Page 69 of Rising

Nodding his head, he could only agree. There was hell to pay.

I couldn’t linger. Only had a few more hours to gather my things and try to get some rest. An involuntary whine left his throat as we tried to speak at the same time.

“You first,” he said.

“I’m proud of you Ril. You’ve …” My chest shuddered. “You’ve been a lot of things for me, a soldier I could trust, a friend, a shoulder to cry on, a human teddy bear, a running partner—”

“This is getting too sad for my taste, not to mention your speech sucks.” His eyes were kind as he said it. “C’mon, no goodbyes. Remember?”

“Yeah, no goodbyes.” I nodded my head. He moved his arm to pull me closer, nudging his fist into the side of my head, rubbing into my curls before kissing the top of them.

“Now get outta here. The faster you leave, the faster you can come back to the shitshow you’re inevitably going to leave me with.”

I rose to my feet, taking a few steps back to get one last look. “I love you, brother.”

“Love you too, sis.”

My back had only turned for a moment before I felt a light flutter on my shoulder. It spooked me, my skin crawling off reflex, but curiosity kept my flames at bay.

Riley, I’d assumed. A white moth.Good luck.

Alexiares

The four of us waited, the horses letting out huffs and inching ahead as Seth pulled the reins on his currently in the lead, keeping the rest at bay. We’d gone back through Entertainment Square, out South Gate once again. The horses had garnered a decent amount of attention from the few shop owners headed to set up for the weekend market.

Their general was leaving, and so was their lieutenant, joined by two of her friends who seemed to have a lot of important shit to do around here. By breakfast, Prescott and Riley would have to make an announcement. They couldn’t hide this and if the people here had any sense, they’d start preparing for this place to come down.

A general leaving their post and traveling beyond the walls was nothing to brush off. In the few weeks I’d spent getting to know Riley, the guy appeared to take his job pretty damn seriously, and have a good handle on things. Hell, he did more work behind the scenes than the actual lieutenant, working with Amaia like they were one entity. When she fell short, he filled in without them having to communicate. It was actually pretty impressive. I’d never seen leadership operate as seamlessly as they did.

Despite the circumstances, Amaia had admittedly done pretty well setting her troops up for success, even in her absence. In an ironic churn of events, her absence in the months prior to my arrival had likely primed them for this departure. They could handle it, for some time. The key would be making it back before the rock hit the glass.

Suckerpunch and Harley pounced on each other, full of nervous energy at the sight of the horses and our packs. They’d have to stay behind under Riley’s care. Harley might as well have been birthed from Amaia with the way they tended to each other, attached at the hip. If she felt comfortable parting ways under his watchful eye, then I knew I could trust him with my own kin.

That didn’t make the sting of leaving him behind any easier. A few months would turn into half a year to keep their pace. Both were extremely fit, but covering more than fifteen miles a day with them would be impossible.

I watched as Prescott pulled Amaia in close, saying something as her body shuddered in response. She nodded her head before pulling back to lean her forehead against his. Her eyes were rimmed with red, I didn’t doubt she’d spent the hours apart from everyone else, letting herself fall apart.

He kissed her forehead, mouth moving to form the wordssweet girl, before she offered a weary smile and made her way towards her horse. She was different from the girl I’d met the day I arrived. Even within the last few weeks, she seemed better. Focused, less reckless. Her mind was sharp and always moving. My original diagnosis of a lackadaisical and irresponsible leader, replaced with an overworked and exhausted one.

Keeping this place safe appeared to consume her every thought. I’d awoken to her and Riley outside my window countless nights, huffing and out of breath. She didn’t even stop long enough for him to make it through the door. Riley would come back inside, face grave with worry. Mumbling to himself to take this and that off her plate. Making sure she could get some rest, reminding himself to go through the pile of paperwork on her desk.

Then there was the night I’d found her in the corner of the Public Library. Grander than one would expect for the end of the world, but a pleasant surprise for the casual reader. I couldn’t sleep, had wandered in remembering Riley had shown it to me as we went through The Compound during rounds. We’d been the only two there, quiet enough that one squeak from my shoe would have likely ended with a gaping fire singed hole in my body.Yeah, no plans to be on the other end of that.

She’d been surrounded by notebooks, crossing things out, talking out loud and trying to find connections. I watched her for a while, careful to keep my breaths even and in line with hers. Exhaustion the only thing keeping her from noticing my presence. I was skilled enough to move undetected through the world, but I found that under my attention, she was fast to respond, seeking out the source of the eyes she felt watching her. She’d fallen asleep there that night, and now she was setting out on an impossible mission that could cost her the people she loved, yet she went willingly. Confidently. Proudly.

Tomoe cleared her throat, moving her horse a bit closer to mine and smirked, offering me her flask, “Sake wa honshin wo arawasu.”

I glared. “It’s six a.m.”

“Six a.m. or last night, doesn’t really matter,” she shrugged.

Intent on ignoring her comment, I pretended to inspect my pack. Amaia had been clear in her instruction on what we could and could not pack. The first few days, we’d be able to travel with more, then once we ditched the horses what didn’t fit on our backs would be lost to the area.

My first pack was filled with date bars and other granola the staff at The Kitchens had crafted, some dried meats, bread and cheese. There was a good amount of nuts and other trail mix buried at the bottom underneath some canteens, prefilled with water. We wouldn’t need anything to purify extra water with. We had Reina, and myself, if absolutely necessary.

Though I wouldn’t put it past Seth or Amaia to have something else with them just in case. A small pack of herbs and some bandages in case we hit trouble. In a separate pouch sat a compass with a smaller version of the map Amaia had brought to breakfast the previous morning. This pack was to stay on me at all times, in case we were separated or had to leave the horses behind.

Two more packs sat on the back of my horse, an extra one for food, and some wipes Reina had soaked in some type of soap and oil. Oddly enough, there was also a toothbrush and mint packed paste. Usually someone with her chipper personality would annoy the hell out of me, but there was something about the way that she carried herself that made me want to accept her kindness and not mistake it for ignorance or weakness. This would be the pack we could ditch if needed.

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