Chapter 102: Everyone is becoming irritating
The first half crossed.
Then the wounded.
Then the remaining supplies.
Two adult carriers reached the middle when the stone beneath the eastern anchor broke away.
The rope dropped.
Both men slammed against the gorge wall.
One lost his grip.
He fell without screaming.
The river swallowed him.
The second hung from one hand.
Raku crawled down the rope.
"Hold!"
The male’s fingers slipped.
Raku caught his wrist.
The rope creaked above them.
Tovan screamed, "Too much weight!"
Raku pulled.
The male grabbed his forearm.
They climbed together.
Another section collapsed behind them.
The final groups began running.
Swanly remained on the eastern side with Kael, Soren, Thalara, Nerin, several hunters, and the last wounded survivors.
Kael’s shoulder had started bleeding again.
Swanly grabbed his binding.
"You tore it."
"I am healing."
"You are dripping on my foot."
"Then move your foot."
She glared at him.
A cracking sound cut through them.
The stone under Swanly split.
Kael saw it first.
"Swanly!"
The ridge dropped.
Her feet vanished beneath her.
She grabbed the edge, but the stone broke in both hands.
Kael lunged.
His injured arm caught her wrist.
Pain tore across his face.
The wound on his shoulder opened completely.
Blood poured down his arm.
Swanly swung over the gorge.
"Kael!"
"I have you."
The ledge beneath his knees cracked.
One wounded female slid toward the opening.
A hunter caught her.
The second wounded male grabbed the hunter’s leg.
All of them began sliding.
Below, floodwater smashed trees into white foam.
Swanly’s fingers slipped in Kael’s bloody grip.
"Use your other arm!"
"The other one is holding the stone!"
His claws were buried in the ridge.
The rock around them crumbled.
Thalara screamed.
She drove both black hands into the dead stone.
Nothing happened.
Her forehead eye widened.
There were no living roots near the surface.
She pushed deeper.
Far beneath the gorge, thin roots twisted around the underground river.
Thalara found them.
Pulled them.
The entire ridge shook.
Roots burst from the gorge wall.
They climbed upward like black veins.
One wrapped around Swanly’s waist.
Another caught the wounded female.
More roots spread beneath the breaking ledge.
Cracks raced over Thalara’s arms.
Her gray-lavender skin split.
Black blood poured through the lines.
"I cannot hold all of it!"
Soren’s tail shot forward.
One coil wrapped around Kael.
Another caught Swanly.
A third caught the wounded female and the hunter holding her.
His tail tightened.
The muscles along his body locked.
His pale scales darkened.
"Move!" he snarled.
Raku grabbed the base of Soren’s tail and pulled backward.
Tovan and two builders dragged the wounded survivors onto stable stone.
Kael’s grip on Swanly slipped.
Soren’s coil caught her chest.
It crushed the air from her lungs, but she rose.
Kael climbed after her.
The ledge collapsed beneath his feet.
For one terrible heartbeat, all their weight hung from Soren.
His damaged core flared.
Black veins burst across his chest.
Blood poured from his mouth.
His silver eyes went completely black.
Raku roared and hauled backward.
Thalara’s roots tightened.
The final section rose enough for Kael to throw Swanly onto stable ground.
He climbed after her.
The wounded survivors were dragged across.
Then Soren’s tail released.
He collapsed.
Raku caught him before his head struck the stone.
"Soren!"
The snake’s body shook violently.
Black blood ran down his chin.
His scales remained dark.
Raku tightened his grip.
Soren’s eyes opened.
"Remove your hand."
Raku did not.
"You may bite me after your legs begin working."
Soren tried to stand.
His knees folded.
Raku caught him again.
Soren’s face became murderous.
Raku looked toward Swanly.
"Please tell him falling is not leadership."
Swanly crawled toward them, still struggling to breathe.
"Soren, stay down."
"I am capable of standing."
"You just proved otherwise."
His silver eyes cut toward her.
For one heartbeat, she saw no recognition inside them.
Only anger.
Then his pupils focused.
"Swanly."
"Yes."
His gaze moved over her body.
"Are you injured?"
"You are vomiting black blood."
"That was not my question."
She stared at him.
"No. I am alive."
His body relaxed by the smallest amount.
Nahla had already crossed.
She screamed from the other side.
"Bring him over before I come back and kill him myself!"
Soren closed his eyes.
"Everyone is becoming irritating."
Raku lifted him.
"That is the damaged core."
"No. It is everyone."
The final survivors began crossing.
The ridge behind them continued collapsing.
One hunter remained at the eastern anchor, holding a rope that kept three carrying hides suspended.
Twenty people were still attached to the crossing.
The stone around the anchor split.
Tovan shouted from the far side.
"The rope is pulling the whole section down!"
The hunter looked at the families still crossing.
Then at the knife in his hand.
Swanly understood.
"No!"
He cut the support rope behind himself.
The eastern section dropped.
His body fell with it.
The main crossing snapped upward, freed from the collapsing weight.
Twenty survivors slammed against the ropes but remained above the ravine.
The hunter disappeared toward the water.
A female screamed his name.
He looked up once as he fell.
Then the river took him.
Nobody moved.
They had survived because he chose not to.
Tovan’s face twisted.
"Pull them across!"
The tribe hauled the final survivors to safety.
Thalara’s roots tore apart beneath the strain.
She fell onto her side.
Swanly crawled toward her and grabbed her hand.
"Thalara."
The Aelari’s forehead eye opened weakly.
"Did the cubs cross?"
"Yes."
"All?"
"All thirty-two."
Thalara smiled.
"Good."
Kael knelt beside Swanly.
His injured arm hung uselessly now.
He pressed his forehead against the side of her head.
"You almost fell."
"So did you."
"I told you to cross first."
"And I ignored you."
"I noticed."
His voice shook.
Swanly turned and saw the fear in his golden eyes.
She touched his bloody cheek.
"I am here."
He pulled her against him with his uninjured arm.
Too tight.
Painful.
She did not complain.
Across the stone, Raku carried Soren toward Nahla.
Soren looked furious enough to murder the concept of assistance itself.
Nahla saw the black blood.
Her face changed.
"Put him down."
"I can stand," Soren said.
Raku lowered him anyway.
Soren’s tail struck Raku’s ankle.
Raku did not react.
"You may punish me after your core stops trying to explode."
Nahla began examining Soren.
The tribe gathered what remained of its supplies.
Two adults had fallen.
One because the anchor failed.
One because he deliberately cut himself away to save everyone else.
Their names were added to the growing list.
No bodies.
No graves.
Only memories carried forward because stopping meant dying too.
Swanly rose slowly.
Nerin stood near the path ahead.
His broken antler was bleeding again.
He stared beyond the final stone shelf.
His face tightened.
Swanly followed his gaze.
More than twenty unfamiliar beastmen stood across the exit from the ridge.
Wolves.
Hyenas.
Boars.
Large cats.
All armed.
Stone blades.
Bone spears.
Bows already drawn.
A tall gray wolf male stood at the center.
His scarred mouth curved into a smile.
Behind Riverbone, the ravine continued collapsing.
Ahead, strangers blocked the only path.
The wolf lifted one hand.
"Put down your weapons."
Soren raised his head from where Nahla was treating him.
Black blood still covered his mouth.
His silver eyes became glacial.
"No."