Corrosion by Adrienne Renick

Author:Adrienne Renick [Renick, Adrienne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Locket Publishing
Published: 2023-08-18T04:00:00+00:00

15

DEPTHS

I don’t think it’s possible to find the sanctuary again. With all the twists and turns of the jungle, it becomes a labyrinth. But this labyrinth has no dead ends—only paths that span for an eternity.

Sunlight has broken over the ridges of the world, and exhaustion slows our every step. Alo and I scan the jungle with what little focus we have left, though it feels hopeless. Rok strays several times, and Alo has to signal for him to return to us.

“What’s gotten into him?” I scowl. “Maybe Ankori do get tired.”

Alo yawns and rubs her face. “We’re close, though. I can feel it.”

“You can?” I perk up, and Alo raises her brow.

“We just have to keep moving.”

“But you said you could feel it.”

“Not literally,” she says. “Sometimes you have to lie to keep up morale.”

I give Alo a smile, but my stomach churns.

That echoing pull of the sanctuary haunts me like nothing else. It’s a strong, instinctive sensation that crawls through my bones, and I want nothing more than to rip it away from myself. The memory is so visceral, I could easily believe we were near the sanctuary.

The feeling isn’t real, I tell myself. But this whole thing makes me uneasy—Alo’s not even from here, and now she’s dragging me back to a place that scares me more than the farm’s tunnel beneath Aéha based on a hunch.

Alo watches me curiously, and it takes her stare for me to realize we’ve settled beneath the haven of two massive trees. Their roots envelop us like giant arms, and I nestle against the base of one.

“You’re acting weirder than normal,” Alo says. “Is something wrong?”

“Thanks,” I sneer. “The area near the sanctuary gives me a strange feeling. Not just the pool.”

Alo nods, taking mental notes. Her scrutinizing glares since we first met now make sense.

Right now, it’s getting on my nerves.

“I bet it’s the kor,” she says. “My father theorized it had its own language.”

“Sure.”

“But Rok is clearly sentient.” Alo gestures to him. He stands at the edge of our resting spot, facing the forest. “His life source is kor. And he understands us. Remember what I said?”

Alo’s probably correct, but I don’t know what gives her the right to make all these assumptions. “The vibrations.” I can’t help but scoff.

She puts her hands on her hips. “I thought you would care more about this.” I sharpen my gaze, clenching my jaw as she continues. “I’m trying to teach you something that could save us.”

I get to my feet, towering over her as I seethe. “You don’t know anything about us—you said it yourself a dozen times. This isn’t your world, Alo. Stop acting like you know everything.”

She gawps at me, almost laughing as her dark eyes simmer. “Are you serious? What is your problem?”

I don’t have time to answer before she heads deeper into the forest.

My head spins. “Where are you going?” I shout after her.

“To the sanctuary,” she shouts back. I follow the sound of her thrashing through the woods, and my anger begins to blur into regret.

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