Captivity Part 5
Heero blinked open his eyes to find himself held in a tight embrace. His mind froze for a second as he felt the rough ground under his body and the tight hold, then he relaxed as he remembered where he was. He was sleeping in a tree, held tightly in Duo's protective embrace. Reaching up slowly he rubbed his eyes and turned his head, glancing up toward Duo's face.
At the small movement Duo's eyes snapped open and immediately moved around to survey the area, narrowed in suspicion. Then, after he was sure, he glanced to Heero and flashed a light smile. Beyond them the sun was heading toward the horizon, it would be many hours before sunset, but it was getting close. Adjusting his position perched on the branch he gave Heero a small squeeze.
"Sleep well?" he asked softly.
Heero nodded and flexed his legs.
"You soar from the running?"
"Not too much." Heero pulled out of Duo's grasp and moved to sit on the branch, hanging his feet over the side as he swung them back and forth, trying to stretch out the protesting muscles.
Duo's face became serious. "Are you able to run again?"
Heero's eyes flickered to Duo's face and he remained still for a moment, then nodded once more.
"Good, we should get going." Duo swung his feet over the side of the branch and jumped, landing hard on the ground with a small grunt. He winced as pain laced through his legs. "Crap," he muttered. "I really am out of shape." Turning he looked up at Heero and motioned for the boy to follow.
Heero pushed himself out of the branch and jumped, surprised to find that Duo moved to catch him to avoid straining his legs, even though the excess pressure from catching him hurt Duo's legs even more.
"You all right?" Heero asked, as he quickly stood to his feet.
"Yeah, just not used to so much exercise in such a short amount of time. I'll get over it soon enough, as long as we keep walking for most of the day and I get used to it. You ok with that?"
Heero nodded.
With that the two set off, following the river in the opposite direction from the village. Duo figured it would be the easiest way to make sure they traveled in one direction and didn't loop around so he watched the river's path and the sun as they moved. He also favored the river because he knew that if they had to run more they could move faster by swimming. He didn't exactly relish in the idea of getting all soaked again, especially not this close to sunset, but it was a small price to pay for the extra speed the current provided.
Behind him Heero followed silently, keeping up easily with the pace Duo'd set. Every once in a while he would stumble over a thick root or slip on one of the rocks, but he didn't fall down and he made sure it didn't slow him. Duo was quite happy Heero didn't fall because the last thing they needed at this time was to deal with a sprained ankle or worse.
As they walked Duo's eyes flickered over their surroundings. In fact, if someone had been watching his eyes they would have either made themselves dizzy or thought he was mad. His eyes never stayed in the same place for very long and were always on the move. He didn't remember being this nervous back when he was travelling with Trowa but then again he'd been the younger one in the group then. Back then Trowa had had the most experience and therefore the main job of watching was left to him. This time Duo had to worry about Heero who followed behind him and had no idea what to expect in this kind of life. So Duo had to watch out for both of them.
Perhaps it was that paranoia that made him believe they were still being followed. Frowning deeply he paused by the side of the river for a small rest and to grab a drink. Quickly he redid his braid so it wasn't quite as frayed and wouldn't get caught in anything. Heero walked over and crouched next to him.
"We're still being hunted aren't we?"
Duo nodded. "Most likely. They don't give up that quickly which is why we have to keep moving."
They kept their voices low as they stood up and peered around. Duo eyed the water with a critical look. "It's faster here... the current. There's probably a waterfall or at least a large drop ahead. Which means we may be in for some climbing."
Heero glanced past him, farther down the river. "We can't just ride the water over? Wouldn't that save more energy?"
Duo shook his head quickly. "Not worth the risk. We have no idea how deep the river is below, or of the rocks, and it could be really high up. The fall itself might cause more damage then slipping on the way climbing down. But at least if we head that way and there is a waterfall they can't follow us with the dogs, it would take to long to get the mutts to climb down, especially if it's really steep-"
Duo froze, his entire body going rigid. No, he hadn't just heard that!
Whirling around he glared angrily at the forest behind them. Heero stiffened beside him, showing he heard the same thing.
Dogs.
Both of their eyes widened and Duo cursed. "Move, now," he growled softly.
They both turned and ran, moving as fast and as silent as they could along the rocky shore of the river. He knew they would probably have a better chance veering off and taking off into the woods, but neither his legs nor Heero's could have taken that much strain. They were in no condition to try and outrun the dogs or the ones hunting them. Their only chance was to follow the river and hope his suspicions about the waterfall were right.
Crashing through the brush they moved off the rocks, favoring speed over silence as they made their way. Duo took the lead but glanced over his shoulder frequently to make sure Heero was keeping up. He wasn't about to leave the other boy behind. Still, as they ran, the sounds behind them became louder. It was quite obvious that they hadn't been imagining things. Duo cursed at himself for allowing them to sleep in the tree for so long, they should have kept moving, no matter how much their legs had protested at the time.
Beside them the water picked up its pace and they could soon make out a loud crashing sound from ahead of them. Duo grinned widely as he realized he'd been right, there was a waterfall.
Breaking out of the forest they found themselves in a clearing which the river passed through just before dropping off into a valley below. Duo eyed the distance ahead of them... too far.
Behind them they could hear the dogs clearly and the men with them. Duo came to a stop and tried to think of what to do. Unfortunately he wasn't paying attention and slipped on a rock, which was covered by the grass. Stumbling forward he gave a cry as his knee hit another sharp rock, heat flooding over his leg. Gritting his teeth he rolled over and hissed, looking at the angry wound.
"Duo!" Heero whirled around and raced back to him, offering a hand.
Duo ignored the deep cut and used Heero's hand to pull himself back to his feet, even though it hurt like hell. "Quick, toward the river." He hissed, very aware of the sounds behind them.
As the two neared the river Duo made a decision. He knew he wouldn't be able to run, especially not with his deep cut, and he certainly wouldn't risk swimming with it. As they moved toward the river Duo silently judged the current, noting that it was running very fast, but there weren't many rapids. Both he and Heero stopped at the edge of the river and Duo took a deep breath.
"Where to now?" Heero asked quietly as the dogs and the men broke through the line of trees.
Duo bit his lip and his eyes narrowed toward the dogs and the men close behind. He turned to Heero with a sad look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
With those words he shoved the boy backward into the water. Heero gave a cry of surprise as he tumbled into the fast current, his arms flailing out for something to grab onto.
"Hold your breath and swim!" Duo yelled after him as the current carried Heero away. He watched the boy's head bob up and down in the water's surface and then he was gone, without even a yell as he disappeared over the side. Duo made a move to follow when a pair of sharp teeth clamped around his leg.
He cried out and kicked at the dog, forcing it to let go with a yelp. Risking his knee and ignoring the pain Duo sprinted across the clearing and pulled himself quickly into a tree. Settling down on a branch he eyed the dogs barking at the trunk and jumping up at him. It wasn't long before the men caught up, two of them clustering under the tree and pointing their weapons while the other two moved to the edge of the cliff and eyed the water below.
"Come down from there!" One of the men called.
"No!" Duo yelled, trying to stall. He knew with their short swords and spear like blades wouldn't be able to get him down and he could always climb higher to get away. What he really cared about was getting those other two guys back from the ledge so that if Heero had survived the fall he could come up for air. Silently he cheered as the two men were called over to help him get out of the tree.
The men weren't stupid enough to throw their weapons toward him. Instead they chose large rocks from along the river and tossed them up toward his perch on the branch. Duo did his best to dodge them but wasn't completely able to. One hit him hard in the shoulder and he gave a small cry almost losing his balance.
It was the second one that hit that got him. It hit him square in the back of the head and his world swirled, his vision fading out for a moment and his balance disappearing. The next thing Duo knew he was no longer in the tree and instead was falling. Bringing his arms up to protect himself from the fall, he hit the hard ground in a roll, his head slamming against the ground. His world quickly faded out as he saw the dogs race toward him teeth bared.
With his last moments of consciousness he was very thankful. Thankful he would be unconscious by the time they started biting him.
And thankful that Heero had gotten away.
He hoped Heero had survived the waterfall.
He hoped...
Darkness.
~*~
Heero swallowed the water in his lungs and tried desperately not to cough as he pulled himself up onto the rocks. Falling onto his stomach he gasped for air and immediately fell into a coughing fit, holding his chest in pain until it stopped. Holding his breath he glanced around him and squinted, trying to see through the wall of falling water, which surrounded him. He had come up behind the waterfall, swimming against the pressure with all his strength to make sure he didn't drowned. Now the water roared around him and he was almost positive that he could have yelled and they wouldn't have heard him. Pulling himself completely out of the water he inspected his own body.
He'd curled into a ball when he flew over the side of the cliff and had thankfully slowed the speed of his descent, even if only be a little. As a result he'd only scratched himself against the rocks at the bottom but had avoided getting any major cuts. Coughing up the rest of the water in his lungs he quickly scanned the water's surface in hope. Maybe Duo had followed him in, maybe...
No, he knew Duo hadn't been able to follow, the dogs were too close and there was no way he could have climbed with that cut on his knee. Heero bit his bottom lip hard and crawled into a corner of the cave, wrapping his arms around his knees. He wasn't sure what to do now. Should he keep moving by running or swimming? That meant there was a chance of the other men seeing him if they were watching from the cliff. But then again if he stayed where he was they would easily find him. He had no idea if they would give up the search when they reached the cliff or if they would keep chasing him until they caught him or found his corpse.
Hugging himself tightly he shivered against the cold air in the cave and eyed the walls. It was only a guess, but judging from edges on the inside he guessed the sides of the cliff were pretty steep. Still, he had no idea how much that would hold off their chase.
Standing up he walked to the edge of the loud curtain of water and stepped out, hugging the wall. Straining carefully with his ears he listened, trying to pick out any sounds from above. Then an idea hit him. One direction they wouldn't expect to find him in.
Taking a deep breath he began to climb the side of the cliff on the opposite side of the water. Any smart escapee would keep running, as far from the town as they could. But Heero wasn't like them, and especially not smart enough to survive on his own. So he had to rely on his own knowledge. He was raised in the same world as those men had been and he knew that when a slave escaped they raced as far away from the city as they could.
Which meant that no one would expect a slave to head back for the city under the pretense of protection. But since he had no idea how to live on his own yet he decided he had to outsmart them and lose them before he could learn how to live. Setting his mind he concentrated on climbing the steep rock wall as quietly as he could. He stayed away from the wet rocks and slowly made his way up, rarely slipping.
It was a painstakingly long process with little chance to rest but he didn't have much of a choice. By the time he made it to the top his arms and legs were screaming in protest and he had to bite back his own cries of pain and fatigue. Peeking over the side he found the clearing completely empty and no sign of them hiding in the trees. Beyond him the sun was already setting, telling of the cold night to come. He pulled himself up from the rocky wall and quickly moved to the edge of the river.
Peering to the other side he let out a sigh of relief as he spotted no body. At least they hadn't killed Duo and just left his body to rot. But he still had no guarantee if the braided boy lived.
Hugging himself tightly Heero turned his back from the river and made his way into the woods. Following Duo's example from the previous night he searched until he found a tree where he could reach the lowest branch and pulled himself up among the leaves. Climbing quite high he made sure the leaves completely blocked him site, then snuggled in between an Y shaped set of branches. Hugging himself against the cold he closed his eyes and tried to rest.
But it wasn't a sound sleep at all. He kept waking up in the middle of the night, the scene of Duo shoving him into the water to save him being played over and over again in his mind. At last he was able to silently drift into a light sleep, small tears rolling down the side of his face. He'd traded one type of hiding for another. At first he'd had no problem with that since Duo was with him and he would have done anything to be with the lovely braided boy.
But now... now he was all alone.
Alone and lost. What was he supposed to do now?
TBC...
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