"Okay. Just sit tight then and holler if you see anything," Katie told him, with a small, comforting squeeze of his shoulder.
Mike hobbled his way over to the chair and sat down with a grunt. He looked back, saw the look of concern on their faces, and gave them a thumbs up to let them know he was okay.
Katie and Edward turned and went into the stable. As soon as they were inside they were overwhelmed by the buzzing noise created by a multitude of flies, which hovered in the air like storm clouds. It smelled strongly of manure in here. That wasn't out of the ordinary, although it did smell bad enough that Katie thought it had probably been about a week since the stalls were cleaned. They began to move deeper into the stable, checking the stalls. Even though they appeared empty at first glance, there could be a horse laying down in one of them.
As they peeked inside the first stall, Katie had to quickly turn away. She threw up violently onto the dust-covered floor. Edward's stomach lurched uneasily. On the floor of the stall was what appeared to be a man. The body had been ripped to shreds by something. Blood was splattered across the inner wall of the stall near the body and there were chunks of bloody flesh littering the floor amongst the piles of dung. Edward turned his head from this grisly sight and noticed how pale Katie was.
"You should go outside and keep Mike company for a little bit. You look like you could really use some fresh air," he told her. "I'll finish looking around and be out in a few minutes."
"Okay," she managed, as she stifled a gag. Katie turned and quickly headed back out into the open air. Edward watched her go and then turned his attention toward the next stall. When he looked inside he was thankful to not find another mutilated corpse within it. Only the normal droppings from the horse that had at one time occupied the stall remained. Things were beginning to look bleak as he moved across the stable to check the stalls on the opposite side. When he got there he saw that both stalls on that side were also empty. His heart began to sink as he realized that they were going to have to walk a while longer and it would be slow going with Mike's injury. They would have to find another town and hope for better luck there.
Just then, Edward heard a commotion from outside. Moments later Katie burst through the door of the stable. "Edward! Come quick!" she said excitedly. He hurried after Katie as she darted back outside. When he stepped through the door he shielded his eyes from the bright morning sun as he waited for his eyes to adjust. Katie's color had returned and her face was flush with excitement as she pointed out of town. As his eyes began to adjust he saw what appeared to be a lone white horse, shrouded in a cloud of dust, galloping toward them. For a moment he thought the early morning light was playing tricks on his mind and creating a mirage of sorts, but soon the dust cloud drew nearer and he could see the horse clearly within it. There was a saddle on its back, but no rider to accompany it. Perhaps the rider had fallen off or been attacked. Either way, it looked as if the horse had been trained to return to the stable if it lost its rider.
Several minutes later, the horse thundered to a halt next to the stable and snorted loudly. Edward approached slowly, trying not to spook it. The horse turned its head and regarded him with casual interest. Moments later, Edward was standing next to the horse and patting it gently on the neck. Mike and Katie regarded the scene with slack-jawed amazement, as if Edward had just performed some sort of miracle. Katie helped Mike out of his chair and they slowly made their way over to where Edward stood.
The horse paid no attention to them as they approached. It was as if it were completely enthralled with Edward, like a spell had been cast over it. Katie gazed at the horse with a child-like wonder as she stood there. She wanted to reach out and touch it to verify that it was real, but was afraid that if she did it would suddenly vanish into thin air.
As if Mike could sense her hesitation somehow, he brushed past Katie and patted the horse gently. The horse turned its head and regarded him snorting softly. Noticing the calm look in the animal's eyes, Mike turned to Katie. "Can you help me into the saddle?"
"Sure." Katie tried to figure out the best way to help him reach the saddle with his injured leg. Her mind worked furiously for a minute before coming up with a solution. Katie positioned herself under his left arm to support him. "Let's go around to the other side. It'll be easier to get you up from there."
"Okay," he groaned as he began to hobble to the opposite side of the horse using Katie as a crutch. Katie stood as tall as she could manage to take as much pressure off of his injured left leg, as Mike got a grip on the saddle and attempted to get his right foot into the stirrup. Almost instantly he began to lose his balance. Katie jockeyed herself quickly to prevent him from falling to the ground. Once he was steady, Mike tried again. This time he successfully got his foot inside the stirrup. It was very awkward and painful, but with an added boost from Katie he was now standing in the stirrup. Carefully, he swung his bad left leg over and sat down in the saddle gingerly. The horse whickered softly, but gave no indication that it was upset with having the extra burden upon its back. It almost seemed to be pleased to have a rider perched in the saddle.
Katie looked up at Mike. "You okay?" she asked. Mike looked down at her, trying to hide the grimace of pain that his leg was causing, and gave her a thumbs up gesture. Katie walked around the horse to where Edward stood. "So what do you think we should do now?" she asked Edward.
"We should definitely be getting away from this town," he answered. "I don't want to be here if that metallic beast comes back for a repeat performance. I'm just not sure which way to go. I know heading east into the mountains isn't really an option, and I don't believe there is any point in going south since we came from that direction in the first place. That leaves either north or west. What do you think?" he asked.
She mulled it over in her mind for a few minutes, looking in both directions several times in the process. "I wish we could see Amber right now," she replied at last. "It would make this decision a whole lot easier."
Katie turned her gaze back to the north again briefly. Just beyond the edge of town a dense forest began very near the eastern mountains from what she could tell. The immense line of trees stretched out to the west as far as she could see. She could see the sprawling line of trees take a turn to the south, what seemed like a few miles from town. As she looked to the west, following this line, she could not see the end. It was as if beyond the town of Haven the wilderness of this world hungrily waited to swallow up anyone that dared to venture in range of its grasp.
The only sliver of hope that Katie could see was the narrow dirt road that led away from town in an unsteady line heading west. She turned her attention back to Edward who was still looking to Katie for her thoughts. "Even though Amber seems to have been leading us pretty much to the north," she said at last, "I think following this road to the west might be our safest option for the time being."
As if he were reading her mind, or perhaps the nervousness in her voice, Edward suggested, "If it will make you feel better, we can always travel just far enough from town to feel safe for the time being. Perhaps we can set up a small camp just off the road, near the trees, and rest there until it gets dark enough to see Amber again."
"That would make me feel a whole lot better," Katie declared. "I really don't want to get any further off track than necessary. We need to find Julie before that psychopath that brought her here does something unspeakable to her."
"I'm not trying to upset you Katie," Edward began, "but as long as it has been, I fear that if the killer from your world intended to kill your friend, then it's very likely that she's already dead."
Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes. "I know. I guess that I want to believe that since the killer brought her here, instead of continuing his killing spree in my world, that he took her for some other purpose," Katie said, choking back her tears and trying to stay strong. "I'm trying really hard not to think about what he could possibly be doing to her right now." As desperate as Katie was to stay st
rong, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Silently, tears began to streak down her face.
Edward wrapped his arms around Katie and hugged her softly for a moment, trying his best to comfort her. "We should probably get going," he whispered.
She looked up at him through the blur of her tears. "Okay," she said weakly. Edward wordlessly raised his hand toward her face and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of a finger. Katie stepped away from him as she began to compose herself, and looked over at Mike, who was sitting on the horse and looking off into the distance. "You ready to get moving?" she asked him.
"Sure. I was just waiting on you two to decide where we were going." He smiled.
"Then let's get moving," Edward said to them. "I will be more than glad to put this town behind us."
They started down the road heading west out of Haven. Edward and Katie walked in front, down the narrow dusty road, with Mike following close behind on the horse.
Chapter 3
The narrow dirt road began to weave into the forest before them. A short distance ahead, there seemed to be an abandoned campsite off to the right of the road. From where they were, Edward could make out the blackened area on the ground that had once been a campfire.
They stopped beside the area. It had obviously been quite some time since this spot had been used. The ground was charred where there had once been a fire, but any remnants of ash had long since been carried off by the wind.
Mike looked down at them from his place in the saddle. "Could one of you give me a hand getting down please?"
Edward glanced at Katie for a moment. "I will take care of this," he said. "Why don't you see if you can find some wood to make a fire? I know it isn't exactly cold but it would help to take the chill out of the air."
"Okay," Katie replied as she quickly scampered off into the woods nearby.
As Edward watched her go he suddenly realized that they had left behind what little food they had and they didn't have any tools to hunt with. Somewhere back in Haven lay the sack that the farmer had given to them. He supposed at the very least he should go back and get that. With any luck at all, the town would still be deserted and he could get it and look for anything else that might be useful to them. He turned his attention back to Mike, who was standing in the stirrup on the right side of the horse with his good leg while his injured one dangled uselessly in the air.
Mike began to crouch down the best he could until his body was low enough that Edward could help him down. Edward reached up and gripped him firmly around the waist. "Go ahead and let go," he told Mike. "I've got you." Mike released his grip on the saddle and leaned back slightly to pull his foot from the stirrup. Once his foot was clear, Edward gently lowered him the rest of the way to the ground.
"Thanks. You're a lot stronger than you look," Mike said with a grin. He hobbled his way over to the campsite and sat down on a sizeable log a few feet from the scorched ground where the fire had once been. Moments later, Katie returned with an armload of small dead branches and placed them on the ground near Mike.
She then picked up a few of the smaller branches and arranged them on the blackened ground. Once she was satisfied that the fire would get enough air flow to get it going, Katie held out another branch toward Edward. "Light me please," she giggled.
Edward grinned at her and held out one hand toward her. When he opened it, a small flame began to dance just above his palm. Katie held the branch in the flame until it began to catch fire. "Thanks," she said as she carefully shielded the flame so it wouldn't go out. Katie bent down to light the branches she had arranged on the ground. Within a couple of minutes, the small campfire was burning decently on its own. Katie went to the pile of branches that she had set down next to Mike and picked up a few more. She added them to the fire and then turned to look at Edward, who seemed distracted. "What's the matter?"
"I need to run back to Haven for a little bit. We forgot the sack of vegetables that the farmer gave us and we don't have any way of getting more food," he told her.
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"No. I would rather you stay here with Mike. In his condition, he is more likely to have difficulty defending himself if there's trouble than I would."
"Okay. But if you run into a problem in town, get out of there and come back here to get me."
"I will," Edward said, "as long as it isn't too dangerous to go back again."
Satisfied for the time being, Katie walked over and sat down on the log next to Mike. They watched as Edward mounted the horse. Moments later, horse and rider were headed back down the road toward Haven.
Chapter 4
Edward slowed the horse to a walk as he reentered Haven. As far as he could tell, the town was still empty. He rode up to the hitching rail in front of the tavern where they had spent last night, dismounted, and looped the reins over the rail, securing the horse.
He carefully poked his head inside the tavern to see if it was still indeed empty. So far so good. It still looked exactly as it had when they left earlier. He went inside and made his way through the debris of broken tables and chairs to the stairs. As he approached the top of the staircase, he craned his head cautiously around the corner. From what he could tell, it was just as empty as when they left. He made his way down the hallway, staying to one side to avoid the place where Mike had been injured. Most of the blood had either soaked into the wooden floor or dried, but it looked like there was a sizeable spot in the middle of the stain that was still considerably wet. He quickly entered the room they had previously occupied. Sitting in the corner of the room, by the window, was the farmer's sack of vegetables.
With the sack retrieved, Edward went back down the stairs and left the building. After he knotted the drawstring of the sack around the pommel of the horse's saddle, Edward walked to the middle of the street, looking from building to building, searching for one that looked like it might hold something useful inside. At first he saw nothing, so he began to walk cautiously down the street. Every sense was on high alert for potential danger.
A few minutes had gone by when he finally saw a building that he was sure was a blacksmith. Perhaps he could find something useful to hunt with in there. As he poked his head inside, the metallic smell of forged metal wafted to him. No one was inside the building, so Edward went inside and closed the door.
Once his eyes adjusted to the level of lighting in the building, he began to look around. He saw the forge off to one side of the room. Judging from the temperature in here, the fire that would normally be stoked to heat the metal the smith would work with, had gone out sometime in the night. Several horseshoes were scattered about on a nearby table with a large anvil anchored to it. Leaning against the wall behind the table were several spears. On yet another wall were swords of varying sizes, displayed for all to see. He turned his attention back to the spears and considered them for a moment. His eyes settled on one that was about four feet long and adorned with a shining metal tip. He picked it up and hefted it with one hand, checking the balance of the weapon. Satisfied with the craftsmanship of the spear, he began to make his way back to the door.
Out of the corner of his right eye, he caught a glimpse of a large chest in the corner near the door. Curious, he walked over to it and bent down to open it. Most of the things inside seemed to be junk, but off to one side sat a gleaming metal crossbow. A multitude of crossbow bolts lay against the inner wall of the chest near the crossbow. He plucked the crossbow from the chest and hung it on the spear to keep one hand free. He then scooped out as many of the bolts as he could hold in one hand.
Edward then went to the door and propped the spear against the wall long enough to get the door open. He squeezed his eyes almost shut as he walked back out into the bright sunlight. Once they began to adjust, he started back down the street toward the horse.
When he got back to the horse, Edward leaned the spear against the hitching rail, and proceeded to fumble the knot loose that held the farmer's sack to the pommel of th
e saddle with his free hand. Once the sack was free, he put the crossbow bolts inside with the remaining vegetables, making sure that their tips were facing away so they wouldn't damage the food. He knotted the sack back onto the pommel of the saddle. Then he pulled the reins from the rail and looped them over the horse's head, resting them on its neck. He hoisted the spear and positioned it carefully in front of the saddle. Once he was atop the horse again, he picked up the spear and rested it across his lap so that it was mostly pinned between his body and the saddle. Edward turned the horse's head toward the west and clucked softly to it to get it moving. Slowly they made their way out of town, heading back to Mike and Katie.
Chapter 5
Mike and Katie sat on the log, watching as Edward rode off back in the direction of Haven. Silently, they both hoped for his safe return, but still spent most of their time while Edward was away listening for sounds of distress. Every now and then they would hear a rustling sound coming from somewhere nearby in the woods. The noise sounded like it could be a large animal, but when they looked around there was nothing to be seen.
After about an hour they saw Edward riding up the road. The magnificent white beast plodded along, its steps stiff, no sense of enjoyment present in its slow movements. Katie got up from the log and rushed to meet him. As she got closer, she noticed that he had something on the horse that stuck out from either side, making it look like the horse had a giant arrow sticking through its head. That was absurd though; the horse wouldn't be walking if that were the case.
Edward saw her running toward him and pulled up on the reins, stopping the horse. He waved to Katie, letting her know that he saw her. Katie slowed to a walk as she got closer so she wouldn't spook the horse and waved back. "Did you find anything?" she asked.
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