Young Writers Society

Alec was up before the dawn, but Carris was up sooner, barely sleeping. She debated just stealing a horse and riding off in the night, but Alec had said little else during dinner and then made a bed on the hut floor and was fast asleep. Carris was now pulling on the jacket she and Devlin had taken from the Sadorian soldier.

I wonder what ever happened to him.

Alec hauled a sack over his back as he exited the hut. "Come along, no time to waste," he said.

"He's not joking," Carris said, struggling to keep up with him as he rounded the outside of the hut past the outhouse. It was the first time Carris was seeing the quaint town in the glow of a pink bath of sunrise. Most of the homes were made of long timber and shingled roofs. A lean-to behind Alec's hut is where they now arrived. Carris heard the whinny of the horse before she saw it. Ash-grey with darker spots on its flanks.

Alec quickly bridled the horse. He led it to the buckboard on the other side of the lean-to. It was a small craft, just a bench wide with a flatbed a few feet deep. Alec handed the sack to Carris. "Secure that to the back."

Carris tied it to the flatbed as Alec harnessed the horse.

Carris didn't exactly want to talk to Alec, but she was also curious. Finally, her inquisitive nature got the better of her.

"what's its name?"

"Smokey."

Carris nodded, not sure what to say to such a sharp remark. Fitting name, if not a little on the nose. They both hauled themselves onto the buckboard with a grunt, one for age, one for injury. Although, if she were honest, Carris wasn't so different from Alec. Short to temper, a bit moody, and perhaps meaner than necessary. In her defense, Carris had never gotten a whole town turned against her. Just her best friend. She shook her head and looked ahead. A small gravel path led to the cobblestone river road. With a click of his tongue and a flick of the reins, Alec began the journey. Smokey responded with a shuffle and snort and then began to clop along.

There were just a few inches between Alec and Carris, so she tucked her arms in and leaned on the armrest to the outside. Alec seemed to pay no mind. His gaze was elsewhere. They turned onto the cobblestone path and were greeted with head-on rays of golden sunlight. It was still cold, but the light made everything seem just a bit more hopeful.

They rode in silence for an hour, although it felt like ten to Carris. It was Alec who first broke the silence.

"You ever been to Atheron?"

Carris, half dozing, rubbed her eyes and sat straighter.

"No. Never had a reason."

"But you do now?"

"You could say as much."

"Atheron isn't the target then is it? Just happens to be the destination for your friend."

"If you want to say it like that."

There was a moment of silence. Carris thought that the inquisition might be over.

"I'm no fool."

Carris scrunched her forehead. "Come again?"

"I know that there's something that's dangerous going on between you and your friend."

"And how do you know that? You seem very sure of yourself."

"Call it the benefit of living to my age. You've said more in what you haven't, than you have in what you've spoken about."

Carris' mouth hung slightly open. "That made no sense."

Alec laughed, the too-loud, make-you-grimace type of laugh that is only made worse by it being someone Carris didn't care for.

"People often let you know more about them by what they refuse to tell you. If your friend was in no danger, you would happily offer that information. But by your unwillingness to open up, I know that this quest of yours is far more serious than you've wanted to let on."

Carris said nothing. That didn't stop Alec from continuing the conversation.

"So you have a friend in danger. Is it a danger for the both of you or for me? Am I walking into a battlefield as it were?"

Carris huffed. "I don't know. I don't know what's going on. But I wouldn't tell you if I did."

"Yes, you do seem the closed-off type. I know the feeling. I've struggled with it since my family separated."

"I would rather not talk about either of our family's histories if it's all the same to you," Carris said.

Alec turned to her for the first time. He jabbed a gloved finger in her direction. "See, another clue you've let on."

"What now?" Carris gritted her teeth. Does he ever stop talking?

"You've got family problems. Ones that cut deep like a knife. But I'll tell you, in my life, I've learned that closing that part of your heart off does naught but hurt you in the end. You've said many mean things, treated Laura poorly, but I'd forgive you. On the condition that you open up and don't bury that hurt in your heart like I did for years."

"Why would I ever do that?"

Alec chuckled. He lowered his voice and leaned in. "because if you don't, you'll end up same as I. And here's another thing I've learned so far. You don't care much for me, so you better start correcting your course if you aim to avoid that destiny."

And to that, Carris had no response.