The Dawn of Skye (The Someday Children Book 1)

by E. B. Heimdal

“Did you catch anything?”

  It’s Dagwood, standing behind her. He smiles and walks to the river’s edge and sits on the grass. Skye is about to apologize for her lousy catch when Dagwood continues talking.

  “Won’t you sit down … ?”

  He’s still smiling but at the same time there’s a weird sadness across his face. Skye’s puzzled, and suddenly feels a seriousness descending on the conversation. She sits down next to him and tries to look relaxed. For a while they sit and look across the water without speaking.

  Suddenly Dagwood says: “What did you talk to Sal about, that day by the river?”

  They both know what day he means and Skye isn’t going to pretend that she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She suddenly feels guilty of a crime, and her thoughts fly around her head looking for an answer. No one knows the secret she shares with Salomon and she’s terrified Dagwood will discover it.

  She quietly answers: “I was just really upset. The return of the sickness made some ugly memories from the past come back, so I went to the river to be by myself for a bit and then Salomon suddenly showed up. We didn’t really speak about anything.”

  She doesn’t dare to look at him as she speaks because she’s afraid he’ll see that she’s lying. But instead he takes her hand. Her cheeks start burning and her heart beats faster.

  “Why didn’t you come to me? I would’ve comforted you …”

  He looks at her, but she still doesn’t dare to meet his eyes. But now it’s not because of her lie but because of his words. He pulls her hand towards him, but he doesn’t say anything. He seems nervous, and Skye can’t remember when he’s ever lacked the ability to speak. It’s like there’s a small boy sitting next to her, not a large and strong leader who’s protecting a clan against dangers and worries. The whole thing suddenly seems comical and her nerves disappear, but she still doesn’t feel the time is right for her to say something funny. Dagwood squeezes her hand a little harder and starts speaking again.

  “I haven’t thought about anything else since I saw you standing with Sal by the river. The return of the sickness, the lack of food … it’s all felt unimportant, even though it shouldn’t. I’ve been waiting for you to come and tell me what happened between you two that night. Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?”

  Skye’s confused about what Dagwood’s saying. All along she’s been afraid that he’d sense something and look for an explanation for the secrecy surrounding the sickness and Ecco, but she suddenly realizes that this is about something completely different. Dagwood’s worried that she’s betrayed his emotional trust and not whether she’s lied about the illness. She gets angry and pulls back her hand. Suddenly she’s not afraid to meet his eyes and she turns her face to his.

  “The truth! You’ve no right to speak to me about the truth! YOU’RE the one who’s withheld the truth from ME. For a long time I thought that you were the one who’d saved me. That you found me in the forest and carried me back to the camp. That you nursed me and cared for me until I was well again … but then it turned out that it was Salomon. Not you, but Salomon. And you’ve taken the credit for it. You knew that I thought it was you who’d saved me that day when I woke up and looked into your eyes. And you’ve had every opportunity to tell me since. No, Dag, it’s you who isn’t telling the truth …”

  Skye feels like getting up and leaving, but Dagwood grabs her hand and holds her back.

  “I’m sorry, Skye.”

  His voice is low and desperate, and she suddenly feels bad that she was so tough when she spoke to him. The little boy next to her is still there.

  “I’m sorry that I withheld the truth. It’s tormented me, and I’ve wanted to tell you the truth several times, but I couldn’t. I wanted it to be me who’d saved you, and not Sal …”

  He lets go of her hand, and puts his head in his hands as if he’s trying to hide. He takes a deep breath and then goes on.

  “I really like you …”

  He looks at Skye again and meets her eyes.

  “… and I hate the fact that it wasn’t me who found you, carried you through the forest and saved your life. Like a coward I tried to take the credit for something Sal did. Tried to steal the honor of his actions. Steal what he meant to you – and I’m embarrassed. The two of you are somehow connected to each other forever because of it, and I can never change it no matter what I do.”

  Skye looks at him and suddenly doesn’t understand why she was so mad at him. Didn’t he just tell her that he liked her? Everything he said after that doesn’t matter right now. The burning in her cheeks returns and she can hardly stop smiling. Dagwood tries to read her face but he’s confused. She was mad with him just a moment ago, but now it looks like she’s smiling.

  He asks her, hesitantly: “Can you forgive me?”

  A smile spreads on her lips as she nods. Dagwood’s relieved and smiles back.

  “Yes?”

  He grabs her hands, and suddenly he can breathe normally again. He’s happy and relieved and has a renewed courage to continue with what he was going to say. He no longer feels threatened by Salomon and what might have happened by the river that night. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe they weren’t holding hands like he thought.

  Smiling and almost ecstatic, he says: “You’re the sweetest, prettiest, cleverest girl I’ve ever met and I want to be with you all the time. You’re always on my mind and it’s driving me crazy.”

  He laughs and rolls his eyes, and Skye can’t help laughing either.

  “What’s so funny?”

  They both turn around towards the voice and see Flo and Knox standing in the water. Skye carefully tries to pull her hand away from Dagwood’s, but he holds it firmly. Dagwood laughs and answers Knox’s question.

  “Secrets we can’t tell…”

  Flo looks at their hands holding each other and freezes. All the color in her face vanishes and she takes a step back.

  “Typical! Then I’m not going to tell you my big secret either,” says Knox as he bends down and splashes some water on them. They both dive to the side laughing. Flo stands motionless with her feet in the water and an expressionless face.

  Knox grabs her and pulls her forward as he proudly says: “Look at this big chap that Flo has caught!”

  He reaches for the swimmer in her hands and lifts it into the air. It’s so big that he has to use both his hands to hold it. Dagwood gets up and walks over to them.

  “Wow, Flo! Impressive …”

  She smiles stiffly back at him and jumps out of the water. She looks at the ground where Skye’s two small swimmers lie and she smiles.

  “Well it’s good that at least one of us has caught something edible. Otherwise we’d all go hungry today.”

  She grabs the tail of her large catch and drags it from the arms of Knox. She quickly passes Skye and Dagwood, continuing to the camp. Skye picks up her catch grumpily, but she feels more like throwing it back into the river. Her smile and good mood have disappeared, and she’s embarrassed to look like a loser in front of Dagwood. She feels like running after Flo and telling her about all the times she caught swimmers larger than hers. How she hates losing!

  Dagwood looks surprised at Skye, who’s heading back to the camp without giving him as much as a look or a word. They hadn’t finished talking and there were many more things he wanted to tell her. Still, he can’t help but smile inside. The thought of Skye liking him as more than a friend makes him shiver, and he’s afraid that everyone around him can tell.

  But almost immediately the sense of happiness disappears from his body, and the sight of Skye and Salomon together by the river fills his head once again. A nagging feeling of guilt and disgust in himself finds its way through his body, and he hates himself for not having told the truth to Skye. And for robbing Salomon of his act of heroism. This isn’t who he is. He’s always believed in living honestly and j
ustly, but it means nothing if he can’t live by his own convictions in relation to Skye. Or Salomon. The more he thinks about it the lousier he feels, and he wants to run to Salomon and reveal his misdeed. He’s nothing but a common thief, and he’s ashamed of himself.

  Knox speaks to him, but he’s not listening to what he’s saying. It’s not until Knox shakes his arm that he’s torn from the accelerating feeling of self-hatred.

  “Where did your mind go, Dag?”

  Knox looks inquisitively at him, and says as he starts walking: “You’re acting strange today. Are you coming with me, or would you rather stand there looking mysterious?”

  Dagwood smiles awkwardly and starts following Knox.

  CHAPTER 36

  Skye walks in a large circle around the hut and the campfire. She doesn’t have the energy to listen to any more spiteful comments from Flo. Puk sits by Twice’s old enclosure and the little roundsnout lies in front of him, sleeping.

  He sees Skye heading their way and shouts to her: “Did you catch anything today?”

  She shakes her head and sits down next to him.

  “Not really. I didn’t do well today. Not like Flo, but I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it later!”

  Puk starts laughing at her comment, and Skye scowls at him.

  “It isn’t funny!”

  Puk answers smilingly: “The eternal competitors. In hunting … and in love …”

  Skye dismisses his comment with a sneezing sound and answers: “One of those competitions is lost today, but the other one is won.”

  Puk stops laughing and looks at her seriously.

  “Dagwood?”

  Now it’s Skye’s turn to become serious, and she narrows her eyes.

  “Who else would it be?”

  Puk lifts his shoulders and mumbles a little, but Skye can’t hear what he’s saying.

  She smiles a little and says: “Dagwood says that he really likes me. I’ve never tried being liked … in that way before. It feels nice that someone thinks I’m sweet and pretty … and clever.”

  Puk pushes her and laughs: “I knew that already.”

  He takes a small break and then asks her: “Do you like him too … in that way?”

  She thinks about his question, but she doesn’t have time to answer before she’s interrupted by Evi, who comes running towards them. She looks happy and both Puk and Skye start laughing. Ecstatic, she starts speaking and the words come tumbling out, making her hard to understand.

  “It’s incredible, but Axton has just told me that he knows my brother, Brogan. He’s been a part of their clan during all the time we’ve been living here. I’m so happy to know he’s alive!”

  They both get up in astonishment, and Skye asks: “But where is he now?”

  Evi explains, eagerly: “He left the clan with The Outcasts some time ago, and at that time he was strong and healthy. And he probably still is. It was the strongest clan members who left together … Axton said so himself.”

  Puk’s eyes are wide open.

  “That means I must’ve seen him when I found Twice in the animal trap! Do you remember that I saw a group of The Others, and I had to hide by the lake until my legs were numb and the blood suckers almost emptied my body of blood?”

  Evi nods happily as she laughs at Puk’s description of the situation. They look at Skye, but she’s not laughing. Suddenly she realizes that she might’ve seen Evi’s brother too. He must’ve been one of those following Ecco and her, wanting to do them harm. Maybe he was even the one who’d been watching her the day she took a dip in the lake. It all adds up all of a sudden. The dead roundsnout that Ecco found by the bloody animal trap, the group of aggressive boys who were building a new camp. She can’t look Evi in the eye, let alone tell them about her and Ecco’s attack on the boys’ camp.

  Subdued and apologetic, she says: “I’d better start rinsing my fish. We’re supposed to meet at the fire soon to decide what should happen to our new guests …”

  Skye turns around quickly and starts walking away from Evi and Puk, who look puzzled. She needs to find Salomon! He’s the only one she can talk to about what happened. The only one who will understand her.

  The food’s almost ready, and Dagwood summons them for dinner and the clan council. The others start gathering around the fire, but Skye can’t see Salomon. She’s been looking for him and has almost started to panic. Why’s he always so secretive and hard to find? She needs to talk to him.

  Finally, she sees him. He’s carrying a lot of firewood and is heading for the campfire. Skye hurries towards him.

  “Do you want me to help you carry?”

  He looks at her, surprised, and gives her a crooked smile. Before he has time to answer, she grabs some of the branches in his arms and says in a low voice: “Sal, I need to talk to you …”

  He squints and looks at her.

  “Okay. After the council.”

  Skye nods and hurries over to the others.

  They’re all gathered, apart from the new guests. Dagwood’s asked them to eat in the hut while the clan holds council. They’ve given them Skye’s two small swimmers so they can make dinner over the little fireplace in the hut. For once they have food enough, thanks to Flo’s large catch, and they can afford to fill the stomachs of their guests.

  Dagwood sits next to Skye with a plate full of warm food. The smell of fried fish and roots fill the air and Skye can feel how hungry she is. He smiles at her and grabs her hand. His face is suddenly very close to hers and he whispers in her ear: “I’m glad we spoke by the river today. Maybe we can go down there again later? After dinner?”

  Skye smiles back at him, but her thoughts are somewhere else. She needs to speak to Salomon first, otherwise she can’t find peace of mind. She squeezes his hand but then quickly lets it go and gets up.

  “Yes, let’s do that … but first some food!”

  Evi and Flo stand by the pot, talking as they serve the others dinner. Skye tries not to show them that she’s affected by the news of Evi’s brother or her defeat to Flo, and she reaches out her plate towards Flo with a smile. Evi is in an unusually good mood, and it seems as though the good mood has infected Flo too. She scoops up a large portion on Skye’s plate and says: “Don’t you want some more meat? There’s plenty for everyone. And we must celebrate that Evi’s brother is alive.”

  She looks happily at Evi, and Skye sends them both a forced smile.

  “Thanks, that’s nice of you, Flo.”

  She doesn’t feel like talking any more with them and hurries back to sit next to Dagwood again. Shortly after, Flo also comes and sits on the other side of him. Her plate is almost empty, and he looks at it in surprise.

  “Don’t you want some more food, Flo? After all, it’s your catch we’re eating.”

  She looks at him and lifts her shoulder, while she says loudly: “No, it’s okay. Skye took the last piece of meat. She said that she deserved it. But it’s okay. I’ll get a little extra food tomorrow …”

  Skye stops eating and sets her plate down in her lap. She’s shocked over Flo’s accusation and she doesn’t know what to say. Dagwood frowns and looks at her and her full plate.

  She starts shaking her head and quickly answers: “It isn’t true, Dag! It was Flo herself who handed me a large portion. She said there was plenty of food. Isn’t that so, Evi?”

  She desperately turns her head to Evi, who looks down at the ground, avoiding her gaze.

  “Evi?”

  Hesitantly Evi answers as her fingers nervously touch her plate: “I’m not sure, Skye. I didn’t hear Flo say there was plenty of food …”

  Skye looks at Flo, who sends her a small smile. Not a friendly one though. She’s afraid to look at Dagwood and see the disappointment in his eyes over her alleged greed.

  Quickly she gets up and walks over to Flo. She pushes
her food on to her plate without saying a word. Humiliated and embarrassed she sits next to Dagwood again. She’s furious at Flo, but even more disappointed at Evi. She knew that Flo was lying, but Evi didn’t say anything. Did she have something on her? Why did it seem as though Evi was indebted to Flo? Or was she in fact afraid of her?

  Shortly after, Dagwood gets up and starts the clan council, and Skye is happy that the focus is directed at something other than her full plate. She doesn’t feel like being near any of them, not even Dagwood, and she quietly sneaks over to Salomon, who’s siting a bit away from the others. Flo follows her with her eyes, observing every move she makes.

  “I’ll start by saying that I think that it’s a good idea to let the new guests become members of our clan. Recently, we’ve lost two clan members for reasons we all know, and it was a good decision to evict them. But it doesn’t change the fact that they were both good hunters and good at setting traps. Their hunting skills and hard work were appreciated while they lived with us. I’ve spoken a bit with The Others, and I think that some of them have skills we could use. Axton claims he’s good at tracking animals, even some that are larger than long-ears, but he’s not very good at shooting or catching them. But on the other hand, Sal and I are good at that. Together we can become better hunters, and we can go further away and hunt in groups. It’ll improve our chances of eating – and surviving. I’ve already told them about our clan rules, and that they must take an active part in finding food and doing chores if they’re to stay here.”

  He turns to Puk and asks: “Puk, do you have feelings telling you that they aren’t what they appear to be?”

  Twice lies sleeping in his arms and Puk takes his eyes away from his little friend and looks at Dagwood.

  “No, I don’t sense any darkness or wrong vibrations. They seem real and humble, but don’t you always when you’re hungry and in need of help.”

  Dagwood answers: “Hm, you might be right about that … I think that we should put it to a vote, unless someone else has further comments?”

  Evi suddenly interrupts the conversation.