We quickly entered the forest. We moved forward as best we could, Rowan at the front carrying Serin without stopping, Claire holding Daren, and me behind with my sword in hand.
"Wait," Rowan said out of nowhere.
We all froze instantly, and I began glancing furtively in every direction, searching for whatever had made my brother stop.
"Do you hear that?" Claire asked.
At first I heard nothing… until a dry crack broke the silence, then another, and another… something was moving.
"...they're following us," I murmured.
Rowan didn't respond, but his expression tightened.
Soon, faint murmurs could be heard, as if they were far away, but approaching quickly.
"Damn it," Rowan said quietly, "At this rate they'll catch us soon, we're too slow."
Claire tightened her grip on Daren, who could barely stand, breathing with difficulty.
"We won't be able to keep this up much longer…" she whispered.
More noises continued to echo in the distance, only getting closer and closer.
"...Leave me…" Daren said, holding back a cough.
"Shut up and stop saying stupid things," Claire interrupted, looking in every direction for a solution.
"No… we can't escape with me like this, and I'm too big for anyone to carry me, you have to leave me."
Claire looked at him for a second, her eyes becoming glassy, "Fine, then I'll stay here… you… escape," she said, her voice slightly breaking.
"What are you talking about? If you stay, we all stay."
Claire looked at me, "Don't be an idiot, Luke… it would be a waste for all of us to get caught just for this. We don't even know where all those soldiers are from, who knows what they'll do to us," she took a breath, "he's my brother, I could never leave him alone."
My eyes began to water, "But…"
Rowan placed his hand on my shoulder, "They're right, we have to go…" When I turned to look at my brother's face, I could see the sadness in his eyes as he said those words, something very unusual for him—he rarely showed his emotions.
Claire stood up and gave Rowan and me a tight hug. Daren looked at us from where he sat against a tree, "I'd also… give you a goodbye hug…" he coughed a little, "but well… I'm not feeling very well," he finished with a faint smile.
"Take care, guys. You better survive and let me see you again," she finished saying goodbye and sat next to her brother.
I stood there watching them. I couldn't accept that they would stay here—they weren't just friends. I had lived with them for months, and although that might not be much for a normal person, for me, who had no memories of my life… they were part of my family.
"Let's go," Rowan said, nodding toward them as he turned to leave.
I clenched my teeth, turned around… and ran.
The sound of our footsteps mixed with the murmurs and noises that were no longer so distant. With every second they became clearer, more defined… closer. I didn't want to look back.
"No matter what happens, don't you dare stop," Rowan said as we moved through the trees.
I nodded, even though I knew he wasn't looking at me.
Soon, the sounds behind us disappeared—maybe because we had gotten too far away, maybe because they had already found them.
We kept moving for a few more minutes until Rowan stopped behind a group of snow-covered rocks. He carefully set Serin down, leaning her against one of them.
"...a short break…" he breathed heavily, "if we keep this up, one of us will collapse."
I stayed silent, looking at the ground, reflecting on what had just happened.
A soft groan made us look to the side—it was Serin. She moved slightly, her breathing still irregular, but her eyes slowly opened.
"Where…?" she murmured.
"In the forest," Rowan replied, "Safe… for now."
She blinked a couple of times, turning her head as she tried to orient herself, until her gaze settled on the two of us, "...they're missing..."
None of us responded.
She closed her eyes and rested her head against the rock, "I understand."
We rested for about half an hour; all three of us needed to recover, especially Serin.
"We should go to the place Uncle Ed mentioned, maybe he's already there."
Rowan shook his head, "Claire and Daren probably talked, that would be their best option to survive."
"Even so, there might already be someone at the cabin, we need to warn them," I said, frowning.
Rowan kept his gaze steady, "Fine."
We tried to wake Serin, who had fallen asleep again just seconds after regaining consciousness, but we decided to leave her as she was. Rowan picked her up again, and we set off toward the cabins, which shouldn't be too far from here.
We moved forward quite a distance until we reached what looked like a path. As soon as we got there, it didn't need to be said—someone else had passed through before us. Rowan noticed it too, but said nothing, just kept going with Serin in his arms.
"...we're not the only ones," I murmured, more to myself than to the others.
We continued in silence. We were no longer running, but we weren't relaxing either.
After a few minutes, Rowan raised his hand and I stopped instantly. I moved to his side and followed his gaze. There was the cabin.
"...finally," I managed to say.
But something didn't feel right—there was too much movement, several figures around it.
I narrowed my eyes and saw dark red armor, "Shit…" I muttered under my breath.
Rowan lowered his stance slightly, observing more carefully. "They didn't arrive long ago."
I tightened my grip on my sword without realizing it, "And Edric?"
"If he arrived… he's in there," he replied dryly, "Or he didn't make it."
I didn't like either option.
The wind carried their voices—short orders, constant movement. There were many of them.
"We can't," I murmured.
"No," Rowan replied, "It would be suicide."
I kept staring at the cabin for a few more seconds. That place was our only option… and now we no longer had it.
"So what do we do?" I asked.
"We leave. We'll find somewhere to hide until all this passes," he said as he stood up and put Serin back on his back.
"Just like that? We're just going to abandon them?" I said, disappointed.
Rowan turned around quickly, "We can't do anything, Luke. Not only are they trained soldiers, there are far more of them than us," he calmed down and continued, "We have to survive. We're not heroes."
I clenched my fist tightly until my resolve gave in, nodded heavily, and we left the place.