RUN!!!

Writers: Miriah
Date Posted: 8th June 2013

Characters: J'ackt
Description: Jenackt runs.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 1, day 5 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Zandan, Sarban, Corowal

J'ackt

His leg ached with dull throbs and there was a stickiness about his pants
leg that he knew could only mean that his wound had broken open and
overwhelmed the bandage that had been placed around his thigh. His sides
ached from what seemed like non-stop running for the past few days. He hadn't
stopped; he'd been too afraid to stop, but he had to get away before Zandan,
Sarban or Corowal could find him. He couldn't afford it, especially now.

There had been sounds of pursuit at first and though he no longer heard it,
he had refused to stop except to catch snatches of sleep in trees and to nab
a few redfruits that had hung low enough for him to swipe in his hurry. But
it wasn't enough to keep him going. He was moving on sheer nerves and even
that was failing him now. His face was flushed from both a slow growing
fever and his movement; his breath was becoming even more labored.
He was hungry. He was thirsty. But he had nothing to help him hunt. His belongings were confiscated by the guards at his capture. He'd lost his belt knife, his father's sword, and every bit of supplies that he packed during his attempt to leave the area. He knew inwardly that he had to find something more substantial to eat, but fear of returning to a cell kept him from stopping long enough to even try. He didn't feel safe when he stopped. For all he knew, they could be just out of earshot. And he could not, would not, return to that dark cell to be caged like some animal. So he kept moving.

Jenackt was exhausted and he stumbled as his foot hit an upturned root. He
fell with a crash, his breath expelling with an 'oof.' He didn't get up for
long moments, though he tried to force his body into motion. Instead, he
simply lay there, limbs trembling. The redfruit and the snatches of sleep
hadn't been enough. But more than that now, the pain and heat from his now
seeping wound seemed to overwhelm him. He groaned and went still, taking
large gulping breaths.

Through his breath, he heard the bubbling of water over rocks and wearily
lifted his head. Water. His swallowed, his parched throat suddenly crying
out for moisture. It was enough to spur him forward, moving at a crawl
towards the blissful sound. He was rewarded with the sight of a rippling
brook that glistened in the middle of a clearing.

Scrambling as fast as he could manage, he reached the banks and with a sigh,
plunged his head in, taking long drinks. He lifted a dripping head, and then
rested his brow on the muddy bank, the coolness of the mud soothing him. It
came to him vaguely that he shouldn't be feeling so warm and that it was not
a good thing for him to be so burning hot; perhaps the mud, even as
blissfully cool as it was, was not a good idea. But Jenackt couldn't bring
himself to move from it. He turned his head to press his cheek into the mud.

He simply couldn't move another inch and it came to him with clarity that he
was going to die. He was too weak and he would be fodder for wild felines as
soon as they found his scent. His lids fluttered. He didn't want to die…to
be eaten or to rot into nothingness alone. He tried to push himself upwards,
mud dripping from his face, and tried to stiffen his shaking arms with his
remaining strength, but that strength failed him and he collapsed back into
the mud with a soft sob.

He was done. All of the spirit that had driven him to survive had finally abandoned him and he knew it with a gut-wrenching certainty. There was a passing thought that he still wanted to do so much, to try to do more than how he had lived, but the feeling of defeat swarmed him. **Damn them….** Jenackt closed his eyes. He'd escaped, but they'd still killed him anyway. **Damn them. ** With that bitter thought, he submitted to unconsciousness.

Last updated on the June 18th 2013

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RUN!!!