Tread Lightly – Among Monsters And Men

I turn back, shifting my head to stare through the sands in Bonfire's direction. Ether, the bits and pieces I can still manage with my near-blinding headache, flows through my muscles and into my legs. Before I can initiate anything, however, Abraham grabs me by the throat with one hand, clenching his right hand with more force than I ever thought he had.

 

Surprised and worried by his outburst, I glare at him with a shout, audible explosions of fire not that far away.

 

"He's your best friend! Are you really going to let him die!? I didn't know you were this much of a coward!"

 

Veins pop on my cheeks as I scream, but Abraham's face nearly breaks me. Tears run down all over his face, dripping down to the earth before being picked up by the swirling grains of dust. Snot slides down his nose as he screams right back at me, hauling me away from Bonfire with a strength that grips my whole body at once. Force.

 

"He came here knowing he'd die! I tried to stop him! But... he's so fucking stubborn! If we go back, we will die. So will Virgil. Then what? Is his sacrifice meaningless? I... I want to save him. I want him to live. He's... he's the first friend I've ever had..."

 

Abraham doesn't allow for any negotiation as he pushes me with his mind, blood sliding down his nose.

 

"YOU! You will live! He came here for you! FOR YOU! Don't make it a waste!"

 

My hands raise to my head as he pushes me, and I claw at my skull, racking my brain for a solution, only to find none. Abraham can't see through these sands with Allude to pull them back if we escape. The man simply forces me further, the blood trickling in more significant amounts as I pose only feeble resistance.

 

He's right.

 

I absolutely despise thinking it, but he is. If we go back, we all die.

 

Four Angels, none of which are average or weak.

 

I could tell that by how they coordinated and killed the Virtued monster. I'm sure that any second now, Frozen, Clumsy, and Bonfire will die. Then, they'll be back after us.

 

We need to make distance.

 

So, I compel Ether into my limbs, letting Abraham focus on himself. As I sprint through the unforgiving wasteland, every step feels like a blow to my heart, each stride echoing with memories of Bonfire. Each step heightens the physical distance to him as I feel him even closer. The biting sands dig into my flesh, but the pain in my chest is more excruciating. Thoughts of him flood my mind, a collage of moments that defined our friendship.

 

Tears billow in my eyes despite the fact I haven't drank any water in days.

 

I remember the countless card games we played under the starry night sky. Most of the time, it was Bonfire who emerged victorious; that or he was the simple dealer to the rest of us, his joyful laughter constantly filling the air. Even in defeat, I cherished those nights. I will never see them as anything else than perfect, no matter how much time passes.

 

Our minor battles to test our strengths were things I could never forget. They usually ended in draws or, more often than not, Bonfire's wins. Slowly, I have evened the score, but I don't think I'll even have the chance to make it tied between the two of us. His relentless energy and determination pushed me to improve, even in the face of defeat. I see why Abraham set him as a rival for so long. He's... too bright.

 

But it wasn't just the competitions that defined our friendship. It was the quiet moments we shared, sometimes while nursing our wounds after grueling battles. Those were the nights filled with peace and understanding, where words were unnecessary. I hardly even remember our meeting, that brief instance in Johnny's war room.

 

The memory that stands out above all others is the one that marks the first time we ever spoke. The first time I ever... understood him. After the awful battle for Rustbank and I nearly died, saved only by Lily, we both sat on the ground, staring up at the setting sun. The silence stretched for over an hour, an unusual occurrence for Bonfire, who was hardly ever able to sit still for even a few minutes. At the time, I didn't find it distinctive. I sure do now.

 

But there, amid the wreckage and the fallen, he remained silent, his eyes fixed on the horizon, where hundreds of fallen citizens and Sigled from Rustbank lay. He knew at most a dozen of them, yet he was quiet at their passing.

 

It was in that shared silence, beneath the fading light of the setting sun, that I realized he wasn't some crazed pyromaniac. He isn't some madman with a lust for fire. He has emotions, though dulled to focus on himself and those he considers friends. He focuses that fire inside instead of letting it spread out for everyone.

 

His last words hang onto me like a weight. While running, I eke out a question to Abraham.

 

"Did we look down on him that much? Did I—"

 

Abraham shakes his head, answering through Allude to save his breath. The man's tears are still falling, but his blood is slowly replacing the liquid due to his wounds and the added effect of the storm.

 

"We all did. Even me. It's hard not to. Ninety-nine percent of his life is spent goofing off. Apparently, even the one below did. She didn't bestow any pressure when he got his Absolution. But don't worry. That's never something that mattered to him. He would only get angry if that underestimation led to someone stopping him."

 

I nod while sprinting, holding onto that thin connection that I still carry with Virgil. It's supremely complex to distinguish his exact location with his eyes closed using Insight, but I can easily find the correct direction.

 

Pumping my legs and my arms, I hurry even further, Breakneck forcing me to go even faster. Unfortunately for me, however, Blodwyn is still recovering, so he can't hide my swathes of Ether. And so, waves of sand fall onto me, slicing apart my flesh as I sprint through the danger.

 

Minutes pass as we run in silence, other than the occasional callout for danger. Still, the danger does not involve the Angels. There is no sign of them. I simmer in my own anger. It makes me stronger, but it also makes me stupid. I need to be careful. Bonfire can't just die like that.

 

It's such a stupid death. Stuck in a sandstorm, whittled down by four Angels? That's never how I imagined him dying. Though, I couldn't see him dying peacefully either. I always, in some dark corner of my mind, thought he'd die in a raging blaze, one that encompassed miles.

 

Fuck. He can't die like that, can he? Frozen and Clumsy, either. I want to play games with them again.

 

Gradually, the connection with Virgil grows stronger, allowing me to focus and divert my thoughts to it. He seems fine. No pain. Silence must still be active. Good.

 

Once the sensation of the skill tells me we are close, I nudge Blodwyn again, hoping that he has recovered somewhat over the past few minutes.

 

"Can you cover us with Silence again? This sand is digging deep."

 

A light grunt that feels like a subtle nod is my reply before I sense the artifact go back to rest, continuing the skill despite the fact. I didn't know he could sleep. Could he always do that? Not the time.

 

I sigh with relief as the sand quickly scatters, finding me not worth the effort anymore. Blood drips all over me, and at this point, my entire wardrobe is blood-stained. Not an inch of me is untouched by the crimson hue.

 

So frustrating.

 

But at least I'm not being eaten bit by bit anymore. Even Abraham finds it as a surprise.

 

"This you?"

 

I nod with a slight tilt to my head. It's not, technically, me, after all.

 

"Kind of? Blodwyn is doing it. It's his Power. To hide Ether usage."

 

Abraham bites his lip as he nods back at me, shuffling alongside before retrieving bandages from his pack. He works on his most severe wounds, after all, his Force can only hold back so much sand at once. Meanwhile, we continue, running all the while.

 

The sound is much more manageable now that the insects are gone, though, leaving us room to talk.

 

"He might still be alive."

 

I say the words, needing to do so, but Abraham shakes his head.

 

"I doubt it. Those four seemed absurdly capable. Not even Emmet could deal with all that bullshit."

 

Tsking, I continue running, approaching the area where Virgil is and where I found that monster. There is a chance he is still alive. There has to be. Because... they haven't caught up yet. Bonfire does not burn slowly.

 

"Maybe they didn't want to kill him? Sometimes, humans are captured. Perhaps they want to use him to find us."

 

Abraham scoffs with laughter, shaking his whole body from his head down.

 

"No way in hell someone captures Bonfire. He'd burn himself to a fucking piece of ash before that. You know how stubborn he is. You're tough, but even reason can change your mind. To him, there is no reason other than what he thinks."

 

My eyes fall toward the ground as I recognize the truth in Abraham's words. But... he has to be alive.

 

If not...

 

"Virgil!"

 

Abraham cuts off my spiraling thoughts as he finds the cloaked figure in the sands, covered by more dust than when I left him. I slide next to the unconscious figure, feeling under his nose for breathing, and I sigh as I find it stable.

 

Insight tells me the same things, but I just have to feel it with my own flesh. Abraham touches Virgil's head, sliding his palms across his cheeks as he speaks aloud.

 

"Damn... he's got it bad. How is he still alive with such severe oversaturation? Did you do something? His brain should have cooked itself into goo by now."

 

I explain what I did to help Virgil over the past several days, and Abraham praises me while pulling Virgil to his feet, holding the man on his own. I offer to help, but he pushes me away. As he drags Virgil, he gives me a rundown of what we need to do to survive.

 

"You need to be ready to fight whenever. Save your strength. We shouldn't be too far from the shore based on the distance we have already traveled. Bonfire was set to meet with Johnny at the bar they met at in Kingstown, so we'll have to swim a few hundred miles or find a boat. Either way, this will be a bitch and a half if we want to make it out alive, even without those bastards after us."

 

Coughing lightly, I follow alongside him, retrieving some of the bandages from his pack. All mine are gone. While using them and tying my many gashes shut because Blodwyn is preoccupied with Silence, I realize they are the special ones made by Earl.

 

"How are the others? Is everyone okay?"

 

I finally have a moment to think about something other than survival or death, and I take it. Abraham twists his head slightly to acknowledge me before dragging Virgil with him.

 

"Good. Tomas is recovering pretty well the last I saw. There were a whole lot of severely injured and near-dead after the train ride, but once we got to Gravecross's walls, the people there took us in and helped. I didn't really have much time to check everyone out, though. Bonfire was pretty gung-ho about coming to save you."

 

The insides of my mouth are chewed at while we walk. The news is better than I expected, but I know just how many must have died in the past week.

 

Millions.

 

I don't know the exact population of Blackreach, but it's in the low millions for sure.

 

The vastness of death strikes deeply into my mind. Closing my eyes for a few moments, I walk, trying to imagine all those people. I quickly realize I can't, and the only people that come to mind are Bonfire, Frozen, and Clumsy.

 

I stumble and rush toward the edge of the wasteland, my heart heavy with thoughts of Bonfire. Hours of relentless, hobbled running alongside Abraham have kept us from whatever was chasing us. The quartet must have given up or are moving even slower than us. Not that we could have outrun them anyway.

 

Blodwyn's Power would go out as I tried to force us with Ether, leaving us to die in the sands anyway, even if we managed to escape. Or... Bonfire didn't lose. There is a chance, however slim. And I hold onto that terribly small percentage with all my soul. That trust keeps my feet moving.

 

The crimson sands seem to disperse slightly before my eyes as I take another usual step, offering a glimpse of what lies beyond. A sliver of expectancy creeps into my heart as I squint my eyes, but before I can fully comprehend what's before me, the earth beneath my feet crumbles under my weight. Confusion surges through me as I feel myself falling into the abyss below.

 

My reaction is slow for some reason, and I plummet into the void. Time appears to slow as I tumble, rotating in the air. Memories of the fall from Gravecross's plateau haunt me, but just as despair begins to take hold, a firm hand wraps around mine. I'm jerked to a sudden stop, and I realize that I haven't fallen far at all. The relief washes over me like a tidal wave.

 

With a hearty laugh, I glance up at my savior, an armored figure crouching down to reach me while Abraham stands beside it. We share a moment of shared laughter as I'm dragged back up the rocks. The absurdity of almost falling again, possibly dying, is too much. It's bleak and awful, but we laugh nonetheless.

 

"Watch where you're going, dumbass."

 

I smack Abraham lightly before stopping afterward. My eyes slide downward as I recover from the laughter. Water stretches outward from this cliff unto the horizon without a visible end.

 

"Yeah, yeah. We made it. Look."

 

Abraham leans over, gazing downward as well to find Lawless Lake before us. Then, he nods to his Nightmare as he hands Virgil to it and sets down his pack.

 

"It would appear we have. Find us an anchor point, and we'll climb down."

 

His methods are sound, but the goal doesn't seem right. Are we going right into the waters?

 

"You sure this is a good idea? It's miles until we find land that isn't occupied by sand. Can we swim that far?"

 

Abraham shakes his head with a click of his mouth. Bundles of rope hang in his hands as he unfurls them, preparing to descend.

 

"Would you instead traverse another few hundred miles of wasteland or swim? I much prefer potentially freezing or drowning over being devoured by the sands. I'm part Nahullo, so I'm resistant to cold, and you're... you. We'll just have to worry about our friend here. Now, if you can't find an anchor, I'll leave my Nightmare up here."

 

Sighing, I move to find him an anchor. Again, he's right. Swimming is a much better option. I'm just... not all that good at it. Surely, my physical strength will make up for it. Who will carry Virgil, though?

 

I lead the rope he leaves on the ground as he ties foot holds in it to a nearby large rock, wrapping the tether around it as I knot it for an anchoring point. Then, I move back to Abraham, where we quickly begin to descend.

 

The climb is easy. It's so effortless compared to all the other things we've done lately as all the sand leaves us, allowing total clarity in vision and thought.

 

We quickly reach the bottom, a tiny section of slightly wet rocks that we stand on for a few moments. I take off my coat to put in Abraham's pack while he fiddles with it. It is better to have less soaked weight on me while swimming. While doing so, however, Abraham shakes his head.

 

"We ain't leaving right now. You need sleep. I need sleep. Virgil needs... to not have sand in his ass. Lay down or sit, but sleep."

 

I stare at him, unable to believe what he just said. What is happening right now?

 

"Did one of those Angels replace you? Where is my Abraham?"

 

Abraham grinds his teeth as he glares at me, pointing upward.

 

"This is not a time to play around. We need rest. Bonfire is dead. Focus."

 

My stomach sinks as I feel the weight of his words, but still, I don't accept them. Sliding down to a seated position, I relax while holding my knees. I turn to Virgil, wanting to help him with his condition, but the darkness takes me before I can raise a hand, a mocking voice intertwining with my dreams.

 

"Knew it. Tired as fuck."