I tree you

In the dead of night the boys plodded down a road heading out of town, crossing the rolling hills three legged and low on steam. Truthfully they had no idea how long it would take them to get to the forest their dad told them about but any distance carrying dead weight feels like an eternity no matter what.

Through his incessant wincing Eddie thought to make conversation with his brother, his arm wrapped securely around Sam's shoulder.

"You think they'll send someone after us?"

Sam shook his head dismissively.

"There's no way they'd send people out at this time of night, not for some silly fight."

Docksford was long gone by now, the lights behind them faded into obscurity, they were now wholly alone with nothing but the ramblings of bugs and the gentle blue light of the moon. In a different circumstance the beauty of the world might not have been lost on the boys but in their own worry they could only see the situation as getting from point A to point B.

"Sam, if you could have any Punch, what would it be?"

He'd pondered that question often, sometimes to the point of delusion. He'd sit for the best part of a day in a boat dreaming that he could be the guy in his head, the guy who could…

"I'd want to be able to move my arms faster, inhumanly fast."

Eddie would smile through his own pain, wondering why he'd never thought to ask this before.

"It'd be good for a number of things, I could reel in a fishing rod really fast like some of those motor things those new ships from the capital had."

"I could punch someone… fast."

"Maybe even tie knots really quickly."

Eddie chimed in.

"You could play a string instrument really fast."

The boys would share a giggle.

"I could sit in the corner of the market and play Schmevsky's greatest hits in half a minute."

As they walked Eddie would slowly ease off Sam's shoulder, applying more weight to his own foot. Some of the medicine that came out of Avvilan was quite special and whatever Tim gave him was no exception.

The two would walk for a while, Sam sharing stories about how he was treated in school and Eddie reminding him of the good times they'd shared together, for a while they would actually enjoy their walk and they'd both feel another massive weight lift from their shoulders.

Unfortunately for them, Sam was wrong.

The sun was beginning to come up as they had made it through their first night on the road but with the rays of warmth came a quaking of the ground beneath their feet. The thunderous applause of multiple sets of hooves got louder and louder, a hideous noise that rang out from behind the boys.

They'd look at each other panicked as they attempted to liven their own pace. Eddie would quickly feel a shooting pain up his side, the miracle medicine hadn't yet worked its magic to full effect. In a crescendo to the raucous Sam would quickly grab at Eddie, pulling him along with him into a ditch at the side of the road and in turn causing them to tumble down the side of the hill. As they went down they'd see a small army of horses rush past them, six maybe seven of them.

By the time they had stopped falling the sound had stopped and looking up the hill they'd just fallen from they could see a couple of the Docksford guard looking down on them.

"You have committed a crime against the great and honourable Snarp family, come quietly or we will be forced to apprehend you by any means possible."

His voice travelled well down the hill and hit the boys in the face like a brick, Eddie felt something grab his arm, then his other arm, before long he was off the floor. Sam had opted to wear his brother like a backpack, leaving him to watch several angry men in plated armour stumble their way down the hill.

Even with the added weight Sam was noticeably agile, probably helped in part by the comparison of stumbling soldiers wearing heavy armour. A couple of the more savvy of the officers had now called for their horses and were bound to catch up quickly.

As they approached one of them drew for a polearm, clearly looking to skewer the boys like grilled meat. He'd steady it under his arm to stop it from slipping, hoping for the momentum to turn the boys into a 3D flag.

As Eddie looked on at his impending doom he'd wiggle one of his arms free causing Sam to stumble slightly with the shift in balance. With a smug look on his face he'd then extend his arm towards the spear and by narrowly avoiding its tip he'd grab hold of its wooden pole.

The officer felt a great weight at the end of his spear like he'd just rammed it straight into a wall. Unfortunately for him it was too late and using his own pole against him Eddie flicked his wrist up pulling the man from the horse and into the air. Letting go quickly he'd fly through the air landing on the grass with the clanking of his metal armour. The horse veered off confused and Eddie rather weakly chucked the spear to the ground as the fallen officer was trampled over by the three other horsemen which were right behind him.

Sam huffed and puffed as he ran for his and his brother's life. Hell would freeze over before he'd be able to outrun a horse and at this point they were pretty much on top of him. He'd wheeze in elation as one of the other officers cried.

"Don't let him get into the forest, form a wall."

The horsemen stormed past the boys, careful to keep their limbs and weapons out of arms reach. The horses slowed to a trott as they prepared to turn into a line formation.

Eddie slipped from Sam's back as he stopped dead in his tracks, bracing his fall with his arms lying flat on the grass. As he pulled himself up to his knees he looked around for Sam who was now running in the opposite direction.

"YOU BASTARD!"

He'd jump to his feet and kick at the grass with his bad leg as his adoptive brother fled. The horsemen looked on in amazement as one of them proclaimed.

"Watch out for his Punch, get the scrawny one!."

Eddie began to swing his arms around as within seconds the horses had already passed, ignoring him in favour of his seemingly powerless brother. Galloping at great speed they'd catch up to him instantaneously and the officer would reach down towards Sam grabbing at him.

Sam dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding the officer's clutches. He'd then kick out his leg using his arm to pivot and send him running full speed in the opposite direction. Heading back towards Eddie his stumbling run allowed him to go under the arms of the officers reaching out for him. 

Trying to sound cool he'd yelp through his lack of breath.

"Good luck on your third attempt."

He crashed into a dumbfounded Eddie bear hugging him and quickly hoisting him over his shoulder. He wasn't far off the treeline now but with the speed of the horses he stood no chance or did he.

From their tactical attempt previously Sam had realised how wide and clumsily horses took a full 180 degree turn and he had used that to his advantage. By the time Sam had cleared the barrage of horses they were already quite far away and now they'd have to slow down to turn and come back again. Sam knew they wouldn't go for Eddie, he'd already proven he was too dangerous for a fully armoured Officer, they didn't want to risk being thrown off their horses in motion.

Sam sprinted for freedom, the rustling of leaves a victory song for his weary ears, the officers now had no choice but to go on foot and the odds of evading capture went from miniscule to doable.

The boys could now slow down their pace, with an army of trees to cover their exact location. Sam put Eddie down and they were walking side by side, despite all the commotion his leg seemed to still be healing and he could almost walk uninhibited.

It was mostly calm now with the occasional rustling that could either be from some kind of animal or one of the officers, the boys didn't dare talk as to avoid drawing attention but Eddie did whisper.

"Didn't dad say his friend lived in a forest?"

Sam would nod but at the end of the day it could be any forest now that they aren't following the path. They'd walk for what felt like hours but they weren't entirely sure as they couldn't see the sun through the trees, large pines shot up higher than anything they'd ever seen, easily dwarfing any house or the cliffs of Anite. 

Then came the gods' timer, the light that reached the forest floor began to dim and sounds of different creatures echoed through the trees. The boys were exhausted; they were now into their second night of nonstop movement. Occasionally they'd look back at where they came from and would see the distant flickering of torchlight to spur them on.

As it got so dark that they couldn't even see their hands in front of their face, they had to feel their way around the trees until they came across a light in front of them.

This light didn't seem to move so it wasn't a person but it had a warm glow so it must have been fire nonetheless. The boys slowed, careful not to make too much noise in case the fire was some kind of ambush. But when they got close enough they saw just one man, cooking.

They'd meander towards the camp sheepishly, trying to work out if the man had some sort of identifiable medal or item of clothing that the Docksford guard would usually wear. Descriptions raced through the boy's minds until Sam could almost hear his dad's words in his head.

Then with what little energy he had left he'd sprint over to the campfire, Eddie would follow without a second guess and they'd both collapse at the man's feet.