The wind howled through the trees, carrying with it the sharp scent of rain-soaked earth and the distant cries of the storm. The darkness of the forest was nearly impenetrable, but Kaius and Raya didn’t hesitate. They ran. Their muscles screamed in protest, their lungs burned from the sheer effort, but they didn’t stop. They couldn’t.
Rain slashed at their skin like a thousand tiny knives, the force of the storm nearly pushing them back with each step. The ground beneath them was treacherous, mud sucking at their boots, roots and jagged rocks hidden beneath the floodwaters threatening to trip them at every turn. The trees swayed violently in the wind, branches snapping and falling around them like nature itself was trying to keep them from escaping.
They sprinted toward their temporary r
