Okay guys, your thoughts on this one? I hope you like it better than the last...
Chapter 13
The slamming of the heavy wooden door resounded with such finality that my breath caught and held in my throat. Had I made the right decision to go without telling anyone?
I turned and laid my hand flat on the wood, barely warm from the early morning sun. I picture myself knocking on the door and telling the guard I’d changed my mind; I was coming back in.
No, I couldn’t do that. I slowly withdrew my hand and let it fall to my side before turning back and surveying the land. Not much to see. My plan had been to ask the guard which way it was to the village where my parents had met but I hadn’t needed to; the cook supplied the information.
I had gone to the kitchen to ask for some food while keeping to my story that I’d be spending the day out writing. The cook hadn’t put up a fuss, instead she had given me some water, cheese, fruits and some ham while warning me to drink regularly to remain hydrated. She had even given me a wide brimmed hat from a hook near the outside doorway and said that no one should go out in that hell without proper head protection.
She had regarded me from head to toe and said softly, “It’s funny that you came to me for some food because your parents did just the same thing the day the storm hit.”
I remembered my heart had tripped the second the words were out of her mouth. I had said, trying to appear casual, “Really? They said they were going to visit the village where they had met and fallen in love.”
“Yes, that’s what they told me too.” She returned to her counter, whipping up the eggs needed for what seemed to be an omelette.
“Since I’ll be out there writing today, perhaps you can tell me what direction they’ll be coming from and I’ll keep an eye out for them.”
When she looked up, I beamed a smile at her, hoping she’d think I was a homesick daughter waiting for her parents, instead of a would-be female Indiana Jones going out of her comfort zone to save her loved ones. She seemed to buy my dazzling smile because with her chin she nudged toward the sun-rise seen in the huge window above the sink.
Convincing the guard hadn’t been too difficult. He wasn’t the same as before but I explained that I wanted to write, needed inspiration, and that I’d done it before with Gaspar’s blessing. Although obviously reluctant, he let me pass when I pointed to the sky and said, “And the storm’s gone, I’ll be perfectly safe.”
And now here I was, alone, facing the desert which had once been a beautiful land. On the other side of it were my parents and a mad man bent on killing every RM in the land for God knew what reason. And I was going to walk right into his arms.
The quilt already felt quite heavy in my arms and I hadn’t even started walking yet. I was starting to regret not talking the smaller one but I couldn’t go back now. I folded it differently then slipped it between my back and the bag. It hung low, almost touching the ground, and it made an uncomfortable bump in my back but at least I wouldn’t have to carry its weight.
I started forward. There was so much I didn’t know. How long until I reached the village? Would I arrive today? In a day or two? What had my mother said? That she and my dad had escaped their respective castles and had made it to the Inn. It never occurred to me to ask whether she’d slept anywhere else on the way. Besides, back then, there were several villages and castles still standing. I had no idea if Kimera had once belonged to my parents’ families.
Although if was quite early, barely seven, it was already warm and I didn’t need the sweatshirt I had around my waist. I was suddenly glad for the cook’s hat but felt slightly guilty that I didn’t know when I would give it back. I felt excitement bubble in my stomach and I knew that I had made the right decision. Ever since arriving in Rydon, I had been relatively passive which was quite unlike me. I liked to move, to get things done. Of course, I had never been confronted with a situation like this one and it was understandable that I’d feel shocked and uprooted. I snorted. ‘Uprooted’ was definitely the understatement of the century. But taking action felt good. I was finally doing something, even if it wasn’t the smartest or safest thing to do, I least I was moving!
My calves burned as I forced my legs up a sandy hill but they thanked me as I suddenly stopped. Before me was the clump of dead trees where I’d found Scott. It hadn’t occurred to me that that was the direction I was heading. Only, the trees were no longer dead and the shelter that Scott and I had created together was thriving, seemingly bigger and greener than before. The greenery had spread out until it encompassed the cluster of dead trunks and ash-coloured sand.
Of course, the chopped off logs and trunks couldn’t be revived but they were now covered with beautiful green moss and an array of flowers. The trees which were still rooted in the ground were no longer bent in half with arthritic-looking limbs; instead they were blooming and I could hear birds call to one another in the thick foliage.
I crept closer and discovered tiny tree sprouts growing also. It was all growing back!
I had to physically lift my hand to close my gaping mouth. Scott and I had done this together. Did that mean he was also an RM like me if we could both successfully work the elements? But weren’t all the RM’s all living in Kimera? Shouldn’t someone have noticed they were missing their adult son? Surely Gaspar must have known.
Reluctantly, I pressed on wondering if anyone at the castle was watching me. If yes, would they be worried when I kept on walking or would they assume I’d be searching for another area that wouldn’t bring me memories of the fight?
I glanced over my shoulder at the trees behind me, at the magic and beauty I had created. I chose to see that as a good omen and there was a sudden spring to my step as I pressed on, anxious to find my parents and eager to prove myself to everyone but especially to myself.
* * *
By the end of the day I could barely lift one foot after another, my skin was red and blistered and I was pretty sure I was suffering from dehydration. There hadn’t been a source of natural water anywhere and I drank the three bottles of water the cook had given me. I had had to sit down frequently to restore myself and it had taken every ounce of will power I possessed to get back up again. Truth was, I hadn’t even known I had that much energy stored within me. Then again, the stakes had never been so high.
With the setting sun warming my aching back, I fell to my knees and shrugged out of my bag. I was burning, aching, tired and grimy. For some time, I had been worried that I’d gotten lost and wasn’t going in the right direction. After all, it was easy to follow the sun when it was rising, not quite so easy when it was up high in the sky. I think it might have actually mocked me a bit. Then again, maybe I was delirious at the time.
Now. How was I going to create that shelter? I let myself fall forward until both hands were flat against the sand, and I bowed my head, focusing my thoughts on what I needed to do. I pictured the shelter I’d seen early this morning, pictured how beautiful, safe and warm it looked in the early morning light. I mentally added the sound of the birds chirping and a slight breeze for effect. I waited a moment before curling my fingers in what I hoped was grass. In wasn’t. Instead, I ended up with sand under my fingernails, maybe the only area I hadn’t gotten any yet.
“Shit!” I cried out to the empty sky. Stupid tears filled my gritty eyes. What if I couldn’t create a shelter alone? I had no idea what the nights looked like here, what if Wogs or other wild animals showed up and decided I was a decent meal. I scanned the landscape for as far as I could see but I found no rock formation or clumps of trees or anything else that might serve as a shelter I could easily protect or hide in. I shivered slightly, untied my shirt from around my waist and donned it. It was warm from the sun and my body heat. I truly hoped it wouldn’t get much colder.
I sat facing the sun, cross-legged on the warm sand and I wrapped my arms around me. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, striving to keep my panic at bay. It wouldn’t do me good right now; I needed to remain clear-headed.
I wondered if anyone had noticed my absence yet. Was anyone worried about me? Had Riley finally come looking for me? How about Scott? Surely he had come to see me. I felt my throat clog and my breath was unsteady as it escaped my mouth. He had come to mean much to me in the short time I knew him which wasn’t smart, I knew, since I wasn’t sure he could be trusted. But he and I were like two peas in a pod, in a way. For the moment, we only had each other. And I had left him.
I pictured myself finding him in the hollow of the dead tree, how weak and burnt he had been. But he had saved me from the Wogs, bless him. It had to mean something good about him, yes? I remembered the deep cut in his side where the Wog’s teeth had been and the way we had built the shelter to protect us from the storm and the ongoing battle between the Wogs and the castle guards.
“Shit,” I muttered and pounded my right fist against the sand. “I should have brought Scott with me, surely he would have accepted.”
I turned my face up toward the setting sun and I twirled a blade of grass around my index finger, then pulled it. I smoothed it out delicately, and it my mind’s eye, I saw the whole day I’d spent walking toward my parents. It had been a hellish day of sand and sun. Besides the oasis this morning, there hadn’t been any grass, no rocky formation, no flowers or live trees. Nothing green. Where had the blade of grass come from?
My eyes popped open and I gasped before laughing out loud. I had done it! The shelter was recreated but not like it had been with Scott. First of all, the tree was gigantic and hollow in the middle, much like the one I’d found Scott in. Instead of growing up high in the sky, it had split in different sections until the tree’s many limbs were all touching the ground, creating some sort of protective barrier between the desert and the tree. To top it all, it wasn’t a weeping willow whose leaves would part in the slightest breeze, it was sort some of pine like the ones I had back home. These were a lot sturdier and helped to keep the cold at bay. I was able to rise to my full height and I laughed delightedly. I wanted to get out of the shelter to see what it looked like from the outside but I wasn’t sure how to go about it.
I didn’t want to break any of the branches which would hurt the tree. I tried laying a gentle hand of the limb closest to me and it suddenly moved aside spraying its pine needles on the grass. “Thank you,” I whispered. I didn’t feel absurd; it seemed quite alive to me.
Outside, the sun was barely noticeable but its effect on the land wasn’t. The land was bathed in deep hues of red, orange and purple and if I squinted my eyes just right, I could almost picture what the land might have once looked like. I turned to my shelter and discovered little white flowers were strewn across its pine needles and I grinned. It was a pretty shelter. As I returned within the safe branches, the limb fell back to place and I wondered whether this oasis would grow as the other one had, and resurrect the land.
Deciding I’d had enough for one day, I dug through my bag and found my little flashlight which I pocketed, then pulled the blanket and the bag with me to the hollow in the tree. It didn’t take long for me to be cocooned within the quilt and my head pillowed on the bag. It took even less time for me to fall asleep.
* * *
I woke to the sound of a startled scream and a vicious snarl. I’m not quite sure in what order I heard them. I scrambled out of my blanket and the hole and dove for the branches. I was careful not to touch them, but I parted the pines with my cold fingers.
Had the Wogs followed me here? Why? From where? Why hadn’t I asked Riley what had happened with them? Had they been killed or captured? Where these Wogs the same ones as before?
I heard sounds of struggle and realised they weren’t completely animal. I shoved the pines out of the way and discovered two creatures rolling in the sand, barely lit by the half-moon hanging high out in the sky. How long had I slept? I briefly wondered as I rose and touched the limb closest to me. It parted and I took a step forward but no more. I had no idea what was happening and I wanted to be able to escape to safety quickly.
As I pondered my next move, there was a decisive shift of power in the creatures and I was able to see that it was some sort of four-legged creature pinning a human to the ground. The animal was growling and the human seemed to be cursing although even I could hear the tremor of fear in the human’s voice.
I noticed the human bringing one hand to its mouth and seemed to be tugging on something. He then raised a white hand to touch the animal just as the animal turned to me. Suddenly I noticed two things. One, the animal had a streak of white on its chest and what the human had pulled off with his mouth was a glove.
I cried out, “Riley! Scott! Stop it, both of you!”
I didn’t know why I was so afraid of Scott touching my guard dog but there had to be a reason he felt he should always keep his gloves on. I surged forward, out of my shelter, toward the pair of them who remained unmoving. Scott’s hand was still raised and Riley was still over him, although he had stopped growling.
I fell to my knees beside them. “Enough! What are you two doing here?”
The sound that came out of Riley’s throat was somewhere between a whine and a growl. He finally released Scott, padded over to me and licked my cheek.
“Ew, Riley. That was cute when I thought you were only a guard dog.”
He panted a smile at me and I was unable to scowl in reproach. He had come for me! But, why? To express his displeasure? Probably.
Riley turned and padded away as Scott sat up and slipped his hand in his worn leather glove. Then he turned to me, “How could you leave without telling me, Shanna? I thought you and I were a team.” His voice was quiet and carried the weight of his pain at being abandoned. His words, said by anyone else, might have made the person seem needy or whiny, but not Scott. His question was honest and frank, two qualities I wasn’t sure he actually possessed.
What was I supposed to tell him? That I suspected an agent to work for the man who had kidnapped my parents and I didn’t know if it was the truth or not? Would I hurt his feelings if I said that?
“I- ”
“Wait, I want to hear this too, I think I deserve an explanation.”
I looked up to find Riley, all dressed in black, approaching us. I frowned. “Did you somehow learn to materialise clothes on yourself when you transformed?”
He dropped a black bag on the ground beside me. “No, I just happened to be carrying clothes on me when I followed you.”
“How come?” I shivered. “Look, I don’t know for you two, but I’m going back into my shelter. It’s big enough for all three of us if you two agree to get along.”
I didn’t wait for an answer but I got up and hurried over to my tree. The men were right behind me but before they could enter, the limb fell back into place knocking Riley out of the way. “Ow!”
I turned quickly and realised the limb hadn’t let up. I touched it and it parted before me, revealing the men casting the tree suspicious looks. I laughed. “Is it really that surprising? I built it for my protection and it doesn’t know you.”
Reacting instinctively, I took hold of Riley’s warm hand and settled it on the limb, my smaller one covering it. The limb slightly trembled and Riley was able to access the shelter. I did the same with Scott.
My shelter had seemed spacious when it had contained only me but now it was crowded and felt much smaller with the men taking up most of the room.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”
“How did you two find me?”
“Couldn’t you have waited for me before leaving?”
I held out both hands. “Okay, one question at the time guys or we’ll never make heads or tails out of this.”
“Why did you leave?” Scott asked quietly. He and I were both kneeling on the grass while Riley paced the confines of the shelter.
“I had to,” I said simply.
Riley stopped pacing and legs spread, fists on hips, he seemed to glare at me. “You want to elaborate? We’ve both spent all day running after you; I’d like to know why.”
I bit my lower lip as I glanced from one to the other. Scott was quiet and seemed slightly subdued but I could feel the power within him. It seemed to be shimmering right under his skin, and if he simply peeled a layer, we could see who and Scott truly was. Unlike Scott, Riley wasn’t quiet and was far from being subdued. His anger and frustration surrounded him like a thick, warm cloak; it was almost palpable. I needed to keep in mind that both men had probably been worried about me but I didn’t know what their reactions would be; I didn’t know either of them that well. Not to mention the fact that I wasn’t even sure I could trust them.
Deciding to tell to truth, I asked Scott to hand me my bag in the hollow behind him. I thanked him and pulled out my notebook. As I smoothed the cover with the palm of my mind, I said softly, “Last night, I wrote again, furiously, like I did for Scott a few days back.”
I pulled my tiny flashlight from my pocket, clicked it on and began reading.
Quite the drama, I'm sure.
