Last to Fall

ch 11

Alita~

That…

That was horrifying…

Azriel was still on edge, keeping a lookout around the area as I stayed hidden in the bushes trying to regain myself. Whatever that thing was it was bad news… so bad that it even had the big intimidating alien man worried…

Its red glowing eyes were burned into my memory and I swear that thing looked right at me… I shuddered at the thought.

Azriel was scouring the ground for what I assumed were tracks, spear in hand and on high alert. The chirping of the bird creatures was a lot more comforting than the straight silence and echoes of that things clicking…

I knew there were some hellish creatures on this planet but that thing was straight out of a nightmare… it makes me want to be back at home in the safety of my bed…

Hugging my knees I stared at the ground thinking about all the scary creatures I’ve encountered so far, but nothing compared to the skull monster…

“Alita…” I looked up to see Azriel looking at me, he gestured towards the forest in a different direction from where the monster went. It will be dark in a few hours and the last thing I want is to run into that thing at night…

Jumping to my feet I ran over to him, luckily my leg wasn’t as sore anymore but my hand still burned… I need to get something better to clean it with…

We set off, continuing our journey and I paid close attention to the chirping birds, from what I can tell they seem to go quiet when that monster is around so if they go silent we need to hide…

As we walked I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Stopping I paused to take a closer look, just off to the side I noticed a bush with some bright blue berries growing on it. “Azriel!”

He stopped and looked back at me when I called his name and I waved him back over.

Moving over to the berries I kneeled down and inspected them. They looked similar to raspberries but were shaped slightly differently.

Picking one off the bush I looked more closely at it. I wasn’t a huge fan of raspberries but food is food if it’s not poisonous…

“Nai!” Azriel jumped over grabbing my hand to make me drop the fruit. I looked up at him startled and he said it again. “Nai!”

Pulling me away from the bush he seemed frustrated. Looking me up and down his gaze moved to my braided hair, and he seemingly only grew more aggravated.

Turning away he kneeled near the bush and moved a branch off to the side, showing a small furry rodent just like the one that had snuck in my bag, laid dead underneath surrounded by remains of the berries it had eaten.

So the fruit was poisonous…

He stood up once more and glanced at my braid again before huffing and walking past to continue forward. Confused, I followed him and self-consciously touched my braid. Why did he seem upset over my hair?...

Feeling something poking out of my hair I paused and touched the area again. Something stiff was wrapped in the braid. That’s right… varin had slipped me something before the drop.

Pulling the object from my hair I looked at the cool metal tube as thin as a pencil, with a single button.

Pressing the button the side of the tube opened and a digital hologram was projected showing a geographic map with a marker showing where I was.

Shocked, I carefully studied the map, seeing some markings that showed where water could be found and where there was some higher ground.

Running ahead over to Azriel I tapped his shoulder. “Azriel! Look”

He stopped and looked at the device in my hand, he probably hasn’t seen technology like this before but it didn’t seem to phase him very much.

“It’s a map…and this…this is water!” I pointed to a river shown on the map and he looked over it carefully.

“Water! We need water!” Pulling the flask from my bag I shook it to show him. “This is water!”

He looked between the flask and the map before nodding. He mimicked the word “water”. I smiled but he turned his attention up to the sky pointing at the sun.

He said something in his language and trailed his spear downward towards the horizon. He was telling me that it would be dark soon?

He then pointed in the direction we were heading, it was west of the river. Did he have a place in mind to spend the night?...

Understanding I nodded and put the map in my bag as we continued forward, soon enough we came to a large tree, covered in vines.

Azriel walked up to the tree testing some of the vines, pulling on them. Securing his spear to his back he pulled on one of the vines.

“Alita” he motioned for me to come over and I did, stepping under the tree with him. He motioned up towards the treetop.

Did he want me to climb?...

My hand throbbed in pain just at the mere thought of it. If I fell from that height I would probably break a leg…and not in a good way…

He seemed to notice my hesitation and looked up at the tree before sighing. Turning away from me he kneeled down on the ground in front of me offering his back.

Was he…

He glanced back at me before mumbling something and looking away.

Hesitantly I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeaked as his hands grabbed my legs, making me hold onto him with my legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he stood up.

Making sure I was secure he grabbed the vine and with incredible strength, started climbing.

As we got higher I couldn’t help but glance down and whimper, seeing how high we were. I hid my face in his shoulder while holding on tighter. He paused momentarily while climbing and I could feel his tail flicking around underneath me.

He continued to climb until we reached a thick area of the tree with a large overhanging branch. “Alita” he climbed onto the branch and crouched down. I Removed my face from his neck. Carefully letting go I stepped down onto the branch and tried my best not to look down.

He paused and turned around to face me, his tail flicking around behind him anxiously. Looking up at him I noticed the same irritated look from before, now adorned his features.

“Az-?”

A startled squeak escaped my lips as he pressed me back against the tree, by my shoulders. Looking down at me he stared into my eyes for a moment before his gaze moved to my braided hair.

I gulped, not sure what was going on but suddenly he grabbed the end of my braid and removed the tie that was keeping it held together. I flinched at the sudden moment, as he sniffed the tie, glanced at me then threw it to the ground below.

My long hair was let loose and he stepped back before gauging my reaction. I couldn’t comprehend what just happened and turned away, grabbing something that was attached to the side of the tree branch.

My hand moved to my hair as I watched him pull out some kind of cloth-like material that was attached to the tree with some straps. He tested the strength and I realized they were hammocks.

Setting up two of them he looked at me to make sure I was watching as he climbed in one. The sun was starting to set and after a moment I climbed into the second hammock beside him.

He watched me get settled before pulling out a small blade from his belt. Grabbing a small tuft of hair from his head he cut it with the blade and showed it off before handing me the knife.

Now he wanted me to cut my hair?! I grabbed my hair protectively and shook my head no. He waited a moment seeming conflicted before putting the knife away and laying back in the hammock with a sigh.

I didn’t understand Azriel’s actions or why he acted the way he did… some of the things he did were strange…

Feeling tired myself I laid back in the hammock looking over at my mysterious companion. “Azriel…”

He looked back over at me. “Thank you…”

Even though he couldn’t understand my words I knew he understood their meaning.

“Kei” with that he turned away and closed his eyes to sleep.