Efferent

Chapter 59

"March!" James shouted form a megaphone and a small range vehicle as he drove alongside the mass exodus of the afferent army, "March and move along, we have ways to go before we reach the edge of the city!"

Sighing, I glanced over to Blaise, whose eyes were pointed straight ahead of us and affixed the straps of my backpack. Following his gaze, I observed Clark, as he walked with his hands chained behind his back, eyes drooping and feet stumbling across the brambles along the forest floor in weariness.

"He could escape if he wanted to, right?" I whispered to Blaise, worry tingeing my voice. "If he cannot I am not sure that we will have enough time upon our arrival at the city."

"He is fine." Blaise offered, glancing over at me, before he whistled a short tune. Clark's shoulders tensed as I watched from behind, and without glancing back, he tugged at the chains, one hand disappearing, before reappearing next to the dangling cuff. I gasped slightly, covering it up with a cough, and when I looked up his hand was back in the cuff as though I had never witnessed the previous event.

"I did not know that his Afference could be subjected to individual body parts..." I trailed off in a whisper.

"You were not supposed to. No one is," Blaise gave me a meaningful glance, "So keep your voice down."

I nodded, looking about at the Afferent ahead of us, and James in the vehicle with Travis at his side. "What about him?" I jerked my head to Travis's familiar face, "What do we do about him when we get there?"

"He will be the first that you subdue. He will resist it, but once he is under your influence I suspect you can use him to your advantage." Blaise looked over at me, "Are you positive that you can sustain yourself for a long period of time while exerting so much Efference?"

"Yes," I nodded, "You saw me at the arena. You saw how many people there were."

"This time it will be a whole city," He extended, "In addition to a whole army, Ardyn."

"Do you doubt me?" I looked over to him, fully catching his gaze, "Or my ability?"

"Neither, I am trying to reassure myself that I made the right decision in letting you make this call. This battle, this plan is riding on you, Ardyn. I need to know if you will be able to handle the pressure." Blaise amended.

"I will be fine, Blaise," I caught his arm, trailing my hand down further to meet his and interlocked our fingers. "I will not be alone, either. Clark will be there. You will be there."

"Clark could lose control," Blaise offered, furrowing his brow. "He could be of no use to us all, and I do not have as much stamina as either of you."

"Blaise," I continued, but he interrupted me.

"You have Travis to contend with, and you might get separated from us in trying to take care of him." He worried, gripping my hand tightly.

I sighed. "Blaise-."

"Ardyn, I am serious. What if the citizens, or the soldiers of the city do not want our help?" His eyes were fixed on the grass in front of us, and his other hand consistently threaded through his hair, messing it up and causing hair to stick up.

"Blaise-." I tried once more, but he raised a hand and continued, eyes now glued to the brambles on the path.

"What if they start shooting at us?"

"Blaise!" I exclaimed as loud as I would dare. He lifted his head to look into my eyes, and I saw the worry and the apprehension that had built up on our trek. "Blaise, I will be fine. We will be fine, and in the process, the city will be fine. We can handle anything thrown our way. We have to."