River Baker and the Warriors of Rala

by Mali Baker

  River hurdled over a low branch that was sticking out across one of the planks but Kit didn’t see it. She was going too fast, and her eyes were on River up ahead of her.

  ‘RIVEERRR,’ she yelled as her foot clipped the branch. ‘Mooooooooooooove!’ Kit sounded like a flying aero-cow mooing as she travelled through the air, towards River, in what seemed like slow motion. Unfortunately, instead of moving, River froze at the sound of her name, and Kit came crashing down on top of her, from behind. She lay crumpled in a heap on the floor. If she were a cartoon character she would have had miniature birds circling her head!

  Kit had somehow managed to make a trampoline out of River, bouncing straight off her and conveniently landing on a soft bed of grass at the side of the path. Not wasting a minute to dwell on the fall, she stood up and dusted her clothes off.

  ‘Can you hear that?’ she whispered, pointing to a bush she had landed next to.

  ‘Why didn’t you look where you were going?’ River snapped at Kit. She placed her hands flat on the ground and forced the top half of her body up over her knees, hearing her bones crack back into place.

  ‘Sshhh,’ Kit said, putting her finger to her lips. ‘Listen.’ She motioned towards the bush, not acknowledging River’s moans.

  River, unable to hear a thing after having had literally the equal of her own body weight land on top of her, huffed and unravelled herself to standing. She hobbled a few steps towards Kit, hoping for some sympathy, but, since Kit was distracted by something else, River gave up the wounded soldier act and walked over to her, normally. She sarcastically mimicked the two of them, using her hands as puppets. ‘I’m so sorry, River, I didn’t mean to hurt you, River… That’s OK, Kit. I forgive you.’

  Kit pushed River’s hands out of the way. ‘It sounds like someone’s crying,’ she said.

  River stopped next to Kit and listened. She lifted her head slightly and stood very still. At first all she could hear was ringing in her ears but, as she listened harder, she heard it.

  ‘Sounds like a child,’ she whispered.

  The bush began to rustle. The last time something rustled they had met a talking tree and a bunch of fairly nasty weeds.

  River grabbed Kit’s arm. ‘Let’s get back to the path; whoever it is will be fine. We don’t know who or what that is in the bush. For all we know it could be a dragon with a horse’s head or, or a one-eyed snake with the bottom of a hippopotamus. After the day we’ve had, I’m not taking any chances.’

  ‘Nonsense. You can tell by the crying that it’s only a child. We have to help.’ Kit yanked her arm out of River’s grip and took a few steps closer to the bush.

  ‘Kiiiiit,’ River whisper-screamed.

  The crying got louder, becoming more of a wail than a cry. What could possibly make someone cry like that? It must be pretty bad.

  ‘He-he-hellooo,’ came a blubbering boy’s voice. ‘Is there anybody out there?’

  ‘Nope,’ River said. ‘No one out here.’ She pulled a face at Kit and shrugged. She realised how ridiculous an answer that was, but she hoped it would be sufficient enough for whoever or whatever was in the bush to stay right where they were.

  The wailing started again, this time louder. Kit put her hands on her hips and glared at River. She looked just like their mum.

  ‘OK, OK,’ River mouthed at Kit, taking her hands towards her head, surrendering. ‘You win…again.’ She leant in towards the bush. ‘Just kidding, haha,’ she said, trying to sound as though she was joking and trying to speak loud enough that she would be heard over the wailing. ‘We are here really. Are you…OK?’

  ‘Am I OK? AM I OK? Do I sound OK?’ He didn’t.

  ‘Well, no,’ River said, taken aback. ‘I was – well, I guess I was trying to ask you what was wrong?’

  ‘Say what you mean, girl, no good beating around the bush, excuse the pun.’

  Kit tried to stop herself from laughing but couldn’t. River had been put in her place. She didn’t like being talked to like that, and more than anything she didn’t like being humiliated.

  ‘If you’re going to be so rude, we won’t be sticking around to help you,’ River said. She clamped her fingers around Kit’s wrist and started dragging her back towards the path.

  ‘No, wait.’ The bush shook as the boy popped his head out over the top of it, like a tortoise coming out of its shell. ‘Please don’t go,’ he said, desperately.

  ‘Not such a big boy now, is he?’ River said triumphantly, although only loud enough for Kit to hear. The boy rose to his feet, growing twice the size of the bush and towering over the girls like a cat over a mouse. They both gulped. Kit and River discreetly reached for each other’s hands. They were trying to hide their shock, but it was clearly written all over their faces. This little boy was a giant.

  CHAPTER 10

  The Giant Boy

  ‘I’m taller than you expected aren’t I?’ he said.

  ‘You can say that again!’ Kit agreed, looking up at him.

  ‘I’m taller than you expected aren’t I?’ he repeated.

  ‘No, I didn’t mean say that again, I…oh, never mind.’ Kit shook her head, as if to start over. ‘I’m Kit.’ And she let go of River’s hand and walked a little closer to the giant boy. She held out her hand for him to shake, but he stared blankly at it. He seemed completely unaware of what to do.

  River was still as a statue, her eyes firmly on him. ‘But you look and sound just like a boy,’ she said, breaking the awkwardness of Kit’s hanging hand. ‘How can you be so big?’

  The giant boy threw his long ape-like arms into the air and began clapping his hands together, like a sea lion at mealtime. ‘Great detective work, girl; you’ve figured it out. I am a boy who looks like a man, or a giant that looks like a boy… or a boy who should be a man…’ His act diminished as he confused himself. ‘Oh, whatever,’ he mumbled as he threw his arms back down to his side, his hands almost touching the floor.

  Kit looked like a puppy dog in love as she gawked up at the giant boy. While he irritated River, Kit seemed rather taken by him.

  ‘So how old are you?’ River asked.

  ‘I’m between 16 and 72.’ he said casually, as though that was a completely normal answer.

  ‘Oh, right, pretty much the same age as us, then,’ River mocked. He must have been over eight feet tall, and admittedly he was a rather handsome-looking giant boy, but River thought he seemed a bit of a nincompoop.

  He shuffled out from behind the bush and disclosed his thick body in full. ‘Do I look OK?’ he asked, drawing his hands down the side of his body, as though asking for approval of a newly purchased outfit.

  ‘To be frank,’ River said, ‘you kinda look like you’ve been dragged through a bush backwards – get it? Dragged through that bush…’ she pointed at the bush, laughing loudly ‘…backwards.’ When neither Kit nor the giant boy reacted, she slapped her thigh and said, ‘Oh, come on, that was a good one.’

  ‘Who’s Frank?’ he asked, in all seriousness.

  ‘Oh, boy,’ River said, slapping her forehead. ‘Not just the looks of a boy, then.’

  The three of them sat in a circle while the giant boy told the story of how he came to find himself in a bush. River didn’t like all the attention Kit was giving him. Neither one of them would have noticed if she left; they were much too engrossed in each other.

  ‘My friends and I, we were playing a game, then my sister came along and started bossing me around,’ he said, with a look of disgust on his face.

  ‘I can relate to that,’ River said, looking at Kit, throwing daggers with her eyes.

  ‘What game were you playing?’ Kit asked.

  ‘I don’t know what it’s called,’ he said flippantly. ‘Anyway, she wouldn’t give me something that belongs to me,’ he said, putting his huge hand on his chest.

  ‘What is it?’ River
butted in.

  ‘River, let him finish, will you?’ Kit said, in a ridiculously posh voice that sounded nothing like her real voice.

  ‘And so,’ he continued, his eyes on River, ‘I had to take it, and, well, it all ended in tears.’

  ‘With you in tears, hiding in a bush?’ River said, hoping to make him feel like a fool.

  His whole demeanour changed. He squinted his eyes and his face narrowed, making him look like some kind of alien. His skin flushed a deep shade of red before returning to normal. It made River shudder. Kit didn’t notice the denseness in his eyes, or the flash of colour that washed across his body. In fact Kit didn’t seem to notice anything around her at all. She was completely mesmerised by him. It made River feel uneasy.

  River snapped her head back to create as much distance as she could between her and the creature. Kit might be wearing rose-tinted glasses, but she certainly wasn’t. She stood up and turned on her heels, ready to leave.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Kit asked, surprised at River’s abrupt exit.

  ‘I didn’t think you’d notice,’ River said with a sarcastic smile on her face, secretly glad Kit had asked. ‘I’m going back to the path.’

  ‘Wait, wait,’ the giant boy-creature pleaded as he rose to his feet, intimidating River with his towering shadow. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, softly, and reached out his hand, putting it on River’s shoulder, turning her so they were face to face. ‘I know we haven’t got off to the best start – ’ he began.

  ‘What do you want from us?’ River asked bluntly, before he could continue.

  ‘I need your help finding my sister. I’m lost,’ he said. His eyes stared down at River, full of desperation, but something told her he was bad news.

  ‘Of course we’ll help you,’ Kit said, before River had a chance to answer.

  He wrapped his arms around Kit and picked her up by the waist. ‘Wooohhhooooo!’ he hooted, spinning her around. ‘Oh, thank you, thank you!’

  Kit blushed a pretty pink as he put her back on the ground. She had been literally swept off her feet. She avoided making eye contact with River. She was trying to hide how smitten she was with this giant boy-creature, but River could see from her staggering footwork that she was dizzy as a daisy!

  ‘I’m Eleon,’ he said, reaching his hand down towards River and patting her on the head, hammering it down on to her neck. ‘It’s nice to meet you, River.’ River rubbed the back of her neck. Eleon didn’t appear to know his own strength. ‘Shall we get going, then?’ he said to Kit, who was now batting her eyelashes at him.

  ‘Something in your eye, Kitsie?’ River said, emphasising the end of Kit’s full name. Kit turned the colour of a beetroot. Eleon began to walk deeper into the forest.

  ‘Where are you going?’ River called after him. ‘The path is that way.’ She pointed in the opposite direction. But Eleon didn’t turn around: he just kept going, walking further away from the path. Kit followed Eleon unthinkingly. River surrendered without much more of a fight, and sulkily ploughed on behind the two new best friends. There was nothing worse than feeling like a gooseberry, other than actually eating one, and so far today she had experienced both.

  Eleon and Kit were in a world of their own, giggling and chatting away with no care for River whatsoever. She could have fallen into a ditch for all they cared. Not once had either of them turned around to check on her.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m still alive,’ she said. Then, ‘OH, MY GOSH, THERE’S A WOLF,’ she shouted at the top of her voice.

  Neither of them looked back. Instead, Eleon reached up into a tree and picked an apple from it. Without looking, he threw it over his head at River. She caught it with both hands. She was a little surprised he had done that for her, but probably he wanted her to stop interrupting him and Kit and was just hoping to keep her quiet for a while. She was so hungry and thirsty, though, that she didn’t really care. She took a big bite. ‘Phank ou,’ she said, with barely room in her mouth to chew. She gobbled the rest down in seconds.

  Eleon kept walking until they came to a small stream. He knelt down and began to drink the water from it. River ran; it was only a few strides away but despite the juiciness of the apple her mouth was as dry as a desert. She scooped up the water and drank.

  ‘Good, huh?’ Eleon said.

  ‘Mmmm,’ she hummed. The water really did taste good, like no other. It was soft as silk flowing down her throat and into her body, rehydrating her instantly. She filled her mouth until water was spilling out through the cracks in her lips. Kit drank greedily too, and, when they had finally quenched their thirst, all three of them rested at the edge of the stream. River lay back on her elbows, feeling happy to be still. She watched the clouds drift by above her as Kit, who was kneeling between her and Eleon, played with the water, making ripples with her fingertips.

  Out of the corner of her eye River caught a soft glow of light. It was coming from Eleon’s pocket. He reached inside and pulled the object out, keeping it tightly clenched in his fist. He was trying to hide it but the light was getting brighter and brighter; it was almost impossible to conceal.

  ‘What’s in your hand?’ River asked warily. Every time bright light had appeared today, something strange had happened.

  Eleon stood up and dipped his hand into the stream, opening his fingers just enough for the light to slowly ripple through the water. It created all sorts of colours, like a rainbow of waves.

  ‘It’s so pretty,’ Kit said, astonished by the glow of different shades.

  ‘It is,’ Eleon said.

  ‘How are you doing that? What is it?’ River quizzed, her mind alert and full of questions.

  ‘It’s a crystal,’ he said, not taking his eyes off it. ‘A very, very important crystal.’

  And the sliver of red light River had seen flush over his skin before did so again, this time travelling up and down his body, making his strangeness even more apparent.

  CHAPTER 11

  What the Bubble…!

  River got up and walked away, over to a nearby log. Leaning her whole body weight against it, she closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing. After seeing Eleon with that crystal she just knew something was strange about him. Something didn’t add up. Why would Eleon need their help? He was clearly capable of taking care of himself and he knew the forest better than they did, whereas this was the first time they had ever been here! She needed to get a plan together, and fast. But how was she going to drag Kit away from Eleon?

  ‘What should I do?’ She spoke as quietly as she could, hoping the log might answer her. There had to be more than one Eddie in this forest, surely. River listened intently, expecting the trees to talk back to her, but nothing happened. It was silent. There were no birds chirping, no leaves rustling, not even a whisper from the wind.

  ‘Pssst.’

  River opened her eyes, confused for a second, having been deep in thought.

  ‘Psssssssssst…’ This time the hiss was louder.

  Eleon and Kit were still sitting by the stream, both facing away from River. It couldn’t have been either of them trying to get her attention. She looked at the trees closest to her, but she didn’t see any faces on their trunks.

  ‘Psssssssssssssssst!’

  ‘What?’ The word came out of her mouth a little too loudly, causing Eleon to look over his shoulder.

  ‘Ssshh, River,’ a female voice whispered. ‘Don’t say another word.’ Despite the fact that she was giving River an order, her voice was gentle.

  ‘Who are you? Where are you?’ River blurted, frantically looking for the source of the voice.

  ‘Not another word, or he’ll know I’m here.’

  River’s eyes stopped on Eleon. He rose to his feet, making himself as tall as he could. His fists were clenched, his body poised and ready for action.

  ‘Don’t move – stay where you are,�
� the woman whispered. River felt the words brush the insides of her ears although the woman was nowhere to be seen. She couldn’t help but jump. Eleon twitched as River moved, and signalled at Kit to stand up.

  ‘I’m deadly serious, River, don’t move a muscle.’

  The words echoed in River’s head as she tried to translate them to her body: don’t move a muscle, don’t move a muscle. But she was too frightened. ‘Kit!’ she called out to her sister; she couldn’t help it.

  ‘River,’ urged the voice, ‘listen to me. Don’t tell them I’m talking to you. Please do exactly as I say.’

  River and Kit locked eyes, and for the first time since meeting Eleon, Kit acknowledged River. Eleon looked between the two of them. He could see that Kit was torn. To him that was detrimental to his plans; he needed Kit on his side.

  The woman was still speaking, quietly and urgently. ‘Your sister is in danger, River. You need to get her to come to you right now. She is too far off the path; I can’t protect her when she’s that far away.’

  River’s hands began to shake at the thought of Kit in danger.

  ‘Who are you?’ River asked, not sure how she even managed to speak with such a huge lump in her throat. She could feel Eleon’s eyes burning into the side of her face. Regardless of who this woman was, she didn’t trust Eleon, she was certain of that. ‘What kind of danger?’ She spoke through the tiniest gap in her lips, trying to imitate a ventriloquist but failing miserably.

  ‘There’s no time to explain now, River – just call Kit over here. NOW.’

  River’s heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she was sure Eleon would be able to hear it. ‘Kit, please come here.’ She tried to sound natural but she didn’t. Her voice was trembling like the rest of her body.

  Kit looked at Eleon, hesitating. River could see her sister was confused. And then, Eleon’s appearance changed before their eyes. Deep shades of red scaled his body. His skin looked like the skin of a lizard and his eyes turned blacker than the night. It was as though he had been wearing a disguise this whole time. And this time Kit saw it too. The pull she felt towards Eleon was severed sharply: she gasped and immediately ran towards River, violently thrashing aside any branches in her way.