Nineteen - Alden

I looked to Tarka, who wore her typical guarded expression, and I exclaimed, "We have to do something!"

Tarka eyes shifted back and forth for a moment, as if uncertain of whether she would actually want to risk her life for another's.

"Tarka!" I cried, upset at her hesitation. Tristram had fed us and been a loyal friend, and she just sat there contemplating life? I shook my head and tried to say something else when a look of fear crossed Tarka's face, a look I had never seen on her before. Turning back I realized my shouting had caused some commotion with a few of the soldiers, and that they were quickly heading our way.

My hand immediately reached for my scimitar, but froze mid-withdraw when a light hand touched my arm. Tarka shook her head at me, pulling me gently, and yet urgently, through the bushes, the opposite way Tristram had gone.

We ran as fast I could, since I knew Tarka could move much faster. We cut through several different bushes and close-nit trees, my arms and face continually being greeted by the wrath of the Viridian thorns that flourished from the humid climate. I glanced back once, and was relieved to see no one behind us, when I noticed the shake of the trees, and my stomach began to twist.

I regretted looking back, but not as much as I regretted looking forward. Not far ahead of us was nothing. Nothing. The ground ended into a steep drop, where a gushing river could be heard over the sway of trees.

"Tarka, what are we doing?" I exclaimed.

"I don't know!" She cried.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Trust me." She whispered, grabbing my hand and tossing me over the edge.

I thought this was it. The wet spray of water touched my face and started to saturate my clothes. I barely had a second to react when I landed on a soft muddy protrusion barely sticking out from the ledge, and I gasped as the air was knocked out of me. After a moment, I glanced up, estimating I had fallen maybe twenty feet. I tried to stand, to see where Tarka was, but instantly lost foothold and slipped, half my body clinging to the side of the ledge, while the other side felt the river's watery hand tugging ever so gently. I pressed my fingers into the mud, and brought my other hand over, allowing that hand to also dig into the soft dirt. Above me I heard sounds of movement, but no voices. As I slowly pulled myself back onto the ledge, keeping my belly against the earth this time, a high pitch noise rang through the air as a Viridian soldier landed into the rushing river.

I had no idea how many there were, or what they could be doing to Tarka, or her to them. I then heard another sound, but it was not like the other. It sounded like Tarka's voice. My hands clenched and I glanced down at my scimitar, knowing what I had to do.

I slowly reached one hand to my scimitar, and then, with more speed and skill than I thought I possessed, I jumped up, running part way up the muddy slope, and plunged my scimitar into the soft terrain, allowing my momentum to push off the sword, giving me just enough height to grab the ledge and leap up onto my feet. I was pretty impressed that that had worked, but had no time to enjoy it as I saw two more Viridian soldiers holding onto Tarka, and another pulling his knife out of Tarka's shoulder.

The three looked at me in utter shock as the muddy boy stood before them. I gritted my teeth and ran at the armed soldier, knocking him right into a nearby tree. He hissed at me, but with one good punch I knocked him out. Scrimmaging for the knife, I took note of the other two tossing Tarka to the side. I launched at them knife aimed to kill, but they easily unarmed me. One of them grabbed my arms and twisted them behind my back, and used his tail to wrap around my throat.

The other Viridian grabbed hold of Tarka's clothing and dragged her to the edge.

"No!" I cried, trying to kick the Viridian, but to no avail.

The one that held me hissed in my ear. "Don't worry you'll be joining the little traitor."

They then threw us both into the river's gushing water, and I tried my best to keep my head above water, but being from a desert made swimming a fairly rare experience, and the river was so strong any attempt caused me to be instantly knocked back under. Luckily I came upon a rock, which gave me a second to breathe and locate Tarka. I then shot off from the rock, making sure to get a good hold on Tarka. Her shoulder was bleeding quite a bit when the water wasn't pulling us under, and I couldn't be certain if she was conscious or not, but I managed to find another bolder, and with the last bit of strength I could muster, I took Tarka in one arm, and used the other to fling the both of us onto the nearest bank.

Pulling Tarka away from the bank, I took my shirt off, and, after dunking it into the river a few times, began to dab at the wound on Tarka's shoulder. She looked at me, which let me know she was at least alive. Looking back across the river, I of course had no idea where we were or how we would get back to Tristram. All I knew was the sun was setting, I had lost my scimitar, and Tarka was wounded. I looked back at Tarka, and never felt such a heaviness within me.