Chapter Eight: Hiding

Exodus concluded he was not dead. How could he be? If he were dead, then what was that sound he could hear? The gently patting of rain, from what he could tell. He felt as though he were lying upon feathers, the softness appealing to the pain in Exodus' side. Deciding he had had enough, he sat up, his eyes slowly opening. He blinked rapidly, the bright light blinding him for several seconds, and when his vision cleared, he let out a gasp. It was not feathers he were lying upon, but clouds. He could not see where the sound of rain was coming from, but that did not matter. Someone was standing above him, and Exodus hastily got to his feet, feeling the weight of his body shift the clouds slightly, leaving imprints as though he were standing upon the whitest snow. He looked into the eyes of the person in front of him, not recognising the woman with long black hair that flowed down her back or the glittering blue eyes.

"Exodus," she said, her voice clear and rebounding inside of Exodus' skull like a million echoing figures, all shouting his name as one. Exodus opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. For whatever reason, he was unable to speak. "You are the brother of my former student, and you have already surpassed what he was capable of when he only just received the Power, much like you.," the woman continued. Exodus squinted, and then his eyes widened. Chloe? He tried to say, but of course, his mouth was practically sewn shut. "We are impressed," she said coolly, and Exodus cocked his head to the side slightly, wearing a confused expression in the hope that Choe understood he had no ide what she was talking about. She did not say anything, but then there was a small flash of yellow, and when Exodus' vision cleared again, he saw others.

Twenty, including Chloe, stood in a line. He only recognised Chloe's face, but the other's faces were blurred and hidden. "We are impressed," Chloe repeated, her voice now joined with the nineteen others. "We were not sure at first, but now, you have displayed that the Hope can be used by someone not originally chosen to wield it," they all claimed, and Exodus stared, still unsure of what he should do. "We know of the future battle," they continued, "We have seen it. The Warrior will fall, and the Successor will take his place. You will fight on the shores and fight in the forests, you shall fight in the depths and fight above the trees. The fight will come. Nothing will stop it. If you want to win, you best do your best!" Exodus was startled, and then felt his mouth relax. I can talk, he realised, then summoning his courage to straighten his stance and declare, "I don't like it when dead people talk in riddles."

It was a stupid thing to say. He knew that. But frankly he no longer cared. He was frustrated and frightened." A frightened man makes for a successful soldier or a successful coward. Only time can tell," Chloe said, her voice alone this time. A blinding flash surrounded Exodus, and his surroundings disappeared, the people vanishing too.

***

Exodus sat up, panting with sweat dripping down his forehead. He looked around, only seeing rocks and pebbles as his closest friends. He scrambled to his feet and winced in pain. He looked down at his right hand, realising his glove was missing and that his finger was splinted against sticks and trapped against them with leaves. Exodus stared, and then looked around. He appeared to be in some kind of large cave, the roof curving high above him, the stone cracked and chipped. "Ah, I see you're awake," said a voice, and Exodus started when Nathaniel stepped inside, smiling. "What happened?" Exodus asked, rubbing the top of his aching head, and Nathaniel sighed. "There was an incident. I lifted the water from the like and used Hope to send it all at Catastrophe. I didn't realise you were in the way, but then you used Hope like I never expected you to."

Exodus looked down at his finger thoughtfully, and then shrugged, "That's why my finger is in a make-shift splint isn't it? Nathaniel nodded and began speaking, but Exodus' mind drifted elsewhere. The voices still plagued his mind like a virus, like a pandemic. He had no idea what Chloe and the others had meant, and he did not want to find out. Exodus opened his mouth, ready to tell Nathaniel, but then he thought better of it. It was not the right moment to ruin Nathaniel's mood. "Where are we?" Exodus asked instead, and Nathaniel looked around distastefully. "This is our new home," he said simply, and Exodus too looked around, staring at the bland and colourless walls. "What about food? And water?" he asked, and to his surprise, Nathaniel laughed. "Since when have you had those concerns?" he asked, not unkindly, and Exodus shrugged.

Nathaniel waved his hand through the air in dismissal, still smiling, "There is a river nearby. It cuts right across the whole country, but I believe we are the closest ones to the Water Mountain, which produces all the water into the river." He watched as Exodus gave a small smile, realising there was at least some hope for survival. "And as for food, I know that there will be animals around. We'll just have to kill them in order to get the food." Exodus nodded, and then sat down on a rocky ledge on one of the walls, looking around the gloomy cave. "Where's the entrance?" he asked, and Nathaniel grinned, the white flashing in the darkness. "Right here," he said, moving over to the wall opposite Exodus and then pulling it aside. It was not a solid wall at all, Exodus realised, but a wall of thick vines.

However, there was only darkness outside. Night had settled. "It's getting a bit cold in here, and you still need to recover from your injury. I'll go out and get some wood to start a fire," Nathaniel stated, and Exodus nodded, staring at his older brother with admiration lighting his eyes like fireworks. Then, Nathaniel disappeared into the darkness outside, the bright colours of his suit being swallowed by the jaws of blackness.