Camp inferno Escape
817 Words
Flames roared across the camp.
Tents collapsed in bursts of orange. Smoke choked the air thick and black. Screams mixed with snarls. Claws met steel. Bodies hit dirt.
Kyranth ran through the haze.
Eyes stung. Lungs burned. She spotted Thorne near the center fire pit. Three raiders circled him. One had a torch raised. Another held a short sword dripping red.
Thorne fought.
Blade flashed. Took one raider across the chest. The man dropped. But the other two pressed. Swords high. Flames closing in.
Debris pinned Thorne's leg. A fallen beam. Heavy oak. Burning at one end.
Kyranth reached him.
Dropped low. Grabbed the beam. Muscles screamed. She heaved. Wood groaned. Shifted an inch. Then another.
Thorne looked up. Face streaked with soot and blood.
"Go! Get out!"
She ignored him.
Heaved again. Beam lifted. Just enough. He pulled his leg free. Rolled. Stood.
Raider lunged at her.
She spun. Clawed his face open. He screamed. Dropped the torch. It hit dry grass. Fire spread faster.
Thorne grabbed her arm.
"Move!"
They ran.
Dodged falling beams. Leaped over bodies. Smoke burned her throat. Heat pressed against her back.
A raider blocked their path.
Sword raised. Thorne charged. Blade met blade. Sparks flew. Kyranth flanked. Slashed the raider's hamstring. He buckled. Thorne finished him with a thrust to the throat.
They broke through the perimeter.
Into the tree line. Flames still chased. Crackling. Hungry.
They collapsed behind a thick trunk.
Breathing hard. Coughing smoke. Thorne checked her over. Hands quick.
"You're cut. Shoulder again."
She pushed his hand away.
"I'm fine. You?"
He winced. Touched his ribs. Blood on his fingers.
"Cracked. Nothing new."
Silence fell between them.
Broken only by distant shouts and the roar of the fire.
Thorne looked back at the burning camp.
"My wolves. Half of them..."
Kyranth touched his arm. Soft.
"We got out. That's what matters."
He met her eyes.
"You came back for me. Again."
She held his gaze.
"Couldn't leave you to burn."
Lie layered on truth.
She had almost done exactly that. Let the flames take him. End the complication. Start fresh.
But she hadn't.
He pulled her close.
Forehead against hers. Breath ragged.
"Thank you."
Their mouths met.
Slow at first. Then desperate. Hands gripped clothing. Skin under fabric. Heat from fire mixed with heat between them. Bodies pressed hard against rough bark. Need sharp. Raw.
Afterward they sat tangled.
Clothes half torn. Breathing slowing.
Thorne spoke first. Voice low.
"I planted false evidence before we ran. Scrap of fabric from my lieutenant's cloak. Found it near the supply cache the raiders hit last week."
Kyranth tensed.
"Why?"
"Someone's feeding them intel. Someone close." He looked at her. "I think it's him."
She kept her face blank.
"You sure?"
"Evidence says so." He exhaled. "I'll handle it when we regroup."
She nodded.
Inside her mind raced. Perfect. Let Thorne execute his own man. Trust in the pack shattered. Trust in her deepened.
They moved deeper into the forest.
Found a small cave. Hidden by vines. Safe for now.
Thorne built a small fire. Just enough to warm.
Sat close. Shoulder to shoulder.
He spoke quiet.
"Tomorrow we head east. Rally what's left. Then we hunt the traitor."
Kyranth leaned against him.
"And the empire?"
He looked into the flames.
"Empire stays strong. But traitors die."
She smiled small.
Hidden in shadow.
Morning came gray.
Smoke still hung low. They trekked east. Found three surviving pack members. Wounded. Angry.
Thorne gathered them.
Showed the planted fabric. Explained the betrayal.
One wolf snarled. "Kill him slow."
Thorne nodded.
"We will."
They tracked the lieutenant.
Found him hiding near a stream. Trying to wash blood off his hands.
Thorne stepped out.
Blade drawn.
The lieutenant saw him. Froze.
"Thorne. It's not what you think."
Thorne didn't speak.
Just moved.
Blade flashed.
Clean cut. Head rolled into the water.
Blood spread red downstream.
The pack watched in silence.
Then howled low. Mourning. Rage.
Kyranth stood at the back.
Watched the body sink.
Guilt flickered.
Small. Sharp. Gone fast.
She had planted the seed.
Thorne had watered it with blood.
Trust in everyone but her broken.
Perfect.
They moved on.
Deeper wilds. New camp. Smaller. Harder.
Thorne pulled her aside at dusk.
Sat her on a log. Looked at her long.
"You fought like you knew every move the raiders would make."
She met his eyes. Steady.
"Instinct."
He studied her.
Then nodded slow.
"I believe you."
He kissed her.
Soft this time. Grateful.
She kissed back.
But her mind stayed cold.
One more step closer.
One more layer of deception.
The empire would fall.
And Thorne would help her tear it down.
Without ever knowing.
But what if the lieutenant had screamed her name before he died?
What if one survivor from the raid saw her spare a rogue during the hunt?
The fire popped.
Night deepened.
And the lies grew heavier.
- Writer
