airplanes(Thiam)

chapter 5: Walking on air

He hadn't meant to wander off and leave Theo asleep and defenceless. He'd been happy just sitting for almost an hour and a half before the bouncing of his feet begging to go explore got to be too much and well, Theo looked peaceful enough and he did need to sleep. So Liam figured it would be fine if he went for a quick run around. He'd even left a note, well, a text and had thrown the discarded blanket over Theo before he'd taken off along the rim of the canyon, searching for somewhere else to go.

He'd found somewhere, not too long after he'd left Theo behind. A viewing platform with people milling around. Liam picked his way to the front, teetering over the banister to look down at the canyon floor so far below, it made him queasy, he backed up quickly, a laugh sounding from next to him.

"Not good with heights?" Liam looked over to find a woman watching him a small smile on her face.

"I don't mind heights." Liam lied. "It's just..a long way down."

"First time here?"

"Yeah." Liam hummed. "You?"

"Oh no. I come once a year. This is year number twenty-three. How long are you here for?"

"Just the day." Liam said.

"You should get walking then, there's a lot to see in one day." She said, Liam laughed. "Oh! You know what you should do? The skywalk. My husband loved it."

"It sounds high."

"I thought you didn't mind heights?" The woman said a smile on her face. "If that's not your taste then I have a few more recommendations. if you'd like to hear them?" Liam nodded.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, listening to the lady talk as she pointed out places for him to visit, then moved onto her own experiences, voice breathless with age as she passed him toffee's from her purse and wove stories about her late husband.

"Are you here-" Liam tilted his head the edges of what sounded like a scream floated into his mind."-with anyone special?"

"Sure." Liam murmured, eyes scanning over the canyon trying to figure out why the noise had sounded familiar. He jumped as he heard a scream echoing off of the Canyon, a very familiar scream. His head snapped to the side.

"Theo?" Liam breathed, eyes searching the horizon for the car he'd left behind. Another yell echoed. Liam took off, ignoring the old ladies confused calls as he sprinted back along the edge of the canyon. The journey that seemed to pass in the blink of an eye earlier felt like it took years.

Liam scrambled over rocks as his mind ran through possible reasons why Theo was screaming, possible scenario's he'd find himself running into the middle of.

A hunter could have found them, they could have followed them from Beacon hills. They might have been waiting for one of them to be vulnerable.

Why the hell did I leave him alone when he was sleeping? Liam thought, bile in his throat as he pictured turning back up at the truck, Theo's blood staining the dirt, glassy eyes opened to the sky.

Liam skidded to a stop as he finally reached where they parked. He spotted Theo instantly. There was no visible threat, just Theo sitting, curled in on himself on the dusty floor as looked over the Canyon, the car abandoned a few feet away. Liam crept closer, sniffing the air and wincing at the sharp smell of fear. He could hear Theo's uneven breaths, gasping in roughly.

"Theo?" Liam asked, Theo didn't answer, his shoulder only getting tighter Liam hurried over, nose twitching trying to catch another scent, a hunters or a monsters or Theo's blood. He shoved at Theo's top, uncaring that it was damp with sweat. "Are you okay wha-" Liam let out a pained gasp when Theo shoved him away roughly, leaving him hitting the floor with no small amount of force, elbow cracking against a rock.