THE LAST KEEPER

The sound of the almost two dozen flares tore through the silence of the valley. Now they could wait for the boom. The two squads watched them rise into the darkness and mist. They waited for the burst to light the sky, but it never came. The squads waited another moment, but nothing came.

”Why are they taking so long?” Someone muttered. They all waited another moment, but nothing. They had just fired all their flares, and just imagining their signal did not even make it out of the valley was horrific.

”Something wrong with your flare? Did you fire them the right way? ” Gavina said. Perhaps she had been selfishly counting on squad 25 to be pulled out so her squad could ride with it and get to keep their merits and privileges.

”Over a dozen flares malfunctioning at the same time? Not possible.” N’varu refuted.

”This can’t be...” Kiuga said. He had never been stuck in a situation before, and he didn’t know how to act at all. He had just pulled his last move to pull his squad out, and somehow things had gone from bad to worse.

”....we are trapped,” Ulekai said with horror before he fell backward and sat down.

”Can your squad fire theirs?” Kiuga asked. Gavina looked torn between looking up and the sky that was now invisible. covered by nightfall as if waiting for the flares to light the sky, but that never came.

”Maybe we should wait a moment, perhaps the flares are taking time to burst...” she said in a divided tone as if she still wanted to get the privilege at the expense of her life.

”Are you stupid? Flares travel faster than the fastest arrow. They take three heartbeats at most after they are fired to burst! Kaka snarled. ”Don’t tell me you are still thinking about not using your flares because you hope for a privilege.” Kaka sneered.

Gavina bit her inner lip before she turned to her squad.

”Fire your....!” She was not done moving when something moved. The flares they had fired came raining back down and fell just around them.

”Run!!” Kiuga did not hesitate. Flares, though not harmful. If twenty of them went off around you, they could mess with your hearing for a while and even disorient or even hurt you.

Both squads followed Kiuga’s lead, and it was every man for himself before they finally stopped and his mere second before the flares went off. The sound was deafening in the silent valley. The place lit up for a while, and it was clear that they were stuck between endless mountains of rocks.

The squads crawled out from behind the crevices where they had been hiding for a while, and there was a moment of silence as everyone watched the now-empty shells of the flares as they hoped what they were seeing was just a dream, and it did not exist.

”What is happening...” A voice muttered, but no one answered. No one had ever been in this kind of situation before, and there was a shared sinking feeling of horror.

”We are all gonna die...” A girl on Gavina’s squad said, her lips trembling.

Kiuga stood frozen. His smart brain was working overtime trying to come up with a solution, but with the look on his face, it was clear even he did not know how to get out of such a situation.

”We should perhaps find a high ground and fire it, as it seems something is blocking the flares. I hear sometimes valleys like this don’t let anything fly out.” A calm voice said after a while. The squads turned around to hear a voice that was always silent, even when they bickered or went for one another’s necks.

Banga.

He had never shown fear on his face, and at the moment, his expression was the same. You could say that he and Ulekai were opposites. After a moment of admiration for his calmness, everyone turned to Kiuga, who was now trying to gather himself.

”We do as Banga says. Let’s find a high ground, and then squad Gavin can fire the flares.” Sagiri said. No one debated this time, and the teams began to move close together before they moved out. Taking a head count was also necessary.

”Guys...” a voice said.

Lira.

She was staring into the darkness. No one could see what she was staring at, and no one dared to make sudden movements as they all turned around slowly and stared into the darkness in the direction she was currently looking.

”What is it?” Kiuga whispered loudly after a moment of nothing moving.

”I saw something move in that direction. It is huge.” Lira said her eyes never left the darkness for even a second.

”What do you mean? It is totally silent.” Maita said, trying to squint his eyes. He, of course, could not see anything deep in the darkness. He could only use his trained sight to see a few feet ahead of him, not more than three.

”Yes. If I were not looking, I could have missed it.” Lira said. She had sharp eyes even in the dark. She was only second to Sagiri in sight.

”She is right. Something is moving in on us.” Nvaru said. His eyes were white now as he stared into the darkness ahead. Even worse, he could see more clearly than anyone what was coming.

Right then, there was movement, and everyone fell silent. It was sure that something had moved this time. Had the flares summoned something or disturbed the sleep of some beast? Beasts weren’t scary to them, that much, and even if it were a gravescale, they would very much kill it. It won’t take even the two squads this time.

”D-Did something... just move?” Ulekai stuttered.

No one answered him, but everyone started backing down on instinct.

”Everyone, make sure your friend is close to you!!” Kiuga said in a slightly raised voice, and as if answering his voice, the shadows began to move even quicker. They were now at least a hundred feet away. Kiuga had managed to pull himself together, and not even his voice could betray the fear inside of him.

”I wish Sagiri were here.” Kiuga mattered under his breath as he waited for everyone to find their friend silently.

”Mine is here.” A girl said. The sequence was followed until everyone was accounted for.

”Now we run. Make sure not to get separated!!” Kiuga said before he turned around and started running.

As if whatever was chasing them just became more excited, the sounds became louder as if they were in hundreds, if not thousands.

”They sound like....

....rocks.”

Lira said running at the centre of the squads.