Starfall

by R. M. Anderson

  They continued to run until they could not run any longer and they came to a stop in the middle of nowhere in the vast desert. They panted and scanned the area for any sign of Elin, Snorgs, and Desert Dogs, but there were none. Unanimously, they agreed to take a bit of a breather for a few moments as they planned their next course of action.

  Radianne tore a piece of her tunic off and examined the dagger. It was stained with blood and the sight unnerved her a little. She'd never done anything so violent in her life. But in that moment, she felt a little braver than she had been before. Just a little.

  Cleaning the blade with the cloth, she held it out to Henrick. “I believe this is yours,” she said with a slight smile. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

  For the first time in a long time, Henrick also cracked a smile.

  “Why don't you keep that one,” he said softly. “You've earned the right to it. I'm sure I can get another sometime soon.”

  “Good work with the blade Radianne,” Thomas said appreciatively. “Told you you were army-ready.”

  Radianne blushed at his words. She tucked the dagger back into her tunic and turned her attention to Blink, who had been very quiet as he sat in her hair.

  As she pulled him down gently into her arms, she found herself alarmed once more at the state of his appearance. He looked more rock-like than ever before and his eyes and mouth, though still animated, appeared hard as well.

  “Thank you so much for all you did for us back there,” she whispered to him. “You were so courageous and selfless. We are indebted to you.”

  Henrick and Thomas crowded around, also offering their thanks to Blink for his bravery and quick wit using the magic word that had immobilized the Desert Dogs and saved them.

  “How are you feeling, my friend?” Radianne asked.

  “I feel very drained,” he said weakly. “I don't think I'm going to last much longer.”

  Radianne's heart sank as she exchanged nervous glances with Henrick and Thomas. Despite the fact that they'd just escaped, she felt the despair coming on again. She felt she had abandoned him in a sense because she hadn't pressed forward with the journey. But hadn't it been right to go after Henrick and the Floppersnogs?

  She was so certain it had been the right thing to do… it had to be. Her heart told her she had to take care of all of them. Yet, combined with the guilt of leaving the Floppersnogs behind, the emotions weighed heavy on her in the light of day.

  She wasn't the only one struggling.

  As Henrick dealt with shame of being defeated by the Desert Dog and throwing everyone off course in the first place, he stared at the way from which they'd fled.

  He thought of his sister. And how he'd left her behind. Again.

  **************

  For whatever reason, Elin, the Snorgs, and the Desert Dogs seemed to have given up the chase. At least for the time being. It was odd, the escapees all agreed, that they hadn't been pursued. Thomas said he was certain their pursuers would appear at an unexpected moment. It was nearly evening and there was still no sign of an impending attack, but everyone was on guard.

  The group came across a little encampment of catci and took up a rest until they could gather their wits and decide which way would lead them to Shondalina. As Radianne tended to Blink, Thomas lay back with his head on the sand.

  Henrick removed himself from the group, outside the circle of cacti.

  He thought of his sister, and how complicated the situation was. He knew in time, after Blink was safely returned to the sky – if that were even to happen, he mused – he would return and rescue her.

  He had to make Elin see how cruelly she'd been brainwashed and how wrong she had been to falsely accuse him the way she had. Though, perhaps, she was right to some degree…

  His thoughts turned to Radianne and Thomas. It was humiliating that he'd been taken down by one of the Desert Dogs in the first place. To add to his embarrassment, Thomas had seemingly saved the day in the end, when he'd found the magic lever that led to their escape.

  Though, he supposed, it was actually Blink who had saved them all. He'd done all the hard work, getting the keys to set them free. The little star was amazing.

  Henrick felt almost as cowardly as the day he'd run away from the Snorgs, leaving his family to their awful fates.

  It was his fault they had veered off course.

  And then there was that other matter.

  Radianne.

  His eyes trailed up to the sky and back across the desert. Radianne had been somewhat nasty to him when they'd first met, and there were days where she still acted as if she didn't care for him. He thought her feelings were starting to change. She gave him something to look forward to and to fight for. But when she'd come back to the camp with Thomas, he'd been so jealous… a sort of jealously he'd never experienced before. Admittedly, his feelings for her had grown deep, despite his annoyances with her at times.

  The fact that Thomas was there put a dent in things. Perhaps Radianne would not need him any longer. Blink would not need him. He thought he should go back then, to save his sister and the Floppersnogs. Right then. No waiting. Because he knew without a doubt he was falling in love with Radianne. It would be another good reason to leave.

  Before this mess with his sister, he had been reflecting on what would happen with his relationship with Radianne when Blink was gone. He wasn't used to living an ordinary life, and the thought of doing so scared him. He also didn't think he was ready for all that came with love… he was serious about gathering an army… and he didn't want Radianne to be part of it. The thought of losing her too was too much to handle.

  None of it really mattered now, he thought. Radianne would probably want nothing to do with him when all was said and done. Maybe she and Thomas would end up together. She seemed to admire him. Thomas had certainly come along and changed things…

  But back to his sister. And that matter of rescuing the Floppersnogs. He sighed inwardly. What to do?

  As he looked out into the sea of sand and fought against the turmoil inside, he almost left right then and there. His eyes drifted back up to the sky and he noted the stars beginning to appear. An unusual, warm, and magnetic feeling washed over him. It was as if they were pulling him in, winking their encouragement. As if they were saying, “You are in the right place. Things will work out as they should in time, you'll see.”

  He knew then that he could not abandon his friends. The right thing was to see this quest through. And, at the end of it all, if Radianne chose Thomas, he would accept it – he would resign himself to it. Love was too dangerous. Life as a Wanderer suited him best anyway.

  He'd get back to his sister. And he'd try to forget how he felt about Radianne. Even if he found himself standing up at that moment and moving, inevitably, to where she was.

  **************

  Radianne couldn't help but laugh as Thomas did an impression of yelping Desert Dogs and the oafish Snorgs. Laughing felt nice. She knew he was trying to take her mind off Blink, who lay sleeping in her arms, and the guilt she told him she felt about having to leave the Floppersnogs temporarily behind.

  Thomas stopped his impressions to feed the waning flames of the fire just as Henrick returned to the camp. Radianne's heart leaped in her chest as she watched him walk toward them.

  “Welcome back,” Thomas said, a little too cheerfully.

  “Thanks.”

  Henrick looked at him briefly and then flicked his eyes over to Radianne.

  They stared at each other for a moment and a flicker of something passed between the two of them. But then, he looked away, his face devoid of emotion.

  Radianne couldn't fault him for that. The events of the last couple days had drained them all. Though she'd been laughing a few minutes before, she sobered as she thought again of the predicaments they were all in.

  None of the them slept that night.

  On guard and waiting, they watched the fire silently and hoped the dawn of a new day would some
how make things seem brighter.

  **************

  They traversed across the desert floor, not speaking. Time in the endless sea of sand was wearing thin and Radianne wasn't sure how much more she could take.

  They'd managed to find water and a little food, but fears of Blink's possible demise, the plight of the Floppersnogs, and the constant checking of their backs for Elin and her entourage were becoming quite stressful and tiresome.

  The group pressed on as quickly as they could in the direction Henrick said he thought Shondalina lay. Radianne wished she hadn't been so careless with the map, as she'd lost it some time ago.

  Blink commented that he could no longer feel his points, as they had begun to dramatically harden, and his words frightened her. She pulled out the rolled up bag Miss Lugia had given her and made a secure seat for him so she could carry him along without worrying he'd topple off her shoulder. At the moment, his eyes were focused on some far off, unknown place – most likely, home. She knew he was wondering if he really would ever be back among the stars again.

  "It won't be much longer now Blink,” she told him softly, straining to keep her voice light. “Your mother sure is going to be happy to see you.”

  The star nodded.

  “Another day or so should get us across the border and into Shondalina,” Thomas piped up.

  “How would you know,” Henrick countered. “It could take much longer, depending.”

  The two men had tolerated each other since their escape from the Snorg training lair, but at that moment, they started arguing about their final destination. The bickering grew louder and Radianne asked them to stop, several times. But they wouldn't listen.

  She fumed. For most of the quest, she'd followed Henrick's lead and hadn't really branched out on her own as much as she would have liked. She knew this was partially because she was naive in the ways of the world, however, somehow it had become all about him and what he wanted, when he wanted it. And then there was Thomas, complaining about the way he thought they should go.

  She decided right then and there that the time had come to take matters into her own hands. They could stand there arguing all day and night about who was right, but Blink was deathly ill. There was no time to waste standing around clucking like hens. She wouldn't put his life at risk.

  Turning on her heel, away from them, she began to walk faster. It took some time for Henrick and Thomas to notice she had left their presence. When they finally did realize she was gone, she was a good deal ahead.

  “What are you doing?” Henrick called out, his voice trailing on the wind. “You don't know where you're going.”

  Apparently, in Radianne's enthusiasm, she had veered off course a little. Pride wounded, she told herself that if she kept walking, she would run into Shondalina. Her path couldn't be too far off course.

  “There's no time to stand around while you two argue,” she said airily. “We want to keep moving.”

  Thomas and Henrick ran ahead and caught up with her.

  “He's right you know,” Thomas panted. “This isn't the way to Shondalina, at least from what I've heard.”

  “That,” Henrick said, pointing west, “is the way to Shondalina. If you still had the map, you'd know this.”

  “And because I lost the map, that's the only reason I've been letting you lead the way up until now,” Radianne retorted sharply. “I've had enough of you two bickering and trying to control things, trying to save the day. Things are going to be on my terms now.”

  Henrick raised an eyebrow. “So that means you'll get lost and delay Blink even longer?”

  Anger boiled up inside Radianne. Her pride told her that she had to prove to these two that she could do something on her own, without their help. However, without saying a word, she did turn a little west, toward the direction Henrick had pointed. But she tried to make it happen naturally, as if she knew what she was doing.

  An ever-greater expanse of desert greeted them. The heat was taking its toll and soon they all became quite cranky.

  Henrick and Thomas scowled as they walked. Beads of sweat trickled down Radianne's forehead and she grumbled.

  Then, suddenly, in a strange and sudden turn of events, the winds began to pick up.

  Blink felt something was off. “I can sense it,” he said. “An odd event is about to happen.”

  “I think a sand storm is coming. We must find shelter.” Thomas shielded his eyes from the sun, scanning the land and horizon for possible places of safety to retreat to.

  “I've never heard of a sand storm,” Henrick retorted, starting to argue with Thomas again.

  No sooner had he made the statement than an ominous looking funnel cloud appeared in the near distance. It began to violently churn up sand, sucking it up into a whirlwind.

  “And there you go,” Thomas muttered.

  Also at that precise moment, a chorus of eerie howls echoed across the land. Just ahead, a pack of altered Desert Dogs appeared over a sand hill. The Snorgs, desert-adverse as they were, were not with them. But Elin was.

  “Just perfect,” Thomas sighed. “Wonder what else is going to happen today.”

  “We will not run,” Henrick said. “Let's try to reason with her.”

  Thomas was about to say something sharp in retort but apparently thought the better of it as Radianne shot him a warning look. The group had no choice. They headed toward the dogs and Elin, fighting against the wind of the funnel cloud coming ever closer. Sharp little pellets of sand began to hit them in their faces and Radianne tried to shield her eyes from the stinging grains.

  “Forget trying to negotiate with her, we have to find shelter before this storm makes an end of us all,” Thomas warned, but his words were drowned out by the wind.

  Just then the sand struck at all angles, first forcing them to their knees, and then flat onto their stomachs. Radianne pressed her hands against her eyes, trying to block out the painful elements, worrying about Blink, worrying about Elin and the Desert Dogs, and wishing she was home.

  Home. Where she would be safe with her family… the thoughts comforted her. She held Blink close to her heart, trying to protect him from the sand assault. She had to get him home. Getting him home was the important thing. That had been the goal from the beginning and the entire, most important, reason for the journey.

  Then something extraordinary happened. The group found themselves being swept up into the belly of the funnel cloud as it quickly passed over them. Once inside the cyclone, there was a calm, and they were simply suspended in mid-air. Outside, the cloud was still churning up sand violently, however.

  Elin and the Desert Dogs stood near the whirling funnel. One by one the dogs tried to enter, but to no avail. They were tossed to and fro, their bodies thrown violently up into the air and flung great distances away.

  When there were no beasts left standing, Elin stood with fists clenched, her hair whipping wildly in the wind, rage on her face. She was so angry, she didn't even shield her face from the sand’s assault.

  “Coward!” she yelled, and despite the tremendous noise from the swirling sand outside their safety zone, the group could still hear the echoing coldness of her words. And they knew who the words were intended for.

  Then another odd thing happened. The funnel and its occupants began to drift away, slowly. The storm moved as if a living thing, a vehicle carrying its passengers to some unknown destination. There was nothing to do except wait and see where they would be carried off to next.

  As they moved across the desert, Radianne watched with wonder as Elin became smaller and smaller – soon she was just a tiny speck standing on the horizon. Though she was relieved to get away from her, Radianne's heart sank a little as she took in Henrick's forlorn face.

  Before they completely lost sight of his sister, he sent a message across the desert.

  “I will come back for you!”

  And then, Elin was gone. And the cloud moved on.

  -21-

  Between World
s

  T

  here was nothing to do at the moment except wait to see where the cloud would take them. The group hovered in the storm's belly, suspended in thin air, watching the sand beneath their feet roll on like the waves of the ocean. Time seemed to stand still and it was as if they would never get to where they were going.

  To Radianne, it seemed that they may very well have been trapped in the spiraling funnel for an eternity.

  Then, without warning, the cloud came to an abrupt halt. The wind died down and the sand violently swirled one last time as the group was unceremoniously dropped to the desert floor. The cloud vanished without a trace, as if it had never been at all.

  Everyone lay motionless on the desert floor for a few moments, their bodies and minds in a state of shock.

  Radianne slowly opened her eyes and checked on her companions. Blink's eyes were wide open, and Thomas struggled to his feet and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Haven't been through a sand storm like that before,” he said to no one in particular. “Never caught up in the belly either. Odd.”

  Henrick remained flat on his back a few feet away from Radianne. His arms were thrown over his face.

  Radianne stood up and the sand cascaded from her hair as she rushed to his side.

  “Henrick? Are you alright? Talk to me!” She crouched down beside him.

  “I can't see,” he moaned.

  She gently pried Henrick's hands away from his eyes and told him to open them.

  “I can't.” He winced.

  She reached out and gingerly touched one of his eyelids.

  “Ouch!” he yelped.

  “Sorry!”

  Radianne glanced up at Thomas, who had walked over to assess the damage. “Have you ever experienced anything like this?”