When I see the reflections from the bridge, I glance over my shoulder at the Murkovin one last time. They’re still on my heels, so I return my eyes to the bridge and aim straight at the corner closest to me. After a search of the land between me and the bridge, I lock my eyes on a rock that’s about fifty yards away from the edge of the bridge. That rock will be the last chance I have to retract my particles from the beams.
My other concern is that I’m approaching the bridge at a forty-five-degree angle. The steel surface is only about twelve feet wide. If I transition from my blend to a run too quickly, I could have so much forward velocity that I fly straight over the far edge of the bridge. Even though I’m a strong swimmer, the rapids are fierce where the river forks around the Delta. The banks are covered by large boulders that I could easily be killed by if the waves smash me against them.
As the rock zooms closer, I maintain all of my speed. The split-second I pass it, I suck my particles out of the beams. Stinging like a hive of wasps on the attack, my molecules smack back into my body. The last ray of light evaporates into my skin at the same time my foot hits the steel bridge.
Like a sprinter navigating through a turn, I lean my body to the right. Waves from the rapids cascade off the side of the bridge only a few feet in front of me. I start to topple forward from the force of my momentum and hold in my breath in case go I over the side. When my foot hits the small lip on the far side of the bridge, I lurch off it towards the center.
I stumble while trying to keep my balance, but push off the steel surface with one hand. Pumping my arms by my sides, I finally get my body under control. As I dash up the slight slope towards the arch in the center, I check over my shoulder. The two Murkovin have come out of their blends and are just now reaching the bridge. Even though they’re farther behind me than when we were traveling, I churn with all my might over the arch and race down the other side. The moment I reach the shore, I swerve to the south.
After bursting into the light, I reach the road from the Mount in a matter of seconds. I slide out of the beams, sprint onto the bridge to the Delta, and look to the north. The two Murkovin are standing at the center of the other bridge with their eyes fixed on me. When they turn away and head back to the western Barrens, I slow to a jog.
At the top of the arch of the bridge, I stop and drop my hands to my knees. It takes a full minute before I finally catch my breath. With my hands gripping my sides, I walk down the slope of the bridge towards the Delta. Cavu stares at me from above the gate.
The light spilling from the clouds to the crimson hills in the Delta is almost blinding after morrows of living in black, gray, and sickly purple. I shade my eyes with one hand and watch Cavu disappear down a ladder behind the wall. After I step into the wall’s shadow, I stop in front of the gate.
“Cavu!” I shout. “Let me in!”
“Wait!” he calls out from the other side.
I bang my hands against one of the locked doors. “It’s me, Chase!”
“You have to wait!” he yells.
“What is that dumbass doing,” I mumble.
It’s a good thing the Murkovin quit chasing me or I’d be dead while waiting for Cavu to get his shit together. But as I think that thought, I start to tremble from a wave of paranoia. Did Tela already return to the Delta and blame everything that happened on me?
If Sash really wants to get rid of me, take my daughter and move on with her life, this would be her chance. For all I know, they’re plotting to banish me from the Delta at this very moment. Cavu must be part of the plan. He’s always looked up to Sash. Why else wouldn’t he open the gate for me?
When one of the gate doors finally creaks open, I shove my shoulder through the gap. After barreling through the gate, I look straight at Cavu.
“What the hell were you doing?” I growl.
“He was doing his duty,” Larn says from off to my side. “You don’t look like yourself.”
I snap my head to Larn and clench my hands into fists, ready for whatever comes at me. With tear dampened cheeks, Sash is standing beside him. She crosses the grass to me and envelops me in her arms. Standing erect and still, I don’t return her hug. Sash and Larn must be spinning a web of deceit around me.
“I thought you were dead,” Sash whispers in my ear.
“Not yet,” I say.
“What happened?” Larn asks.
I take a step back from Sash. She drops her arms to her sides and stares at me.
“Is Tela back?” I ask Larn.
“She hasn’t returned,” he answers. “Where have you been?”
I shake my head and look down at the ground.
Sash
