Among the Enemy

Chapter Three

The tree hit with an earth'shattering thud. The entire truck seemed to shudder to pieces. An avalanche of leaves and twigs rained down on Matthias, but miracu' lously, he felt no large branches strike his body.

"Percy?" he whispered into the darkness.

"I'm here," Percy whispered back. "Look."

It was a useless command. The enormous tree that now covered them blocked out all light. But Matthias reached out in the direction of Percy's voice, and he felt what Percy was holding out to him: It was the metal clasp of Percy's seat belt, surrounded by jagged wood. The falling tree had shattered the wood wall. Percy was free now too.

"Thank God," Matthias murmured. "Let's get Alia and go. Alia?"

No answer.

'Alia?" Matthias said louder, and reached out to the other side, to where Alia had been sitting. His fingers dug through leaves, more leaves, and prickly twigs. And then a branch too large to shove aside.

Cold fear seemed to crawl along every nerve in his body. He reached under the branch, brushing the floor of the truck bed. The floor seemed to be covered with some sort of sticky liquid now.

Dew, he tried to tell himself. Dew or sap. Tree sap is sticky, isn't it?

But he knew what the liquid really was. Blood.

'Alia?" he cried again, his voice coming out in a hoarse gasp.

Someone moaned on the other side of the branch.

Matthias dived over the branch. Mercifully, Alia was right there. He scooped her up into his arms.

"We've got to go, Alia," he muttered. "Now."

Her head flopped loosely against his shoulder.

She's breathing, Matthias told himself. I know she is. I heard her moan. She must still be alive. He took the time to wrap his hand around her wrist. Her pulse beat against his fingers. Faintly.

"Come on, Percy," Matthias commanded, panic making his voice raspy. "I found Alia. Follow me."

Percy put one hand on Matthias's shoulder, and the two of them fought their way through the branches. Sometimes they had to shove other children out of their way too. Sometimes the children moaned or complained: "Ouch! You stepped on my fingers!" Some of the children were crying or screaming: "Help me! Help me!" "My leg!"

"My arm!" "I'm trapped!" The voices wove together into one roaring tide of pain and fear, until Matthias could no longer make out the individual words.

Some of the children were silent. Somehow that was worse.

Matthias tried not to think about what that meant. He focused on moving forward, lifting Alia over the branches, protecting her from the twigs that threatened to snag her nightgown and scratch her skin. He ignored his aching muscles, his straining back, anything that might distract him from his escape.

Finally he reached the back edge of the truck bed.

"You go first. I'll hand Alia down to you," he whispered over his shoulder to Percy.

Percy slipped past Matthias, shimmying down to the ground. Stiffly, Matthias knelt down and lowered Alia into Percy's arms. Alia was all skin and bones, a wisp of a child, but Percy still staggered under her weight. Matthias jumped down, and Percy handed Alia back to him.

"Into the woods?" Percy asked.

Matthias didn't have enough energy to answer, but it didn't matter. He and Percy were already stumbling into the underbrush. Matthias was so exhausted that his legs seemed to be moving of their own will. Branches lashed against his face, but he barely noticed. As long as they didn't hurt Alia, he didn't care.

"Matthias?" Percy said after some time had passed.

"Matthias? I don't think anyone followed us. We're safe now. We can stop and rest."

Matthias sank to his knees, still cradling Alia's body against his chest. The woods around him were light now; the sun had risen fully while Matthias wasn't looking, wasn't thinking, wasn't conscious of anything except the need to hold on to Alia and move forward. Only now did he finally dare to look down at Alia's face.

She had an open wound at her right temple, and blood matted in her hair. Her skin was so pale, it frightened him.

"Why won't she wake up?" he asked Percy. "What if—?" He forced the words out. "What if she dies?"

"She won't," Percy said fiercely. "We'll find someone to help."

Matthias began struggling to get back on his feet, but his legs felt useless now, his arms could no longer lift Alia.

"Stop it," Percy said. "You're too tired. You'll drop her, and that will be worse. Get some sleep and we'll walk more later. I'll watch over Alia."

Matthias wanted to protest, to tell Percy, No, let's keep going. But his eyes were already closing, his mind already slipping into a nightmare.

If Alia dies, he thought, with his last burst of consciousness, it will be my fault.