Land of Shadows

by Jeff Gunzel

  * * *

  Eric stared at the closed stone panel as he held the lantern, which was the only source of light in here. He felt a gentle tug on his shoulder.

  “Come on, forget it, we have to go,” came his companion’s soft, comforting voice. “You heard what he said. Those things will leave if we just go. The sooner we leave this area, the more people you can save.”

  Oh, he heard what his father had said all right. Not my dad?! The words bounced around his head but refused to sink in. How can a person find out that their whole life is a lie and just accept it? Just go on as if nothing ever happened?

  Eric placed one foot in front of the other as Aena led him along. Little flashes of reality sparked in his mind as they walked, like fireflies in the dark that only made their appearance known for a second before fading. It was easy to forget you ever saw them. A secret doorway in my own house...dark creatures killing my friends because of me...not really my father...did Jacob survive? He experienced fleeting thoughts that had no place in a sane person’s mind. They were too much like the darkest nightmares for him to accept as any form of reality.

  The stone tunnel was small and narrow, not wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Aena was able to walk straight up, while Eric crouched a bit due to the low ceiling. Light from the flickering lantern played tricks on their minds as it continued to cast eerie living shadows on the walls. Every little movement appeared threatening when on the border of one’s vision.

  They continued on until the stone gradually changed to a combination of rock and mud. Tree roots lined the dirt floor, so they each had to watch their step. At the end of the path was a flat wall of dirt blocking the way. It appeared a dead end at first glance, although it was easy enough to figure out that the dirt wall pushed outward easily.

  When they exited the tunnel, they found they were well outside the town, in a small cave that was barely ten feet deep. Eric knew this hideout well, for he had sought refuge in here before, when he wanted to be alone. He closed the dirt door from this side and examined it. From the other side, the passage was obvious, but here, you could never tell there was a secret door. Has this really been here my whole life and I never knew? Yet another shocking yet unimportant thought to rattle around in his head.

  The wind was still blowing strong, as it had been for hours. The sky remained threatening, but they had to push on, as it was best to get as much distance between the town and themselves as possible. Taron was so far away… they had no horses, no money, just whatever equipment had been packed into the leather sack, which Eric had not even checked yet.

  Then a sudden clarity came over Eric. He had never strayed from the rules by which he lived, and he was not going to start now. Those things were after him? Then he needed to travel as far as he could tonight to lead them away from Bryer, to protect the ones he loved. Answers to the barrage of questions filling him to the point of exploding could be found in Taron? Then that’s where he needed to go.

  The two companions trudged on, fighting the swirling wind as leaves and dust bombarded them from all directions.