The moon slowly starts crawling out of its hiding place behind the dark rainclouds, which until now have been their allies, and the bright moonshine starts lighting the area. Everything around them suddenly becomes visible and all hiding places are revealed. The next moment the battle they’ve all been waiting for and fearing breaks out. They’ve become live targets to be eliminated.
One spear after another flies through the air toward the small groups, and Dagwood can only watch from a distance. It suddenly feels like the distance between him and the enemies is incredibly large. He knows that the plan of sneaking around unnoticed is destroyed. The moon has betrayed them, and their advantage has been turned into a disadvantage.
He stands up from his hiding place behind the bush and starts running towards the boys. The pain from his thigh wound hurts and he has to clench his teeth not to scream. Not far away he sees Salomon, who’s also started running toward the hut. He runs in the direction of one of the other groups where Skye, Puk and Finch try to cover themselves under their wooden shields. Dagwood runs as fast as he can, but time seems to stand still and the distance remains endless.
Suddenly a heartbreaking scream sounds in the night. A scream that can only come from a person who’s been seriously injured, and Dagwood shivers at the thought of it being someone from his clan who’s been hit.
Finally he reaches the group of boys, and regardless of being outnumbered he starts attacking them. His knife races through the air from side to side, keeping them away while he kicks wildly around him. Several times he feels that he hits something, but no matter how hard he fights they seem to keep coming at him with undiminished strength. Around him he hears the sound of war, and everywhere there’s a chaos of fear, wildness and survival.
Far up in the mountain, by the large dam of fallen trees and rotten branches, the water pushes everything in its way. Its power has gradually increased as the rain has poured constantly, and now it’s only a matter of time before it finally tears itself free of its confinement.
Flo looks to the ground as she covers her head with a shield. Evi lies still on the ground. A large open wound on her temple bleeds. The sound of spears flying through the air seems endless, and any moment she expects one of them to penetrate their armor and hit their heads or their hearts.
Suddenly she feels lost in the middle of the bloody inferno of the night. Not because Evi lies wounded on the ground next to her, or because the enemy’s surrounded them and the spears tumble down on them. The only thing she can think about is the disappointment in Dagwood’s eyes as he defended Skye against her. How he’d pushed her away when she wanted to clean his wound but shortly after let Skye do it. The self-loathing about her envy of Skye, and the feeling of being rejected by Dagwood the same way she was rejected by her father overpowers her. She feels more unloved than ever before.
In the distance she hears Dagwood’s voice. He shouts. She looks at Carrick, who’s occupied with protecting himself and keeping the enemy at a distance. But he seems to be fighting a superior power that will soon defeat him and everyone else.
Quietly she gets up and sneaks away from the other two. Everybody’s busy fighting, and in their effort to defend themselves no one notices that she’s run to a small mound a not far from the battlefield. She breathes deeply and shouts as loud as she can.
“STOP!”
All eyes are drawn to Flo and she’s suddenly visible to both enemies and friends in the moonlight. They all stop fighting and look at her in astonishment as she throws her spear and shield to the ground.
“You can take me …”
In the next moment no one’s moving or saying anything. After a while one of the shabby boys runs to the mound to Flo and grabs her arm. He starts pulling her away while he holds a knife in front of him. It’s not until this moment that Dagwood realizes what’s happening and he tears himself away from the group of hostile boys he was fighting bitterly just a moment ago and starts running towards Flo.
A violent thunder sounds as he starts moving and this time it doesn’t come from the sky but the mountain and from underground. Dagwood tries to ignore the deafening sound even though he can feel the ground shaking underneath him, and he finds it hard to control his movements. Right now he has to save Flo from the boys and herself. What was she thinking!
He quickly reaches the mound but soon stops again. The boy has the knife against Flo’s throat and more boys are gathering behind them.
“Let go of her!”
Dagwood’s voice is tense and angry, but he feels powerless as he looks at them. Flo puts her hand on the knife and removes it from her throat.
She looks down at Dagwood and says: “This is my own choice, Dag. I want to go with them. Stop fighting it. The decision has been made. And don’t follow me.”
He releases the pressure in his clenched fists and lowers his shoulders. Large drops of rain fall on his face as he stands shaking his head, unable to comprehend it.
“But I don’t understand … Why would you willingly follow them? No one has to leave our camp. Our clan! This is what we’ve been fighting for all night.”
The others around him, both those from the clan and the hostile boys, have lowered their weapons and shields and start pulling away from each other. Towards a safer place, towards their allies, where they don’t have to be on guard from the attack of an opponent. They all listen to the conversation between Dagwood and Flo, astonished by her decision and relieved that the fighting has stopped.
Flo doesn’t notice the others’ movements or faces. She only looks at Dagwood. Her mouth curls up on one side and she closes her eyes for a brief moment before she answers.
“You really don’t get it, do you?”
Dagwood takes a step toward her. She looks more serene than he’s ever seen her before, but at the same time he senses a sadness behind her determined eyes. A sadness he doesn’t understand.
“But then explain it to me, Flo. I want to understand …”
She starts walking backwards, away from Dagwood and the others, towards her new clan, her new family. A giant boom quickly cuts off their conversation, and she looks uneasily towards the mountains before she goes on.
“It doesn’t matter now. Not any more … Nothing can change things. They are the way they are. It’ll always be like this. No one loves the one they ought to. Everyone loses … We’ve all lost.”
Her voice is low, almost whispering, as if she was only talking to herself, but Dagwood hears her loud and clear. He’s more confused than ever and thinks she’s speaking in riddles. What is it he doesn’t understand? He tries to speak but lacks the words, and Flo goes on before he has time to say anything.
“You’re so clever, Dagwood. You see everything around you, but you’re as blind as the little rodents who live in the darkness under the ground when it comes to things that aren’t visible, even though they’re obvious.”
Flo looks down, trying to hide her eyes full of tears.
The boy behind her starts pulling her arms, as he says: “No more talking. Come on now.”
At first she tries to fight it as if there’s still a small doubt left in her, but she quickly lets go of her resentment and starts walking with him. Dagwood follows her with his eyes but doesn’t move. The others from the camp have gathered behind him and quietly watch Flo’s departure. They’re all confused and don’t understand. Except Puk. He understands what Dagwood hasn’t understood. That Flo is in love with Dagwood, and that she’s given up her fight against Skye, who he loves blindly and unconditionally. So much so that he doesn’t even see that she’s uncertain about her love for him. Yes, Puk understands fate and the unfair puzzle of life that Flo speaks of very well.
He looks at her and sees a fighter and a victim in the same person, and this time the victim’s won. He’s afraid it won’t be like that forever, and that the lives of others will be affected in a way that wasn’t the i
ntention of her decision.
Flo’s almost disappeared into the darkness with the boys when she turns around, and says: “Remember me for this last thing, Dag. I’ve stopped the war and Skye gets to stay here with you. Take care of Evi for me …”
Skye’s about to say something when Salomon stops her, and her words disappear from her lack of courage and a nagging feeling of guilt. She feels no joy in seeing Flo disappear, only guilt about being the reason for Flo’s dramatic decision. It should be her they took with them.
Salomon leans over to her and whispers in her ear: “It isn’t the time to be heroic … Let her have that.”
She turns to him. Is he saying that because he’d rather have Flo leave the camp – rather than her – or is it because she shouldn’t take Flo’s brave and unselfish act from her? It’s the last gesture she can show them all before she disappears like a hero. She understands and nods at Salomon, recognizing his decision.
At that second the trembling of the ground increases and they can all feel the violent tremor under their feet. The thundering sound comes closer and closer, and can no longer be ignored. Nervously, everyone’s attention is removed from Flo and turns to the roaring monster that comes tumbling towards them from the mountains. But they still can’t see anything. Yet. The monster hasn’t shown its face, even though they can all hear it coming.
“RUN!”
Dagwood turns to the others and shouts as loud as possible. He looks at Salomon standing next to Skye and points to the hut.
“Get her to safety, Sal!”
He rushes to Evi, who still lies lifeless on the ground, and lifts her up. Puk tries to call for the dogs, but they both run over the mound and into the forest. For a moment he thinks about following them, but instead he runs for the hut.
The shabby boys who were their enemies just a short while ago now act like confused children. They’re also trying to organize their group as they pick up spears and weapons from the muddy ground. None of them get far before the monster suddenly breaks out through the trees, tumbling towards them with terrifying strength. A gigantic tongue of mud and water rushes towards them, burying everything on its way. Panic spreads between the clan members in an instant, as the uninvited guests and desperate screams mingle with the roaring of the monster.
Salomon grabs Skye and they run after Dagwood and Puk, who lead the way through the chaos. Skye tries to follow, but the wooden shield slows her movements and she’s struggling to run.
Suddenly she feels that Salomon’s disappearing from her side and soon after a river of mud whips her legs away from under her. She’s carried by the stream, and the shield that was slowing her down before is now holding her up so she doesn’t sink. Salomon’s gone, but she can still see Dagwood with Evi in his arms, and Puk, who’s trying to protect himself against the wave of mud. They’ve almost reached the door when she suddenly sees a new wave, more violent than before, flooding over them, pushing them towards the hut.
She’s whirled around while trying to call for Salomon. Her mouth’s filled with water and mud, and she hears the others’ desperate screams in the darkness. Everybody’s crying for help and to release the fear from within themselves. The attack of the monster is quick and effective, and soon all the screams are smothered by a blanket of mud, broken trees and branches. The tall, foaming waves finally die down and turn into a calm, trickling stream.
Skye regains consciousness. She’s lying awkwardly on the ground with the front part of the shield over her head. Bruised and dazed, she crawls out of her wooden armor and slowly gets up. The water’s started to recede and has left their camp in ruins and chaos. Tree trunks and branches are floating in the muddy water, and half-drowned animals cling desperately to random, floating rafts.
She must’ve been unconscious for some time, because the night has withdrawn to make room for the day, and a small ray of sun has sneaked in between the treetops as if nothing had happened and another happy day was about to begin. The hut’s almost covered by water and mud, and those who weren’t taken by the mass of water have climbed to safety on the roof.
She sees Puk with Twice in his arms and a bundle next to him that seems to be filled with the lively puppies, which have not understood the seriousness of the situation. Axton and Finch sit side by side with a lifeless Evi lying across their legs. Further down the roof, Lark sits with her arms around the others from the new group. Most of them seem to be safe on the roof, but she can’t see Salomon and Dagwood. Where is Dagwood? She saw him running towards the hut. He ought to be safely on the roof with the others. And Salomon? Where is he?
She looks frantically around the destroyed and flooded camp, but she can’t see them. Everything’s in ruins and all the trees and bushes seem to be torn up by the roots and thrown somewhere else like garbage. Skye fights her way forward in the chaos as she calls their names, but there’s no answer.
Suddenly she sees a lifeless body lying on the sticky ground. A thick layer of mud covers it and it’s impossible to tell who it is. She rushes over there but is terrified of what she’ll find. She sits down next to the lifeless body and slowly starts removing the mud from the covered face.
Her heart’s beating fast and her hands are trembling as she whispers: “Don’t be dead … I can’t lose you. My heart won’t survive it.”
At that moment the eyes in the muddy face slowly open and two turquoise crystals shine at her. Skye’s throat closes, and she’s paralyzed for a short moment, unable to speak. The shining eyes are looking at her hopefully, expecting a reaction, some more words, but nothing happens.
Salomon breaks the silence and reaches for her hand as he stutters: “Dagwood …”
Skye hears a sound behind her and turns around. Dagwood stands a bit away with an unconscious boy in his arms, as he answers: “I’m here.”
CHAPTER 44
They’re all gathered at the small mound where Flo had left them earlier. There’s still so much water in the camp and around the hut that they can’t keep dry or make a fire. And they all need warmth and rest. Together they’ve carried some tree trunks to the top of the mound and collected a handful of large stones, which now make up a campfire. But they don’t have any wood that’s dry enough to burn.
“At least the rain’s stopped.”
Puk looks at the sky and shivers as he holds Twice close to him. The day started several hours ago, and the fight and chaos of yesterday seem like an evil dream. But the destruction around them tell another story, that it was as real as the pain in their injured bodies … and just as real as the three graves lying in front of them.
In one of them they’ve buried Knox after collecting his body from the flooded hut. In the other they’ve buried Carrick, who they’d found drowned by the river. And in the third they’ve buried the small girl, Red, from the new group. She’d broken her neck in her fight against the water and had probably been hit by a tree trunk. They’ve also found two of the shabby boys and have buried them in a common grave a short distance from the resting place of the others. They’ve spent too much time and too much effort digging graves, and they’re all tired.
Axton gets up, saying: “I’ll go out there and take a look … Maybe I can find something useful or edible.”
Dagwood nods silently back at him, too tired and exhausted to answer.
Salomon sits curled up on a tree stump close by with the dogs at his feet. They came back to the group when the water receded and the rain stopped. He’s still covered in mud and his long hair hangs in stiff lumps down his shoulders. He almost looks like a statue carved in a tree. But it doesn’t matter what he or any of the others look like now. They’re all shadows of themselves, both physically and mentally. Torn bodies and broken souls. Exhaustion and hopelessness have gotten a hold of them and they’re soaked, wounded and mentally defeated.
Dagwood looks at Evi, who’s lying in the grass next to the boy he found when he was lo
oking for Skye. He’s so relieved that Skye survived. He thought he’d lost her when he saw that she was torn away from Salomon’s hands and disappeared in the water. In desperation he almost threw Evi to the ground to run into the chaos to find her. Instead, he found the lifeless boy lying between some branches and mud.
At first he thought about leaving him and searching for Skye, but he couldn’t do it. A large pile of dirt and stone was about to fall on top him, and if he wasn’t dead already, he would’ve been crushed to pieces if he hadn’t moved him. He had no choice. He had to save him. But all the time he was digging him free he thought about Skye, who might be lying wounded or half-dead somewhere, needing his help. Instead he was helping an enemy to survive. He hated him as he pulled him away from the branches and the mud and shouted angrily at him, but he kept going until he was safe.
He carried him in his arms until he found Skye and Salomon, and he was happy to see them alive, but at the same time he had the same feeling he’d had that day by the river. A feeling of a connection between them that he didn’t quite understand. What was it she’d whispered to Salomon as she wiped away the dried mud from his face? Did he miss an important moment because he had to save a stranger? Had the catastrophe brought them closer together, creating yet another bond between them, like when Salomon had saved Skye in the forest? All because of a boy he didn’t know, and who he didn’t want to get to know.
Dagwood shakes his head slightly and tries to get rid of the thoughts of Skye and Salomon. There are more important things for him to worry about than a feeling of something that might only exist in his imagination. Still, he finds it hard not to connect the scrawny little boy with the destruction and the chaos around and inside him. The unconscious boy has become synonymous with death and unhappiness.
The Dawn of Skye (The Someday Children Book 1) Page 33