Apparently, my reflexes were faster than my thoughts because I reacted faster than my mind could process.

I lashed out instinctively. My fist hit the guard who had snuck up behind us in the jaw, knocking him out without a sound.

Hazel stared at the unconscious guard, her mouth open in shock.

"Did you just- that was-" she stuttered.

"Sorry," I whispered and a sharp pain went through my knuckles. I examined them and saw that a couple of them had split and a trail of blood ran down the back of my hand.

"No, that was amazing!" Hazel whispered back, then flinches, "Oh gods, Remi your hand!"

She took her backpack off of her shoulder and reached into the front pocket. She pulled out a piece of cloth that I could barely see in the dark and took my hand to wrap it.

I shivered but I wasn't cold as far as I could tell. The cloth covered my knuckles and Hazel tied it in a quick knot.

"There," she said, "Better?"

I nodded, "Thanks Nurse Hazel. Now tell me, what are we going to do with him?"

Hazel glanced down at the guard I punched, "Maybe we could shove him somewhere out of the way?"

I nodded, "Help me will you? I have an idea."

Together we dragged the guard over to someone's waste bins.

"What are you doing?" Hazel asked.

"Watch and learn," I told her.

I tipped over one of the trash cans and started dragging the guard inside, trying to move quickly. The guard's armor caught on grooves in the road, making it difficult. I got him into the garbage can feet first with Hazel's help, then I grabbed the side of the can and pulled it upright again with the guard inside.

"This is a really bad idea," Hazel said with a grin as I took the trash bin's lid and put it on over the guard's head.

"Hey," I said with a shrug, "He's out of sight and out of the way now."

She shrugged, "He's going to be really confused and isn't gonna smell great when he wakes up."

We continued through the streets, more cautiously that time.

Suddenly, Hazel stopped and held up her hand to stop me as well, "Listen," she whispers.

I strained my ears and heard a voice, maybe one or two blocks away in the opposite direction we were going.

"No! Please!" someone yelled and there were the sounds of a scuffle, "I wasn't, I swear! No!"

"Quiet!" barked a rough voice, "You have the right to remain silent!"

"But I didn't!" yelled the first voice, getting fainter as they were dragged away, "I swear I-" It became too faint for me to hear.

I started toward the sound of the voices but Hazel grabbed my arm, "Don't," she whispered, "what are you doing, it's not Nick."

I stopped, of course, how could I have been so stupid? Both voices were male.

I turned back to Hazel, "Sorry, got ahead of myself."

"It's ok," she said, "I was worried for a second too. Come on, my house is up here."

We continued down the street a ways, then Hazel turned right and headed to the front door of a gray painted house that I had come to love over the years. A house that I liked more than my own.

Hazel grabbed the railing and hoisted herself up, using the wall of the house to steady herself and stood carefully. I stood ready to try and catch her should she fall.

She reached up to the light above the door and put her hand inside of it, fishing for her spare key.

After a minute, she pulled out the key and leapt down from the railing. She landed catlike with a soft thump. She slipped the key into the lock and turned it, pushing the door open.

"Come on in," she said and stepped inside, slipping the key into her pocket.

I followed her into her kitchen. It was quiet in Hazel's house and smelled like cinnamon and bread. Hazel's grandma worked at the bakery and was an amazing cook, so her house always smelled like some dish or dessert every time I was there.

Hazel flicked some of the lights on and I shielded my eyes at the sudden brightness.

"I'll go wake my grandparents," Hazel said and went over to a hallway, I followed her, feeling slightly awkward.

We went down the hallway, past a bathroom and the laundry room and then Hazel put a hand on the doorknob of the last door, which was shut.

She turned the knob and eased the door open. It creaked slightly on its hinges and hit the opposite wall with a soft thump. Hazel silently stepped inside but I stayed at the door. I put my hands in the pockets of my hoodie.

Hazel tiptoed over the carpet to her grandmother's side of the bed in the middle of the room. She gently shook her grandma's shoulder and whispered, "Grandma? It's me, Hazel."

Ten minutes later we sat at the kitchen table being fussed over by Hazel's grandparents.

"Are you two hungry?" Said Hazel's grandma, standing up, "you must be! What would you like, dears? We have some leftover soup if you would like some."

"Yes, please, we didn't eat dinner," said Hazel and smiled warmly as her grandpa tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Hazel's grandma busied herself pulling a container out of the fridge and putting two portions of soup into bowls to be warmed up. Neither of them seemed at all angry about being woken at midnight.

"So," Hazel's grandma said, setting the steaming bowls in front of us and sitting down, "If guards come knocking about all our lights on, Remi is sick, we need to be there for her, and the lights will be off shortly. Now, what on Eisildor is going on? Where have you been for the last day and a half? We were worried sick about you! Three teenagers suddenly disappearing out of the blue, and no one knows what happened. Everyone has been out of their minds! Do you need help?"

Hazel took a sip of soup, swallowed, and began to explain.

I brushed my hair over my shoulder and then tried my own soup. It was hot, but otherwise not bad. Hazel's grandma's vegetable beef was practically famous.

It didn't take long for my bowl to be empty. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until then. I took my bowl to the sink, scrubbed it clean, dried it off, and put it back into its cupboard. Then I took Hazel's empty bowl and did the same.

When I sat back down, Hazel was explaining our predicament with Gen. My head started to hurt.

Hazel's grandpa must have noticed the sadness on my face because he put a hand on my shoulder. I gave him a grateful look.

"So here we are." Hazel finished. We all sat for a while, all thinking in silence.

"That's odd..." Hazel's grandma said, glaring at the table. "No one has mentioned a girl named Gen being missing."

"What?" I said, leaning forward in my seat, "she's been with us this whole time."

"She sure hasn't been mentioned," Hazel's grandpa said, "at least not that we've heard."

"That is very strange indeed," Hazel's grandma said, "but no matter. We will help you however we can, whatever you need, we will do our best to help."

Hazel's grandpa nodded, "Agreed."

"Thank you," I told them, admiring how cool they were about this kind of thing. I folded my hands on the table in front of me. "We have a question."

We explained about Gen's outburst, how she'd told us about an "anora root," and where it might be located.

"Does that sound at all familiar to either of you?" I asked.

The two elderly people were silent for quite a while.

"I've never seen such a thing," Hazel's grandma said at last.

"Me neither," her grandpa said.

Hazel and I shared a look. "Nothing?" She asked.

"We have heard of it," he continued, "I think it does exist but It's rare. Extremely rare. There's no way Pira has anything like it, nor any of the villages. Gomoria might, but that place is ruled by Zorg, and theres no way you'd be able to get any of the plant before you were caught and killed. And there's one other place that's known to have it."

"Where?" Hazel asked.

"Beyond the volcano. Mount Djarn."

"No," I said, "there's no way we're risking that."

"Agreed," Hazel said, and her grandparents nodded along.

"Well, we did have another idea," I filled in, "might the elves have it? They live in a huge forest on a coastline, if anyone has it, wouldn't it be them?"

Hazel's grandparents considered that. Finally her grandma said, "that's actually not a terrible idea. However, there are people who went looking for the elves, and never came back. What if they really don't want visitors?"

"We'll have to try," I said, "if we don't, Gen could die. I don't think we have any other options."

"I'm afraid you're right," Hazel's grandma said, "but maybe we can find another way?"

"I don't think there is another way, grandma," Hazel said, going around the table to her grandmother and embracing her. Her grandma's eyes were sparkling with tears.

"I can't believe you'll have to do this," she said, "at 15 too, what if you're hurt? Or killed?"

"We have to grandma," Hazel said, voice choked, "and I promise we'll be as careful as we can. If we don't do this, someone will die, and we can't risk not going."

"Could we come with you at least?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think that would be a good idea." Hazel pulled away from her grandma. Both of them were crying, but I told myself I wouldn't. I had to support everyone. "I couldn't bear seeing you get hurt."

The older woman gave a shaky laugh, "I guess you will be faster traveling without us, too," she said. Hazel didn't say anything and hugged her again.

Frank's mouth was set in a hard line. "We'll help you however we can. We can give you food, medicine, and I have a hunting knife that could be useful. I'm sure a little extra protection would be welcomed if those stupid ugly half-witted-"

"Grandpa!" Hazel exclaimed before her grandpa could say any other choice curse words.

"Keep your voice down!" Hazel's grandma said, "I am quite sure they will be fine, the Zorg won't be able to find them if they are careful."

"We will take whatever you can give us," I said to settle the matter,

For the next twenty or thirty minutes we all searched the house for anything that might be useful. Hazel and I went up to her bedroom to find some extra clothes. She put the clothes in a old backpack of her grandpa's.

We came back downstairs to find that Hazel's grandma had laid out two different types of her famous bread (cinnamon and regular) and small bags of nuts and fruit and several granola bars.

We zipped all of this into Hazel's backpack along with a knife, water purifying tablets, and various medical supplies.

And then all too soon, we stood in front of the door again.

Hazel's grandma hugged us so tightly, I honestly thought my ribs might break, then Frank gave Hazel a hug and then turned to me and held out a hand for me to shake. I took it and shook twice.

"Thank you for everything, both of you," I told them. I didn't know how to express my gratitude in words.

Hazel's grandma stepped up and pressed something into Hazel's hand. When Hazel opened it, I saw ten shining quartz pieces.

Hazel pocketed the money. "I love you guys," she said in a choked voice. She hugged her grandparents one more time and then turned to the door, tears glistening in her eyes.

"We love you too Hazel," said her grandma, "Now remember, you stay away from all the Zorg towers, dont talk to people, lie about where you're going if you have to. Promise me if you see danger, you'll turn and run."

"I promise," Hazel said, "we'll be back before you know it."

"Thank you again," I said, and we stepped out of the door, closing it behind us.

Hazel tried and failed to stifle a sob as we stepped onto the grass.

"Hey c'mere." I wrapped my arms around Hazel and held her as she cried.

"I'm sorry," she said from my shoulder, "I shouldn't get all emotional about this, it's not like I'll never see them again. You don't even get to say goodbye to your aunt and uncle. I just-" she cut herself off with a deep, shaking breath.

"Hazel, you know I don't really care what my aunt and uncle think, they don't care about me or what I do too much as long as I'm not causing them trouble," I said, "Trust me, It's ok."

She put her head on my shoulder. "I hate that it has to be that way."

Slowly, we started our trip back to the border, weaving through streets and avoiding guards. Since it was so late at night, most of the guards were distracted, and a couple of them that we passed were even sleeping. It was much easier to get to the border than last time.

We peeked out from behind a house and waited as a guard ambled past, "It's going to be harder this time," I told Hazel, "With our packs and everything."

She nodded tiredly without saying anything. I couldn't blame her. I felt about ready to drop, myself, and it wasn't going to get any better until we got back to the safety of the clearing.

"Now!" I whispered and we took off for the woods.

Hazel panted and pumped her arms beside me. I shortened my strides slightly so she could keep up.

Suddenly, Hazel clapped her hand to her mouth to stifle a shriek and pitched forward as her foot caught on a rock in the dark.

She groaned as her hands hit the ground. I skidded around and grabbed her arms.

I heaved her to her feet and dragged her onward. She clutched her hands to her chest as she ran. I didn't have time to examine whatever injuries she must have gotten. I was glad we'd waited for the cover of darkness because the next guard had already come and gone when I risked a glance backward.

We reached the tree line and stumbled onward for almost an hour and a half, tripping over branches and being generally lost.

Finally I stopped and looked at the sky, it was starting to glow pink and gold and the details around me were growing clearer. "I don't know where we are, I'm sorry Hazel," I said, turning to her.

She had collapsed into a sitting position with her hands in her lap, her eyes drooping. I sat in front of her and took her hands to examine them. They were scratched raw and bleeding from the fall as we were running.

"Did you sleep at all before we went on this crazy mission?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "Not much, I was thinking, worrying about everyone, and I hate sleeping during the day."

"Well, we all need to sleep when we get back to the hut, we'll sleep for a couple hours and then start off to the Elves and then tonight we will sleep again."

"Is it safe though?" She asked, "the guards found us there once, wouldn't they check there again?"

"I don't think they will if they haven't already," I said, "they'll wait until morning to do that anyways, when It's light. We'll be gone before then."

Her eyes drooped some more and I sighed, "When we get back to the hut, Hazel, do you think you can wait that long?"

She nodded, but I wasn't convinced.

"Tell me a story," I said, thinking maybe if I kept her talking we would both stay awake.

"A story?" she asked.

"Sure," I said and reached into her bag to get a water bottle, gauze, and some medical tape.

"What about?" she asked.

"I don't know, anything you want I guess."

"Alright," she said and winced as I dripped water all over her hands, washing off the blood and dirt.

"Well, there was that one time that we met Josh at the tavern during dinner," She said and I nodded, remembering the older man who normally came to the tavern every Saturday. We had become good friends with him. He always had amazing stories about times before the war, how everyone lived in harmony.

"Remember we ordered some soda and the bartender accidentally gave us wine instead?" Hazel said with a shaky laugh.

I laughed too and started wrapping Hazel's hands with gauze, "oh yeah, and we didn't realize what it was until Josh started drinking his."

She grinned, "Oh my gosh, my grandma was so mad! I swear, that bartender ran out of there like his underpants were on fire!"

I chuckled to myself, finished wrapping Hazel's hands, and put the supplies away.

We got to our feet and looked around. Nothing looked familiar in the growing daylight, and there were no recognizable landmarks in sight.

"That tree," Hazel said abruptly and pointed to a large oak behind me.

"What about it?" I asked, puzzled, "What would we use a tree for? Do you know that tree?"

"Give me a boost will you?" she said, ignoring my question, and trotted over to the base of the tree. The lowest branch was as thick as my body and almost as high up as two Hazels stacked on top of eachother.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," I said, "you won't be able to climb that well with your hands wrapped. Let me climb-"

"I can't lift you up there," Hazel finished for me, "Besides, would you even be able to...do that?"

I sighed, she was right of course. "Fine, it's our best chance at finding our way back."

I braced myself against the tree bark and cupped my hands to make a step for her. She placed her foot in my hands and as she stepped up, I lifted, propelling her upward.

She walked her hands on the trunk as I lifted her, my arms straining to keep her up in the air. She grabbed the first branch and swung her leg up and over the top of it, freeing my arms which had begun to burn.

"Are you good?" I called up to her.

"Yeah, I think so!" She called back and carefully maneuvered herself into a sitting position.

She started to climb, giving me several heart attacks as she did. She kept slipping slightly as she clambered to the next branch. I shivered.

Heights...

After a while, I could barely hear or see her anymore. I circled the tree frantically, my mind whirling in millions of directions.

What if she falls? What if she can't get down? What would I do if she fell?

I shoved the thoughts out of my mind and tried to ignore them. Better not to think of what might happen to her if she fell, I'd kill myself from worrying.

"Hazel!" I yelled up the tree. "Are you ok?!"

I could barely hear the reply, "What?"

I sighed and sat on the ground with my head against the tree, looking up at the dark green foliage that was starting to sparkle with morning sun and dew.

Thank goodness it's May and not December, I thought to myself.

I must have dozed off, because I woke up to Hazel's voice above me. "Rem! A little help! Remi, seriously!"

I jolted to my feet, awake in an instant, "Sorry, sorry I must have fallen asleep."

"Great, look out!" Hazel said, and without much more warning than that, she dropped from the lowest tree branch, almost falling on top of me.

I leapt out of the way as Hazel hit the ground, tucked, rolled, and came up standing, only to overbalance and almost fall on her face.

"Not a word," she said as I helped her to her feet, "Not one word."

I pretended to zipper my lips shut and gave an innocent shrug.

We stood there for a while in silence until Hazel laughed and finally said, "Ok fine, you can talk now."

"Graceful landing aside," I said, unzippering my lips, "Which way?"

She smacked my arm, "That way," she said, pointing southwest, "I could see the school, so if we get behind it we should be on the right track."

"Let's go then," I said and started off.

After a while, we passed the pond. I immediately knew where we were. Hazel and I both set off into a jog and burst into the clearing.

I noticed one thing immediately on entering the hut. Hazel noticed the same thing.

"Nicholina," she said.

"She's not here," I agreed.

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Written by justasnarky_sandwing on WATTPAD