The Land Uncharted (The Uncharted Series Book 1)

by Keely Brooke Keith

  She carried the ointment to the worktable and got an empty jar from the cabinet. While filling the jar with the medicinal salve for her patient to take home with her, she wondered what was happening with Connor at the cabin and Levi at the market. When she had left the market to treat Cordelia, Levi had stayed to watch Frank. Had there been trouble?

  Trying not to think of the situation while she was with a patient, Lydia stepped to her desk, picked up her pen and a piece of paper, and wrote instructions for her patient. As she walked back to her patient, she glanced out the window. Levi was walking onto the property from the road. Connor wasn’t with him.

  “Lydia?”

  She looked at her patient. “Yes?”

  “You looked a thousand miles away. Is there something wrong?”

  Lydia couldn’t answer truthfully, but so many things were wrong. A man had fallen from the sky and couldn’t return to his people. His people would ruin the Land if they knew about it. He was putting himself at risk to protect the Land and all she could do was watch and wait.

  Lydia chose not to answer her patient at all. She smiled at Cordelia and held out the jar of gray leaf ointment. “Put this salve on the burn twice a day. The skin will shed itself a few times as new skin grows. Let me know if you need any more of this.” Her patient took the jar and stood. Lydia walked with her to the door. “Do you need me to help you home?”

  “No, no. Joshua is in your father’s house. I thought he’d rather spend his time speaking with the overseer instead of watching me get bandaged up.”

  Lydia held the door open for Cordelia and followed her out. The woman’s husband was standing near the open door of the kitchen and saw her coming. Lydia waved to him as she stepped back into her cottage.

  She closed the door and sat at her desk, trying to focus on her notes. Her mind was distracted with worry about Connor, causing her to release her pen and stare blankly at the door. A figure passed the window, but she couldn’t see who it was through the curtain. Before she could get up and look out, Levi tapped on the door and turned the knob. He opened the door a fraction. “Are you alone?”

  “Yes. Is Connor back?” She stepped to the door, pulled it open, and looked out but didn’t see Connor.

  Levi smelled of sweat and straw. He sat in the chair beside her desk. “He came back to the village just after you left the market.”

  “Did he find the device?”

  “He said he did. It hadn’t been activated. I figured that would make him happy, but he was pretty angry.”

  “Angry? Why?”

  “Because Frank Roberts is a pervert and deserves to get his face punched in.”

  “No, that’s why you were angry. What did Connor say?”

  Levi’s eyes narrowed a degree. He didn’t answer.

  She wanted to go to Connor. She wanted to know he was all right. She didn’t know why she felt that way, but she couldn’t ignore it. “Well?” she questioned again.

  Levi inclined his head. “Why are you so worried about Connor?”

  “I am not worried about Connor,” Lydia lied. She was more than worried. She held herself responsible for him and for anything bad that might happen to him because of Frank. She felt responsible for the Land and its possible endangerment because of Connor. She had drawn Frank’s vulgar attention, and she had found Connor when he arrived. Whatever happened in any aspect of the situation, it would be her fault. She shook her head then sat at her desk. “I’m just concerned.”

  “Connor is a grown man, Lydia. And he is a warrior. I don’t think he needs your concern.” Levi laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in the chair. “Don’t you have more urgent matters to fret over… responsibilities that concern your work, not his?”

  “There might be people generating electricity in other villages and it could alert the outside world to our Land. This is a very concerning situation for me.”

  “No, it’s not… not for you. This is your work.” Levi looked around the room as he spoke. “Connor and I will go to the other villages and speak to the overseers. If anyone is experimenting with the technology Connor mentioned, the elders will handle it. But I don’t think anyone in the Land has the kind of inventions that Connor is worried about. After our journey to the southern villages, we’ll stop here before we travel north. The whole business will only take a couple of months. Then we’ll be home. I’ll be home, anyway... maybe Connor will meet some pretty girl in another village and leave us in peace.” Levi smiled when he said it.

  Lydia didn’t smile back.

  “Oh, I see.” Levi brought his arms down and leaned onto her desk. “That’s what is really bothering you: you want Connor to come back.”

  “Yes, I do.” Lydia looked at her brother. “Don’t you?”

  Levi snickered. “Not particularly. He has brought us nothing but trouble.” When Lydia was silent, Levi’s eyes widened. “I see. I know Father enjoys Connor’s company, and Bethany and her friends like to look at him, but I hadn’t realized you were forming an attachment to him as well.”

  Lydia waved a hand, dismissing the notion. “I am not forming an attachment to Connor.” She paused for a moment but could not grasp a rational thought. “I find him fascinating. That’s all.”

  “Of course you find him fascinating—he’s from another land.” Levi put his hands back behind his head, effusing nonchalance. “You’re happiest when you’re acquiring knowledge. Connor’s from another place and speaks of things you’ve never known. There’s much to learn from him, so it makes sense that you find him fascinating. That’s probably why Father spends so much time with him, too. Oh, you should hear them discuss theology. They can talk for hours.” Levi chuckled and looked at the door. “I should get back to work. I have to put the top on the wagon and clean the horse stalls before dinner. Father wants to discuss our journey this evening. Will you be joining us?”

  “Yes, so long as I don’t have a patient.” Lydia opened the drawer on the right side of her desk and placed her notes with her other patient charts. “I’ll prepare your provisions now—starting with medicine.” She stepped to her cabinets and took out a few things as Levi rose and walked to the door. “I’ll send dried gray tree leaves with you and some bandaging in case you need it. And, Levi?”

  “Yes?”

  “I appreciate your insight. You helped clarify a matter that might have otherwise caused me confusion.” Lydia smiled when Levi simply nodded and walked outside.

  The more she thought about it, the more she felt Levi was right. Though Connor’s arrival had brought a great deal of tension and concern, it had also brought excitement and mystery. He knew about all kinds of things she’d never imagined.

  Her mind had reeled with fascination since the moment he fell from the sky. It was logical that she had become captivated not by him, but by his knowledge. The thrill was new and confusing. She was trained to assess a situation and determine a course of action, but nothing like Connor’s arrival had ever happened before. It had caught her off guard.

  Levi was right: she should let Connor do his job and she should focus on her work. She breathed a sigh of relief and began to gather the supplies for Levi and Connor when there was a knock at the door.

  “Lydia?” John opened the door but didn’t come inside. The sadness in his blue eyes made her brace for bad news.

  “Yes, Father? What is it?”

  “Doctor Ashton’s granddaughter is here from Woodland. Doctor Ashton has not been awake in two days. Mrs. Ashton believes his time has come. She asked if you would make sure he is comfortable.”

  “Yes, I… I’ll go now.”

  John waited by the door while Lydia processed the news. She had been at the deathbed of several people in her time as a physician. She could keep a professional demeanor and was always gentle and respectful to the family, but never emotional. It would be hard to see Doctor Ashton die and harder still to remain impassive, but he had trained her well.

  She wiped her hands on her skirt eve
n though they weren’t dirty. Picking up her medical bag, she took a steadying breath before she walked out the door.

  * * *

  After the evening meal, Connor sat at the kitchen table with John and Levi while they planned the journey. John copied maps and wrote the names of the overseers of each village. Levi watched with his usual reticence. Connor listened carefully and made notes as John listed the potential helps and hazards they might encounter along the way.

  John instructed him and Levi to leave at dawn. They would take the covered wagon—pulled by two horses—and drive south to Woodland, inland to Riverside, south to Stonehill and finally, on to Southpoint. They’d have to stay overnight on the road between villages—two nights between some villages. After their journey south, Connor and Levi were to return to Good Springs before embarking to the three villages to the north.

  Connor was surprised to learn how large the Land was—and John only had maps of the portions that had been explored. John spoke of a mountain range about three days’ journey inland, which no one had ever crossed and returned to tell about it.

  Connor glanced at the kitchen’s back door every few minutes. He had hoped Lydia would be there for the planning. It had only been three years since she traveled throughout the Land, and he valued her input. But he hadn’t seen her since he left the market that morning.

  It bothered him.

  Whenever he asked Levi where she was, he only answered with a surly grunt.

  When they finished planning their trip, the day was gone and darkness filled the space where the kitchen door stood open. Connor gathered his papers from the table, rolled them tightly, and took them to the barn where the wagon was packed and ready for the trip. He usually enjoyed preparing for a mission, but the thought of leaving Lydia after he had seen inside Frank’s cabin filled him with apprehension. The journey sounded like it would be a camping trip through a pristine country that reportedly didn’t have predatory animals. If he could simply get some assurance Lydia would be all right, he could relax and enjoy the adventure.

  Connor opened the barn door and stepped inside. He climbed onto the front of the wagon and put the papers under the cushion of the bench seat. He sat on the bench and looked around. How had he gone from the cockpit of a fighter jet to the bench seat of a covered wagon? Now that he was here, he intended to do everything he could to protect these people and their land.

  Lydia walked into the barn, carrying a bushel basket full of food.

  He jumped down from the wagon. “Here, let me help you with that.”

  Lydia let him take the basket. “It’s for your journey.”

  “Thanks, Doc.” He set it on the back of the wagon and turned back to Lydia. Strands of light brown waves had escaped the tie that held her hair back. She didn’t bother to move them off her face like she usually did. “Are you okay?”

  “Hm?” She gazed vacantly at him.

  “What’s wrong?” He stepped closer to her, but the distance between them only seemed to grow. It made him want to reach out and hold her. She was a strong woman and he loved that about her, but he had a strength she needed. He wanted to gather her into his arms but she wouldn’t want him to. He sank his hands into his pockets.

  “Doctor Ashton is close to death. I have known him my whole life. He trained me to be a physician.” She blinked and looked away. Connor instinctively drew a hand out of his pocket and reached for her hand. She pulled it away and smoothed the front of her skirt. “He has lived a good, long life. Still, it’s… hard for me.”

  “I’m sorry.” He understood the pain of loss. In his life before coming to the Land, tragedy transpired daily. When he’d first learned of life in the Land he thought it would be simple—too simple—to hold any challenge for him. The Land was unspoiled, plentifully resourced and beautiful, with a small, barely-governed society. Yet even here the days were woven with the threads of the common experience. He wanted to spare her the pain and protect her from the effects of life in a fallen world. He couldn’t take away her grief, but maybe he could shield her from danger.

  She stepped to the back of the wagon where he’d set the basket. She pulled a package off the top of the basket and held it up. “This is medicine. Levi knows how to use it. Hopefully, you won’t need it. Um… I think Father wrapped some bread for you.” Her fingers shook slightly. “It might still be in the kitchen. I’ll go and get it.”

  Her ability to focus on the task at hand no matter how she felt was admirable. He had to do it every day as an aviator. He would have to do it when he left Good Springs if he was worried about her safety the whole time he was gone. She started to walk to the door. At any moment someone could come to her for help, and he wouldn’t see her again before he left. “Listen, Doc… ” He rubbed his whiskered chin, not knowing what to say. “This morning, at Frank’s cabin—”

  “Oh, yes. Levi said you were able to retrieve the beacon and it hadn’t been activated.” Lydia grinned faintly, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Yeah, that was a relief, but I saw some things that were… troubling. Remember when you first told me about Frank? And you said he was a man of poor character?”

  Her smile vanished.

  He continued speaking. “There is more to it than that. I know he’s followed you around for years, so you don’t think much of it. But you need to know that the man is obsessed with you in a bad way. He’s dangerous.”

  Her cheeks grew pink and she looked away. “Yes, well… I should get back to work.”

  He hadn’t meant to embarrass her. “I only wanted to warn you that Frank is a real threat to your safety.”

  “Frank Roberts has been lurking in the shadows since I was a girl. I know this is new to you, but it isn’t new to me. He isn’t going to hurt me. He only wants my attention. I worry that he will someday do something outlandish enough to make me look foolish to the village, but he won’t hurt me physically.”

  “I want you to be careful while Levi and I are gone.”

  Lydia squared her shoulders and raised her chin. “I can take care of myself.”

  “No, you really can’t,” he said.

  Hers eyes bulged in shock but he didn’t mind. He wanted her to know the truth and stepped closer to her. “Last night when you bumped into me behind the house, I barely held you and you still couldn’t move.”

  “I would have thought of something. Besides, you bumped into me.”

  “Face it, Doc, you couldn’t fight off a man. Especially a crazy pervert like Frank.”

  She huffed and turned to the door, but she didn’t leave. She mounted her fists on her hips and took a few loud breaths. After a moment her shoulders wilted. Then she spoke and her voice sounded unsteady. “As an unmarried woman I’m still under the protection of my father. That’s the custom here. I’m safe because I still live with my father, and he has dealt with Frank.”

  He understood the custom, but came from a culture where stalkers and rapists were commonplace. “You live in your cottage alone. People knock on your door at all hours of the night, and you open it to them.”

  “Because they need me.” She spun around and faced him. “I am committed to caring for the health of this village. I must remain available to them.” Her voice grew in fullness and volume. “I would never lock myself away—not out of fear or any other reason. The foremost purpose of that cottage is for the village to have a place to go for medical care. It isn’t mine but theirs—the people of Good Springs. It is only secondly my home.”

  “Look, I know you have a heroic reputation around here, but you should be more careful.”

  “What are you so afraid of?”

  “It would be so easy for him to—”

  “To what?”

  It was the first time Connor had seen her angry. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to get her upset. It produced both a dull weight of regret and a sharp ping of delight. His purpose was to protect her from that creep, but she didn’t understand his intention. “You have to consider the pos
sibilities.”

  “I will not live in fear!” she shouted.

  “Just promise me you will lock your door.”

  “I promise you nothing.” Lydia turned and stormed out.

  As she disappeared into the darkness, Connor put his hands behind his head. He turned to pace the barn floor and kicked a clump of dirt, venting his frustration. It smacked into the wagon wheel with a thud and crumbled to the ground.

  He hadn’t expected her to find his concern offensive. There had to be something he could do to make sure she was safe while he was gone. Something besides taking Frank Roberts apart and burying the pieces. He could teach her self-defense, but she wouldn’t want to learn.

  She was right—she was responsible for herself, and maybe her father still had some obligation to protect her. John knew about Frank. He might not know about the sketches, but he knew the danger Frank posed.

  Connor had to leave Lydia’s safety to John, but the thought of Frank Roberts would plague him the entire time he was away.

  Chapter Nine

  Lydia climbed the stone steps and walked back into the chapel. Both of its tall doors were propped open. She yearned for the quiet inside the church now that all of the people were gone. Her footsteps tapped lightly on the wood-planked floor as she followed the center aisle. She let her fingers trail over the arm of each pew as she passed it, then she stopped near the front of the chapel—third row from the podium—where Doctor Ashton sat every Sunday.

  She sat in his habitual seat and leaned her back against the wood. It was still warm from the mourners who had just left. She wanted to see the chapel from Doctor Ashton’s perspective only this once. She was taking his place professionally, and that was enough.

  She gazed at the podium in the front of the room and the large wreath of flowers leaning against it. One of nearly every flower in the Land was represented in the wreath. The colors of the flowers started to mix together in a blur until she blinked back her tears. Crying would be a childish thing to do. She needed to swallow her tears and avoid the headache inevitably brought by crying. Think logically, as Doctor Ashton always said.