by M J Porter
The Long Day
She was lost and frightened and knew with absolute certainty that she was too far from her home to make it back tonight. The wind was beyond fierce and the snow was flying blindingly into her face. Her tears of earlier had started again and they and the snot from her running nose were stuck to her face. Even Arrow was whimpering as the wind blew relentlessly against them. She could think of nowhere that offered any sort of sanctuary from the blizzard. She understood with a calm knowledge that surprised her that she was going to die here. She only wished she’d stayed with the baby. It would have been fitting if they had died together. Maybe then someone would have found them together and somehow figured out what Rankil was doing.
She had barely made it halfway home when the deep violet of night had taken all light from her surroundings. Now she was just stumbling around in the dark although she thought Arrow was trying to find the way back by following their previous trail. Sereh wondered how she could do that. Surely the wind and snow had obliterated their trail? Arrow snuffled around and Sereh followed her because she had nothing else to do. All hope had fled. She just wasn’t prepared to sit down and wait for the cold to claim her. Not yet.
She could see nothing, and hoped to herself that they were not walking too closely to the sheer drops of the valley sides. Whilst it might be a less painful way to die than freezing to death, she really did not want to try it. She could think of nothing worse than having the ground give out below her feet. The constant presence of the ground gave some small comfort as she battled her way onwards.
Arrow was whimpering from in front of her, and Sereh tried to call her name. The wind whipped the words right out of her mouth. Instead she staggered forward to pat her on the back. Arrow whined as Sereh reached her and began to move slowly away from their current path. Sereh could tell because the wind now buffeted her from the side instead of from the front. She briefly wondered where Arrow was taking her before resigning herself to just following her friend.
Arrow had been just a baby when Sereh had come to Rankil’s steading and they had grown and bonded together in such a way that Sereh considered Arrow her true friend. If her friend was moving away from the track then there must be a good reason, and Sereh was only too happy to follow her.
After only a few short moments, Arrow stopped short and began to sniff around on the ground in front of her. Sereh just managed to not walk into her, belatedly becoming aware of her unmoving friend. Letting out a small whine Arrow again walked forward, leading Sereh. She was not overly sure where they were but the minute they stepped inside whatever it was, the wind stopped buffeting her and she felt able to breathe more freely. It was dark, yet amazingly not as dark as it had been outside. There was a faint luminescence that allowed Sereh to see that they were inside some sort of cave. She sighed with relief and slumped down against the bare rock face at the back of the small cave, removing her back pack by simply releasing both straps at the same time so that it clattered to the floor. Against the muted dark she could see a small glimpse of the total black of outside and wondered how Arrow had managed to find their sanctuary, grateful as she was that she had.
She was exhausted and safe and that was all that mattered for now. With another whine, Arrow came and curled up next to her and the pair of them sank into an uneasy, cold sleep, only lessened by the warmth of the one against the other. In her dreams, Sereh was sure she could hear a baby cry.
* * *
She woke disorientated, her mind still half dreaming. A soft rustling noise caught at her peripheral hearing but she paid little attention to it as she quickly remembered where she was and wondered how she could feel so warm. Well that wasn’t strictly true. She no longer felt warm. Instead there was a residual heat around her. Her clothes and face were slightly chilled but were not cold enough to have spent the night outside of her home. And not just any night; the first night of the Long Day. There were no icicles hanging off her nose and her clothes were not encrusted with ice particles. More importantly she was still very much alive, and so was Arrow, who had begun to stir at her feet. Arrow had spent the night curled up on her legs and Sereh knew that when she got off them it was really going to hurt. She did not rush Arrow by dislodging her from her place. Instead she lay there, enjoying the luxury of waking up slowly and in her own time, despite the chill. It was unheard of. Normally she was awoken by the other servants, or by Rankil’s shouting and stomping around the steading. He was clearly not a morning person.
Instantly she was struck with a thought. Surely she had just managed to survive the night outside without the comfort of heat or light. Could she not do that again? Maybe there was no need for her to go back to him after all. He would think her dead in the storm and there was no reason to deprive him of that idea.
Arrow woke abruptly and leapt from her legs. Sereh gave a small moan of pain which Arrow did not notice. Her nose was to the ground and she was sniffing all around where Sereh lay. After only a moment or two, her ears pinned themselves back and she gave a low moan. Sereh was surprised because she had never heard her make such a noise before.
“What is it girl, what can you smell?”
Arrow only stared at her with what Sereh would call a quizzical look and walked outside, away from the little cave they had found in the night.
Sereh scrambled to her feet with some difficulty. She had obviously slept in a very uncomfortable position and now her legs and back were protesting as she tried to use them. She guessed that they were also a little sore from the exertions of the day before. She managed to get one leg to work but then the other one buckled as she attempted to put any weight on it. She put her arms out to stop herself falling and leant on the cave’s wall for support. She still nearly fell as she was distracted by how smooth the surface of the wall was. She had never felt anything like it before, and so in a strange half crouched position, which was all her back and legs would allow, she gazed with interest at the surface of her life-saving cave.
She had been able to see little last night when Arrow had found her the cave. Now in the half light she noticed the curvature of the cave was incredibly even and also steep. The rock face did not slope back as she expected, but instead continued in a straight unrelenting line as far as the eye could see, which admittedly was not far in the faintly glowing cavern. Curious, she managed to get both legs to work and stepped back outside the cave. There was a fresh fall of snow and the sun was glowing weakly in the cloudless blue sky. Sereh blinked in the unexpected brightness. Pulling her cloak tighter she gazed at the wall before her. It was continuous with no hint of another opening. She guessed that they had been very lucky last night to find the small cave when they had. Sereh wondered briefly just how Arrow had managed to locate it in the nightmare of the swirling snowstorm.
The sun had risen just enough to touch the wall and she gasped out loud when she noticed the deep blackness of the rock. She had never seen anything like it before. It was so black that whilst the sun illuminated it, the wall somehow seemed to suck the sunlight into itself.
Why had she never seen this place before? She moved back into ‘her’ cave and continued to touch the rock face. She could find no hint of a seam in the rock and it was smooth as far as she could reach above her head standing on tiptoes.
She was intrigued.
Just then her stomach let out a loud rumbling. It had been nearly a whole day since she had last eaten. She had some peat cakes in her back pack, and so bent to retrieve it from where it lay discarded. As she chewed the slightly spongy texture she realised her lack of food would be a problem. At this time of the rotation there would be little, if any, growing wildly and the small wild animals would certainly still be deep in hibernation.
She banished the thought. She would not return to Rankil now the chance that he thought her frozen to death had taken hold. However she would need food for herself and for Arrow for at least the next few weeks until the Long Day had become properly established and the snow had started to melt.
What could she do?
Pondering her predicament, Sereh hitched up her back pack, and began walking along the inky rock face before her. She didn’t really know why but now that she was awake and up and about she was starting to get chilly from the wind which was enthusiastically blowing along the valley edge.
She walked some distance, sharing her peat cakes with Arrow, who skipped along beside her. Arrow seemed to have gotten over her bizarre behaviour of earlier and Sereh gave it no further thought as she walked above the snow with the aid of her snowshoes. That was probably another reason why her feet and legs hurt. She had fallen asleep with them still on. They did not make comfortable slippers.
She put behind her the tragedy of yesterday, happy to exhilarate in the feel of the sun on her skin, and she gladly closed her eyes and let the weak rays of the sun turn the back of her eyelids yellow and green. She thought that it really was only when something was withheld that you began to really appreciate it. The sun was a luxury which no one on he world could take for granted.
And then she had it. She identified where she would go. Calling to Arrow, she began walking back the way she had come. She recalled someone who would help her, and she hoped that they would also keep her identity a secret. She was so excited, she was practically skipping. The cave instantly forgotten, Sereh walked off towards the feebly glowing sun.
* * *
The going was very uneven as she began her trek. The snow was so deep in places that in the first few moments she had to pull Arrow out from snow holes that had opened up beneath her paws. Arrow had looked a little annoyed on both incidences because Sereh had really had to yank her neck and it had hurt. Arrow was now being more careful in choosing the path that they were slowly weaving. Sereh didn’t blame her. The snow was so thick that all the usual landmarks were obscured and it was extremely difficult to know which way to go. Even their prints of yesterday had been obliterated. It wasn’t helped by the fact that Sereh hadn’t visited her friend since she had come to live with Rankil. She just hoped that her memory was clear about the right way to go.
She was aware that at the height of the Long Day the journey should only take about two days. With the weather as it was, and the very short daylight hours, she realised that it would probably take twice as long. She did not want to be caught out in another storm and so all through the first day of travelling she kept her eyes open for any sign of somewhere to stop for the night. She appreciated that she had been very lucky to survive last night and she wanted to be much better prepared tonight. Food was going to be an issue as she already felt light headed as she trudged through the snow. The exhilaration was currently combating the hunger. Today she was officially free and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.
They made good progress that first day and as the sun was setting in a cascade of purples overlaid with blues, Arrow chanced upon another small cave which was more sheltered than the one of last night. Arrow went scampering to the back of the cave and came back with some small animal clamped between her teeth. Sereh was amused by the wolfy grin on her face – it was evident that she was pleased with the meal she had caught herself for the evening. Arrow wouldn’t mind that it wasn’t cooked. Sereh knew that she would. She riffled around in her back pack and was surprised when she pulled some more peat cakes out from the very bottom. She had not thought that she had packed so many. Maybe Mult had put a few extras in for her. Mult was about the only person at Rankil’s who was remotely kind to her and she had known how much Sereh had cared for the baby. Mult had been more complacent about the exposure of the baby. She was often pregnant herself and knew that some babies lived, whilst others died and that there was no reason behind the choice. Whilst she did not agree with Rankil killing healthy babies, she also understood his reasoning enough to never question him. After all, he left her alone with her own children, even though he could have had them sent away as well. He did not appreciate having more mouths to feed.
* * *
The next morning dawned chill and late and saw Arrow happily leaping ahead as she and Sereh started to cross the huge glacier of Vatna Jokull. The sun was low in the watery sky and gave a slight warmth to the air which was noticeable on the frozen terrain.
The view around her was dazzling with pure brilliant silvers in every direction, uninterrupted by any sign of habitation. No one wanted to live here; it was too barren in the short Long Day and too wind wrecked in the Long Night, and legend had it that in the deepest depths of the Long Night the air was filled with hideous shrieks and groans. How anyone knew that Sereh did not know. After all no-one would be out this far in the Long Night. It was rare for anyone to be here in the Long Day. Sereh only was because she wished to avoid the well-trodden paths that others would be using. She did not want to run the risk of bumping into Rankil or any of his adherents. She was free from him now and had no intention of returning to his yoke. With Arrow at her side she felt secure in the knowledge that she would stick to the safe areas of the glacier. Arrow had an uncanny ability of knowing where dangerous precipices loomed and always skirted around them. Sereh trusted Arrow, and the last three days, when they had been alone together, had only served to strengthen her trust in the wolf-dog who looked to her.
Sereh had a lot to think about as she trudged through the energy sapping snow which had formed on top of the glacier. The going was strenuous and the pack on her back was steadily growing heavier with each soft footfall on the padded surface. In front, Arrow was darting all over the place, sniffing and scent marking as she went. Sereh was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not notice the slight wind which wafted the hood on her cloak and it took her a moment to realise that Arrow’s ears had pricked up, and that she had stopped, dead, in her tracks. A low whine was escaping her mouth and Sereh rushed to her. Bending down to stroke her immensely soft, midnight black neck with one hand and tweak her alert ear with the other Sereh said,
“What is it Arrow?”
Arrow just kept looking forward intent on what it was she could see. Following Arrow’s line of sight Sereh scanned the horizon in front. Nothing appeared any different. The vista was still as untouched and untroubled by animal or human presence. Sereh was puzzled. What had made Arrow act like this? And then she heard it – a low agonised cry that sent a shiver up her spine. She had no idea what could be making that noise but hazarded the thought that it was some sort of animal in trouble
“Is that it girl? Is that what’s made you stop?” Sereh asked Arrow, although of course she knew she would get no answer. Arrow did give her one though. She stood up and started walking forward with her grey ears pressed flat and her black tail firmly down between her legs. Sereh hesitated to walk towards the awful noise that she heard but neither did she want to be left behind without her trusty guide. She was a little curious as to what could scare Arrow so much and still compel her to walk forwards.
Arrow was maybe four wolf lengths in front by now and Sereh hurried to catch up with her, putting her hand on Arrow’s soft neck for reassurance. Arrow did not seem to notice her touch and continued to walk carefully forward, now and then sniffing the ground in front of her. Sereh could see no prints in the snow and nor was she likely to. The snow of last night had been heavy. She couldn’t understand how anything could have survived through the winds of yesterday evening, and that did make her shiver with terror, for what sort of creature, if any, could have survived so long in the below freezing conditions? Maybe the rumours were correct after all.
It was then that she noticed the lump in the snow directly in front of them. If it had not been for the streak of yellow on the otherwise purest of white snow she wouldn’t have noticed it. At that moment the lump started to shake and Arrow now ran straight for it and started to sniff. As she did a further groan escaped from it. The noise now sounded very human and very weak. Cursing her own stupidity for finding a dying person she trudged towards Arrow who was still sniffing around the lump. Arrow was looking immensely pleased with herself although Se
reh was more than a little annoyed at the prospect of having to delay her journey whilst she cared for someone she would have to lie to. There was no way she could be honest about who she was.
Bending down near Arrow she noted the stranger’s tormented and frozen face. Male or female, she could not tell. All she could tell was that they looked like they might expire before her very eyes. Great, she thought, just what she needed – another half a day and this person would have been dead without involving her at all. It sounded harsh, even to her, but she had a place she wanted to be. She had also spent too much time with Rankil. Everything with him was measurable, even life.
As she brushed the blond hair back from the face of the body before her, she gasped in recognition. She had seen this man before, in much different circumstances. Suddenly she did not want him to die quickly; she wanted to do all she could to keep him alive.
Scanning the immediate area she thought she saw a small opening in the wall of the mountain not too far to her left. She leapt up after first grabbing his backpack from where it was abandoned on the ground, and raced towards the cave with Arrow following closely behind. The run soon tired her as she realised the opening was further away than she had thought. Arrow leapt in front of her and raced to the small fissure. Ears pricked and alert she sniffed the entrance and then went deeper inside. She was gone from sight for as long as it took Sereh to reach the cave. Arrow appeared calm and was breathing evenly as Sereh staggered inside and collapsed on the hard grey floor.