Runaway

Rhea, Year 813 of Avia, Day 283; 18:00

Icarum could once again walk, so long as he didn’t make any sudden movements. He casually strolled through the woods with Karine, collecting herbs and plants for her father.

“Icarum.”

Icarum stuffed a large tomato in his mouth and bit down obnoxiously. “Yuerrr?”

“You’re not planning to leave soon, are you?”

Icarum swallowed and took a seat on a nearby fallen tree. He placed his hands on the back of his head and lied down. “I can’t stay here forever, y’know.”

“Dad doesn’t mind. And you’re still injured.”

Icarum jumped up suddenly. He winced at the pain from the burn on his back.

“What injuries? I’m completely fine.”

Karine kneed Icarum and he collapsed onto the forest grass, trying his best not to call out in pain. “That’s what liars get.”

Icarum crawled his way back to the tree, searching for a comfortable position. After the pain subsided, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Karine, I don’t know why they killed my parents. I don’t know where they took my brother. I don’t even know why they’re looking for me.”

“And you think you’ll find answers in the mountains?”

“It’s a start.”

Karine eyed Icarum carefully. “Let’s play a game, then.”

“Ooh, Hide and Seek? I didn’t know you wanted to win so ba-”

“A word game. One of us names a bird. The other names a bird that starts with the last letter of the bird that was just named. We go back and forth until one of us can’t name any more.”

“I didn’t know you liked playing anything that didn’t involve punching and kicking.”

“You’ve gotta be the most annoying person I’ve e-”

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it. Let’s start with Hummingbird.”

“Duck.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. What kind of bird starts with K?”

“Oh, and there’s a ten-second limit.”

“Uh, uh, uh, Kestrel!”

“I’m surprised you knew that. Loon.”

“Nightingale”

“Eagle.”

Icarum raised his hands in defeat with an annoyed look on his face. “Okay, I give up. What’s the point of this anyway?”

Karine shrugged her soldiers. “Dad always played this with me when I was younger. He said it’d be useful knowledge in the mountains, but I never understood why.”

“But if you’re really planning to go to join the rebels,” Karine continued. “There’s something you should know.”

“I don’t see how anything could be more important than memorizing bird names.”

“Do you want to know or what?” Karine glared at Icarum, and he quickly looked away.

“Go ahead.”

“When Old Man Rhozo took half the tribe with him to the mountains, he told my Dad to go to the valley where night meets day. There’ll be a small waterfall, and the rebel base’s entrance should be right behind it.”

Icarum turned towards Karine with a grin on his face. “Thanks.”

Karine nodded. “If you’re going to go anyway, you might as well know.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I won’t.” Karine tossed a basket of herbs to Icarum and began walking home.

Skipping happily, Icarum followed. But the moment they neared Karine’s log cabin, an unfamiliar voice reached their ears. Icarum jumped inside a bush and hid.

A Sydurnian soldier with long, blonde hair stood at the door of Karine’s house. He had a black rifle strapped to his back, and he carried his helmet in his hand. He had a tired look on his face as he spoke to Karine’s father.

“Someone from the village noticed your daughter buying twice the amount of food you usually get. And you’ve been trading for medicine recently, too.”

“It’s for my condition. It’s gotten worse.”

“You know that chief’s boy has a ten-thousand dollar bounty on his head, right?”

“Of course. If he comes by, I’ll tell you. We need the money anyways.”

“You also know that anyone hiding him will be arrested for treason?”

“Naturally.”

“May I take a look inside?”

Karine’s father nodded. The moment the soldier walked into the house, Karine nudged Icarum.

“We’ll hide behind those logs,” she whispered. “And when the soldier leaves, we’ll enter through the back door.”

But Icarum wasn’t listening. The sight of the Sydurnian soldier caused traumatic memories to flush through his head. His hand trembled, and he could no longer feel pain or anger. Only fear.

Without saying a word, Icarum turned around and ran. He ran as fast as his legs could take him, ignoring the agonizing pain from his burns and wounds. He passed the pond where he had often spent time with his brother, and the clearing of bushes where he played hide and seek with Karine.

Karine tried to chase after him, but it was too late. Icarum was already gone.

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After he had reached the edge of the forest, Icarum’s body gave in to exhaustion. He collapsed on the ground, covered in sweat. He felt dizzy and immensely tired, and he thought his heart might burst out of his chest at any moment.

Mustering up all the energy he had left, Icarum trudged to a stream, gulping up water as if it was his last chance to ever drink. A cool breeze brushed against Icarum’s face as he inhaled.

Although he hadn’t fully recovered yet, he couldn’t return to Karine and her father. If he had been inside their house when the soldier knocked on the door, all three of them would’ve been captured. He didn’t want to endanger them any further.

The only option is forward, Icarum thought. It was time to begin his perilous journey to the mountains.

Icarum closed his eyes and recalled a time when he was younger. He sat on his father’s lap, listening to him speak about Rhea’s geography and watching him point to locations on the map.

“Icarum, you might be surprised, but Rhea is not the entire world. It is an island.”

“Surrounded by water, dad?”

“No, surrounded by air. Rhea is a floating island, just like Sydurnia, Tritio, and Enceladus.”

“How many floating islands are there?”

“Nobody knows. Dozens, maybe hundreds. It’s said that if you stand on top of the tallest mountain in Rhea, you’ll be able to see all of them.”

“Can we go together someday?”

Dhoro chuckled. “I’m afraid not. After walking through the forest, you’d have to travel for two days and two nights through a desert. And that would only get you to the edge of the mountain range.”

Icarum looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was nearly setting. Perfect, he thought. The desert remained hot even through the autumn, so it would be easier to move during the cooler nights.

But a two-day trip was still long, especially for a skinny ten-year-old. Since he wasn’t familiar with the desert wildlife, Icarum wanted to avoid sleeping in the wilderness if he could. Fortunately, Icarum had spent much of his childhood in the forest, and was familiar with the practical applications of the plants that surrounded him.

Icarum collected sturdy twigs from old oak trees and long leaves from ferns. He stretched the leaves out and folded them over, making them durable yet thin like string. Afterwards, he took his shirt off and tied the ends, attaching them to his shoulders. Within the hour he had a small backpack where he placed tomatoes, berries, and fish that he had caught by the stream.

Icarum took the remaining leaves and shaped them into a cup. When there was enough volume, he placed sticky moss all over them, sealing any cracks that may have formed. He scooped up water with the makeshift cup and ripped off a piece of his pants, using it as a lid so the water he collected wouldn’t evaporate.

Confidently, Icarum stepped out into the desert. He felt the sand crunch underneath his sandals as he walked, plodding endlessly across dune after dune, watching the vague silhouette of the mountains creep closer as the sun set.

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Rhea, Year 813 of Avia, Day 284; 09:00

Fifteen hours later

Icarum overestimated his legs. They started to tremble with every step, and Icarum could no longer ignore his body’s growing fatigue. In the distance, he could see a group of vultures feeding on a carcass animal, presumably the body of some wild boar. They tore the boar’s body into shreds, leaving the bones to be blown away by the wind.

Icarum shivered at the thought of his own bodies being ripped apart into shreds. The desert was a terrifying and unforgiving biome, yet he had not traveled even halfway through.

To persist, he kept an image of his parents locked inside his head. With every step, he muttered under his breath.

“For Mother.”

“For Father.”

“For Igsum.”

He imagined his parents watching over him, giving him strength. But a voice began to ring inside Icarum’s ears.

“You’re weak,” it said.

“I’ll get stronger.”

“You’re scared,” it said.

“I am not!” Icarum hollered.

His voice echoed through the desert, but there was no response. The only sound he could hear was the rustle of sand as the wind blew into it.

“You couldn’t save your parents.”

“It’s not my fault!”

“Perhaps not, but you fell asleep that day. If you had gone home earlier, you might’ve been able to save them.”

“Shut up!”

“You’re a coward.”

“I’m not!”

“When that Sydurnian soldier showed up at Karine’s house, what did you do?”

“I left to protect them!”

“No, you left because you’re a scared, weak, coward.”

Icarum plugged his ears with his fingers. If he broke down now, he wouldn’t make it.

“Admit it!”

The voice only got louder. “I admit it!”

“Say it!’

“I, Icarum Solus Nova, am a scared, weak, coward!” Icarum screamed. “Are you happy now?”

Silence. The voice in his head had disappeared.

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Sydurnia, Year 813 of Avia, Day 285; 02:00

Seventeen Hours Later

Icarum watched as the sun began to rise for the second time of his journey. The heat of the day soon followed.

Icarum squatted down for a short break, refusing to sit down to prevent himself from falling asleep. He reached into his bag and ate the last of his berries, which he had rationed for the final hours of his trip. The mountains were clearly visible from his location, but he still had a while to go.

Icarum heard a loud hiss nearby. Before he could react, a brown snake pounced onto his right hand, taking a clean bite out of his palm. He yelled out in pain. Icarum swatted the snake away and jumped backward. The pain left as quickly as it came, leaving only a slight numbness, but the wound was already turning purple.

He took a long, measured breath, and prayed. “Phoenicia, goddess of fire and wrath, protect me.” It was all he could do. His mind ran as dry as his lips, burning from heat and suffering from enervation.

Icarum took a fern leaf from his empty backpack and tied it around his hand. It was a terrible bandage, but it would have to suffice.

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Sydurnia, Year 813 of Avia, Day 285; 08:00

Six Hours Later

Icarum could no longer feel his right arm. He could barely move his shoulder, and every movement he made was accompanied by sharp pain. The burns that he was recovering from started to throb immensely and the wounds on his arms reopened, causing blood to gush out.

The rest of Icarum’s body was badly sunburnt, with skin peeling off at every angle. In Icarum’s injured state, it was difficult to identify him as human.

But his destination was closer than ever. He was no longer stepping on sand, but granite. A mountain towered over his head, with mist covering its peak.

Icarum’s vision grew blurry, and he could barely make out his surroundings. But a large, black bird flew in front of him, flapping its wings in large motions.

Icarum reached out to the bird, but he could never get close enough to grasp it. It flew away little by little, hovering ever so closely to Icarum’s arm.

The whole world turned grey, but the black bird still flew onwards. Icarum followed instinctively for what seemed like an hour. His mind had shut off, with the last push of energy from his body propelling him forward.

The black bird flew up into the grey sky and disappeared. Icarum stood still. He looked around, but recognized nothing. The last thing Icarum remembered was a sea of darkness overwhelming his vision, turning his world from grey to black.