by Ryan Mark
‘It’s a nice thought anyway,’ Igraine told Ori.
‘There’s a lake over here,’ shouted Ori, pointing. ‘And it’s bubbling!’
William followed his gaze. The water was crystal-like, fed by an underground source, bubbling around the centre. He knelt down and felt the enticingly warm water. ‘It’s actually hot,’ he declared, already stepping out of his shoes.
‘Last one in’s the loser!’ Ori called, ripping off his jacket.
‘Wait!’ Igraine shouted quickly, kneeling down and cautiously tasting the water. ‘Seems fine,’ she said after a minute or so. ‘Probably created by a tremor breaching an underground hot spring, like the ones the Romans used to tap into.’
William and Ori dived in. Igraine and Althea followed, but stayed close to the bank, relishing the warm bath. It was almost too hot, but William could bear it. He smiled as a wave splashed over him, his sore forehead forgotten as he indulged in the refreshing treat.
‘Got ya!’ screeched Ori, smacking his hands on the surface.
William smiled again. Ori was like a stick figure, and boy, was he pale, like a ghost. He looked down at his own body, and it wasn’t much better. Another gush of water shot over his head.
‘I’ll get you!’ William shouted, retaliating by creating a huge wave.
They stayed in the water for the remainder of the day, hoping to build up energy to go on to Stone Cross. But as time passed, heavy rain began to cut through the forest canopy, pounding William’s sore head. He resisted looking up, ducking under the water.
‘We should find some shelter,’ he said, resurfacing, but quickly diving under again as a heavier volley struck the surface. ‘It’s getting heavier. The water won’t protect us for much longer.’
Igraine frowned. ‘It came on quickly, so I think it’s going to be a Wrecker Storm. Damn those Fossil War scientists, they had no right to play with natural forces,’ she shouted over the hard impacts of the drops. ‘All those wretched devices have turned the weather into a killing machine!’
‘Igraine’s right, it’s definitely going to be a Wrecker.’ Althea held out her hand, but pulled back quickly. ‘Ouch! We need proper cover, and fast!’ she said, pulling Ori out of the water and shielding him under a tree.
They dressed quickly and began hunting for a solution as the rain turned into heavy pellets. Ori raced out of Althea’s arms and off towards the rocky cliff that hung over them. ‘Here! A cave! We can stay here until it stops!’ he shouted.
William followed his voice and sure enough, a cave appeared in the rock face, almost covered by dead vines. He looked to the ground, where the remains of a footpath led into the cave. He couldn’t be sure if it’d been used recently, but what other choice did they have? Slowly, he slipped inside, darkness surrounding him until Althea used her lighter.
‘We need to make a fire,’ Igraine advised, silhouetted against the cave entrance.
William raced back outside, tore off some of the withered vines and roots and dumped them on the cave floor. Althea added to the pile by bringing in some dried twigs and forest debris. She knelt down, lit the lighter and blew into the bundle. A weak flame rose, sending out a feeble light.
There wasn’t much to the cave, just jagged ceiling and rough walls: a grey hole carved into the earth. William ran his hand down the chilly rock. ‘Should we eat something?’ he asked, feeling his stomach lurch at the prospect of food.
‘Yes, that’s a good idea. We can have one of the cans we found in Shoe,’ said Igraine, slipping off her sack. ‘Tinned peaches or sweetcorn?’
William looked at Ori. ‘You choose mate.’
‘I’d say both, but I won’t be greedy; I choose peaches.’
Igraine nodded, pulled out her small penknife and cut into the can. She took a quick sip then passed it to Ori.
‘I know Terrafall controls most of the land that’s left, but how much does the HD control?’ William asked, taking one of the peaches out of the can. He bit into it. It had to be the most delicious thing he’d tasted in weeks, even better than the noodles. He closed his eyes for a second, but was brought back to life by Igraine’s reply.
‘Two factions control this country: the HD and Terrafall. In the north some small clans and self-declared kingdoms still exist, but only until Terrafall decides otherwise.’ She used her penknife to draw a rough map in the dirt, pointing to each area. ‘As you can see, Terrafall controls most of it, but the HD controls this small part of the Northwest.’
‘They don’t like it when people don’t obey them, do they?’ said Althea, wiping syrup from her mouth. ‘It’s as if they don’t like freedom.’
‘Terrafall has been trying to wipe out the communities that oppose it since the war ended. The leaders of Terrafall despise freedom, because freedom means they’ll lose control.’
‘Terrafall might try to claim the whole world,’ said Althea. ‘What then?’
‘It would probably achieve it. From our intelligence, we’ve found that America and Asia are lands torn apart by T-bombs, with a few small areas covered in radiation, and what remains on mainland Europe is lawless, with no clear leadership.’ Igraine sighed. ‘Terrafall could end up everywhere… unless we do something about it now.’
‘I’ll drink to that,’ said William, taking out the water bottle and holding it in the air. ‘Something has to be done.’
They sat for hours in the gloominess of the cave, huddled close to the fire. The peaches were long finished and William looked into the empty tin and sighed. At least they still had some sweetcorn. That was a feast to look forward to.
He shrugged away thoughts of food and looked out of the cave mouth. The thundering raindrops were slowly easing. He got up and walked forward, holding his hand out hesitantly. The rain splashed onto his skin, leaving no bruises.
‘I think it’s safe to go outside now,’ he called.
‘I feel safe here,’ said Ori. ‘Can’t we stay?’
Althea kicked out the fire and followed William out of the cave. ‘We have to go Ori, come on.’
William took the rear as they exited the hidden glade and headed back into the charred valley. He observed from his position how dishevelled they’d all become. Their clothes were worn and covered in filth, and their skin was patched with sore, purple bruises. Anyone would mistake them for bandits now. He guessed this wasn’t such a bad thing, because it might actually give them an advantage.
‘Look, I think there might be a shortcut.’ Igraine pointed, indicating a narrow pass through the dense terrain in front of them. ‘We were going to follow the road around these hills, but that looks like our way through!’
‘Someone up there is looking down on us,’ Althea observed, as they headed towards the mountain pass.
‘Do you think that pond was like heaven?’ said Ori, looking back as the glade’s entrance disappeared from view.
‘Heaven might be even better,’ Igraine told him. ‘Who knows?’
‘Don’t really hear that word much anymore,’ William remarked. But could heaven really exist? He remembered stories about it, but visualising such a place was hard. He looked up and breathed in. If it was real then he hoped his father was there, looking down on him.
‘What’s that over there?’ Althea said.
William followed her outstretched arm. ‘Looks like smoke.’ It was very faint, but a definite trail coiled into the sky.
‘Get down,’ whispered Igraine, beckoning them to be quiet.
‘What is it?’ Ori said in a small voice.
‘Either a camp, or the remains of one,’ she replied.
‘Bandits, it might be bandits.’ Ori’s eyes whizzed from Althea to William.
‘We have to go that way, though, we can’t go around now, it’ll take too long,’ William told Igraine.
‘Then we must turn into shadows.’ Igraine pressed a finger to her lips.
They crept along, carefully crawling across the undulating landscape, moving through prickly hedges and around tumbled dry
stone walls.
‘Typical that we come to the only pass through the mountains for miles and there’s a camp in it,’ whispered William, rolling his eyes. Then again, this was the only way through the mountains for miles, so they should have expected some sort of presence, because if you were a bandit on the hunt this would be the perfect place to bump into someone.
William sniffed the air. They were getting closer to the fire. There was a definite meaty smell drifting into his nostrils, and even though he was starving he couldn’t help but feel put off by it. He gulped. Was it human or animal? He hoped the latter.
A hobbled lump of trees camouflaged them as they walked next to a worn away footpath. Did he hear a whisper? William craned his neck but couldn’t see anything.
Then the campsite came into view. William examined everything he could see from his concealed position. A few of the spidery trees rustled and a plume of ash dusted through the jagged pass, but there was nothing else, no people present.
‘There’s no one there. I think we’re safe to look,’ whispered William, nodding at Igraine’s suggestion to fan out.
The camp was indeed empty; only a wisp of smoke rose from a makeshift fire in the centre of the clearing. William knelt by the leftovers of the fire and held his hand above it. He didn’t want to look down, though. He didn’t feel as though his stomach could confront whatever the flames had been cooking.
The heat was weak, but had not long gone out. He turned and looked through a small pile of rubbish nearby, poking bits away with a stick. Something glistened from within the waste.
‘A badge,’ he said, wiping away the grime. ‘A Peace Force one, I think.’
‘Yeah, that’s a Peace Force badge.’ Althea came up behind him.
‘What are they doing up here?’ William asked.
‘The Peace Enforcers are free to roam, so they don’t really have to follow the rules of Kentvale. Some say they’re as vicious as the bandits. They come out here and do God-knows-what to whoever they want.’ Igraine seemed to regret the words as soon as she’d spoken them.
‘Oh crap, that’s not good,’ said William, eyebrows raised.
‘Dad used to tell me that if these guys find you, and they’re not happy with the reasons why you’re outside Kentvale, they accuse you of being a Scavenger or bandit and torture you. They draw it out for as long as they can, make you beg them to end it, but they never do.’ Althea threw the badge as far into the trees as she could manage.
‘Alfie, I’m scared,’ said Ori, hands clasped over his face. He was standing by the fire.
‘Oh God, I wasn’t thinking,’ she said, rushing to him. ‘I didn’t mean to say all that…’
‘This is problematic, if they find us they could alert Terrafall and Erisia,’ whispered Igraine to William, as Althea comforted her brother.
‘What if they already know we’re here? They might have seen us coming, abandoned this camp and are waiting to ambush us,’ said William. His eyes searched the pass ahead of them. ‘If they catch us they probably won’t waste time asking questions.’
‘They’ll just torture and kill us,’ said Igraine.
Chapter 16
The Wilds
William looked at the map, turning it this way and that. The lines and shapes seemed to clot into one, but he had an idea of where Gravenshard was. It had to be the biggest blob, fed by lots of other squiggly lines. That’s probably what it was now, a big grey mark on the landscape, a shattered human mess. ‘We’re close to the town; it’s one more mile through the pass.’
‘I hope Bod and the others have made it to Stone Cross,’ said Ori, grip tightening on Althea’s hand.
‘Sure they have,’ said William, determinedly. ‘Terrafall and Erisia won’t know what’s about to hit them.’
Igraine stepped forward. ‘I’m sure we’ll see them again. But for now let’s keep our minds focused on the journey ahead, because if there are Peace Enforcers about we need to be watchful.’
‘We’ll stay in the shadows, like Bod told us to,’ said William, heading off through the trees, which clung to the side of the trail that cut through the pass.
Suddenly, a howl from an unknown animal echoed across the mountains. He looked to the fanged rocks that hung above them, wide-eyed. It couldn’t have been a wolf, could it? There weren’t any wild wolves in England anymore. And anyway, most wild animals had either died, or been hunted for food. Surely wolves wouldn’t be lurking out in the wilderness?
‘I didn’t like the sound of that,’ Ori moaned, clinging to Althea’s arm.
‘Wild dog, I think,’ said Althea. ‘Nothing compared to Peace Enforcers or bandits, though.’
Nodding, Igraine motioned forward. ‘Keep moving, quickly and carefully.’
‘I wish we still had your crossbow,’ William said to Althea.
‘Me too,’ whispered Althea.
They moved next to the trail, occasionally slipping back onto it when the trees became too dense. William looked ahead. Down below, the ruins of Gravenshard punctured the patchy horizon. He felt as though each decrepit building was watching them. He swallowed and kept his eyes on the fractured footpath as they hunkered through the hills.
They hung back by the edge of the trail, stepping further down into the verge as they drew closer to the town. The place really did look as if many shards had been dug into the earth, broken buildings sticking into the lower sky.
‘The train tracks are close,’ said William, scooting around a black pool of ditch water. Gravenshard was straight in front of them now. ‘Does anyone feel that?’
‘What?’ said Althea, turning to face him.
‘I don’t really know, I mean, I just have a bad feeling.’
‘We’ve all felt like that for ages,’ she told him. ‘Come on, nearly at the tracks.’
‘No, it’s different; it feels like something’s going to happen, something bad.’
‘Just try to forget about it. Focus on getting past the town.’
But when William looked into his friend’s eyes, he knew she was hiding what she truly felt. Trying to put on a brave face as usual, for Ori’s sake.
The tracks appeared as they descended the last part of steep terrain between them and the town. The rusted bars dissolved into the distance, poking the rapidly darkening sky, iron rods puncturing William’s future.
William scaled the ridge first, and then held out his hand to help the others up. When everyone was on the tracks, they began sneaking down them, wary that Gravenshard was just seconds to the left.
Gulping heavily, William looked down the side of the ridge as he moved. The tracks were raised and they were right on show, with barely a bush for cover. Was this really a good idea? They could end up being seen, and then what?
He shunted the dread away, knowing that following this route would get them past the town in no time, and once they were in the countryside, he was sure there’d be plenty of places to hide from any approaching enemies.
Walking down the rail tracks reminded William of the countryside treks he used to go on with his mother and father. He pushed those thoughts away too, just in time to hear a loud cry.
‘Intruders!’ shouted a distant voice, followed by the pounding of hooves.
‘Get down,’ Igraine yelled, dragging Ori with her.
They hit the dirt. William’s kneecaps vibrated hard into the metal track and he swore as the wind was sucked from him. He carried on nevertheless. He knew they’d been right on show, but he let the idea of getting through this quickly override those paranoid feelings. What a sucker he was for not trusting his initial doubts.
‘Enforcers,’ gasped Althea, her breaths raspy.
‘Crap, stay down!’ whispered William. ‘But whatever you do, don’t flippin’ stop.’ It was dark enough, so they might not be found, well, if they hadn’t already been spotted.
‘If we are separated, keep moving south. These tracks lead straight to Stone Cross, so as long as you stay within sight of them, you will get th
ere,’ whispered Igraine. ‘Let’s head for that switching station. Keep low.’
The pounding hooves got louder, gradually blending with William’s heartbeat. He felt as though each pound drove his chest further into the tracks. Could they really get away now, when the Enforcers had horses? He carried on crawling, pushing himself to move faster.
Something swooped out in front, closing off their path. William froze. It was too late; they’d been seen. He wouldn’t go without a fight though, that was for sure.
A shriek shot into the air, a shriek that seemed almost on top of him. William felt the wound on his forehead burn and swayed slightly. He lost his vision for a second as the pain from the wound took over. He tried to keep his balance, but it was all too much. Rolling down the side of the tracks, his mouth became filled with crusty grass. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t grasp what was going on.
His body eventually stopped rolling, becoming entangled in a wiry fence. Fighting his way through this was definitely out of the question now. And to top it off, his vision was becoming blurrier by the second… He bit down as a torrent of pain filled his head, trying to take him into the darkness of unconsciousness.
‘We can’t leave him!’ screamed a voice, slightly broken, drifting into his ears from far away.
‘He knows what to do,’ said the older, more urgent voice.
‘Get them, before they escape!’ screeched yet another voice, this one vicious and completely unfamiliar to him.
‘Go! Just run!’ he managed to scream, although he didn’t know where the strength had come from.
He tried to get up, but the wires dug in deeper, holding onto him like a starving mouth. The Enforcers had found them, and he’d been thrown into the ditch at the side of the track. Had the others escaped? His forehead wrinkled. He couldn’t think about them right now. The pain was too intense.
All the sounds faded away, leaving William with the silence as company. He rolled out of the metal jaws, pulling his arms from the now tattered black jacket, and dragged himself into the field on the other side of the fence. He couldn’t give up now.