Green Desert - Chapter 8.3.5 - Séara

No footprints ahead of me, but I kept on running. And Tépíto stayed right behind me, no questions asked. I couldn’t let Zhudıro escape.

But that’s exactly what I’d already done. He was gone. And I’d completely lost any trace of him. I had to keep on trying, keep on pretending to be in the hunt, but really, now, what hope did I have?

I ran between the trees and boulders, cutting left and right, heading constantly westward. But there was no point. I should turn around, go back to where I last saw footprints. But even those weren’t Zhudıro’s. They were Bhanar’s. I’d completely and totally lost the fugitive, if I ever had his trail at all.

And yet Deputy Laparıpasamé followed me. I only outranked him by a few months. Surely he knew we’d lost Zhudıro. Why didn’t Tépíto say anything?

The bushes and trees kept looming out of the darkness at us, an endless barrage of obstacles to our unattainable goal.

If Tépíto wasn’t going to say anything, I had to. I slowed to a stop, breathing deep to help slow my heart. I turned to my partner, careful to not shine my light in his face. In reflected light, though, I could still see his open mouth and furrowed, dark brow. He wiped his forehead with a sleeve. “What’s up?”

I sighed and winced. “We lost him.”