Change of Chaos

by Jacinta Jade

  To Siray’s confusion, no alarms sounded, but the male didn’t hesitate, ducking through as soon as the door had opened wide enough to admit him. Siray followed on his heels and broke into a run as soon as she was clear of the door. They were now sprinting down a stone tunnel on a grille walkway, their footsteps echoing as they hurtled along, and Siray couldn’t help but wince at the noise they were making.

  The walls blurring past were still grey, but the dirt coating them made them appear darker. The air smelled stale and sour to her as her lungs gasped it in, demanding more.

  Siray had just estimated they had dashed the length of a city block when she began to hear the echoes of hurrying footsteps behind them. Surprise, then fear, promptly took root inside her, but it was the fear that made her hasten faster, made her ignore the pain building in her body.

  Risking a brief look over her shoulder, she saw moving lights from lamps carried by their pursuers far behind. She snapped her head back forwards and gasped as she realised the male’s dark silhouette was no longer in front of her. She had barely slowed in shock when a hand lashed out from the darkness to pull her in close to the wall.

  Siray was about to scream in fear when she recognised the voice hissing at her.

  ‘Climb the wall!’

  Her left arm was yanked again as the male pulled her forwards to place her hand in a gap in the wall that was cold, damp, and smooth.

  ‘Go!’ he hissed at her.

  Siray hastily shifted the chunk of rock she had been carrying into the waistband of her trousers with her free hand before she used that same hand to search for the next climbing hold. Finding it, she placed a foot against the wall, where she guessed the recess would be. Surer now of the hollow handholds, she climbed, pulling and pushing with her arms and legs, all the while gritting her teeth against the pain in her muscles and head.

  As she climbed, she looked up but could see only darkness. Sounds beneath her told her that the male was climbing after her.

  He urged her on. ‘Faster!’

  Unable to spare the energy to snap at him that she was climbing as fast as possible, Siray simply pressed her lips together in annoyance. Far too soon, though, her shoulders began to burn as her already fatigued muscles protested and her cold fingers began to stiffen.

  ‘Stop!’

  The command snapping up from below made her freeze where she was on the ladder. She felt something moving and pressing against her legs, then her lower torso, and realised the male was climbing up beside her. She continued to cling to the ladder, moving slightly to one side as he carefully drew level with her and then climbed a few rungs more.

  All the while, Siray could hear the growing sounds of approaching footsteps from farther back in the tunnel.

  Just above her, the male was reaching up with a hand to an area above his head, seemingly feeling around for something, while Siray continued to nervously watch both him and the tunnel below. She heard the male grunt and, turning back, almost lost her grip on the ladder as a piece of the darkness above them cracked, and dim light spilled in from above.

  Blinking, Siray watched as the young male climbed up and out of the hole that had appeared above them.

  An instant later, his hands reappeared, reaching back in for her.

  Siray climbed the final few rungs rapidly, her hands sweating as she listened to the sounds of pursuit drawing close. Reaching up, she stretched out first one hand, then the other, to grip the male’s hands before she was lifted bodily from the hole, hanging above that dark drop for one heart-stopping moment.

  And then, she was out of the darkness and in the bright light of day above.

  The male didn’t hesitate after depositing her unceremoniously on the ground but reached back to the hole straightaway. Turning as she struggled to her feet, Siray saw that he was moving whatever cover had been in place back into position.

  Looking around in disbelief, she saw that the first rays of dawn revealed that they were standing in a field on the edge of a forest. When she whirled to look behind her, she saw the city, spread out on the other side of the Great Mountain Lake. She spun again as her rescuer spoke.

  ‘They’re only moments from discovering the ladder. We need to get into the cover of the forest and keep moving.’

  The male didn’t wait for her to respond but wheeled about and began to quickly move amongst the trees, not waiting for any response from her.

  Annoyed and exhausted, Siray followed the male as he led her away from the covered hole and into the tree line. Ah, the trees. She let her left hand drift out from her body to feel the leaves brush softly against her palm. She had begun doubting whether she would ever actually see one again.

  As she trailed the male through the forest, she drew in deep breathes, taking in the scents of leaves and moisture, a welcome difference from the tunnel.

  All too soon for her liking, they emerged into another small glade, and the male stopped, scrutinising the surrounds. And although she was grateful for the rest, Siray paused, surprised.

  The male turned to her, the dawn revealing his grey eyes. ‘We need to wait here now.’

  Siray’s suspicions flared. ‘Why?’

  The male was still scanning. ‘Patience,’ was all he said.

  Siray looked around at the glade, and then back at the male, her unease growing. She tried again. ‘Tell me what we’re waiting for,’ she said.

  When the male looked at her, his expression gave nothing away. ‘You’ll know everything soon enough.’

  Siray was still watching him with a frown when she heard a commotion from the direction of the glade with the ladder entrance. Upon realising what the yells signalled, she spun back to glare at the male. ‘You tricked me!’ she hissed at him, slipping her right hand around to her lower back and reaching into her waistband.

  The young male shook his head and motioned her to be quiet. ‘No, I didn’t.’ He also was looking nervously in the direction of the alarm. He murmured again, seemingly to himself this time. ‘Just a moment longer—they will come.’

  Siray heard him and tensed. This was all just another test. Another sick experiment to see her response or break her will. She moved up close to the male as he faced towards the sounds, the grass making her approach silent.

  The male was still looking away when she swung the hand gripping the rock and hit him high on the side of the head, and she watched as his eyes rolled back and he folded to the ground.

  ‘I won’t go back,’ she said furiously, glaring down at his motionless body. Then she spun and ran off into the forest, hurriedly moving away from that glade and the sounds of pursuit from beyond.

  CHAPTER NINE

  SIRAY’S BURST OF ENERGY rapidly faded and she felt as if internally her body might be on fire, given the way all of her muscles, and not just her shoulders, now burned.

  When she stumbled, she used the trees to recover her balance, but soon her steps were shuffles and even holding on to the trees was an effort, each one a temptation to stop.

  When her knees finally gave way, she let her body collapse in relief. Surely she was far enough away now that she could risk some rest. The sun was on the rise, but Siray still felt cold in her bones as she slumped against the closest tree. She wouldn’t be able to move much farther anyway, at least not without food or water.

  Sighing with fatigue, she pushed her knotted hair away from her face and tilted her head back against the tree, looking up through its branches at the glimpses of sky she could see.

  In the far distance she could hear shouts, but she didn’t feel the same amount of alarm now. No adrenaline rush, just a calm acceptance that she had made it out. When she looked down at her hands in her lap, she realised in surprise that she still held the chunk of rock she had hit the male with. She cradled it in her hands now, her fingers tracing its rough edges, and she saw there was a small smear of blood on it. A bit of doubt wormed its way into her stomach as she considered what she had done.

  She pushed the guilt asid
e. The male had most likely been one of them—a minion of Silver’s. He could even have been Silver himself. Who could tell when they all wore masks?

  After a moment more of studying the rock, Siray let her gaze return to the sky, the brightening purple colour somehow soothing. As she watched the wind move the treetops around in waves, a low growl sounded. Tired and distracted, it took her a moment to realise that the sound wasn’t being made by the branches swaying about above her, and she looked away from the sky and scanned carefully left to right across the trees and undergrowth. She couldn’t see anything at all, but her body began to tense anyway. No tree could make that sound.

  Another growl, louder this time, helped her focus in on the sound. It was coming from her right. She turned that way, shifting her body in order to prop her right shoulder against the tree. Then she saw it.

  It was large and reddish brown, its body packed tight with muscle.

  Siray froze completely as she stared at it, her mind numb and her lungs still.

  The cripwof stared right back at her.

  After a moment that stretched out an age, the beast approached her, moving silently out of the brush despite its size. Even in this wild forest, it seemed enormous, its paws the size of a grown male’s spread hand.

  All fight having left her, Siray watched the cripwof’s approach and felt both a thrill of wonder and fear race up and down her spine. When it finally stood before her, its eyes held hers for another long moment. When its head moved, Siray braced herself for the inevitable spring.

  Instead, the cripwof continued to lift its head, pointed its nose upwards, and howled.

  Siray flinched at the sound, which was both chilling and beautiful. As the howl died away, the cripwof’s muscles tensed, and Siray took a breath as she prepared herself. This was it, she was sure of it. At least this way, she would die a respectful death in the forest, rather than as an object of study.

  Yet once again the cripwof surprised her, its muscles continuing to tense, then shift. And it continued to shift and ripple, until the cripwof Changed. It shrunk in size, its hair receded, and its form elongated into that of a clothed kaslon male.

  The cripwof’s nose was the last part of it to Change, and once the male had resumed his complete form, he pulled his shoulders back as he stood before her.

  His hair was the same reddish-brown colour that the cripwof’s coat had been, and his clothes were of muted browns and greens. He was a middle-aged male, his face determined and thoughtful.

  As he stood there looking down at her, other males began emerging from the undergrowth around him. They, too, wore similar colours, broken by greys or creams here and there. Siray saw that they seemed to range in age and appearance, but they all looked to the male who stood before her for direction.

  One male entered the clearing well after the others. His brown hair was mussed and his grey eyes held annoyance and relief as he beheld her.

  It was the male who had helped her to escape.

  ‘We’ll need to move fast before they bring in any trackers,’ the leader said, his voice deep and slow. He looked around briefly at the forest and the others before continuing. ‘I want us long gone from here before they can get any troops in after us.’ He stepped up to Siray and, crouching swiftly, shot out an arm to slap her lightly on the arm before she could even flinch away.

  Siray jerked back from the touch and considered lashing out at him in response. But these impulses died swiftly as a warm and heavy feeling settled over her. Drowsily, she looked down at where the older male had made contact and saw a flesh-coloured patch on her arm right over the spot where the male had touched her. She stared at it, confused. What was that? Was it a bandage? She didn’t think she had been hurt there. In fact, she didn’t hurt anywhere at all anymore and felt more relaxed then she had since … when?

  But she was tired. Very tired, she thought, as her eyelids wavered. Had her run to escape tired her out that much? Or was it just the lack of food?

  She didn’t know. And as her thoughts began to run into each other, she decided she didn’t care.

  Her last thought was that she was still holding something, and, reflexively, she managed to move the hand holding the rock closer to her body. Just a tiny bit.

  Siray’s eyelids began drooping, and as they grew heavier and heavier, and she only caught flashes of the group around her beginning to move.

  When her eyes finally closed, she was left with the feeling of being lifted, her arms hanging loosely and her head rolling freely. It was an odd feeling, she thought fuzzily, to be lifted so gently after being dragged around so roughly the last couple of days.

  When she made one last attempt to open her eyes, she saw the world rotating around her, and her stomach moved.

  She happily let her eyes close again.

  ***

  Siray woke to the sound of someone breathing loudly. A rasping sound, as if someone was desperately trying to suck in air. Opening her eyes, she listened closely and, as she did so, unconsciously held her breath.

  When the noise stopped, Siray immediately realised the rasping had been coming from her, and she exhaled with a relieved whoosh, telling herself to take slow, deep breaths instead.

  As her breathing slowed, Siray sat up and looked around the unfamiliar space. Sharp and smooth rock alternated on the walls around her, the stone new to her and almost seeming alien when she had fallen asleep in the warm glade. When she looked up, she saw that the ceiling above her was dotted with sharp points of hanging rock, and she almost nodded to herself. She must be in a cave of sorts.

  A couple of burning torches in free-standing brackets lit the space around her, letting her see how the rocky cave floor rose and fell away from her, its rolling elevation like the movement of the sea.

  She appeared to have been placed in a smooth depression, while before her, a barricade of stalactites and stalagmites reached for each other, almost but not quite making a barrier across the small cave.

  The only exit Siray could see was a narrow tunnel beyond the rocks that curved away from her sight

  More importantly, no one appeared to be guarding her.

  Moving gingerly, her body weak, she stood carefully, and, in an effort to conserve energy and still her shaking legs, she leaned against the wall of the cave for support.

  Siray still didn’t understand what she was doing here, but strangely she didn’t feel much fear. Not after what had been done to her.

  Remembering her last moment in the forest, Siray looked down at her arm. The patch that had been there was gone. Curious, she rubbed at the spot where it had been while trying to think of what to do next. Who had grabbed her? Why had they taken her here? What did they intend to do with her? Was it still Silver and his group or was the whole world out to capture her? Questions raced through her mind, repeating and rearranging themselves, but it was the image of the male who had helped her escape that lingered longest. All she had to do now was find him and get some answers.

  Facing the one exit to the cave, Siray looked around the space for anything that she could use as a weapon; however, the cave was despairingly lacking in rocks or anything else that she could use.

  Siray held her head between her hands as she fought to think against the fuzziness in her head. Her lack of food was definitely impacting on her ability to make a plan. Her brief rest might have enabled her to recover some of her energy, but Siray could already feel her muscles trembling. She had now gone two days without water or food. Even before that, the meal her captors had provided hadn’t exactly been generous or nourishing.

  Pushing away from the cave wall, Siray forced herself to take in a deep breath and then to let it out slowly. She could stay in this space and wait for someone to come for her, whether friend or foe, or she could go find them while she had some strength left.

  Her mind was promptly decided. Free now, she would command her own future.

  Pulling her shoulders back, Siray walked slowly towards the tunnel, winding her way caref
ully between the stalactites and stalagmites that were spread before her. Upon reaching the tunnel, she extended a hand to brace it against the wall, aware that her stumbling steps could cause her to fall.

  When she turned the corner of that natural corridor, she saw that the path was narrow enough that she could easily trail both hands along the sides of the walls. This she did after almost falling over an unexpected rise in the cave floor, her weak legs their own worst enemy. Moving with greater caution and eyeing both the ground and ceiling, she continued her slow progression down the tunnel.

  As she moved forwards, Siray found herself admiring the cave formation, and she wondered if it was completely natural or if it had been helped along in some way. More torches set into the walls continued to provide flickering light at intervals, allowing her to see enough of the tunnel to know no one was coming for her yet.

  As Siray rounded another corner—almost a hairpin turn in the tunnel—she became aware of noises. It was like the sound of a gentle body of flowing water, but it rose and fell too often in pitch to be such.

  The tunnel was getting larger, and Siray felt less confident as she was forced to steady herself against just one wall, the other now beyond her reach. She realised she must be drawing closer to what might be the final turn and could now define the sound she had been hearing for some time.

  Voices.

  She could hear the rise and fall of murmurs echoing back from another space up ahead, and, as she crept near to the corner, she pressed up against the wall, peeking her head around its edge.

  A person—a guard, she supposed—was standing there watching the tunnel she was in.

  His eyes noted her small movement and flicked to her immediately.

  Siray gasped, her heart starting in her chest, but before she could react to her discovery, the guard smiled softly at her. His smile, relaxed, and even a little shy, made her hesitate. He wasn’t raising the alarm, shouting, or leaping to grab her. Definitely not what she had expected, but then maybe she could use this relaxed approach to her advantage.