The Dawn of Skye (The Someday Children Book 1)

by E. B. Heimdal

  Suddenly she sees a shadow on the other side of the river. It moves quickly. Much faster than she does, and her heart is exploding in panic. How have they caught up with her this quickly? There must be more than she thought. At the same time she senses another figure on the other side of her and she speeds up. More shadows appear, and soon she’s surrounded by her pursuers. Each step pains her body, and soon she doesn’t have any more air left in her lungs. She’s afraid they’ll soon catch her. But then something stops her abruptly and she almost trips backwards out of shock.

  Before her stands a large dog, or at least it looks like a dog. Like the working dogs from back then. The ones she used to sleep with and play with, even though her father had forbidden it. But this dog seems wilder and larger than the ones she knew, and she’s not even certain it is a dog.

  She slowly walks backwards, hugging Friend close. It doesn’t follow her but stands still on stiff legs with watchful eyes. From the corner of her eye, she sees that the other figures have come closer. It’s not the boy who attacked her, or his friends, but more wild dogs. She feels lost. Hopelessness and fear make her legs buckle and she falls to her knees. She doesn’t understand why only a short while ago she lay safe next to Salomon feeling happy, and now she sits on the ground in despair with death breathing down her neck.

  Right at that moment she hears noises nearby, and feet closing in.

  “She’s over here!”

  Skye turns her head and sees a group of boys heading her way. They all look wretched and filthy, like her attacker, and they all carry sticks and spears in their hands.

  Friend starts moving underneath her shirt, and it sticks its head out of the opening. She can’t hold on to it, and it jumps out. It quickly disappears between the trees. With empty eyes she looks at the large animals and the armed boys. She’s surrounded by enemies, and she thinks that this is how prey must feel shortly before being captured or killed.

  “Stop running. There’s nowhere you can run …”

  A tall, dark-haired boy shouts at her as he slowly approaches her. She doesn’t answer him but looks around and sees that several of the boys behind him are laughing at each other.

  “We’ve been looking for you for a long time, honey, and now we’ve finally found you.”

  The tall boy steps closer and he’s not far away from her now. He looks surprisingly shabby, and had he been alone and unarmed she probably would’ve been able to overpower him.

  “Silas is a little angry with you. You’ve broken his leg, and now he’ll have trouble walking for a long time. That wasn’t very nice. He was only trying to be friendly.”

  They all start laughing, and they don’t appear to have noticed that there are others who are out to get her. They’re not the only ones chasing her. All together, they close in on her, and she finds it hard to tell how many they are. But what does that matter anyhow? She hasn’t got a chance, and she’s wounded. This is a fight already lost.

  Just as everything seems hopeless, one of the wild dogs jumps toward the tall boy. Its teeth are bared and the hair on its back stands up straight. Soon the other animals follow, and slowly they form a wall in front of Skye. The boys retreat, terrified, and start waving their sticks and spears as they yell loudly. The large animals are not easily scared, and they growl even louder and more aggressively.

  Skye sees one of the animals moving just behind her, and for a brief moment her heart stops beating. Will it attack her as she kneels on the ground and deliver her half-dead body to the rest of the pack? A wet snoot presses under her arm and pushes her forward, as if it’s trying to help her stand up. Then she understands that the wild dogs are not trying to hurt her. On the contrary, they’re defending her and helping her to escape from the boys.

  Skye hasn’t time to think about why they’re helping her, but their help gives her renewed strength and she jumps up from the ground. She starts running, and this time it feels easier to breathe. Shortly after, she sees Friend standing in the reeds by the riverbank. She runs to it and immediately it starts running too, right in front of her, showing her the way. Soon she’s accompanied by the fury animals that are circling her like a living fortress. She turns her head and looks back, but none of the boys are following her anymore.

  She doesn’t know how long she’s been running for, or where she is, but she’s followed the river all the way with Friend in front. Suddenly, she sees three large stones in the middle of the water. One of them is shaped like a hunchbacked horse resting in the field. She recognizes it from the time when she and Knox went hunting for swimmers.

  Not able to control herself, she breaks into tears and laughter at the same time. She’s home! She feels like shouting into the air and cheering loudly, and she looks at Friend with a big smile. Her little guide and loyal companion! But it’s gone. In her relief at making it home, she hasn’t noticed that Friend has disappeared. Also, her large fury protectors seem to have been swallowed by the forest. She feels like she’s just woken from a dream. But if she’s imagined everything, then she must be crazy – and the pains in her body testify to everything she’s been through.

  She looks at her bare feet and discovers that they are bloody and torn, but she doesn’t care because she’s home now. She walks down to the river and steps into the water to rinse the blood off her feet, and slowly she starts wandering through

  the chilly water. Right then, it starts raining. Skye looks at the sky and closes her eyes as the drops of rain bounce on her face. She smiles as she thinks about how much she’s looking forward to seeing Dagwood, Salomon and the others again.

  CHAPTER 41

  Twice lies on the floor by the fire with the puppies, who are all fighting to get the best spot. His bandages have been removed, but the patch in front of the eye is still tied to his head. Puk is afraid that the cavity in which the eye used to be will become infected if dirt finds its way in, and Twice doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.

  Most of the others are sitting inside the hut as the rain pours down undeterred, except for Dagwood, Salomon and Flo who are outside digging channels. Everyone in the clan has been taken turns trying to get the water away from the hut, but it almost seems pointless. The more channels they dig, the more water seems to come pouring out of the sky. They’ve removed the trip wires around the hut to make small elevations that will work like dams and dikes. Right now the problem of having their sleeping places and warm living room ruined by water is greater than the fear of being attacked by strangers or robbed by thieves.

  Axton sticks his head out of the door, yelling: “Do you need some more help?”

  Deep inside he hopes they’ll say no, because right now a seat in front of the fireplace is far more appealing than the cold rain and the wet mud. But he also knows that they all have to do what they can to help. Dagwood and the rest of the clan have taken them in with kindness and open arms, and the least they can do is to contribute as much as they can to the improvements and repairs. This is their home too now.

  Dagwood nods at him, and Axton takes off his shirt and throws it in the hut so it won’t get wet. He knows that even though the rain feels cold and biting at first, he’ll soon get warm from the hard physical labor. The feeling of stepping into the warm hut afterwards and putting on a dry shirt is worth all the work.

  He maneuvers through the slippery mud over to Salomon and grabs one of the pickaxes. In a fast movement, he swings it over his head and is about to knock it into the ground when he suddenly stops. The pickaxe falls out of his hands and lands on the ground behind him and the three others look startled at him. Salomon sees that Axton’s eyes are wide open and that he looks at something behind him. But he doesn’t look scared. Quickly he turns around and looks at the grey and colorless horizon. His heart skips a beat when he sees who it is stepping out of the curtain of rain.

  “Skye!”

  Salomon throws his pickax aside and runs to the small f
igure in the rain. When Skye’s name is shouted out, Dagwood turns around and looks surprised at Salomon. He tries to follow him, but Flo grabs his arm and holds him back.

  “Why’s she here?”

  Her voice is tough and accusatory, but Dagwood doesn’t hear her.

  “Let go of me, Flo …”

  He tears himself from her grip and runs after Salomon, towards Skye. Flo flings her pickaxe to the ground and scowls. The two boys have reached Skye, who falls into their arms.

  Salomon carries her to the hut, followed by Dagwood. Flo frowns. She’s annoyed, seeing the eagerness of the two boys to save Skye. Pathetic! That’s what they are! Like two small puppies fighting for their mother’s attention and love. If only it’d been anyone other than Dagwood, she would’ve laughed, but she can’t now.

  She follows them into the hut and soon they’re all gathered around Skye, who’s lying on one of the beds. She shivers from cold and her torn shirt is soaked and colored red by the blood from the wound on her head.

  Dagwood sits down on the bed next to her. He takes her hands.

  “What happened, Skye?”

  Salomon stands by the foot of the bed and looks at her, terrified. Only a short while ago he’d left her happy and safe. He doesn’t understand what could’ve happened afterwards, and he wishes he’d never left her. He looks down, and closes his eyes as he breathes deeply. Why can he never take care of those who needs his protection? Why must his shortcomings punish and hurt the ones he loves and cares about? He feels like hiding, but he must know the truth about what has happened to Skye.

  Evi puts a blanket over her, but Skye doesn’t seem to be able to get warm. She’s still shaking throughout her entire body, and it’s not until Puk gets a couple of the puppies and places them under the blanket that she starts getting warm. Dagwood is still hugging her hands, and accidently squeezes them too hard when he sees thick, dark red blood running down her forehead. He leans over her and carefully removes her hair.

  Calmly, he asks: “Could one of you get a wet cloth?”

  Lark reacts quickly to his request and runs to get a piece of cloth, which she dips in the bucket with water standing by the door. She hands the cloth to Dagwood, who carefully rinses Skye’s wound. He smiles at her as she looks up and meets his concerned eyes. Slowly she looks around at the others, who stand waiting with impatient and anxious faces.

  “It was a boy who attacked me. He hit me on the head with something sharp and hard and he, he … I had to fight to get away from him. But he’s not alone. There’s a large group of boys out there …”

  Worried, the others start talking all at once, but Skye only hears the concerned voice of Dagwood.

  “How far away from the camp are they?”

  He keeps looking at her with a serious face. Skye tries to think about how far she’s run along the river accompanied by the wild dogs and Friend.

  “I think they’re far away from here. I managed to escape them at last, and I don’t think they followed me. They looked filthy and shabby, but they were all armed with spears and sticks.”

  Dagwood looks to Axton for answers, but he lifts his shoulders.

  “It isn’t a group I know about … unless it’s The Outcasts who’ve returned.”

  Dagwood turns to Skye again and caresses her cheek.

  “Get some rest, and we’ll try to get an overview of the situation.”

  He gets up and pulls Axton and Salomon to the door.

  In a low voice he says: “I don’t want to cause any unnecessary panic among the others or Skye, but if it’s The Outcasts … would they attack a lonely girl so brutally? I mean, you know them from earlier.”

  Axton shakes his head lightly and answers: “It wouldn’t be like them. Not at all, actually. North could be sneaky and weird, but attacking a girl like that … I don’t think so. But no matter what he would do, the others wouldn’t accept it. It doesn’t sound like them.”

  Salomon knows that it must be a different group than Axton’s old clan members, but he can’t say so without revealing Skye’s secret, or himself and his visit to her out in the forest. He moves uneasily from side to side as he keeps quiet. His thoughts are racing in his head, and his inner turmoil and temper make it hard for him to do anything. The only thing he feels like is running into the rain looking for Skye’s attacker – to hurt him like he’s hurt Skye.

  Suddenly Flo comes over and interrupts them.

  “She’s going back to the forest again when she’s rested, right?”

  Dagwood looks at Flo, astonished.

  “What do you mean, Flo? She was attacked and she’s hurt. You can’t expect her to go out into the forest again alone. What if she’s attacked again, or something worse? Your punishment was isolation from the group, not attack or death!”

  His voice is sharp and serious as he looks at her. Flo answers him back angrily.

  “How do we even know whether the story she’s telling us is true? She’s lied before, maybe she’s lying again! Maybe she’s made up some story to escape her punishment. Maybe she’s …”

  Dagwood grabs her with force.

  “IT’S ENOUGH, FLO!”

  He lowers his voice and goes on: “What kind of person are you that doesn’t show compassion for a wounded friend? Where does this harshness and callousness come from? You disappoint me, Flo. We’re not sending Skye back to the forest in this condition. She’s staying here!”

  Flo tears herself out of his hands and runs out of the hut into the rain. She doesn’t want Dagwood to see her tears. The rain quickly soaks her clothes, but she doesn’t care. She can’t go back to the hut. Not yet. She’s devastated by Dagwood’s hard words and from the disappointment in his eyes. Why couldn’t he see through Skye? It was so obvious how false and sneaky she was. Why couldn’t he look at her like he looked at Skye? What was it about her that makes her so special that both Salomon and Dagwood see no one else but her? Flo doesn’t understand it.

  The rain grows stronger, and it feels like the sky’s floodgates are wide open and the water will never stop pouring down. The channels surrounding the hut are overflowing, and it’s only a matter of time before the dikes in front of the door cave in. Flo finds her way to Twice’s old enclosure. Since he came back beaten and half dead, and then woke up half blind and toothless, he’s been sleeping in the hut with the puppies and Puk. No one feels like restoring his outdoor shelter or kicking him out of the hut.

  She sits down, leaning against the little tree within the enclosure. The leaves protects her from most of the rain, but the rain is too strong to spare her completely from the cold water. Drops from her wet hair drip on her cheeks and lips and find their way into her mouth. It reminds her of back then, when she stood by the shore, scouting across The Great Water. Large waves would hit against the stones and splash salty drops in her face. The water seemed endless, and there was so much that you couldn’t tell where it started and where it ended.

  Her father and older brother sailed out every morning with the other men from the village, hunting large groups of giant grey animals and bringing them onto the shore, where they’d slaughter them one by one with large knives. She could still hear the sound of the screaming giants when the men stabbed them with large hooks and knives. The water turned red with blood. and it made her shiver when she thought about it. Her father forced her to take part in the butchering of the stranded animals. At first she’d refused to obey him, but the disappointment and contempt in his eyes made her do it anyway. She had to shut down her heart so that the terrible screams wouldn’t get inside her and stay there forever. She hated doing it, and often when she looked across the water she’d hope that the ships would never return home.

  As time went by, her father and the other men had to sail further and further out into the great nothingness to find the animals they were chasing. Sometimes they’d be gone for several days, and when th
ey finally came back the once large groups of animals became smaller, both in size and number. Then one day they were all gone. The ships came back without catching any, and the men fought among themselves for the rights to new hunting grounds.

  Soon the men started chasing the birds flying across the sky in large flocks. They found their breeding grounds and nests, collecting eggs in huge numbers. She’d never seen so many eggs or dead chicks at once. The men worked quickly and effectively, and no cliffside or treetop was missed. But one day the nests were empty, and the birds were gone. And yet again, the men started fighting among themselves.

  She remembered the bad mood in the house when her father and brother came home at night. How her parents quarreled about how many riches and how many possessions they were missing out on. She tried to cover her ears when they shouted, but it was hard to shut out the voices. Her brother mocked her for being a soft and weak child who didn’t have what it took to grow up. The mood between her parents improved when her father started working in the forest.

  Large groups of men and young boys cut down trees, and dug channels leading the water away from the green fields and lakes and over to large pits in which they would clean the ground to find shining stones and metals. The younger boys and girls, including herself and her brother, collected the stones in large baskets. It was physically hard and the days were long, but fortunately she and her brother were more robust and stronger than most of the other children.

  Flo’s memories of the old days stop flooding in for a moment and she looks towards the hut. Her eyes rest on the door, but no one comes out. No matter how much she looks over there, no one’s walking out the door bringing her back into the warmth. She feels forgotten and insignificant, and her thoughts return to the stone pit in the forest and the working men around her.