Free Aegis: Catalyst Grove by Nathan Roten Page B

came out was a loud scream as the ground began to give way under his feet..
    “GRAHAM!!! LOOK OUT!”   Damien frantically grabbed for Graham as he fell, his hand finding the hood of his orange sweatshirt.   Graham’s arms flailed in the air as he frantically tried grabbing for anything that would save him.   As his body descended down the side of the cliff, his neck snapped back as the collar of his sweatshirt choked him from Damien’s tug.   Damien pulled with all his strength, falling to his back.   Graham was pulled back just in time for his butt to hit the ground with his legs dangling off this side of the cliff.   His head hit the ground hard behind him with a thud.
    “Graham, you ok amigo? You there?!” Damien asked, not knowing if he was able to save his friend.
    “Mmmuhh…..yea, I thh..think so,” Graham mumbled.  
    He sat up with a twinge of pain in his spine.   Trying to figure out what just happened, he looked around only to notice that they were on the edge of the cliff near the Orphanage.   Looking over to his left, he saw a small dirt path that led up the hillside.   Looking behind him, Graham could see the large stone wall that ran across the length of the edge of the cliff.
    “We are below the cliff wall,” he said to Damien.   With his head still throbbing and his back wracked in pain, he kept looking at the wall through squinted eyes.   “Must have been the only way they could hide the entrance.   The only way down here is a little goat path, if you can even call it that.”  
    Shuffling away from the edge of the cliff, Graham turned around to his knees and slowly stood up.   The pain in his back worked its way up every vertebrae as he straightened.   Damien also stood up brushing off his pants and sleeves.  
    Graham looked over at the little dirt path and motioned Damien to follow.   Though the pain in Graham’s back made its presence known with every step he took, he knew they had to keep moving, or they would not make it in time.   With only two feet of ground to walk on, the two put their backs and arms flat against the cold stone wall and began to side step their way up to the top level of the ground.   Once there, they turned around, grabbed the top edge of the wall and swung their leg over, pulling themselves on top of the wall.  
    Before getting off the wall, Damien turned around to see the lake off in the distance as the light from the moon lay on top of the water like silk ribbons.   “Man, what a view,” said Damien.   The moon was full, the air was crisp and the scents of Autumn were in every breath of the wind.   Damien could not peel himself away from the glimmer of the lake below, and the beauty of the landscape in front of them.   Maybe it was the thrill of being out at this time of night, or maybe it was because they had almost plummeted to their deaths, but he sat there on the wall as if in a trance.   As Graham made his way over the wall and into the grass, Damien sat silently.   He could not shift his gaze from the lake.  
    “Damien?   Earth to Damien.   Snap out of it, we need to keep moving.”  
    Damien blinked a few times to focus then hopped from the top of the stone wall.   Far off to their left, they could see the shadowy form of Wellington standing out against the star lit sky.   Now Graham knew where they were and where to go.  
    “We need to hug this tree line until we are past the face of the Orphanage.   That will be where we went into the woods yesterday.”  
    Knowing that Graham could not use his flashlight here, he let the light from the moon guide their steps until they reached the entrance of the wooded trail.   After they entered the woods, he waited until they traveled at least 50 or 60 feet in before retrieving the flashlight, though he could probably navigate these woods in total darkness if he wanted.
    Running as fast as they could, Graham and Damien bobbed and weaved their way through the woods in record time as