Beyond the Hills - Chapter 8

Prologue: topic37432.html

Chapter I: topic37490.html

Chapter II: topic37965.html

Chapter III: topic38391.html

Chapter IV: topic38444.html

Chapter V: topic38742.html

Chapter VI: topic38872.html

Chapter VII: topic38914.html

CHAPTER VIII

Slowly, Rachel opened her eyes, and shut them against the intruding daylight. Elvy was still sleeping. She couldn't go on much longer. She hadn't had water in two days, and she had heard a person could only survive three days without water. She sat up, eyes closed. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. The pink sun was bright.

"Elvy..." She muttered. "We should get going." Elvy groaned. Her throat burnt with thirst, but she was going to have to withstand it.

"Why?" He asked.

" 'Cause we might find water," Rachel replied, her voice hoarse.

"What's the chances?"

"A lot," She replied. She stood up, her feet sinking into the sand. She had a bit of hope.

"Elvy, what's the date?"Rachel asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" He asked, standing up.

"Which way were we going yesterday?" Elvy asked. After a few seconds of thinking, Rachel replied.

"That way, the plant with the broken branch is behind us." And then, they started off.

* * *

Dran had spent the night lonely. He had thought of what had happened on the hill. He hadn't closed an eye. After the sleepless night, he finally came to a conclusion. He was stuck in this world, unable to get out.

* * *

Ro stared at the tower of Tronke. It stood in the middle of a barren brown rock land. Ro couldn't believe that that tall tower had withstood the power of both Vefoos, and Esmassma. It was small compared to the things he had seen Esmassma and his Akhluts conquer; Entire worlds, fortresses which had walls so high they gathered snow at the top. Miles thick and built of solid stone those walls were, yet, Esmassma merely touched them, and they crumbled to dust. Tornado's...the Akhluts walked through them without difficulty. The very ground they walked on died. Yet, this tower had withstood. How it had, he had no idea. But this was the place he had chosen to kill Esmassma and take the throne. His plan was neatly laid out. Firstly, he was to hoodwink Esmassma to go to Tronke alone. He was going to tell him that he believed there was a way he could get in the tower alone. He would have a trap waiting from him there. The moment he opened the door, a cage would fall onto him. Ro would then jump out from behind the door, and slit Esmassma's throat with his own knife. He already had Esmassma's knife at his side. Anything it touched it cut. It was the only weapon that could kill Esmassma.

* * *

They had been walking for a whole while now, but there wasn't even the slightest change in the landscape.

"Ray, stop," Elvy said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Listen...hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That. Can't you hear it?"

"Elvy, I think I would've known if I heard it." Elvy trotted a bit closer. Rachel followed. Then, far away, she hear a noise that sounded like thunder.

"Maybe it's a lot of horses," Elvy said. Curious, Rachel ran closer.

"It sounds like a really loud tap," Rachel said, then, without saying a word, they both thought the same thing. Water. They raced, almost sprinted.

After a few minutes, Rachel fell.

"Elvy, I can't go on further. My stomach is non-existent, and if my throat was much drier, I think it's a real possibility that no air would get through," Rachel panted.

"Ray, come on! we're nearly there!" Elvy called out.

"Elvy, we can see very far out here, and I don't see any water.

"And? This is another world! Maybe there is water just around the bend!"

"What bend?" Rachel asked sarcastically.

"Cooome on Ray!"Elvy called out.

"You go on. If you find water, come get me," Rachel told him.

"Fine." And he ran off.

* * *

Rachel lay still. She was asleep when Elvy got to her. He saw her lying on the ground, near a clump of purple plants.

"Ray...Wake up, I found water! A big stream of it!" He cried out, lifting her up.

"Uggh," He grunted. "You know, I don't want to be offensive, but you're a lot heavier than you we're last time I picked you up."

"Obviously," She murmured. "It was five years ago when you picked me up." Elvy laughed.

"You're a real genius you know," he whispered to her as he carried her further, to the water.

* * *

"It's in that big chest there," Vefoos told Esmassma. Esmassma raced to the corner. There was a massive black chest, covered in golden skeleton bones. Slowly, he opened the chest. inside there was a velvet cloth. That was all.

"It's not here," Esmassma said, trying to keep his calm.

"Yes it is, you're just not looking properly!" Vefoos cried out, walking closer.

"Oh..." He said when he looked into it. Esmassma stuck his hand in, feeling around. The cloth fell away into a big hole under it.

"It's a bloody tunnel," Esmassma said. "That guile imbecile dug a tunnel through my tower!"

* * *

At the sound of rushing water, Rachel tried to shift. It was loud. She groaned. So did Elvy.

"We're...almost...there..." He grunted, falling to his knees. Rachel crept blindly to the water, and when she got to the small slope, the gulped up the water. Water calmed her burning throat. She opened her eyes. Next to her sat Elvy, also gulping up the sweet water. In front her was an immense amount of water, thundering past her.

"Thundering water, this must be a river!" She called out. Then she looked further down stream.

"And that must be a boat," She said.

Chapter IX: topic39095.html