CHAPTER TWELVE: THE LAST DRAGON

Omi panted, struggling to regain his footing in the dead forest. Withered and dried leaves slipped beneath his footing, with his bloodied arm holding up Ana, who stumbled weakly alongside him.

They had barely paused for breath in over three days. None of them had eaten, and their stop at a nearby village for shelter aroused too much suspicion. They had only stopped for an hour, but the guards had seemed to anticipate they might stop there, and their patrols were growing ever more dangerous, both in civilisation and out.

Since then, they had travelled the outskirts of the villages, sneaking through the Ashen forests. He did not know exactly how far they had travelled, but their slow trudge through the wilderness had taken its toll on all of them. Exhausted and beaten, they walked, their hearts full of grief, hoping to find safety soon.

He could barely comprehend what had happened at the cave. It had been chaos. Several things seemed to happen at once. As soon as Omi had cast Ana aside so that he was prepared to fight, Samuel had launched himself straight at one of the guards, knocking a few of them over. The rest swarmed to Ana, trying to catch her as she tried to stumble backwards, pulling her roughly to her feet. Omi had immediately tried to protect her, doing everything he could to fight them back, but they had quickly overwhelmed him. Ana was screaming, Samuel was bellowing insults, and then without warning, there were more yells of pain as the rest of the group of travelling rebels seemed to have arrived at the cave at the same time.

There was no time to mourn the dead, with the four bloodied bodies of Darren, Callista, Jamal and Vaas lying beneath their feet. Georgette, Francis and Jag had thrown themselves into the cave, weapons at the ready, ready to slaughter anyone who stood in their way, while Mitch and Jason wrestled to free Ana and Omi from the swarm of guards around them. Kelvin, upon seeing his sister in trouble, had grabbed one of the guards and thrown him at others, causing what could only be described as a human bowling ball effect.

Screams of pain and anguish filled the air, as Kelvin and others roared in fury.

Omi struggled to free himself as the commander gripped his arms tightly, snarling in his face. "Come here!" He screamed. He was young, Irish, different from the other brutes Chase usually employed. Omi desperately threw punches in his direction. In the mayhem, he did not dare try to use his element, just in case he hurt one of his friends in the tiny enclosure. The commander smacked him hard in the face and Omi fell to the floor, his nose exploding in pain. With blurred vision and a dripping nose, Omi scrambled back to his feet, hearing Samuel cry out in agony nearby. Georgette threw a well aimed punch at the blond commander, knocking him to the ground.

Omi saw Francis being wrestled to the ground, and Mitch screamed as a sword pierced his gullet. The guards had closed off the cave, sealing the exit with their bodies.

Omi's heart wrenched. We're going to die here.

Kelvin yanked Omi back to his feet as he aimed a kick at a nearby warrior. "SAVE MY SISTER! RUN!" He bellowed desperately at Omi, who glanced back to see Ana scrambling towards the mouth of the cave. Omi turned back, seeing the chaos around him, wanting to stay, to help his friends, but wanting to save as many people as possible.

"GO!" Mitch cried out from somewhere around him.

"YOU MUST LIVE!" One of the girls yelled at him, he couldn't see who in all the mayhem.

Four of the guards were on Kevlin and he crumpled under their weight, fighting as they overpowered him.

Live, fight another day.

No, let this end now. Let them take you. Let it all be over.

I can't.

Against his heart's desires, he turned to the mouth of the cave, scooped Ana, who was bruised and battered, in his arms, and raised his arms. He barely had to even think about it. Ice shot from his hands, blasting a path between the guards. Dazed and confused, the guards fell aside, leaving just a few moments to make a getaway

"RUN!" Someone shouted, and he did.

The commander was back on his feet and screaming. "AFTER THEM. GET THEM!"

Ana clawed at his arms, begging to stay with her brother, but he ignored her, his foots hammering against the dried grass hard as he ran as fast as he could. He heard foodsteps behind him and saw Jag, Connor and Georgette trailing behind him, with at least eight guards screaming after them.

Omi tried to ignore the sound of his fallen friends' screams as he ran, feeling like a coward. Feeling like a failure.

Georgette had stopped running once she realised Francis wasn't behind her, hoping to take as many of them out with her. It had taken three of them to catch her and pin her down, with a further two behind knocked out or dead from her attacks. She had been brave.

The guards had pursued in the cars, but they managed to shake them in the forest, which was too dense for the cars to enter. Since then, they had been cautiously making their way to one of his previous hideouts. It was an old cabin in the forest, inconspicuous and seemingly abandoned. Omi wasn't even sure the guards knew it existed, but he didn't want to take any chances.

All their previous hideouts could be a target now. If any of the rebels had been taken prisoners, the guards could be there waiting for them. Their only option was the cabin, which, he hoped, would be the perfect choice. They hadn't used it in years, but he prayed if anyone else had survived, they would make it there too.

Only Omi, Ana, Connor, and Jag were left now. Omi had seen Mitch stabbed in the gullet. He would never have survived the wound. He did not know what had happened to any of those left behind. They were either dead or prisoners, he was not sure which was worse. He had heard stories about the torture that went on under Wuya's supervision. He tried not to think about it.

Ana had barely spoken since the attack, her eyes brimming with a deep sadness. She had been battered and bruised, her arms and legs almost purple. She winced whenever she moved, but did not speak or complain. Omi could feel her strength draining with each passing minute.

They had done so much walking over the past three days. Omi felt a pang of guilt every time he looked at her. He knew she must hate him for tearing the duo apart, but he felt he had no choice.

Jag's shoulder had been dislocated after the attack, with Connor having to force it back into its socket as soon as they were clear. Connor had taken a knife to the leg, which had been bleeding profusely. Omi had torn makeshift bandages from his shirt and tied them tightly around his leg, hoping to stem the flow. So far, it seemed to have worked, but Omi suspected the wound may be infected, as a foul yellow pus seemed to be seeping from it. Connor complained with every step, irritating them all.

Jagjit had already punched him for his whinging about his leg or how hungry he was, which had since shut him up for a few hours, but his mood had seeped into all four of them and they grew irritable with each other.

Omi could feel blisters threatening to burst with each step he took, but he dared not stop. It wasn't safe anywhere, not like this.

He felt like a coward for fleeing, for not standing and fighting. It was just like Raimundo had said all those years ago, he was getting people, all for nothing. He was fighting to keep his spirits up – to pretend it was all okay, but all of them could feel the weight of what they had left behind.

"How much further? " Connor growled, his black hair matted with sweat as he spoke through gritted teeth. They had been travelling through the deepest part of the forest for hours already, with it steadily growing darker and more difficult to navigate. Protruding branches and tree roots from the ashen trees threatened to trip them with every step. Ana had fallen several times already, and Connor had complained loudly at least eight times in the past two hours.

"We're not far." Omi replied shortly, struggling to slow his pace to match Ana's. She was panting heavily, gritting her teeth with determination. "It's around here somewhere." He couldn't remember exactly where. The dead forests were huge.

The sound of a branch snapping nearby made them all spring to take cover behind the trees. Omi's breath caught in his throat.

Please, he thought, we can't take another attack...

He listened intently for a few moments, hoping and praying that whatever had made the sound wasn't a guard. Omi prayed for a deer or a squirrel, but he knew it was unlikely. They had all died, along with almost everything else in this godforsaken world. His heart thudded in his chest, and his mouth was drier than sandpaper.

When no sound came after a few minutes, he cautiously peered his head from around the dead tree, seeing a single woman standing across from him.

Her face burst into a smile when she saw him. "You're Omi!" She cried, sounding elated, but Omi stepped back cautiously. His raised his arms, ready for a fight, but she raised her hands peacefully.

"Omi, I'm a friend, I promise." She had a kind voice, but Omi wasn't prepared to take any chances.

"Why are you here?" He asked, sensing his friends' discomfort also.

"I'm here to join the rebellion, of course! I...We heard you'd been attacked. Your friend, Jason, he came to find us. We'd been grouped in one of the locations he mentioned when he recruited us. He thought you might come here if you survived."

"Jason?" Omi's heart fluttered. "Is he alive?" He couldn't hide the hope and emotion in his voice.

"Alive and well." She replied kindly. "There's fifty of us. We're at the cabin."

"F-fifty?" Omi's voice stuttered. Connor and Jag had approached behind him, with Ana remaining hidden. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

Connor stepped forward. "Wait, I know you! You're Jen!"

Jen smiled in response.

"I met her the day of the parade in the crowd." Connor said quietly to Omi. "I think we can trust her. We checked her out. She has no family. She's a night worker."

"Night worker?" Omi whispered back, confused. "You mean...?"

"One of Mama's..." Jason replied, shooting Omi a look. Omi had heard about Mama, the infamous brothel-owner. He nodded with understanding.

Omi had almost forgotten that Connor had been in the crowd on the day of the parade, taking names, learning of new potential recruits for the rebellion.

"Go get Jason, and I'll believe you." Jagjit snapped from behind Omi. "Any funny business, and Omi will drown you."

Jen looked taken aback, but she nodded, and backed away slowly.

She was gone for just a few minutes, before she returned with Jason, who looked healthier than Omi had ever seen him. His clothes were clean and his hair had been washed recently. He had a healthy glow – not the usual look for a rebel at all. He had been cared for.

Jason's eyes landed on Omi, and Omi's suspicion dropped instantly. The relief of seeing his friend was too much. They fell into each other's arms, both with eyes full of tears. Jason hugged Jagjit, then Connor, and was sobbing when he hugged Ana.

"I ran back to the city." He choked between sobs. "I thought if anyone else got out, they'd go there. A few of the recruits were there, and I found Jen. No one else came, so I sat and thought about where you'd go. I've got some recruits keeping an eye on other hideouts, just in case anyone went there, but I thought you'd maybe come here." Jason cast his watery eyes between them. "Is this... where is everyone else?"

Omi heard Ana whimper behind him, and it was all he could do to shake his head wordlessly. There were no words. Nothing. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find the words. Jason didn't need to be told.

Jason's eyes filled with tears as he looked at Ana. "We've... heard some rumours of prisoners from spies inside the Black Hands' palace..."

"My brother?" Ana's voice trembled.

Jason bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Ana."

"There are others... We don't know who, but we think it might be Samuel. His family have been taken in for questioning."

"Sam will crack." Connor said shortly. "That boy is going to get us killed."

"Are we safe here?" Omi asked of Jason, who nodded.

"I'm sure we're safe here. My friends haven't gotten in touch to say any other hideouts have seen guard activity." Jason said smoothly.

"Either that, or they're amassing an army." Connor replied irritably.

Jason gave a comforting smile. "Come on, there's food and shelter inside. You look like you could use some rest."

Between them, they made their way to the cabin. The roof had fallen through years ago, and from the outside it appeared to be nothing but a small hut, but the basement was huge, and made perfect for hiding inside. A tree had bent itself through the roof of the hut, giving some shelter to the tattered wooden frame.

"You should go inside." Jason said, helping Ana to the steps. "Everyone's eager to meet their leader. Fifty new recruits, ready to roll."

Omi nodded wordlessly. He didn't feel like much of a leader. He was sure his nose was broken, which still felt sore and swollen. He was covered in cuts, scrapes and bruises, and he felt so weak his knees were shaking. He was in no fit state to lead anyone. He doubted he would be for some time. This had hit him hard.

"There are fifty people here?" Jagjit asked in disbelief. He had never been to the cabin, and obviously doubted its size.

"How have you managed to get fifty recruits?" Omi asked, aghast, it felt like a huge surge in interest.

Jen smiled wryly. "You meet lots of people in my career. I made lots of friends."

Omi smiled at that, before taking a deep and steadying breath. He seemed to take a moment to let himself clear his mind, and then stepped into the cabin, shimmying through the debris, and opening the basement hatch.

There were several awed gasps from inside. Omi descended.

XXX