Year E2996

Beck

My breath was uneasy, chasing Kat along the tall lorna plants. The heads illuminated the field for us but cast a shadow, making it hard for me to keep up with her. The smell of water masked the natural muddy roots. I hastily ran with only leaves of tall vegetation in my sight.

A lorna smacked me in the face, making Kat laugh while holding her tummy. The adults chasing us lost Kat and me in the hybrid wheat field. With the plants towering over our heads, we just needed to stay quiet, but Kat struggled to keep her giggles to herself.

Kat turned around, stopping in her tracks. She brought her hand to her mouth, telling me to be quiet. Her little fingers reached up to my face, brushing off pieces of the lorna plant.

"Shh, Beck, you are so loud," she whispered to me with an added laugh at the end.

I scrunched my face at her. "What?" I asked back, not believing I was the problem.

We could hear the others in the distance arguing with one another. They sounded like they were walking in another direction, prompting Kat to interlock her hand with mine and pull me out of the plants.

She glanced around, then let me go, tiptoeing across the wet grass. Kat slowed down at the cliff's edge, looking down as I walked beside her. Both moons reflected in the water below, bringing a shine from it. The dark river flowed slowly enough that there were zero ripples. A fish jumped from the liquid, splashing illumination of green.

A buzz flew behind me, making Kat glance at a gigantic insect fluttering around my face. The bug reminded me of a dragonfly but glowed in the dark. It made eye contact with me before flying over the river to the other flock.

"Those are sunhovers," Kat said, answering the question I didn't ask yet.

I watched the sunhovers change colors, dancing to a light show for us. They fluttered over the water as a fish jumped out, trying to snag one of them.

To my surprise, a sunhover snagged a fish in mid-air while another attached to the fin. They pulled at each end, fighting over the fresh meal until another sunhover buzzed in, causing a side fight.

Loud clicks sounded from the insects in a battle while the other flew off with the fish. One turned red while the other flashed green, humming away in fear.

"Hey!" a deep voice yelled. "Stop right there." The man's voice was calmer, prompting Kat and me to look over at him. He raised his hands in the air. "You don't need to run."

He smiled to distract us from his actual intentions. I watched as one of his hands lowered toward his hip, trying to grab at something. A click sound had me looking over at Kat, unhooking Tyran's pouch and holding it in her hand.

In a frantic mess, I glanced back at the man pulling a gun from his side, aiming it at us. I quickly grabbed Kat's hip, bulldozing her over the cliff. A loud shot echoed as we free-fell into the water below.

The man was trying to kill us. We heard something they didn't want us to hear, telling me that Safforia was in danger. I didn't want to call Nus my home anymore, so Kat and I needed to do something about it.

The river collided with my feet, flipping me upside down while I was under the liquid. With my eyes open, I saw Kat holding her breath while swimming to the surface so Tyran could get air again.

I broke the surface with her, looking up to see the man staring us down. He was shaking his head while pulling at his hair.

"We need to get out of this water," Kat said in a panic.

Kat lit a purple fire under the water with her palms. She looked around at nothing beneath us. I examined her expression, telling me we were in danger within the river.

The shoreline was a short swim away, with the thick trees shadowing darkness. The idea of freely going into the deep forest was baffling, but luckily, the greenery would hide us from the people on the top of the cliff.

Kat touched the grass first, pulling herself up and crawling backward into hiding. She ducked under an overhanging rock, away from prying eyes. I pulled myself from the water to her on my hands and knees. As soon as I was within her arm's reach, she grabbed me, tugging me closer to her. My arms wrapped around Kat as she put her head into my chest. She quietly unzipped her fanny pack to confirm Tyrannosaurus was doing well.

His little ears popped up as he shook off the water. Tyran's pink nose sniffed the air, and then he tucked himself back into her pouch.

Kat was shivering in my arms from the cold air. I squeezed her tighter against me, hoping she wouldn't get sick. If Kat got ill, they would probably send me back to Nus because Ray said my friendship with her was the only reason I could stay. Having me friends with her was excellent for humanity and getting the rest of the ship down here.

A scuffle above us had Kat bringing her legs closer in. The dirt that hung on the rock fell onto our faces as I inhaled the dust. Kat closed her eyes as I brushed the top of her purple hair.

"Did they go this way?" a female voice asked.

"I don't know." I recognized the voice of the man who shot at us. "They jumped into the river, and I lost them in the darkness."

"You are useless, Frank," the woman informed him before we heard her footsteps stomp off.

"They are just a couple of kids." His voice was following her. "There isn't anything to worry about." We could hear they were now further away from us.

I let out a deep breath as Kat crawled out of my arms. She poked her head over the rock, then smiled back at me.

"They are gone," she said while water dripped from her hair onto her cheeks.

She bounced on her heels in a crouched position, petting Tyran. She whispered something to him in her language before pointing into the dark woods.

"If we head this way, we will be back at your camp," she whispered with chattering teeth.

I stood up, looking into the wall of black trees. "Luckily, it's away from those people."

"Y-Yeah," she stuttered, making me look over at her. Kat had her arms around herself, hugging her torso and trying to stay warm.

"Oh, Kitty," I said, stepping closer. All I wanted to do was hold her and bring her warmth, but something told me I would push my luck.

"We should run back to camp," I said, tapping my foot.

"Good idea," Kat replied, then hooked Tyran back to her hip.

She smiled my way before taking off into the dark woods. We both jogged along the river, trying to keep a little moonlight on us. Kat slowed down at moments to jump over logs and duck under branches.

A clearing appeared like a tunnel opening up at the end. The orange grass swayed with the wind as insects dove, collecting birds. The blues on the insects illuminated the dark, dancing a light show for us as they caught their nightly snacks.

Kat stepped into the grass, letting it tickle her hips. She jumped alongside the meadow like a deer, bouncing across the orange turf.

"Come on, Beck," she said, taking off rashly through the tall grass, not knowing what hid in it.

I followed behind her, feeling the thickness of the field. I picked the vegetation, cracking it as a peach-colored liquid poured into my fingers. The sticky residue smelled of mud and chemicals at the same time. Like someone was watering the clearing with cleaning supplies. While wandering, I couldn't help but notice a tiny puddle of water, its surface acting as a mirror for the serene night sky, without a single ripple.

I wiped my hands on my wet pants, running after Kat, who was already on the other side of the field. Heavy breathing, I jogged up to her and coughed into my hands. I gasped like I swallowed a bug.

"You okay?" Kat asked, patting my back.

I bent over, placing my palms on my knees, hacking one last time. "Yeah. Keep running," I said, waving my hand for Kat to continue.

As we disappeared into the thick forest again, we ran up to a fallen tree that Kat couldn't climb. She looked at me and then lit her hand on fire, lighting the area. Kat hovered her palm around as the tall trees became a violet color.

"I don't see any other way," she said, with her lavender fire close to her face. Everything surrounding us was black besides the little light of purple heaven she was creating.

"I'll boost you up," I said, pointing at the gigantic log taller than us.

She nodded, rubbing her palms together and putting out her light. "Okay."

Kat walked up to the log with her hands on the foliage. I interlocked my fingers together as she stepped her foot into my palms. With my legs, I stood straight up, trying to lift her. She reached over her head while I balanced her foot with one hand and placed the other on her rear.

"Hands, buddy," she said, wiggling a little.

"Pull yourself up. You are getting heavy," I said, not removing my touch.

I only placed my hand there because I could feel her slipping back. Yes, I could grab her leg, but this was better leverage. Kat quickly dragged herself to the top of the log and then looked down at me.

"I'm going to run and jump," I said, while backing up. "Catch my hands."

With enough space, I dug deep and ran toward the tree. I tried to use any lower branches for leverage, stepping and hearing it crack under my weight. Palms stretched to Kat as I felt myself fall, but she still grabbed my hand. My face smacked into the side of the bark, causing me to cough out from the pain. With my free hand, I pulled myself up with Kat's help.

"Thank you, Kitty," I said to her while holding my cheek.

She yanked my hand away from my face, examining my injury. "Oh no, you are bleeding."

I waved my hands around. "It's okay. We need to keep going."

Kat and I ran through the mysterious forest until the light from the fire pit outside my camp shined into view. We slowed down to a walk, catching our breaths. My feet hurt from tripping over rocks and roots on the ground.

"Beck!" Ray's voice yelled at us as we stepped out of the trees and into view. She walked up to us with anger in her eyes. "Beck, I am so mad at you," she said, pointing her finger at me.

Her blue eyes then looked over at Kat. "You know better, Katifur!" her voice was louder. "You know there are dangerous things in the dark here. How dare you put my brother's life at risk?"

"Ray," I stepped in front of Kat, blocking Ray's view of her. "This isn't Kat's fault."

Ray's eyes widened. "Beck, you are bleeding," she said as I brought my hand to my face.

I pulled my palm away to see my hand soaked in blood, glancing down at my shirt. There was red spreading down the front of my pullover. More splatters were from the bleeding tree, but a lot was fresh from my face.

"Ray, I'm okay." I rubbed my hand on my wet jeans. "I just—"

Ray shook her head. "Kat, head back to your home now," her voice was stern. "Beck, inside the pod and clean up your face."

I glanced at Kat, seeing she was looking at the ground. She was sad, trying hard to hide it. I reached for her, but she stepped back, unbuckling Tyran quickly and handing him over to me. Kat ran away with her head down before I could say anything. A tight grip on my shoulder held me back from chasing after Kat. I knew I should have shrugged off Ray's hand, but I didn't.

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