The Dawn of Skye (The Someday Children Book 1)

by E. B. Heimdal

  Ecco takes the bow from Skye and places an arrow ready for firing. He’s concentrating, and takes a long time placing his hand and the arrow correctly on the bow. Slowly, he pulls the bowstring right up to his right chin, closes his left eye, and aims at a large tree a little farther away. He releases the arrow and it shoots off at high speed. The arrow grazes the tree, bends away and then hits the ground.

  “The speed of the arrow is almost fast enough, but we need to practice our aim much more to hit spot-on before we can use it as a weapon.”

  Skye nods in agreement, and runs to the tree to pick up the arrow. They’ve spent all day practicing and her hands are sore and tired. She’s happy they’re good friends again, and she’ll try harder in the future to listen to the things Ecco tells her and teaches her. No more reasons to start a situation like last night! They haven’t mentioned the episode again and spent almost all night talking about how they can prepare to defend themselves against their enemies – maybe even outsmart them so that they can win a potential fight, no matter how many enemies they’re up against.

  Skye tries not to think too much about what might happen in the near future. If her thoughts are allowed to run free, her fear and doubt will grow and she’ll find it hard to control her emotions. No, she must be strong. Also strong in her faith in Ecco. She tries to remember the things he told her yesterday at the fire, and she goes over them in her head.

  Ecco told her that a bow is a weapon that people used in the past to hunt large wild animals close to the village. Their father had an old bow lying in their woodshed that he’d shown Ecco at some point, and that was what he was trying to recreate now. He’d already found long, flexible branches that could be used for the body of the bow. The sticks that Skye sharpened the other day were going to be used as the lethal arrows. And inside the stomachs of the long-ears were long, flexible strings that could be used for the bowstring.

  Now Skye understood why Ecco had lost his temper with her yesterday when she was trying to save the little rodent. She’d ruined the opportunity to make a good bow, especially as the strings of the roundsnouts had rotted and become infested by bugs and larva as they hung on the tree to dry. They’d needed new and fresh bowstrings.

  Skye walks back to Ecco with the used arrows. She hopes he’s tired too, and in need of a break. Ecco grabs the arrows and throws them onto the pile. She senses he’s annoyed, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, she walks over and picks up an arrow and prepares to shoot. Her hands are shaking and she can barely pull back the string. The moment she’s about to send the arrow flying, it falls out of her hand and lands on the ground next to her.

  “Argh. It’s so difficult! You’re much better at it than me. Can you please show me again how to hold the arrow steady while you’re aiming? I want to be as good at it as you are.”

  Skye turns towards Ecco and passes the bow to him. She tries to say something nice about his abilities with the bow and hopes that it’ll make him less annoyed. Even though it feels like acting in a way, she would rather nurse his pride with small encouraging lies than feel uncomfortable because of his mood swings. She smiles at him and hurries to collect more arrows. Quickly, Ecco shoots a couple of arrows that all miss the tree he’s aiming for. Suddenly the bowstring snaps and hits his hand with a powerful slam. He throws the bow to the ground, shouting out loud.

  “Aaargh, what’s the point! It’s just useless crap. A fool could’ve done better. Now I’ll have to start all over again.”

  He kicks the broken bow, sending it flying, and it lands some distance from him.

  “Take a break. Go out and find us something to eat while I try to make a new bow. It may take some time. I also need some more animals. Everything’s going backwards right now, and we need things to go forward. Time isn’t on our side …”

  Ecco’s voice is low and hoarse, and he’s clearly agitated. He walks to the fire and sits down. Slowly Skye walks towards him, as unnoticed as possible. She hasn’t managed to change his mood after all and he’s starting to make her feel uncomfortable. She fidgets nervously with a lock of hair.

  “I’ll go down to the little lake close to the animal trap and look for some food. Maybe I can find some sweet berries or honey if I’m lucky. We really could use something tasty to eat.”

  She smiles lightly but is finding it hard to sound happy. She looks down at herself and suddenly realizes how dirty she is. The dried blood of the little rodent is still in her hair, under her nails and on her clothes.

  “I might also go for a dip to wash myself if the water is safe. So don’t worry if I’m gone for a while. You can make some new, strong bows while I’m away.”

  She doesn’t wait for Ecco’s answer but quickly turns on her heels and starts walking away from the fire, and Ecco.

  The birds scream angrily and fly close past her face. A few almost hit her with their wings as they desperately try to divert her attention. But Skye sees the small bird colony high up in the trees, and she’s almost certain that the nests are filled with eggs, and maybe even young chicks, judging by the aggressiveness of the adult birds. She chooses a tree that has branches scattered unevenly all the way to the top.

  In one fast movement she jumps up and catches one of the lowest branches. Effortlessly, she pulls herself up and gets a hold of the next branch, a little higher up. She presses her body close to the trunk while she carefully contemplates which branch to grab next. One of the branches is a bit too far away and she’s having problems reaching it with her hand. She carves her fingers into some cracks in the bark, and carefully leans towards it while she’s trying to reach it with her leg. The bark starts falling off the trunk, and Skye jumps toward the branch to avoid falling. She easily reaches it and sets off again, grabbing the next branch. Soon she reaches the birds’ nests in the tree top, and she looks down. Her heart beats fast as she realizes how high up she’s climbed, but she loves feeling fearless and scared at the same time.

  Often she’ll challenge herself unnecessarily just to test her own limits, and also because she feels a strength growing inside her when she overcomes a challenge that would’ve been impossible for most others to handle. If Ecco saw her now, he’d tell her off. He hates it when she takes unnecessary chances like this one, but she always teases him that it’s only because he’s a coward.

  She knows it’s not true. But she can’t help teasing him, and sometimes he accepts the challenge too. Then they’ll spend half a day climbing trees or cliff walls until their fingers are filled with blisters and their bodies are drained of energy. Usually she beats him because of her speed and flexibility. She doesn’t have to be strong like Ecco, or use a lot of strength to find the fastest way to the point they’ve agreed on.

  Once in a while, Ecco beats her and she reacts by crying and sulking for the rest of the day. Most of all she’s angry with herself for getting beaten, but she also gives Ecco a hard time by being mean and unjust in the moments right after losing. And if he says that it’s not important, or lets her win on purpose, she gets even angrier. Of course it matters whether you win or lose! And the fight has to be fair too, no helping hands or easy victories.

  She opens the small linen sack that sits tied to her belt. Slowly, she stands on her toes and reaches into one of the nests. There are five brown spotted eggs in it. A couple of birds are watching close by and reacting loudly to every movement she makes. Skye hopes the eggs have just been laid, because then the birds will have time to lay new ones before the weather changes. And if they have just been laid there won’t be half-grown chicks inside. She hates that. Not only because it looks scary, but also because it’s a life almost developed which will never have the chance of becoming a live bird. She doesn’t like to steal from the birds’ nests, and she never takes more than she needs.

  Carefully, she puts two of the eggs in her sack and leaves the last ones. One for Ecco, one for her, and three for the birds. She looks down and co
nsiders what the best way down will be. She often finds it harder to climb down than up, and now she has to be careful not to crush her fragile catch. She slowly puts one leg at a time on the branches below her and soon reaches the ground again. She leaves the bird colony and the hackling noise and starts to walk to the lake.

  The water feels warm at the surface, but when she sticks her hand a bit further down it’s freezing cold. Skye can’t tell exactly how deep the small lake is, but she’s learned from experience that even small lakes can be treacherous and deeper than she expects. She’s found a small bay where the vegetation isn’t too dense. A lot of the plants are trodden down or eaten, and Skye thinks it must be because the animals in the area come here to drink. Usually it’s a good sign if the animals feel safe. The water’s probably clean and the surroundings not to dangerous.

  Skye starts undressing, first her shirt, then her pants. Both parts need a good wash. The shirt is covered in blood and dirt. She smells it and turns her nose up because of the horrible smell. Her arms and hair also smell bad, and suddenly she feels incredible sweaty and dirty. She’s still wearing her underpants and can’t wait to get them off and wash them. They’re soaked with fresh blood.

  A while back, she suddenly started bleeding from her lower body. At first she was scared that she might be sick or had torn herself, but when it stopped a few days later she didn’t give it any more thought. She didn’t tell Ecco because she didn’t want to worry him. After a while it started bleeding again. And then it stopped again, and now she’s almost gotten used to it. She lines her underpants with a bit of fur those days, and that sucks up most of the blood. However this time she’s bled more than usual and needs to wash herself and her clothes clean again.

  Skye finds a stone and some herbs with a strong aromatic scent and starts washing her shirt and her pants. The sun’s strong, and if she’s lucky her clothes will have time enough to dry while she bathes. She grabs a few low hanging branches that face the sun and throws her clothes over them. She finds a few flowers and puts them on the ground close to the water. After bathing she usually rubs flower leaves on her skin to make it smell nicer. And today she really needs it.

  Carefully she steps into the water to feel what the bottom’s like and the temperature of the water. She takes a deep breath and quickly dives into the cold water. The water is freezing and she quickly comes back up. All the fibers of her body have woken up and she clenches her teeth hard to withstand the cold water. Skye starts washing herself with small, quick movements, and the constant movement of her body makes the water feel less cold. Soon she’s gotten used to the merciless cold of the water, and her muscles start relaxing.

  Slowly she leans backwards, and her upper body and head start floating lightly on the surface of the water. Skye closes her eyes and lets her ears fill with water. All her senses are shut down, and her head cleared of thoughts. Small air bubbles find their way through her tangled hair and pass her earlobes, and she starts laughing. The bubbles are tingling as if they’re busy little bugs passing through her ears like a buzzing swarms of insects.

  For a long time she lies in the water without moving. It feels great to relax, not having to think or worry about anything. Slowly, Skye opens her eyes and looks up on the cloud-free sky. The sun is still high and warms the parts of her body that aren’t covered by the cold water. Small puddles of water gather in the recesses of her body, and each breath interrupts the little forest lakes like they were earthquakes. She looks fascinated at the little manmade landscape while a colorful insect hovers over one of the puddles, scouting for prey or a resting place.

  Suddenly a small flock of birds cross the sky as if they’ve been scared by something. Skye immediately gets up from the water, but she can’t hear anything. Her ears are still filled with water and she shakes her head to get her sense of hearing back. Frantically she looks around, but there’s nothing to see. Not a branch or leaf is moving. She tries to look between the trees, but the sun’s strong rays make it difficult to judge shapes and colors. Her heart is pounding faster than normal and she feels defenseless without clothes on. Slowly she lowers her body underwater so only her face is visible and she looks around again. She has an unpleasant, nagging feeling that someone’s watching her.

  Don’t let your inner fears take over your mind. Those birds were probably scared by a larger bird or a small predator. There’s nothing to be scared of.

  Skye tries to calm herself and slowly gets up from the water again. She picks up the fresh flowers that she put on the edge of the water and starts rubbing her arms with them. A fresh, nice smell fills her nostrils and spreads on her skin. It feels refreshing, and she can’t help smiling at the thought that she looked like a filthy work boy or messy girl just a little while ago.

  But her smiles stop abruptly at the sound of a branch snapping. She turns towards the sound, which is right behind her, close by. This time there’s no doubt. There’s someone else here! She sees a shadow quickly hiding behind a large tree and it

  feels like her heart has stopped beating. Have their followers found her, and have they been watching her while she was bathing?

  She hurries to her clothes, hanging on the branches, and tears them down. Several of the branches break, but she doesn’t care about the noise. They’ve found her anyway. The only thing she can think of is to get away. In a panic, she jumps in her clothes as fast as she can. Her pants are sitting unevenly and her shirt is inside out, but it doesn’t matter. Without looking back she grabs her shoes and starts running as fast as she can.

  CHAPTER 14

  “I can’t see anything in there. Maybe the thorn fell out by itself.”

  Falkner twists and turns Brogan’s foot, which is starting to turn red and swollen around the wound where the thorn penetrated his skin during their run to the lake earlier that day.

  “It feels like something’s still in there. Are you sure you can’t see anything?” says Brogan, while he looks down at his sore foot. Falkner tries to force the wound open to get a better look, but the hole is too small and narrow. Brogan clenches his teeth as his body jerks in pain. He quickly pulls his foot back and pushes Falkner away.

  “Aaargh! It hurts too much. We’ll have to look at it later if it doesn’t go away by itself.”

  “Let’s take a look at it tonight. Take a rest in the shade and try to relax. I’ll continue working with the others instead.”

  Falkner walks to the hut, where the other boys are building walls with the large stones they’ve found in the area.

  “How is he?” North asks, looking at Falkner as he picks up a large stone from the ground.

  “I don’t think it looks good. His foot is very large and red and he’s in a lot of pain.”

  Falkner looks worriedly at Brogan, who is leaning up against a tree. His head is hanging low against his chest and he’s already fast asleep, even though he’s still sitting up.

  Falkner continues: “But let’s finish building the hut so we’ll have a safe place to sleep. I think I’ll go and see if I can find some good branches we can use for the roof.”

  North nods in acknowledgement as he continues to work.

  “Take Whistler with you. His energy is better spent on lighter work.”

  Falkner calls Whistler, picks up a large knife from the ground, and ties it to his belt. They start walking towards the forest that surrounds and protects their new campsite but still provides enough light and space for it to be open and inviting. Falkner looks back at the camp and feels happy to see how much progress they’ve made with the hut. If things work out, they might even manage to finish one of the sides before the sun disappears. And if they work hard tomorrow, they might be able to put a roof on it by tomorrow evening.

  They’ve found a lot of long and relatively straight branches that will work well as roof timber. Falkner’s really pleased. He’s holding them together tightly as he ties his leather belt around t
hem, arranging them so they’ll be easier to carry. Whistler’s found a lot of large moss chunks on the shady forest floor that he’s gathered in his shirt. The moss will help them to insulate the roof, and will keep the rain out and the warmth in. The sun’s almost setting and it won’t be long before they’ll find it hard to find their way in the forest.

  “Let’s go home, Whis. There’s not much more we can do today. We’ve almost got enough moss and branches to build half a roof.”

  They haven’t gone far from the camp so they soon return. Falkner sees that the others have made quite a lot of progress while they were away, and he feels an inner joy at the thought of soon having a home. He looks at the tree where Brogan fell asleep earlier, and sees that he’s sunk to the ground curled up.

  The instinctive joy he felt a moment ago disappears right away and he feels worry and sadness take over his body instead. His natural optimism had hoped to find Brogan awake and active when he got back, but his worst fear has turned out to be the reality of the situation. Far too many times in his short life he’s seen a situation go in this direction. The outcome’s almost always the same, and it’s not a happy one.

  Falkner throws the bundle of branches on the ground and walks to the other boys who are still working on stacking the stones. North turns to Falkner and smiles proudly.

  “Look how far we’ve gotten while you were away.” His smile frowns a bit as he senses Falkner’s lack of joy about his message.

  “Why do you look so disappointed? I thought you’d be happy to see the great effort we’ve put into the work.”

  North looks disheartened and stares at the ground. Falkner looks at the wall of the hut that only needs a little more work to be finished.

  “It looks great, North … it’s just that I’m really worried about Brogan. Have any of you checked on him while we were gone?”

  North looks at the other boys, who’ve all stopped working. Konnor sticks his hand in the air.