“We have to run.” Veer said pulling Eli up the rocks. 

“Run? What?” Eli tried pulling Veer back. “Someone is trapped! They need our help!” 

“Help!” The voice echoed, closer now. 

“Eli!” Veer’s eyes were wild, his voice harsh even through his gas mask. “You have to trust me! We need to run now!” 

Eli couldn’t argue with the other boy’s panic and they both began sprinting, their shoes digging into the ice. 

“Help me!!” The voice was getting louder. 

Eli turned back, looking for the person. He could only just see a figure, climbing up the rocks. It was not human, not really. It was blue and green like the liquid poison. Standing at least eight meters tall, its arms and legs long against its bone thin body. It’s face was what stopped Eli in his tracks. It’s eyes were black and bulbous, covering half its face. The other half held it’s huge mouth, wide open and screaming. The sound shrill and inhuman. It began sprinting towards them. 

“Eli run!” Veer pulled him along. “Run!” 

Eli’s legs remembered their job and he began moving faster. “What is that thing?” He screamed. 

“Don’t look back!” Veer yelled back to him. “Just run!” 

The creature’s screamed were close behind them now, Eli wanted to turn and see how close the humanoid had gotten, but he didn’t dare look back. He ran, harder than he’d ever run before. This had been a mistake. He never should have brought them here. He never should have let Veer come along. Now they would both die. 

“Should we find a cavern?” Eli yelled. 

“No, that would just trap us. Just keep running! Don’t stop, Eli!” 

Eli snuck a glance back, the thing had covered a lot of ground, its arms flailing as it’s screamed pounded in Eli’s ears. 

“It’s getting closer!” Eli screamed. He lost his footing and tripped, tumbling to the ground. “Shit!” 

“Eli!” Veer skidded to a stop. 

“Just go!” Eli tried climbing to his feet, but he felt frozen. He looked up as the creature closed the distance between them. At least Veer could get away now. 

It opened its mouth as gas escaped out of it. Eli was shaking, he’d never felt so afraid in his entire life. This creature, this monster couldn’t actually exist. This was the type of thing that only deserved life in his nightmares. 

The monster screamed again, raising its long bony arms into the air. He was sure it would kill him now. 

Veer was suddenly in front of him, his knife slicing into the creatures skin, gutting it. It screamed louder and dropped to it’s knees, reaching out for the two boys. 

Veer turned and grabbed Eli’s arms. “Get up!” He screamed pulling Eli up and into his arms. “Move!” 

Eli’s body obeyed and he began running again. Looking back at the thing as it screamed and held it’s sliced wound closed. 

“That won’t stop it long. We have to keep going!” Veer gasped for air. “The only thing we can do is get far enough away from the gas lakes. It can’t breath normal air.” 

So they ran, the thing screaming behind them. The screams once again gaining on them, but something in Eli had sparked. Now he knew all they had to do was just keep running. This thing wasn’t like the heat seeker. Eventually it would stop, all he had to do was outrun it. 

His lungs were burning and his heart was pounding in his throat. Another scream as a second one began climbing up from beneath the snow, closer than the first. Veer had his knife is hand and pulled his spear out as well, swinging it low and cutting the creature off at its legs before slicing his knife across its throat all while the things screamed and emitted it’s gas.

“Don’t breath it in!” Veer yelled as they continued running. “Even with the masks on it can kill you.” 

“Can’t they be killed?” Eli asked. 

“I don’t know. No one has ever succeeded.” Veer was gasping for air, his own body growing tired from the exertion. 

Eli reached for his hand, grabbing it tight and pulling him along faster. They ran, the creatures screaming behind them. They ran until they couldn’t, and then they ran more. 

Finally, the creatures slowed, not dare leaving their gaseous air supply. They screamed with rage, a sound so loud and shrill that it shook Eli to his core. 

Finally the two boys slowed, Veer fell to his knees. Yanking the mask off before vomiting everywhere. Eli fell down next to him, crawling towards the boy. 

“Are you okay?” He gasped, removing his own mask as Veer threw up again. Eli put a hand to his shoulder. 

“I’m…” Veer vomited again. He groaned and fell backwards into Eli who pulled him up and rested the other boy against his chest. “I’m alright… I can’t move though. I think I may have breathed some of their gas in.” 

“What are those things?” Eli looked over, the creatures were gone. Completely disappeared within minutes, almost like they were never real at all. 

“They’re call Spiryn.” Veer was shaking. “They’re ancient creatures. I didn’t even believe any still existed.” 

Eli took a breath before slowly pulling himself and Veer up. Veer clung to him, barely able to stand on his own. “We need to move.” Eli said. “We can’t stay dormant.” 

“I don’t know that I can.” Veer admitted. “I can’t feel my legs.” 

Eli slid himself in front of Veer, wrapping the boys arms around his shoulders before pulling them forward. Veer’s legs dragged behind him, paralyzed by the Spiryn’s gas. 

“I’m sorry.” Eli grunted as he pulled them towards the cavern they had stayed in the night before. “I never should have brought us here.” 

Veer said nothing. 

“You should have just left me and saved yourself.” Eli said.

“I… couldn’t just… let you die.” Veer’s speech was slurred. He was fading. 

“Veer, what do I do? How can I help you?” Eli asked. 

“I need water…” Veer whispered. “And I need to throw up.”

Eli turned and helped Veer to his knees as he began violently throwing up again. 

“We need help.” Eli said. “You said you’d left your coordinates on, is there a way to signal Moonmire?” 

Veer nodded, but didn’t move from his spot on the ice. “In my pockets. There’s a…” he threw up again. “There’s a tracker.” 

Eli dug deep into Veer’s pockets and began searching, pulling various items out before finally pulling out a small tab. It required Veer’s biometrics. Eli pulled him closer, into his lap, pulling Veer’s glove off and shoving his fingertip onto the tab. 

“Is that it?” Eli asked. 

Veer nodded, nestling into Eli’s chest. 

“Don’t fall asleep Veer.” Eli said putting the tab back and grabbing out his axe. He handed Veer his water skin before he began cracking into the ice. 

It was hard, he’d never dug out a cavern on his own before. His body was screaming for rest before he’d even gotten to the deep interior, but he continued on as the endless night drug on. 

He was sweating and gasping for air before finally finishing. He climbed out and grabbed Veer, pulling him into the cavern. “You’re going to be okay, Veer. I promise.” 

Veer whimpered and flinched at Eli’s touch. 

“What happened when you inhale their gas?” Eli asked. 

Veer shivered and leaned into Eli. “Without a gas mask, you die. But… worse than that when someone dies from the Spiryn. They just… stop. They stop running, they stop fighting. It’s like they don’t care that they’re going to die.”

“But that’s not going to happen to you, right?” Eli asked, running his finger’s over Veer’s forehead. He was hot and sweaty. 

“I don’t know.” Veer whispered closings his eyes. “It’s probably a good sign that my body tried expelling the gas. But I don’t know what it will do to me… long term.” 

“I’m not going to let you die.” Eli wrapped his arms around Veer’s chest, holding him close. “Do you hear me?” 

Veer took a moment before barely nodding his head. He reached up, grabbing Eli’s wrist in his and holding on tight. They stayed like that for days. Only venturing up when Veer had to throw up more. He was getting weaker. 

Eli prayed to the stars that they would come for them soon. He wasn’t sure Veer would survive much longer. 

“Veer?” Eli whispered one week after they had hidden in the cavern. “Did a Spiryn kill your grandmother?” 

Veer said nothing. He didn’t speak much now, his body was too tired. 

Two days later they heard the flapping and sudden drop of creatures surrounding them. Eli startled awake, not daring to make a sound. 

“Rogue!” A man called. 

 Eli breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s here!” He called out. He began slowly pulling Veer out, who had been asleep for almost an entire day. “He’s sick.” Eli finally pulled Veer out. 

They were surrounded by hunters and strin. 

“What happened?” One commanded. 

“We were attacked by spiryn.” Eli said. They were all silent as they looked at him. “He breathed in some gas through his gas mask. He’s been getting worse.” 

“This is your fault.” A harsh voice Eli recognized came out. Drax. 

Eli flinched before looking down and nodding. “I know.” He said quietly. “I just want him to live. If you choose to leave me here, I will understand.” 

“That’s not our choice to make. You’ll ride with Esper.” A woman said as they began strapping Veer to one of the strin. 

Eli was shoved towards another huge creature as forced to scramble on. They had leather seats strapped across their backs, a small second seat waiting for him. 

An older woman climbed up. “You’ve never flown strin before, have you wall dweller?” 

“I haven’t.” Eli admitted. 

“Well this is going to be a difficult ride for you then.” The woman smirked. “Hold on tight.”