Chapter 7 - The Search Begins

When I woke the stars were well overhead. My canoe had got caught on a sand bed a few feet off the shore and I sat there letting the soft gurgle of the river calm me. There had to be a way to get Astor back without giving The Cherry Code to Guy. Eventually I slowly clamored out of the canoe and fell into the shallow riverbank. Dragging myself to shore my pounding head was cloudy as if I'd been put under some sort of trance. All that was on my mind was to dig, just dig, dig for something. 

I didn't know what I was digging for but I knew that whatever it was that was down there I was going to need. The first layer of sandy grit turned into rocky sand which turned into rocky clay which turned into hard clay. I dug until my fingers bled, crying while I dug. Crying for Astor praying he was safe, crying for my Grandfather cursing his stupidity of giving me this task, crying at my inability to keep anything good in this world safe, crying for my tribe the knowledge that I had failed them hanging over my head. 

My body shook and I fell face down into the pile of earth that I had made. I had found nothing, I could feel the dirt under my blood covered fingernails and in my hair. I could taste it in my mouth all over my face. I couldn't breath but I didn't care. My body was going numb but I couldn't move suddenly I felt a rough hand and a boy calling out. 

"Astor." I muttered, "Astor."

"Hey are you okay? Do you think she's ok? Hello?? Hey look you're going to be fine" said the boys voice faintly.

"She looks really pale, will she wake up?" This came from a girls voice.

"I don't know, we should take her back with us."

"What about her canoe?"

"Bring it on shore, we'll get it tomorrow. Grab her bags and blankets though."

I could feel two strong arms lifting me up. Then we were on the move. My senses coming back I could hear deep breathing coming from somewhere above me and soft footsteps below me. Someone else was following, the items in their arms jingling with every step. Then a door opened and I was being put onto a soft bed. I let the darkness consume me.

A warm cloth was being rubbed on my forehead and someone was brushing my tangled hair. I lay there for a while breathing in a scent I'd never smelled before. It was spicy and woodsy and slightly sweet. It calmed me down and made me feel safe there. 

Safe. It then struck me that I didn't know anything about where I was. I shot up a sharp pain shot through my head and I heard a loud *conk* and a deep voice silently cursing. My brain began to take in the scene. A beautiful boy with long brown hair and bright green eyes. He was shirtless and his perfectly chiseled muscles shone. Blood ran out of his nose glistening dark red and he was holding a damp towel in his hand. There was a girl on his left looking at his nose, she was clutching a brush her hair was the reddest I'd ever seen and her eyes were the color of an amber. She was dabbing at his nose with a cloth, he gently pushed her hand away and looked at me and flashed me a gentle smile. His teeth were as white as a sun-bleached shell.

"Hey," He said, his voice deep and soothing, "How are you?"

I blushed and the red headed girl rolled her eyes and moved closer to the boy.

"I-I'm ok I guess. What happened? Where am I?"

"You's at our here farm." The red head girl said before the boy could answer. Her voice was tight. " You was face down in the dirt and pale as milk. Face covered in mud and blood all over your hands. dirt up to your shoulders and a hole deep enough to get to China next to you. Yer hair was filthy and yer clothes was all grimy. We thought you was dead we did."

"Common Edana, she didn't look that bad." He got up from his seat next to her and sat down on the edge of my bed. "You looked like you had just dozed off for a while." He whispered and I could smell his sweet breath and felt it's warmth on my cheek. I leaned in closer just as he got up and walked out of the room. 

I sat there for a while trying to recall any memory I had of what had happened. Edana smirked then got up and walked out of the room and through an open doorway just across the hall, shutting it softly. I looked down at my hands. My nails were neatly filed and looked as if they'd been scrubbed. I was wearing a t-shirt a few sizes to large for me and my dress was hanging, cleaned and ironed, in a closet to my right. To my left was a window and a door leading into a rose garden. Beyond that there was a field brimming with crops. Horses whinnied in the distance and I could hear the moos of cows, grazing in an unseen pasture. I slowly made my way out of bed and walked outside into the warm air. It was almost evening. Someone walked up behind me, turning I saw the boy.

"Is you're nose ok?" I asked

He laughed softly, it was a melodic sound, "Yes, I'm fine." he said, gently touching it. "Are you ok though?"

"I'm fine. Thanks, for taking care of me."

"It was a pleasure. You didn't do much after all, mostly just slept.". At this his smile returned. "I don't think though that I ever got your name."

"It's Amiria, and your's is?"

"Brayden."

"And Edana is your girlfriend?" Please say no, please say no. I silently prayed.

He laughed again, "Edana? No she's my sister, we're twins. Don't look like it though does it?"

Relief flooded my veins, "Twin? No I never would have guessed! You don't look anything alike."

He laughed again. "Yeah, we get that a lot. What about you. Brothers, sisters, boyfriend?"

Astor's face flashed through my mind. "Nope. None of those. But I do have a friend who got lost. We were in the woods and someone took him." I debated telling Brayden about the note but decided against it.

Brayden looked out into the fields. I watched him as he gazed out and wondered what he was thinking about. We stood there for what felt like hours then he turned to me.

"Do you want me to help you look for your friend?"

Did I? Did I want his help finding Astor? Of course I wanted Astor found but if I said yes that would mean leaving this place. It was a question with an answer that I knew I could never be sure about.

"Yes." I whispered at last, "Yes, that would be nice."