voice trembled. He nervously twisted his hands around the book in his coat.

Alexander remained silent, staring down at the forest floor, his breath calming.

“You should know us by now. How long now, Alexander; we know you, if not the one you bring with you.” Alexander closed his eyes briefly against the soft words, keeping his head down.

“What are you talking about?” Martin grabbed Alexander’s coat sleeve and started striding away from the beginning of the path. “He doesn’t know you, he’d have told me.” The words were coming quicker, like a hiss almost. “He is my partner, after all.”

His clarity of vision borne by the slight disturbance the voice brought with it, Martin led the way unerringly. Alexander followed mutely, he had no interest in where Martin was taking him. He did hope that they would find Gabriel; he was fond of the boy, though he would never let Martin know that.

“What was that?”

Alexander didn’t answer, he had no desire to impart his childhood to this madman. His heart ached as he realized he had just labeled his friend as a lunatic. He very nearly ran into the shorter man as he came to an abrupt stop.

Not turning around, Martin repeated his question. “What was that?” Silence. “Who were they?”

Alexander turned Martin around, his face full of sadness for his friend. “You don’t need to know.” He untwined the hair from around Martin’s hand. “And you don’t need this anymore, do you.”

Martin let him; he merely clutched the book tighter to his chest with his free hand. “Tell me.”

“Tell me what the hell we are doing here.”

“I can’t, not yet.”

“Then I can’t tell you.”

An understanding reached (if not appreciated), the two men continued their way deeper into the forest.

*****************

Chapter 1



“Are you taking me home?” The small voice was strangely muted, as though the air pressed down upon the sound.

“We are going to run, little bug.”

Gabriel clung to the figure underneath him, the ground moving faster than his emerald gaze could follow. Not running, they were flying. The small boy found himself whispering the words to himself.

He felt the weeping begin again (suddenly, as it always did), and buried his face in the sweet smelling hair before him, fists clenched within the amber strands. A golden hand reached up and caressed his hair, before quickly dropping back down to continue the run. When the tears finally stopped, he realized that they weren’t alone anymore. Beside them, legs pumping with longer strides than he could have ever imagined, was another creature. The same type that held him so gently now.

”We fly on the ground itself, don’t we.” Gabriel heard the words directed to him, and nodded mutely. ”It is good.”

The other one wasn’t holding anything; his long white hair streamed behind him, fettered by nothing but the wind, and the wind is anything but a confining playmate. Long fingers grasped at the air and pulled it past, helping the forward motion; as though swimming through the air were possible. As though being made from pure marble were possible. Locks of white hair sprouting from his forearms rippled in mesmerizing waves, matching the line of hair trailing down his calves. Gabriel smiled shyly when grey, pupil-less eyes met his. He was somewhat shocked at the familial feeling, yet grateful that he felt no danger.

His smile was returned haltingly, as though the expression were foreign to the countenance shaping it. The angular planes of his face seemed more appropriate for howling, or dignified silence. High cheekbones and wide, angled eyes accented the sharp nose, beneath which nestled a small mouth.

Gabriel realized he was staring, and closed his eyes. Not because he was embarrassed or anything so trivial: he stopped staring because the wind was drying his eyes out. He lay his head back down upon the one who carried him. He was so tired, and for the first time in a long while, he felt safe. He felt taken care of.

Waking proved to be something of a challenge, as it usually is with small children who get far too little sleep and sustenance for the tasks they are expected to perform. Finally the lack of motion roused Gabriel from his slumber.

He was still nestled on the creature’s back, and when he groggily lifted his head, he noticed that they were now perched far above the forest floor, within the boughs of a large pine. The smell was nearly overpowering, and he sneezed before he could stop himself. Long arms shifted him to the front, where he was held fast. Vertigo seized him, and he very nearly panicked.

“I’ll not let you fall, child.” The smooth voice, for once making an appearance to his ears as well as his mind, soothed him with seemingly no strain.

“He is awake, then?” The alabaster creature stepped down from the branch above them, proving his flexibility as well as the disconcerting elongation of his limbs. Gabriel dimly noticed that both were lightly furred everywhere. He sunk back into the amber creature behind him and sighed.

“Indeed. He is a bit frightened, Yzsganne. We need to rest here for a while, feed him.”

Gabriel tried to fit his mouth around the name. “Ya-HIZZ-gan-nay, that’s your name?”

Another awkward smile. “You say it quickly, ‘Yzsganne’.” The branches swayed as the creature holding Gabriel shifted position slightly.

“What are you doing with your face?”

“He did it to me earlier, and it feels nice to do. He seems light when he does it. Do I seem light, too?” He seemed to be practicing, and Gabriel giggled at the oddness of the situation.

“You look different, but not light.”

“What’s your name, then?” Both creatures turned their gazes down onto the boy, who was staring curiously at the one who held him. He resembled a small chick in a nest.

“Xynk.” His eyes conveyed the emotion that his face did not. Amusement and curiosity glimmered within. “You are little bug, are you not?”

Gabriel laughed again, and nodded his head. “Yep! Well, that’s what I’m called. My real name is Gabriel, though.”


~ to be continued