Search (Searchrider Robika)

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The sound of boots meeting stone was coupled by the desperate intakes of air as slightly chapped lips tried to take in as much oxygen as they could into starving lungs. Brown eyes were wide and alert as they tried to pinpoint where his pursuers were before he put on another burst of speed; his muscles trembling and lungs burning with the effort it took to maintain such athleticism in the face of such pain.

And it was not paranoia that drove the young man to push his body past the brink of exhaustion. Shouts echoed through the air behind him and he clenched his eyes shut, forcing steady breaths rather than the cough that threatened to constrict his chest and foul his feet beneath him. He was running for a reason though that reason was not coming quite so clear in his head when all his thoughts were focused on the simple actions of moving. Arms pumped to keep him from tipping over in a heap of exhaustion even as sweat poured down to sting eyes that had reopened out of necessity. He just grit his teeth and bore with it, trying to keep his treacherous body from betraying him while she looked for a place to hide.

Bloody damn, what was I thinking?

He could hear the angry shouting behind him, boys he had once wrestled with as a small child now grown far larger than him and angry at his daring. The young man cursed himself silently even as his mouth gaped farther, sucking in great gasps of air. His arms pumped at his sides, the soft sound of wooden coins coming from the pouch he clasped in his left hand. This was what they were after, a sevenday’s worth of hard work all contained in a tiny cloth container.

Though now it seemed meaningless. He hadn’t thought he’d get caught. The days of thievery from his early childhood were hazy but he remembered the actual act of theft being easy. And he certainly didn’t remember ever being caught. Briefly gritting his teeth and hating himself, the boy flung the pouch to the side, hearing it land in a bush as he continued rushing towards the stables and then past them to the herdbeast enclosure.

Dimly, he wondered if anyone would come to his aid, but the idea was immediately dismissed. Any observer would simply write it off as play. No, the only option was to keep running and hope they gave up before his lungs collapsed or he tripped herself up. The herdbeast corral came into view and he valiantly tried to vault the fence. A shoe was lost, another cast aside so as not to hinder his progress. He was on fire as the air in his lungs burned and threatened to quit at the insufficient nourishment it was fed through a gaping mouth.

He artfully leapt over a calf, vaulting over it as if it was as natural as breathing and let his mouth slip farther open, desperate for air. Despite the terror rushing through his system, he’d never quite felt so alive at the same moment as he thought she’d die as he felt a stitch in his side. The feeling would fade, the same way the adrenaline was leaking from his system, taking his strength with it.

Rocks and branches stung his feet, cutting at the soft arches as he began to slow, stumbling and gasping for air. A beast bleated at him and he winced as he heard footsteps behind him. They were bigger than him, they had more endurance. He would be caught. Don’t let them catch me. Please don’t let them catch me, he begged silently of the beast as he dodged around it and sank to the ground, obscured by its bulk and unable to move. He lay there, trying to restrain ragged gasps.

Idiot! You just couldn’t resist and now you’re going to die. Stupid!

The pouch had been just sitting there on the table in front of him. Tantalizing in it’s availability. Despite years of working past his old ways, Kiaz hadn’t been able to resist temptation and he’d been caught red handed. No matter how much pride he had in his athletic ability, there was just no outrunning the older, stronger boys. The herdbeast snorted and ambled away, leaving him open and exposed as they surrounded him.

He closed his eyes and waited for pain.