Pursuing shots never come. Roland raises one arm instinctively to cover his eyes and when he lowers it, looks down, he sees that Jake is falling.
The paper moves around him in a cloud of quiet rustling. The boy - the other boy - his footsteps move echoing across the cave walls. Something reminds Roland that those footsteps will be going further every second he fails to act. His own footsteps are silent; his boots stay where they are.
He knows without thinking about it that once those other footsteps quiet he'll still be here, still able to do nothing but listen to the boy who escaped him. Listen for the boy who didn't.
The silence settles around him, so thick and choking he forgets he ever meant to pursue at all.
no subject
The paper moves around him in a cloud of quiet rustling. The boy - the other boy - his footsteps move echoing across the cave walls. Something reminds Roland that those footsteps will be going further every second he fails to act. His own footsteps are silent; his boots stay where they are.
He knows without thinking about it that once those other footsteps quiet he'll still be here, still able to do nothing but listen to the boy who escaped him. Listen for the boy who didn't.
The silence settles around him, so thick and choking he forgets he ever meant to pursue at all.