end of the tunnel. I collapse into
the wall and try to catch my breath, the things I’ve just seen, pile them all
into some semblance of a picture, something that makes sense. I can still hear
the wails coming from the fight: Banjankri hisses mixed with English curses and
Jo-Bran snarls. The Jo-Bran must blame the Banjankri for bringing Meredith to
the city and killing their leader—it’s the only reason I can think that
would bring them into a full on war. It’s what they deserve. Serving monsters
for protection or survival never works. Truces are always too shaky between bad
and evil. They should’ve seen this coming, the end of their world. We should’ve
all seen it coming.
I scoop a handful
of snow and stuff it into my mouth. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was until
the cold flakes melt and slide down my throat. It’s so soothing that I take
another handful. Meredith’s eyes still glow, shifting around, on the lookout.
She’s uneasy being trapped in this small space.
“Who are you?” I
say.
Those flashlight
eyes turn to me, enveloping me with their eerie glow. I think she might
actually say something. I can’t see her mouth for the brightness of her eyes,
but I think it opens. Instead of speaking though, she presses up against me,
covering my mouth.
I almost choke on
the melted snow and cough. Her eyes widen, and I can read in them a simple
command: Shut up.
At the alley’s
entrance, there is a group of Jo-Bran, standing at the mouth, filling the
entire width from crumbled building to crumbled building. Their heads are
tilted forward and slightly upward, and I can hear their great snuffles. A
black one steps into the alley, scraping his claws along the side of the
building, sounding like nails on a blackboard but more violent, more like the
screech of someone slitting open their own stomach without anesthesia.
The Jo-Bran comes
further and further in, the others trailing after him. Meredith’s hand presses
tighter over my mouth, the blood from her fingers dripping down the sides of my
face. I can feel a cough coming on. I try to hold it back, to swallow it down,
but I make the slightest choke. Even amongst the death rattles and barks, the
Jo-Bran still hear it. The slight sound jolting every one of their heads to the
back of the cave. They spread out, fill the gap and come closer, a line of
searchers scouring for a lost child in the forest. The shrieking wall continues
as the black Jo-Bran keeps his claws dragging across the wall, tiny sparks
jumping from the claw-tips.
Meredith leans
closer to me, her face passing mine, pushing back my hood, tickling my ears
with her lips. “Run.”
It’s so faint that
I wonder if I’ve actually heard anything at all.
But she rips away
and rushes into the Jo-Bran’s midst, her eyes trailing faint ribbons of aqua
light. The Jo-Bran roar, and I see them crash into each other. I scoot along
the wall, my arms outstretched, searching for an opening. I almost fall into a
larger patch of decay that opens into the decrepit building. I take one last
look Meredith’s way, see the Jo-Bran’s blood spray against the wall, the rest
of them crumbling onto her. I duck into the hole and heed her advice, running
for everything I ever was or will be.
Chapter Fourteen
I stumble through
the building as best I can, avoiding the rubble and forgotten furniture. I want
to just stop and hide in one of the corners, curl up and wait for everything to
blow over. But I know it won’t. The Jo-Bran will come.
I press myself
along, not stopping to listen or rest, just running. On the other side of the
building, I find a broken window and jump through into another alley. I step to
the other side and search for another gap in the wall. It takes me a few
minutes to find another one, my heart beating twice for every second that
passes. At the mouth of the alley, a few Banjankri run by, a group of Jo-Bran
quickly follow. There is no sign of Meredith. She sacrificed herself for
the wall and try to catch my breath, the things I’ve just seen, pile them all
into some semblance of a picture, something that makes sense. I can still hear
the wails coming from the fight: Banjankri hisses mixed with English curses and
Jo-Bran snarls. The Jo-Bran must blame the Banjankri for bringing Meredith to
the city and killing their leader—it’s the only reason I can think that
would bring them into a full on war. It’s what they deserve. Serving monsters
for protection or survival never works. Truces are always too shaky between bad
and evil. They should’ve seen this coming, the end of their world. We should’ve
all seen it coming.
I scoop a handful
of snow and stuff it into my mouth. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was until
the cold flakes melt and slide down my throat. It’s so soothing that I take
another handful. Meredith’s eyes still glow, shifting around, on the lookout.
She’s uneasy being trapped in this small space.
“Who are you?” I
say.
Those flashlight
eyes turn to me, enveloping me with their eerie glow. I think she might
actually say something. I can’t see her mouth for the brightness of her eyes,
but I think it opens. Instead of speaking though, she presses up against me,
covering my mouth.
I almost choke on
the melted snow and cough. Her eyes widen, and I can read in them a simple
command: Shut up.
At the alley’s
entrance, there is a group of Jo-Bran, standing at the mouth, filling the
entire width from crumbled building to crumbled building. Their heads are
tilted forward and slightly upward, and I can hear their great snuffles. A
black one steps into the alley, scraping his claws along the side of the
building, sounding like nails on a blackboard but more violent, more like the
screech of someone slitting open their own stomach without anesthesia.
The Jo-Bran comes
further and further in, the others trailing after him. Meredith’s hand presses
tighter over my mouth, the blood from her fingers dripping down the sides of my
face. I can feel a cough coming on. I try to hold it back, to swallow it down,
but I make the slightest choke. Even amongst the death rattles and barks, the
Jo-Bran still hear it. The slight sound jolting every one of their heads to the
back of the cave. They spread out, fill the gap and come closer, a line of
searchers scouring for a lost child in the forest. The shrieking wall continues
as the black Jo-Bran keeps his claws dragging across the wall, tiny sparks
jumping from the claw-tips.
Meredith leans
closer to me, her face passing mine, pushing back my hood, tickling my ears
with her lips. “Run.”
It’s so faint that
I wonder if I’ve actually heard anything at all.
But she rips away
and rushes into the Jo-Bran’s midst, her eyes trailing faint ribbons of aqua
light. The Jo-Bran roar, and I see them crash into each other. I scoot along
the wall, my arms outstretched, searching for an opening. I almost fall into a
larger patch of decay that opens into the decrepit building. I take one last
look Meredith’s way, see the Jo-Bran’s blood spray against the wall, the rest
of them crumbling onto her. I duck into the hole and heed her advice, running
for everything I ever was or will be.
Chapter Fourteen
I stumble through
the building as best I can, avoiding the rubble and forgotten furniture. I want
to just stop and hide in one of the corners, curl up and wait for everything to
blow over. But I know it won’t. The Jo-Bran will come.
I press myself
along, not stopping to listen or rest, just running. On the other side of the
building, I find a broken window and jump through into another alley. I step to
the other side and search for another gap in the wall. It takes me a few
minutes to find another one, my heart beating twice for every second that
passes. At the mouth of the alley, a few Banjankri run by, a group of Jo-Bran
quickly follow. There is no sign of Meredith. She sacrificed herself for
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