Calling Carter.

I kept telling myself that as the rope was being tied. Caidan was behind me somewhere, finishing his knot. I heard him moving, and then felt his hands on my shoulders. One hands moved higher than the other, up my arm, and I wondered what he was doing. Suddenly his fingers dug into the wound on my arm and I screamed.

CARTER

I ran all the way home. I did not stop or look back. Out of breath and exhausted, I fought the urge to lean against the front door to rest. Kicking open the door, I called Adam and Mum loudly. They bolted upright on the couch, both rushing to see if Kala was all right. I let her down on the couch and stepped back, letting Mum look at her.

“Careful,” I said, “and check her arms and shoulders.” I had a strong feeling that they’d be dislocated.

While Mum checked Kala’s injuries, I grabbed a cloth and started cleaning all that blood away. Adam paced behind us, needing something to do, but not knowing what.

“Here,” I said to him, holding out the cloth. He took it gratefully and thanked me, then said, “You might wanna call Daniel and Luc and tell them to stop looking. Where’s Silah?”

Oh god. Silah.

My stricken face must have been answer enough.

“Carter?” Mum asked. “Where is Silah?” She had stopped treating Kala and was staring at me, horror dawning on her face.

“She stayed…” I whispered, “she …” I trailed off, not able to say the words. She took him on, while I ran.

If I thought I was afraid for Kala, it was nothing compared to this new feeling of terror. I had left Silah alone with Caidan, known psycho. What was I thinking?!

Mum had started talking again, and I zoned back in to hear what she was saying. “…get some x-rays. Just hope she hasn’t got any internal bleeding…”

Mum was going to take Kala down to the Medical Center. Adam was on the phone with Luc, telling him to come back. I turned and ran back out the front door.

I was never leaving Silah again.

It didn’t take me long to reach Silah’s tree. The light was starting to fade, and I tried to keep out of sight. Crouched behind a large tree, I tried to see where Caidan was.

I saw Silah first. Her arms were bound above her by rope, and her toes barely touched the ground. Her shirt was bloodstained and dirty, and the knees of her jeans were filthy with mud. Her head was hanging, and I didn’t know if she was unconscious, or… or otherwise.

My question was soon answered when she jerked and slowly raised her head as Caidan came back into view. She raised her eyes skywards and I frowned when I saw the dark bruise on her cheek. Bastard I thought. My hands were shaking, and I wanted to kill Caidan. No, I wanted to save Silah. No, both.

SILAH

As I raised my head, I hoped that Caidan would end it soon. I had stopped trying to wind him up, hoping that he’d get bored with me. I should have known he knew me better than that. The stinging comments grew worse and worse until finally, Caidan whispered, “does it hurt that he’s not coming back for you?”

Yes.

I tried to fight the tears that threatened then, but my self control was understandably shot. They flowed down my face hot and fast, and I let my head fall back down. There was no point trying any more. Caidan was right. Carter was not coming back. He had saved Kala, and that was what was important. I hoped she was okay.

Caidan wiped each tear away with the blade of his knife, and I hung limply, feeling the ache in my shoulders grow worse.

CARTER

She thought I wasn’t coming back for her.

I couldn’t believe it.

She sacrificed herself for you a nasty voice said inside my head, why would you come back for her? Everything was fine until you walked back out the door…

As Caidan roughly scraped away her tears, I emerged from the tree I had been behind. I couldn’t stand to just watch and wait any more. I moved as quietly as possible, staying directly behind Caidan, praying he wouldn’t notice me. But he didn’t. He was too busy crooning to Silah, who didn’t notice me either.

I didn’t plan what I did next.

“I love you, Si.” I said from behind Caidan. His head whipped around first, just as Silah raised her own head. The light in her eyes changed from broken to puzzled.

I threw the punch just as the knife flashed. shit I thought, and leapt backwards. My fist barely connected and he swung again, then stumbled forward, off balance. Silah’s feet flashed again and she kicked the back of his neck. I took the opportunity and slammed him against the tree hard enough to knock him senseless.

It worked. It didn’t take much to over-power him. You could have done it before if you hadn’t left with Kala Another voice said. I shut my eyes and shook my head violently. Enough. It was done now.

“Carter?” A soft voice said.

I looked up and realised how uncomfortable Silah must have been.

“He tied it behind the tree,” she said softly, still in that very quiet voice.

I nodded and looked behind the tree. Sure enough, the was a large, tight, complicated looking knot behind the trunk. How the hell was I supposed to untie that?!

The knife.

As I picked it up I saw that the blade was sticky with blood. With a snarl, I wiped it off on his clothing and went to cut the rope. “Ready?” I asked Silah.

She nodded.

I cut the rope.

Unable to stop her fall, Silah fell hard. The rope trailed around her, and I rushed to her side.