A Traveler's Fate (The Journals of Krymzyn Book 3)

by BC Powell

  “Don’t beat yourself up. This could have happened to anyone.”

  “But all I do is drink sap and sleep,” she replies.

  “That’s what you need to heal.”

  She caresses my hand with her fingertips. “You’re taking such good care of me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “I’ll never let anything bad happen to you,” I say. “After you’re asleep, I’ll go get more sap. I promise I won’t be gone long and I’ll come straight back if Darkness falls.”

  “Thank you.”

  Her breathing gradually lightens and her hand goes limp in mine. I stay beside her for another few minutes to make sure she’s in a deep sleep. After drinking an entire flask of sap, I leave the cavern.

  Under idle clouds, I sail through the valleys and hills to the transport. The first thing I see when I stop is my spear lying in the dirt at the bottom of the wash. I snatch it from the ground, refill the canisters and flasks, and then climb the steep slope to the top of the hill. It’s the highest peak for hundreds of miles around me.

  Turning in a circle, I look for any motion in the bleak wasteland. Far to the northeast—at least five hundred miles away in a direct line between me and the Delta—a shape of light gleams over a hill. A few moments later, another one shoots across the trail of the first. The Murkovin must still be searching the Barrens for us.

  “Stupid fuckers,” I mumble. “You’re looking in the wrong place.”

  While the two Murkovin crisscross in the distance, I sit down on a large rock. The people in the Delta must think that Tela and I are dead. I wonder if they’ll even care. It took them a long time to pretend as though they accept me, but I still get sideways glances and voices laced with distrust. They’ll just write us off as casualties of the eternal struggle for balance, bloody road-kill on the ambiguous path of the self-righteous.

  Sash is probably using the same kind of philosophical bullshit they all drown themselves in to put me behind her. She already tried to betray me once, and now she can do whatever she wants to with our daughter. If I make it back to the Delta, one thing is for certain. Things are going to change.

  But I’m not even sure I want to go back. Life in the Barrens seems simple and uncomplicated. I have no responsibilities other than to take care of myself and help Tela get better. My needs are what count in the Barrens, not some random purpose for the good of Krymzyn assigned to me by a goddamn Tree.

  With the transport nearby, I have all the sap I want for the time being. I’m sure I can bind a tree the same way the Murkovin did and drain every drop. Maybe Tela will also want to stay in the Barrens. Unlike Sash, she appreciates everything I do for her and the sacrifices I make.

  Once Tela has finished healing, we can tie up a few trees, kill any Murkovin in the area, and have an endless supply of sap. This part of the Barrens can be our own private kingdom, the two of us in complete control. I could even sneak into the Delta, grab Aven, and bring her back here to live with Tela and me. Aven adores Tela.

  The little cavern filled with purple light can be our home. We could use thread from the tree I saw to make some fabric, and use the fabric to make a couple of beds stuffed with leaves. After Aven is asleep at the end of each morrow, Tela and I can take our clothes off, wash each other’s bodies in the fall, lay down in our bed and—

  “Stop it!” I bellow out loud. “That isn’t you talking.”

  * * *

  At the end of the morrow, I spend several hours battling insomnia for the second night a row. I finally give up trying to sleep and walk outside to the ravine. After climbing to the top of the hill that the cavern is under, I survey the surroundings. There’s no movement in the valleys and hills, and I don’t hear the slightest sound. As I anticipated, the Murkovin seem to have no idea that we’re in the opposite direction of the Delta from where they attacked us.

  When I estimate that the new morrow has finally arrived, I return to the cavern. I feel a wave of relief that Tela wakes up as soon as I’m inside. The more I’m alone with my thoughts, the more poisoned they become. Working on Tela’s injuries is oddly soothing and helps me pass the otherwise vacant time. Instead of sinking into a mire of contorted thought, I can focus on helping her heal.

  After we drink our sap together, I repeat the process of applying it to Tela’s wounds. She surprises me by saying that she wants to try to walk. I help her to her feet and stand in front of her. With both of her hands gripping my shoulders and me holding her by the waist, she takes a few steps across the cavern. She decides that she’s strong enough to go outside.

  I turn my back to her and she wraps both of her arms around my waist. We cautiously inch our way through the narrow tunnel. At the end of the passage, she has to squint her eyes until they adjust to the light.

  With my arms around Tela’s hips, I lift her off the ground. She clings to my neck as I slowly climb down the rocks. When I reach the center of the gully, I lower her feet to the dirt. She hangs onto my shoulders while I grip her by the waist.

  “I’ll stay in front of you,” I say. “Tell me if it hurts too much,”

  “I’ll let you know.”

  As I take a step backwards, she uses me as a crutch while gingerly taking one step forward. On her second step, she stumbles and falls against me. Tightening my grip on her waist, I return her to upright. As we continue up the gully at an extremely slow pace, Tela limps with every step. We stop after no more than twenty feet.

  “I just want to stand for a bit,” she says. “I’m stiff from lying down so much.”

  She braces herself with both of her hands on my shoulders.

  “You did great,” I say. “How do you feel?”

  “My left leg hurts more than my right. My neck and back are really sore.”

  “I guess that rules out a race,” I jest.

  Tela smiles. “For now, anyway. Maybe later.”

  “I’ll give you a big head start. Besides, my traveling speed isn’t as fast as it was.”

  “There’s not as much energy in the wild sap,” she informs me, confirming what I’d already guessed.

  I want to address the most important subject since she’s doing better, but I also want her to feel comfortable with any decision made. It’s getting harder to keep my thoughts clear and the almost constant desire for sap under control.

  “You seem well enough for me to carry you back to the Delta,” I say. “But like I said, my traveling speed is slower. It’ll be even worse carrying you. I doubt I’m any faster than the Murkovin right now. If they cut us off, you’re in no condition to fight. But I’m willing to try if that’s what you want to do.”

  “Do you think they quit looking for us?” she asks.

  “No,” I answer. “The transport is hidden in a gully at the base of the tallest hill in sight. The last time I went for sap, I climbed to the top and saw two Murkovin traveling in the distance. They were searching for something between here and the Delta. I’m sure it was us.”

  She looks off to her side in thought for several moments and then back at me. “How long have we been here?”

  “I think this is the third morrow. It’s hard to keep of track of time out here.”

  “Let’s give it another morrow or two,” she says. “Maybe I can travel by then. They also might stop looking for us. There’s less risk if you don’t have to carry me.”

  “Are you sure we have that much time?” I ask.

  “I’m sure.”

  I nod my head. “Then a couple of morrows it is.”

  Tela raises one hand to the side of my face. “Your eyes are purple.”

  “Halfway between blue and red,” I reply. “Yours are kind of dark orange.”

  She lowers her hand to my shoulder. “Halfway between amber and red. I think I should get back to the cavern now.”

  “Do you want me to carry you or do you want to walk?” I ask.

  “I’ll walk with your help,” she answers. “Just be ready to catch me.”

  “I
won’t let you fall.”

  “I wouldn’t mind washing in the fall as long as I’m up,” she says.

  “If you’re up to it.”

  With our arms around each other and me supporting most of her weight, we return to the cavern. After I guide her to the small fall, we both stand in the shallow pool. Facing the trickle of water, she rests one hand against the wall to help her stay upright. I hold her waist in my hands and support her from behind. Using several handfuls of water, she rinses her face and arms.

  “I don’t want to try to clean my hair right now,” she says. “I’m too sore.”

  As I help her turn around, she unexpectedly puts her arms around me. She presses her body to mine and lays her head on my shoulder. I slip my arms around her.

  “It feels good to hold onto you,” she says.

  “We’ve been through a lot together,” I reply.

  “You must be annoyed. All you do is take care of me.”

  She raises her face from my shoulder and looks at my eyes.

  “Not at all,” I say. “I enjoy being with you.”

  “Me, too,” she smiles. “I need to get off my feet.”

  I walk her to the center of the cavern, help her lie down on the ground, and prop her legs up on the rocks. With her head elevated on my shirt, we share a canister of sap. Once we’ve both had our fill, I stretch out on the ground beside her.

  “I don’t feel like sleeping yet,” she says, “but I was too tired to stay on my feet any longer.”

  “What do you want to do?” I ask.

  “Will you tell me more about your world?”

  “Sure,” I say.

  For the next few hours, we talk about life on Earth. I’ve shared tidbits with her over time, but with nothing else to do right now, I can go into more detail. She’s fascinated by my description of cities, skyscrapers, automobiles, and airplanes. We talk about my family on Earth, and she asks questions about how people date and fall in love.

  When her eyelids begin to droop, Tela takes my hand in hers and pulls my arm over her waist. I scoot closer to her so that my body gently presses to hers. After a few minutes pass, she drifts into slumber. Enjoying the calm I feel from being beside her, I listen to the water drip over the rocks by our feet.

  My eyes eventually begin to close, so I call out, “Dark.” Curled up beside Tela, for the first time since drinking the wild sap, I fall into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 20

  Another three morrows pass with essentially the same routine. After I treat Tela’s injuries, we go outside for a walk. Although her motion is understandably limited at first, she gradually gains enough strength to jog up and down the gully. We spend most of each morrow seated on the hillside beside the cavern comparing the life I had on Earth to her life in Krymzyn. Whether it’s on purpose or just by coincidence, neither of us ever mentions Sash.

  Whenever Darkness falls, we sit side by side in the cavern and share flask after flask of sap. Near the end of each morrow, I help Tela wash in the tiny waterfall. Maybe because it comforts her after all that she’s been through, or maybe because it’s what happened after the first time I helped her clean off in the spill, we always end up standing in a long embrace.

  Twice each morrow, I travel to the transport to replenish our supply of sap. Every time I go, I sit alone on the crest of the hill for a few minutes. While looking out over the somber badlands, I become increasingly dismayed with my decision to live in Krymzyn. Trapped in a shroud of toxic thought, I convince myself that Sash tricked me into coming to this world for her own needs.

  She used me to understand the emotions from Earth that she was feeling and never once cared about how difficult it was for me to give up my life in my world. She proved that by wanting to give our daughter away. She’s a master of control, a manipulative puppeteer with everyone in Krymzyn dangling from the ends of her strings. When those thoughts send me plummeting into a chasm of rage and self-pity, my only salvation is to chug down a canister of sap and race back to Tela.

  At the end of each morrow, Tela and I lie down side by side. She eventually tells me that she’s tired of sleeping on her back and wants to try on her side. After I place my rolled-up shirt underneath my head, she curls up beside me with her head resting on my bare shoulder. She gently nuzzles my neck and I lightly stroke her hair until we fall asleep.

  Seven morrows after the attack at the tree, I wake up early and go to the transport for sap. When I return to the cavern, I scrape my arm against one of the rocks in the tunnel opening. I look down at the cut in my forearm.

  Dark purple blood—almost black to the eye—oozes from the wound. My skin is pale and the veins underneath it pulse with the same putrid color as the blood that’s dripping from the cut. Stained with the dirt of the wasteland, my body and pants are filthy. I close my eyes and run a hand through my grimy, stringy hair.

  “How could I let this happen,” I whisper in a brief moment of lucidity.

  As soon as I’m inside the cavern, I call out, “Light.” The purple glow illuminates Tela still asleep on the floor. I set the flasks, canisters, and spear on the ground and cross the cave to the fall.

  Using water cupped in my hands, I douse my head and scrub my hair. Pouring handful after handful over my face and body, I wash until my skin feels clean. After slipping out of my pants, I rinse them off and toss them aside. I lean down and take the boots off my feet. Since they’re caked with dirt inside and out, I clean them in the small pool. Holding them in one hand, I stand upright again and rest my forehead against the rocks.

  “Are you alright?” Tela asks, startling me.

  I turn my head to her. She’s sitting with her back against the wall and an open canister in one hand. Since nudity doesn’t seem to be a big deal in Krymzyn, I don’t try to cover myself.

  “I’m fine,” I answer. “I just realized how dirty I am.”

  “You’ve been spending all your time helping me,” she says.

  “I don’t know how you could stand to be around me.”

  “It’s not hard.” She slowly lowers her eyes from my face down to my feet. “It’s no wonder you’re so fast. You have the perfect body for a Traveler.”

  “Thanks,” I say. “How are you feeling?”

  She looks at my face again. “The best I’ve felt since we’ve been here. I want to see if I can travel.”

  “Let me finish washing off and then we’ll go outside.”

  I quickly rinse my face and body one last time. Feeling refreshed, I redress in my pants and boots. When Tela finishes drinking her sap, she slips her boots on her feet. I reach my hands down and pull her to her feet.

  “We really need to get back to Delta,” I say. “We’re out of time.”

  “I know what we need to do,” she replies with obvious irritation.

  “You’ve been drinking wild sap for seven morrows. I’ve been drinking it for six.”

  “Did you hear me?” she snips. “I already said that I know.”

  I bite my tongue to stop from verbally lashing out at her. After all I’ve done for her since we’ve been in the Barrens, she has no right to talk to me that way. With the veins in my forehead starting to bulge, I step past her to the tunnel and pause by the entrance to grab my spear.

  “Let’s see if you can travel,” I say without looking back. “If not, I’ll carry you.”

  “Chase . . . I’m sorry.”

  I glance over my shoulder at her. “This is why we have to get back. It’s getting harder and harder to control.”

  “I know,” she replies evenly. “Will you help me outside?”

  With Tela’s hands clenched to my waist, I guide her through the tunnel. At the end of the passage, I help her step down the rocks and into the gully. Loosening up before she tries to travel, she slowly rotates her head and shakes her arms by her side.

  Outside in the light, I clearly see that the once blue streaks in her hair have faded to icy-white strands. The centers of her eyes are red and dissipate outward to
dark orange. The veins under her skin are the same purplish-black as mine. When she finishes stretching, she jogs up the gully to the north. I run by her side and stay at her pace.

  “What do you think?” I ask.

  She turns her face to me and widens her eyes. “Go!” she shouts.

  With her legs flexing into contoured lines of muscle, she sprints ahead of me. It takes me a few seconds to realize that she was challenging me to a race. After Tela runs about twenty yards, she blasts into the light and disappears around the curve of the gully. I charge forward, enter the beams, and arc around the bottom of the hill.

  Tela only travels a few miles before coming out of her blend. As she coasts to a stop, I exit the light and jog to her side.

  “How did it feel?” I ask.

  She rubs the back of her neck with one hand. “The initial jolt hurt my neck, but I felt fine once I was traveling. I didn’t want to go very far to be safe.”

  “I’ll carry you to the Delta if you think it’s too much,” I tell her.

  “I think I’ll be fine,” she says. “My left leg still hurts, but it’s not bad. If I start feeling too much pain, you can carry me the rest of the way.”

  “What if the Murkovin come after us?”

  She squints her eyes while thinking and looks to the north. “You said that we’re west of where they attacked us, right?”

  “A few hundred miles,” I answer.

  “We can travel due north,” she says, returning her attention to me. “We can go way past where the Delta is, cut across the Barrens to the river, and follow it back down to the bridge north of the Delta. If they’re searching for us between here and the Delta, they’ll never see us.”

  “That makes a lot of sense.”

  She smirks at me. “I have my moments, too.”

  “You sure do.”

  A few raindrops splatter on top of my head. The billows above us roll into motion and the light fades away. My blood instantly simmers with the insatiable appetite unleashed by Darkness.

  “Let’s get to the cavern,” I say.

  We both take off down the gully. Although Tela sputters forward a few times, she never fully blends with the murky rays. She finally gives up trying to travel in the dark, so we have to settle for running to the cavern.