"Why is Kaeviel taking too long?" he sighed.
"He'll be here when he's done Selena, just wait a bit more."
She probably asked the same question a hundred times by now. He could have ignored her but that won't yield better results. Something he learned from experience.
-is she always this annoying?
An old man's voice echoed in his head. Already familiar with the voice.
George nodded silently affirming.
'Always'
"Do you think we can save the villagers with Kaev's plan?"
That caught him off guard, it's a different question from the one she's been asking the whole time.
'Could we really?'
They have to save the villagers.
But now that he thinks clearly, he realize going in there now tantamounts to suicide.
No matter what scenario, he couldn't come up with a plan to save the villagers and successfully escape from pursuers.
So far, they've seen nothing beyond silhouettes in motion.
He estimates at least fifty of the captors, his only indication is the kneeling form of the villagers surrounded by them.
After a moment he shook his head clearing his head, her attention is no longer on him but it doesn't look like she wants any answer anyway.
Her curious eyes looked toward the village where the silhouettes of the villagers and hunters were long since gone.
-It's impossible so don't expect, what can a young girl and two barely adult boys do?
Doubt crept in his thoughts which he ruthlessly stomped.
"He'll come up with something." He meant to answer all the questions.
'Probably'
Selena nodded silently.
-Fool
Silence prevailed for a moment, broken by the rustling sound of the bush. Flickers of light coming from the bushes appear, seemingly increasing by the moment.
He moved forward, covering Selena with his body.
"Kaeviel?"
His form broke through the thick leaves carrying a torch of wood.
"What took you so long? George has been pestering me the whole time you were gone!" she groused.
He was stupefied, looking at her incredulously as she pointed at him.
Kaeviel just looked at him with exasperated eyes.
-GAHAHA!
He grunted, ignoring the annoyance only he could hear.
"Well, I'm here now"
"So? Did you check everything you need?"
Kaeviel nodded flippantly, "I think so."
"You think so?" he urged.
If even Kaeviel ends up without a plan, then there's nothing they could do.
-I told you not to expect anything.
He shook his head internally.
"So what's the plan?" he pointed to the glowing stick.
"There's too many of them, we can't go in there without being caught."
Kaeviel handed him the torch, lighting up another stick he picked from the forest floor.
"Take Selena and head back towards the river."
"And the torch?"
For a second, he imagined seeing a glint in Kaeviel's eyes making him nervous.
"Let's give them a taste of their own medicine."
He smiled mischievously.
"Just in a different dosage."
It's been sometime since they split with Kaeviel again. They're only a bit more distance away from the river now. The trails they left now a road of quickly growing flames, burning the trees, bushes, everything.
Before they split, he asked where he would go.
"To make sure there's nowhere to run," he snorted.
"Damn bastard trying to act cool all the time."
-That friend of yours reminds me of my niece.
He torched another tree, and continued moving. Selena silently being carried on his back. He could feel her soft breathing, she probably slept too tired from all the day's events.
-Nobody would blame a kid for being unable to handle this kind of pressure.
'Yeah'
-In fact, you and that friend of yours are the unusual ones.
'I imagine your niece's imagination can be quite destructive too'
The voice snorted.
-Destructive it maybe but can you think of a better plan?
He tried. He failed.
He shook his head in denial.
-Burning this whole forest gives your people the best chance of survival. They know the layout of this forest more than those animals.
"Let's just hope it's enough"
"Enough what?"
She was either awake or his subconscious muttering woke her up.
"Nothing."
"George?"
"Hmm?"
"Why does Kaeviel want to burn the forest?"
He took a short break, they were quite a distance away from the fires.
"I'm not exactly sure, but I think he's hoping the invaders will flee from the forest if they think the fire is too dangerous."
"But what about the villagers?"
'What about them indeed.'
He shook his head "he didn't have time to tell us but I'm sure he's got a plan for them."
Had it been another person, he wouldn't have followed the plan. The village is their home and the forest is the provider. Without those they wouldn't be able to survive for long even if they manage to repel the invaders.
Yet because it's Kaeviel, he chose to see his plans through.
He stepped on a hard metal, one of the disabled traps of the hunting invaders.
He moved it a bit making it visible on the road. One of Kaeviel's brief instructions.
They walked a bit more, making sure to burn more of the forest as wide as possible until they heard the telltale sound of moving water.
"What do we do now?"
This is as far as Kaeviel's instructions go.
He turned, seeing the growing flames slowly creeping towards them. Before long, their current spot will burn too. Before that, they'll have asphyxiated.
There's only one place safe right now.
"Let's cross the river."