Page 43 of Lost to the Orcs

From ‘he corner o’my eye, Ay notice U’snar too is scratching ‘he same spot on his chest. A feeling o’ dread starts t’ seep within me.

Ay turn to Warren. “Where is she?” Before he speaks, Ay can see it in his devastated eyes.

“Landslide.” He manages t’ warble before bursting int’ tears. “Arawn and the lady. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He blubbers, sobbing and clutching his baby brother in his arms.

Fear unlike anything Ay’ve ever felt fills me and I manage to mutter an ‘excuse me’ before running down the halls. U’snar quick on my heels. We are of one mind.

~~~~~

U’snar

My sides hiss at me in protest as I push myself.Jaeda.I mentally plead,Please look out for ouer mate. Don’t let us lose her.Jae calls out t’ ouer beloved. His voice strong, an’ loud even in the rain.

I shout alongside him. Hoping she’s somewhere nearby. She could have gotten caught on something. Drowning.No!I cannae let darkness creep within. I must have faith. “SUNKISSED!” I shout. “LOST!” Anything. PLEASE.

~~~~~

Sunkissed

The slamming of the water into my side causes me to lose my breath. I nearly swallow water. But I just barely close it before I do. We’re tossed and tumbled and I’m smacked by large debris in the water. I don’t know which way is up. I don’t know. I don’t know. OH my god we need air.

A branch catches my arm. I gasp from the pain. Feeling the liquid sand spill onto my tongue and coat my throat. I reach an arm for a tree, a thick branch. Anything! And then I’m in the air.

“-dy!”

I cough, sputtering. Choking as I gasp for air. I look over myshoulder to see the little Orc boys on the hill. Oh thank god. I didn’t want to contemplate them being in this. “Go! Start screaming! Something!” Another rumbling of the earth. “GO!” I tighten my hold on the cloak. Hoping and praying he stays secure.

And then I’m tumbling again. Drowning. I’m pretty sure I’m drowning. The mud weighs down my clothes. I can’t find the surface. I need to find the surface.

I go up again. But this time without a tree to hold onto. Spitting and gasping. Coughing and choking. I can’t scream. I barely have the energy to try to swim with the current. I need to get to a bank. Something. Anything to get me out of this deluge.

“-ost!” I turn my gaze and I see them. Oh god I see them. I want to scream. Beg them to get me. Please! Grab me—No! The baby! Take the baby! “-coming! We’re—

I’m under again. Only, this time, it’s because a large tree smashes the back of my head and the world darkens and fades around me.

It feels like mere seconds later when the light blinds me and I find myself spitting and vomiting up dirt and debris. Two warm hands are easing my suffering. On either side of me. Before long, my hands clutch at my burning chest, registering that the cloak is gone. Arawn is gone. A garbled scream rips itself from my throat as I lift my head. Frantically searching. And then I see it. U’snars hands cradling our child in his arms. Causes a flood of my own to spill from my burning eyes while I sob desperately in Jaedason’s arms.

He clutches me in his arms as I shiver and shake. He clutches me close to his chest as I notice the look on U’snar’s face. Arawn. Something is wrong with Arawn.

“Arawn?” U’snar shakes his head. “NO!” I scream, thrashing in Jaedason’s grasp until my wet body is able to slip out of his hold. I snatch my Orcling from U’snar and press my head to his chest. A heartbeat. Weak. He’s alive. But his chest isn’t moving.

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. I want to scream. But I can’t panic. I can’t.

“Mate, there is naught we can–

“SHUT UP!” I hiss. CPR. I can do this. I can do this. I shift his body to the wet ground and lift his chin before pinching his little nose and breathe for him. Watching his chest rise. Fall. Rise again. Fall. I place a hand, palm down, directly over his chest. Nipple high. Just above the diaphragm. Compress. Again and again. Listen for air. Feel heartbeat.Breathe. Compress. Repeat.

I’m sobbing and blubbering but I’m trying. I’m trying. NO no no no. Baby no.

A cough. Water spills from his mouth and he gasps. I roll him over and he spills his guts out of mud and water.

I did it. I did it!

Before I’m able to collapse from all the nerves, Jaedason picks me up and the four of us and other Orcs who seem to have joined for the hunt, head back to the mountain. Home. “You areneverleaving this mountain again.” Jaedason’s fervent whisper is barely audible. As though he is telling himself this and not me. He doesn’t have to worry though. I’m never leaving this mountain again. Not without my Orcs.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: SHALK

Something Feral has come over me. Terribly feral. I growl at anyone coming into the room without my mates. I wrap myself around Arawn protectively as he sleeps. I don’t let anyone touch him except myself or my mates. The Orcling assures me he is alright, but I am unconvinced. The nightmares are what convinced me the first night we returned that he was not to sleep alone. Since then, they are less frequent.

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