The thunder sounded like gunshots, and Avery had gotten to the point where he couldn’t tell which was which. Everything was loud and happening all at once, but all he could concentrate on was running, throwing one foot in front of another and hoping he did not slip. He was being chased, but by whom, he did not know.
His lungs were starting to burn, but he didn’t dare slow down. It could have just been his own panicked mind, but it sounded as though the dogs were gaining ground. His hands were pressed tight to his messenger bag as he spewed prayers and curses out into the void of his conscience. His hood had been thrown back in the wind, his hair slicked to his head from the rain, which. It’s once bright color shone almost silver in the dark, sticking out like a sore, wet thumb. The forest was getting darker, and whether it was because of the storm or evening arriving was irrelevant. He had to be getting close- with every stride he took, dodging between pine trees, he could feel the magic getting stronger and stronger. He was so close to safety. The Barrier, the protection against evil, the ancient tangle of spells that enveloped the geography like a soap bubble. There was a new pang of worry in his aching chest at the thought that he wouldn’t be able to get in, either.
Avery felt himself starting to get slower and slower; it felt like each drop of rain was a spear, pelting him and seeping into his skin and dragging him down. He had to act before the next shot fired. A seconds worth of spells raced through his mind. He chose one and threw a hand behind him, not looking back to aim. He desperately drew the energy from anything and everything willing to give it up; the trees, the soil below him, his own body. This spell felt like gripping needles as it welled up in his palm, and when the pain became unbearable, he released his grasp.
An explosion sounded behind him- a purple glow reflected on the slick trees and there was the sound of firecrackers- then shouts and yelps. The dogs stopped barking and there was one less set of feet pounding the wet forest floor. The spell took its immediate toll on him, but Avery felt a surge of relief. He let out a fatigued laugh, but it was drowned out by the growing storm. He risked a look behind him.
Then, a crack of thunder, and Avery saw the ground rushing up to meet him. He must have landed on something, because his side stung with a sudden pain. No, he couldn’t have- the pain snaked to his back. He tried to move, pushing himself over with the hand that still stung like needles. He could barely see and the air smelt like metal and the shouts were so close and gods his side hurt.
Any weight he held against the scale tipped over, and his pursuers had finally hit their mark. They’d won. The hunt was drawing to a close, and the predators stopped to catch their breath, to savor the moment. Avery never got a chance to even see them, through their cloaks and the dark and the storm. But he knew they were close. They’d move in for the final blow, and it’d all be over.
He pressed his good hand to his side, kneeling, breath ragged. His soaked-through shirt was ripped and uncomfortably warm.
Think, idiot, think. You are not going to die, not now.
Behind him, Avery heard the sound of a gun being cocked. He hadn’t even finished his ragged breath when he turned around, and all at once, let the floodwaters burst. It was no longer his fatigue blinding him, but white, searing light. With eyes pressed shut, magic poured from his hands.
Stay awake, Avery. You’re not dead yet. Stay awake.
The power that ran through his veins jolted him alert, an unfamiliar form of adrenaline. He held on to that blazing magic for what seemed like an eternity. He felt drowned in it. Avery opened his eyes. The rain had stopped falling.
The forest was lit up, the forms of wet trees cast onto the earth as shadows. For the first time, Avery could see the two men that remained. They staggered backwards, cloaked in black and gray, hands thrown up over their eyes. Something metallic and red glinted in the light, but the men were unharmed. Some sort of pin; an insignia. Before he got a good look, the light forced Avery to turn away. Surely, everything and everyone in a five-mile radius had seen the light.
Avery’s adrenaline was overtaken by terror and pain again. His whole body ached, but he finally dragged himself to his feet, not daring to lower the spell. He stepped backward, one foot at a time, eyes still averted. Five steps, ten steps back. His arms throbbed like he was holding stones, then they finally dropped to his side. With that, the light faded and he once more turned his back to the men with guns. He stumbled forward. One hand held his side, the heat from his palms, and from what dawned on him in horror as blood, indiscernible from one another. The other held his bag, which seemed to cling to him with a life of its own.
Safety was so close now, it had to be. Even if he made it to the Barrier, what was he going to do, bleeding out in the rain, alone in the woods with killers? His senses were so numb that he couldn’t feel the Barriers magic anymore, anyways.
A large oak tree stood in front of him now. Avery nearly fell onto it, turning to press his back against the rough bark. He slid down it, the added pain negligible. Unseen, blood seeped into a patch of moss.
Avery blinked slowly. It was dark. He raised one arm to the sky and pointed upward with two fingers. A final burst of energy shot up from his fingertips, a bright red flare. A call for help. He didn’t make the effort to stand up again.
Hold on.
So Avery held on. He just held on. The sound of the rain was relaxing now. If time passed, he didn’t feel it.
And then finally, he heard voices. They were new, he realized with dizzy relief.He saw someone running toward him, and felt a hand on his shoulder. Despite everything, the hand, the voice, felt safe.The voice tried to talk to him.
Avery wouldn’t remember it when he next woke, but amongst the panicked voices, the one word the could make out was repeated over and over:
“Mecardium, the Mecardium,”