by Leah Ward
“Isn’t it beautiful? It’s one of my favorite parts of the forest, definitely the most colorful.” Lena said. “Oh, so you can see this?” Edwin asked a bit sarcastically, remembering how she saw the wolves. Lena ignored him, and walked forward.
“Look… I know you have to be a Seer, so just admit to it? You saw the wolves, what’s the big deal?” Edwin was becoming frustrated with her mysteriousness.
“I’m not a Seer. I told you.” Lena said simply. Edwin refuted, “Yes you are. I know it. You saw what I saw and I am a Seer. Explain that.”
Silence was between them for a few seconds until she finally spoke. “I am a half Seer. One of my parents was a Seer and the other wasn’t. When they had me, I had a part of both of them. I can see some of the things that a Seer can, but I have no powers like you do.”
“Well, I suppose that’s better than not being a Seer at all?” Edwin said, feeling guilty for becoming so irritated. She grunted and replied “Yeah, but I wish that I didn’t have it, I want nothing to do with my father. I don’t want to have any part of him, his abilities, his gifts and especially not his flaws.” Edwin could tell by the look on her face that he was treading in dangerous territory with this topic.
She could feel him staring at her, so she changed the subject. We have to walk to the other side of this part of the forest. Edwin’s spirits lifted, “Is that all? Good, no caving dark tunnels, or walking right next to an erupting volcano.”
Lena smiled but it quickly faded. “Don’t be fooled by what you think you see. This may be one of the most dangerous parts of the journey.” Lena told him. Edwin didn’t understand; how could something so marvelous be so malignant?
“The flowers that you find colorful and delightful are full of poisonous venom, strong enough to kill you within a few minutes. The land that floats in the sky has creatures that live upon it. Yes, some animals here have the ability to jump that high without even trying. Quicksand sneaks upon you; I’ve seen many of Seers sink to their death. The weather can drastically change at any moment. And, if you thought the animals in my part of the forest were huge, you wait until you see some of the animals here.” Lena said, her words crawling out of her mouth in a tone that thoroughly frightened Edwin.
“Oh…” Is all that Edwin could manage to say.
Lena led the way, and Edwin followed closely behind her. He wouldn’t admit to her that he was scared beyond measure, which she already knew; he wanted to at least make her think he was braver than he really was.
The sun was beaming down, and soon the two of them were sweating profusely. “You weren’t kidding about the weather.” Edwin said, trying to break the silence.
“It’s almost unbearable, but we have to keep moving. The leaves on the trees should provide a little shade. Then we will set up camp after we walk a bit further.” Lena said.
As they continued Edwin saw the flowers that Lena had told him about. They were so vibrant that they marveled the eye with their colors – and then drew the victim closer with their beauty and uniqueness. He went astray to look at a gorgeous purple flower that had large voluminous petals.
When Lena saw what he was doing, she screamed out for him. “Edwin, no!” But, it was too late.
The flower retracted its petals, as if it was sucking them to the center of the flower, and once it did, it shot out what looked like a miniature arrow. Edwin narrowly missed the attack, dodging his head and moving his body quickly to the side. The poisonous dart stuck into a tree that was a few feet behind him. Immediately the venom of the dart oozed into the bark, discoloring it from brown to a gradual shade of grey. Slowly it was killing and dissolving the small tree. Death spread throughout, turning the once beautiful coloring, completely grey. As this happened to the entire tree, the area that was directly hit started to turn a very dark black. Within a matter of seconds, the healthy plant was now blackened and the limbs disintegrated, falling off all at once along with the leaves. By the time thirty short seconds had passed, the tree was nothing but a black stump, with ashes of the branches lying around it.
“Wow…” Edwin managed to say after seeing a gorgeous flower completely destroy whatever was in its path.
“I told you to stay away from the flowers! Never stare at them!” Lena said, pulling him away and leading him back to where they were.
“Come on, we have to keep going.” She instructed.
“Okay…” He said, still shocked at what he just observed.
“Are we going to set up camp anytime soon? We have been walking forever.” Edwin said; walking made him remember all of the bruises and aches he had.
“Just a little further, then we can.” She said, seemingly not tired at all.
“Oh good, my whole body is still sore. So far, I’ve twisted my ankle, fell from the top of a tree, and almost drowned from a blow to the head. I’ve never been so accident prone befo-”
AHHHH! Lena screamed as she started to sore towards the sky.
Edwin didn’t get to finish his sentence, and from the looks of it he wouldn’t be able to finish the journey either. What looked like a gigantic vulture had scooped Lena up in its claws and headed towards the small bits of land floating amongst the treetops. Lena dangled thirty feet in the air, about to be devoured by one of the very creatures she had warned Edwin about.
He could see the block of land, and it probably had a ten foot radius all the way around.
Edwin could do nothing but stand there and look up. He helplessly stood with no weapon, no plan of action, and no idea of why he wasn’t able to think of a rescue.
Lena screamed of desperation, “Edwinnnn!” The bird hovered over the strip of land and let her go where she plopped hard against the ground. The small island sank lower in the sky, as if she had weighed it down. The vulture plummeted on top of her, each clawed foot landing on either side of her body. She rolled over, and inched up towards the edge. It looked as if she was considering the jump, and if she would survive it.
She reached into her shoe, grabbed her hidden knife and started slicing away at the beast. The bird lifted his four clawed foot and kicked Lena’s hand knocking the knife out of it. She rolled over onto her stomach and looked down at Edwin, screaming and holding her arms out towards him, wishing that she could reach his. The bird squawked, proclaiming victory, and drilled its beak-like-snout down towards Lena. Its beak sank into her back touching the ground through the other side. The sound of ripping flesh filled Edwin’s ears.
His stomach cringed; Lena was still looking down at him. He fell to his knees, and then to all fours. His breathing was beyond heavy, and his heartbeat was unbearably hard against his ribs – it was all that he could feel. Soon, it was all that he could hear too. The sounds of the forest and the horrid sound of the vulture making a meal of his only friend faded. He clenched his stomach as it hurled vomit forcefully from his mouth. The strange meat he had eaten earlier, tasted even worse now.
His sight blurred, his head spun, and white flashes pulsed through his eyes. He collapsed onto the earth of the forest. The last thing he saw before his vision was filled with white was Lena’s blood dripping from the land above him onto the ground he was laying on, landing in a massive puddle.
CHAPTER 10
Edwin! Jump! Jump Edwin!
After a quick flash of white, his vision restored and everything stopped spinning. He looked up to see Lena dangling a few feet above the floating block of land in the claws of the bird. She seemed to be screaming to him.
Edwin, try to jump or fly! Climb a vine! Do something!!
Wait…She was talking to him - she was alive? He shook his head trying to understand what he had just seen. In that moment of wonder, he realized he had opened up and discovered another gift. He had the gift of seeing beyond the normal eye, now he was seeing even beyond that. He had seen the future.
In a desperate attempt to avoid what he had seen become his fate, he ran over to the tallest tree nearest to the floating land. He pulled the backpack off and began climbi
ng up the vine – or at least he tried to. For a fifteen year old, he was fairly weak. He hadn’t hit his growth spurt, sadly making him the same height as Lena, and his body frame was far from being muscular. Thinking back, Lena probably could over power him in any given situation.
Lifting one hand over the other to try and climb higher only made him lose his grip and fall the few feet he had actually covered. He tumbled back down to the ground and landed on his back. Looking up he saw Lena; the vulture hovered over the land and dropped her. It was just like what he had seen in his vision. Considering that it was, he knew he had to hurry, and figure something out.
Knowing he couldn’t climb the vines, he had to think of another idea – and quick.
Edwin!
Lena’s voice rang in his ears, making him unable to focus, while the vision played out in his head. Concentration was shot because of the fear of it coming true. He thought about what she said when he was coming out of his blackout: ‘Jump Edwin!’
Could he actually jump that high? Would he have that gift as well? Seers normally only have one gift accompanying their new sight ability, was he being greedy by thinking he might possibly have more? The number of gifts he had for a Seer was already pushing the limits and known to be impossible. It crossed his mind that he was being absurd to just assume he could keep pulling gifts out of nowhere.
It was worth the try, Lena’s life depended on it. Concentrating, he bent his knees into a squatting position and leapt as hard as he could. He jumped possibly three inches off of the ground, humiliatingly. Lena’s voice chimed in, “Edwin please jump!”
“I tried! It doesn’t work!” He screamed back up to Lena. The bird was standing above her now, each leg on either side of her. Oh no, he thought, knowing what was going to happen next.
His mind darted from idea to idea, yet nothing worthy of getting him out of this situation and up to where Lena was. Then it hit him, throw your fire, he thought.
Lena rolled over, staring directly at Edwin now. He had to act fast. The bird lifted its head, preparing its beak to come down hard into Lena’s back. Her eyes were bulging and wide, begging for his help, just like the vision. He lifted his hand, aimed his palm up towards the sky and in the bird’s direction. Energy surged through his body, and pulsed through his arm. His forearm and wrist started to glow a light orange and red snake like bolts of energy sprang up and danced around circling his hand.
He pushed his palm forward straightening his arm and a thick blaze of fire left his hand and instantly hit the bird square in the face. The bird’s head was completely engulfed in flames, making it lose its footing. Lena jumped up and stood as close to the edge as she could without falling off. The enormous bird was stepping everywhere on the small block of land, frantically trying to rid itself of the fiery pain.
The weight of the bird alone made the small floating island bounce up and down in the sky. Lena crouched trying to keep her footing. Suddenly the bird squawked a deafening tone, and Lena fell to her knees. It flapped its wings to fly away from its pain but as soon as its feet left the ground, they quickly fell back down. The bird was too badly burned and disoriented – it couldn’t even see. The landing of the bird was hard enough to knock Lena off the ground and in the air like she was on a trampoline. When she came back down she missed the floating slab of earth by a few inches, where she fell slowly back to the ground in front of Edwin.
Edwin ran to where she was falling, knowing it would kill him to try and catch her, but also knowing it would kill her if he didn’t. The drop was at least thirty feet to the ground, but he had to try to help.
Sprinting, he felt his legs become lighter. Step by step he began to take bounding leaps, lifting him higher from the ground with each. Within a few powerful steps he sprang into the air and grabbed Lena out of it. Slowly he came back down to the ground with Lena in his arms. Lightly their feet touched the Earth. Lena looked into Edwin’s eyes, partially from the amazement of another one of his gifts and partially because of how he scooped her out of midair.
Even after they had safely landed on the ground, Edwin hadn’t let go. He noticed he didn’t really want to either. The burning vulture above them brought them out of their googly-eyed trance though; it was headed straight towards them.
Edwin let go of his hold and grabbed Lena’s hand pulling her behind him. It looked as if the bird had nosedived and was bound on taking its revenge on the fire-throwing boy, but it was actually free falling. With a terrible thud it hit the ground where they had just been standing. Its face and neck were severely burned, and when its body flattened on the ground, it was undeniably dead.
“Do you think it’s really…dead?” Edwin asked Lena. She cocked her head to the side in consideration, and reached behind her. She grabbed one of her homemade arrows and her bow made of vine. When she felt the container of arrows that was slung on her back, it was heavily dented and even cracked.
“Its claws must have squeezed too tight.” Edwin said when he saw it. Half the arrows were crushed and broken in two. The bow was in fair condition though.
Slowly she readied an arrow of good condition, positioned it, and sent it soaring where it hit the bird directly between the eyes.
“Wow, good shot,” Edwin exclaimed, impressed by her accuracy. “Thanks!” Lena said, feeling proud that she could show off her bow and arrow skill a bit.
The bird didn’t move a muscle. “It must have been dead before you shot it,” Edwin said. They walked towards the bird to get a closer look at it. Close up it was unlike any bird Edwin had seen before. Tiny spikes ran along its back, and its body and tail, didn’t resemble a normal bird’s body shape or its feathers. Actually, the bird didn’t really have feathers at all… The closer they looked; they saw that the bird was covered in scales, dark grey and black scales…
“Edwin, uh that is no vulture…” Lena said, trying to comprehend her imagination. “It’s…It’s a dragon?” Edwin said with his voice fumbling.
Just when they thought the situation couldn’t have become more frightening - it did. The sunlight vanished and when they looked up, they saw why. Another bird was hovering above them, circling the floating land where the other bird…dragon…had attacked Lena.
This bird was three or four times bigger than the dragon they had killed. Yet, it wasn’t the same color, it was white. It had pearlescent scales that reflected the light, and had large white spikes along its head and back.
“I think we better get out of here.” Edwin said, grabbing her arm to leave.
She passed the baby dragon and pulled the arrow from its head. Edwin looked at her with a disturbed raised eyebrow. “What are you doing?” He asked.
“There’s still some use in it, no need to waste it.” She said to him.
They crouched and ran at first, hoping they wouldn’t be spotted by the dragon above. They hid behind a nearby tree and turned around to see what the mother dragon was doing. It had landed on the ground next to the smaller dragon.
“Edwin, I think that may be the mother…” Lena said worriedly. “Oh no… We killed her baby? It seemed to be sniffing its child, hoping it would move. After realizing it wasn’t going to, it roared. Not a bear’s roar or even a lion’s, this was the most terrifying and echoing roar that either had ever heard. Edwin thought it might spit fire at any moment; at least that’s what he had been told about mythical dragons.
“I think that’s our sign, let’s go before it finds out we are the cause of everything.” Lena said. They took off sprinting into the vibrant forest.
The sun was starting to set and while they were running they passed through several death traps. Once, a pink and yellow flower, similar to the purple flower of death, rose as they ran past it and spit out a dart from its center, narrowly missing them. A few times they passed glowing red eyes in the brush, and leapt over thick snakes that were stretched across their path. The worst experience was when Lena’s leg sunk into the ground as she was running. She had slipped into a patch of quicksand t
hat was steadily pulling her down. Edwin had to plant his feet, grab her arms, and struggle to get her out. If both of them had gotten stuck in the sinking Earth, they may have never escaped.
When the sun was completely set, and the night sky had arisen, they no longer could see the dragon flying above them. They weren’t sure if it was because it blended in with the sky or if it had been looking for the culprit and stopped. They ran for a few more minutes just to be sure, and found a quiet patch of grass under what Edwin thought was a rather large oak tree.
“We will set up here for the night.” Lena said to him.
“Cozy…well ya know, under the circumstances.” Edwin replied.
“I just hope the weather holds out. The last few times I traveled through this particular forest, the weather dropped so low that the ground froze and was covered in snow within a few minutes.” Lena said, not knowing that she had scared Edwin.
When he didn’t respond, and only looked at her with wide-open eyes and a timid nod of understanding, she spoke again.
“Let’s gather a bit of fire wood and get it burning, then I’ll go for a hunt and get us fresh food.” She said.
“Okay, but… How will you know where to come back to? Won’t you get lost in the dark?” He asked more frightened than he probably should have let on.
“That’s why we light the fire first, so I can see it and won’t go too far from it. Plus, you’ve saved me how many times now? I’m sure you could do it again if you had to.” She said with a smile on her face.
He felt a sense of pride sweep through him. I have saved her quite a few times haven’t I, he thought a bit boastfully.
They gathered the nearby limbs and branches that had fallen to the ground, and within a few minutes they had a promising stack. Lena placed the sticks together in the shape of a hut, with the smaller twigs and a pile of leaves in its center. It was obviously not her first time building a fire. She pulled the matches from Edwin’s backpack, struck one against the sole of her shoe and placed it gently into the middle of the twigs. She had to blow several times on the small flames, but they refused to catch.