Renata
The three of them raced across the stretch of grass and weeping willows as it all went on for endless miles. The skinny branches and leaves of the trees nearly brushed against the ground, only disturbed against their buzzing bodies. Their heavy breaths echoed, piercing past the sounds of their crunching boots against snapping plants.
She felt the soil beneath her. The rock. The insects. All of them connected to her through each impact, guiding her, invigorating her to keep on this mysterious track. She had no idea where she was taking the two men, only that they were actually getting farther and farther away from Angel.
Blue as far as the eye could see.
"Where are we going?" Keone's breathless question broke her concentration.
Her eyes cut toward him on her right. "We need to get underground. It'll make it harder for him and those things to find us."
Keone's gaze crinkled with disbelief and an objection brimmed in his hazel green. "You're sure?"
"You got another plan?" Tahoma demanded quietly at her other side. His words weren't breathless in the slightest, but his dark tan skin did flush, which looked unnatural in the blue-tinted airânot that anything was really natural in this realm of death.
Keone shook his head and looked forward once moreâfocusing on keeping up pace with them, she suspected. The blue weeping willows continued to brush and tease the tops of their heads and shoulders.
"How did he even find us?" Tahoma demanded.
"He dreamtravelled to me," Keone answered, "somehow tracked me through it."
"Doesn't matter now," Renata huffed out.
Renata was scared out of her mind still, and she knew more than anything that she wasn't ready to fight Angel. Yes, the power continued to brew and swell within her quaking shell, but mentally, she wasn't there. If this was going to work, if she was going to have any kind of chance against the grim reaper, she needed to believe in her own heart.
She also needed to come to terms with the fact that if and when she managed to defeat Angel, she would take his place. She would become Death. There was no way for her to comprehend just what that meant, as at this point, she was only getting a taste of what he was. To become the grim reaper could mean losing everything she ever knew, despite Tahoma's reassurance. That chance, that potential loss also hung over her head, tainting her heart and planting doubt and hesitation deep within.
Was she really prepared to make the sacrifice? To leap into the unknown?
Another spike in the air made her come to a screeching halt. She literally kicked up dirt and almost tripped from her own instinctive reaction. The other two twisted toward, alarmed by her sudden change in demeanor. Tahoma was ahead while Keone was slightly behind.
"There's something wrong." She whirled around, eyes snapping in every direction. "He's doing something, something bad."
She shuddered as a great, monstrous scream filled the air. The deep, haunting sound verberated as though it played from speakers right beside their ears. Everyone slapped their hands against their heads, trying to drown out Angel's fury. A clap of thunder rang out, followed by a wave of cold air.
Disoriented by the sound, more so than the men, she didn't have time to react to what happened next.
She looked ahead in confusion as Tahoma raced toward her. Right as he reached her, she assumed Keone charged her from behind. His weight crashed against her, knocking the air out of her. He forced her into Tahoma and they all went flying to the floor, landing in a very uncomfortable sandwich.
Keone's shout blew against her ear, and she wasn't sure what happened until she saw bolts of blacks shoot into the distance.
A cheap shot from Angel, but she knew the gloves were off in this fight.
Keone rolled off of them, and his barely concealed shout of pain made her concerned, not that she was worried for his well-being.
Of course, not.
She pushed herself up and looked over at Keone who was fully unconscious at this point. "Shit!" She cursed and raced over to be at his side, and definitely not because she cared. She didn't. Obviously.
Tahoma was on her heels. "What the fuck was that?"
"A warning shot." She winced as she saw the blood on his body, edged by black. "We need to get him off his back. Help me."
Together, they pulled him up and dragged his weight between them, Tahoma doing most of the heavy lifting.
"We should just leave him," Tahoma suggested, finally showing some strain in his face. "I'm pretty sure he's the one who started all of this, anyway. He hurt you, didn't he?"
She thought about lying, but knew that was the wrong thing to do at that moment, especially with Tahoma. She kept her gaze trained ahead. "He did."
"He killed you?"
"Yes."
His voice deepened with anger. "Did it hurt?"
She never spoke about this with anyone, not even Diamond, not really. It was too soon to recall and too late by the time she was even close to ready to discuss what Keone did to her that night. "A lot."
Tahoma resisted walking further. "Let's leave him here to rot. The bastard deserves it."
"Trust me, I'm not his number one fan," she drawled as Tahoma's hesitation forced her to take on more of Keone's weight. "But he did just save us, or at least you."
"So?"
"Tahoma, help me."
He made a frustrated sound and returned to his position. She could sense they were getting close to some kind of shelter. "Well, if this doesn't kill him, I will."
"Fuck that. If anyone has a say in how he ends, it's me."
"Okay, we'll do it your way. How much farther? This bastard is heavy."
She thought about it, felt her attatchment to this world and the lifelessness it carried. The shapes of everything and how it was all interconnected into one big force of blue nature. "At least five more miles.." She whispered the rest. "There's a well-hidden cavern. Can you make it?"
"As long as you can."
"Good. We should pick up the pace. We need to get as far away from him as quick as we can."
He nodded and did just as she asked.
**********
They both were sweating and wheezing miles and miles later. She almost thought her instincts were wrong and she simply convinced herself out of sheer delirious panic that there was actual shelter anywhere here until they finally made it.
It was near impossible to see. The blue trees covered the entrance well with blue branches and leaves and dirt and rocks. Keone, hanging between them, groaned once again in pain. He hadn't uttered a single word since he shielded them, something Renata was still reeling from.
"Here, you got him?"
"Yes," he nodded like the trooper he was, "go ahead."
Her shoulders and back felt relief as she unloaded the rest of Keone's weight onto Tahoma. She kneeled forward in front of the branches. They were thick and intertwined. The sensation beneath her palms strengthened to a noticeable hum. She closed her eyes, brows pulled in a frown.
Come on, work with me here.
And like magic, the plant life parted, making just enough room for a single body. She looked back at Tahoma, whose red gaze widened in wonder. "What can't you do?" He demanded, though nothing about the question made her feel attacked.
"I think we're going to find out soon enough," she admitted. "Here, I'll go in firstâthen, I'll pull him in."
"That should work."
It took longer than she was comfortable with as they shoved Keone through the openway. She fell back, and he fell on top. His forehead hit her chin.
"I don't think so, asshole!" Tahoma's quiet yet infuriated words came a second before Keone was dragged off of her.
She covered her mouth to conceal her laugh. The sound made her feel lighter, and she couldn't recall the last time she'd done such a thing.
Before she could examine their new safe space, she knew she needed to help Keone. She looked down at him as he laid on his belly, Tahoma across from her and studied him as well. "What now?"
There was no time to hesitate for modesty's sake. "Strip him."
Tahoma grimaced but once again complied with her requests. She cringed as she examined his naked skin which was streaked with black slashes. It reminded her of the state Balam was in, but Balam's wounds were deeper, which meant he still had a chance. "I need to remove the death." She placed her hands against Keone's tender back. His skin was warm but not warm enough. He winced, though gave no other reaction. He was knocked out cold at this point.
Instead of guiding him the rest of the way to the end, Renata did what was now starting to feel unnatural. She removed the death from him, leaving behind even smaller wounds.
The blackness soaked into her fingertips, diving deeper into her, preferring her body's shelter to his.
She sighed, feeling her power attract the darkness, absorb it and strengthen from it.
Renata didn't stop until the streaks were only pink and red instead of black.
She fell back onto her but after the last drop transferred.
Tahoma immediately sought her. He cradled her close. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She sat up to look at Keone. "We can clean him up, but he's got to do the rest of the work."
Tahoma raised his brow, "clean him up with whatâoh, I see." She followed his line of sight.
Though she knew beforehand, she took in the cavernous space. From above, beams of soft blue light filtrated the cracks of the humungous tree, so it wasn't difficult to make out the details of this area. They were on a stone ground, interrupted by thick vines and moss. In a short distance, as seen by Tahona, there was a small spring of water. It flowed in from the back wall and trickled off back into the ground into the smallest cracks.
The ceiling was higher than expected, especially when considering the appearance of the outside entranceâshe doubted Tahoma or Keone could comfortably stand straight.
"Not bad," Tahoma breathed, "for a hideout from the boogeyman."
"Thanks." She exhaled another exhausted breathâshe was convinced she'd never catch it.
He tilted his head in the direction of the spring. "Should we just dunk him in there and hang him out to dry?"
Renata smiled in response to his mischievous, devilish grin. "Sure, why not?"