Race against the dark
Chapter 6

By Lexy



    After a full day of walking, and Renn's lack of energy, The couple were only half way home. Shay was eager to get back to camp, so he decided to carry Renn. He threw her pack over his shoulder and picked her up in his arms. He was very strong, and showed only a little strain.

"Renn isn't that heavy, probably close to 100 pounds." Shay thought to himself.

    The rest of the walk was faster than before, but not as fast as Shay had hoped, considering he was carring more than his own weight. When they were around the corner from camp, Shay woke Renn, who had fallen asleep to the rocking motion of Shay's arms.

"Renn, we are almost home, can you walk? or would you rather me carry you?"

"Carry me?" Replied Renn sheepishly.

"Sure"

   As they walked up the path, Shay could feel Renn's excitment. They could hear the waterfall before they saw it. The closer they got, the louder it became, untill they broke through the trees and were upon it. A frothing, tumbling, churning burst of silver that poured itself madly over the rocks and then dropped straight down for several feet, into the stream below.

    Shay walked down the slope towards the camp, when, he noticed that only one fire was awake. That usually ment something bad was going on. Gill was hunched over the fire not speaking, just listening to Dani blubber about something not audible from where Shay and Renn were. By the look of her face, she had been crying uncontrolably.

"Shay, What happened, whats going on!?" Asked Renn frantically

" I was with you the whole time Renn, I dont know."

    Shay stumbled down the rockey decline. Renn was tence in his arms. He couldn't see her face but he knew she was upset from the tone of her voice.

"Hurry up, Hurry up" She would say again and again. " I need to know whats wrong, I cant see anything."

"How can you not see anything? We are right infront of them."

"oh... yeah, right." Renn quickly stammered

    Dani saw Renn and Shay comming down the whinding pathway, and started crying again. Gill wasn't sure of why she was crying, so he followed her gaze and caught a glimps of a man staggering into his camp.

" Who is that!" Gill cried out

"Gill It's Shay! I need help, Renn's hurt!"

    Gill ran over, and for a 50 summers old man, he ran fast. Dani was still faster and was hugging her sister so hard Renn couldn't breathe.

"Dani, Dani what's wrong, why are you crying?"

"I thought I lost you too!" Dani managed to say inbetween blubbers.

"What do you mean lost me? I was only got an extra 2 days, where's Blaze??" Renn was so confused, none of this was making sence.
  By now, Gill had caught up and was ushering Shay back to camp to tend to Renn.

"I really tried Renn I did, I got away with only a bite and a broken arm, but they took Blaze away they were mumbling something about the south, and about his eyes, or sight or something. Then I collapsed and my head was swimming with words of chants."

" Oh no.......It can't be happening." Renn spoke softly " What about the south Dan, where in the south?"

   Dani's sad face suddenly changed to that devilish grin, with eyes so black you could get lost in them.

"Burning trees with a burnt ground, where nobody goes but everythings crowned, Highest of high, but lowest of all, across the drowned is where he is found, So come on and take our test, maybe you'll find him unlike the rest." Dani murmered under her breath.

"What did you say Dan?" Gill's voice what sharp, cutting.

"What... Uhh nothing, never mind... I should go, go lie down, I'm not feeling to well."
    
    Her face hadn't changed from the devilish grin. Dani pushed Shay out of her way by resting a hand on his collarbone. Dani stared with those intense dark eyes into the face of Shay. Right at that moment Shay knew something was wrong. It was like he was being pushed in slow motion and the stare was forever. The force Dani had excerted on him felt like a million porcupine needles being pushed into his chest. Finnally the gaze ended and Shay was kneeling on the ground. It felt like the spot Dani touched was on fire. Gill came back from putting Renn into her tent to get her wounds mended, in time to see Dani running off, and Shay on the ground. He kneeled beside Shay, who was holding his chest.

"Shay are you alright? Dani pushed you pretty hard."

"No, It feels like my chest is burning!" Shay exclaimed in pain.

Gill undid Shays shirt and there on his chest was Dani's handprint in black ash, with a tiny tree in the center. Gill used some water from Shay's waterskin, and tried to remove the prints. After rubbing for a minute Gill looked frusterated, its like it had been tattooed into Shays Chest.

"How is this possible?" asked Shay "How can you tattoo something with no needle and no ink! only your bare hands!?"

Gill stood up "Shay...."

"What is it Gill?" asked Shaowei

"Do you remember when we found your parents, last year after they told you to run, and they were dead from an attack?" Gill said remorsefully.

"Yes, how could I forget!!!!!" Shay Hissed

"Well...... They had the very same mark on them..."