by K. A Knight
Seventeen
Don’t Die
“The Lost?” I echo.
“Not all those who are lost are wanting to be found, Piper, they are happy with their world. Their people, they have built a whole civilisation in those mountains, with traditions passed down from their grandfathers to their fathers and so on. They…are different than most.”
Sighing, I finally sit down. “Different how?”
Simon and Trev share a look, and Simon leans forward, clapping his hands between his parted thighs. “They don’t want to hunt out there or pillage, but they are…warriors. Obsessed with honour and fighting. It’s like they have been preparing for something, even though I don’t know what and I never dare ask. They are scary men, Piper, and barely speak to us. We live in harmony because of those who came before us, that is the only reason why they allow us to live. Out in the Wastelands, you have your clans…your Berserkers and Seekers who have myths around them, but the scariest people of all are the ones you know nothing about. That’s what they are. They are like us, human, and yet they are not at the same time. They are rigorously trained from children in harsh environments, like the stories of old...but they have certain craftsmanship for bombs and mines. Almost like they worship it.”
Trev shakes his head. “Not worship it, they once feared the very weapons that could wipe out worlds within a blink of an eye, but what they fear…they conquer, and they made those weapons their own. To protect, not kill.”
It’s a lot to take in, a secret clan that even the people here fear and do not speak of. “Have you ever met any of them? Their leader maybe?”
“Once, when I was younger, he was scary, very scary. It was a peace meeting, and they went back their way while I stayed here. They are good men, just terrifying...do not mistake that for kindness. No one comes back from those mountains alive.” He sighs. “Not even our people if they are stupid enough to venture inside.”
“You got that wrong, I am,” I retort, and then wince. Okay, not my smartest come back, but still.
“Piper,” Trev starts, but I hold up my hand.
“We have a war to win, and you just told us of these mythical warriors…we need them. I’m not going to demand they help, I will ask nicely and try to avoid their bombs.”
“It will not matter, they won’t let you leave,” he snaps. “You cannot.”
“I can and I will. I will do whatever it takes to keep our people safe. If that means venturing into death mountains, I will do it, if it means begging these mountain men for their help…I will. I have survived a lot worse, but if we are not careful, we will lose this war and all of our people…and they will lose their home too. I will make them see that, we have no choice, Trev, you said yourself, our people aren’t ready, aren’t warriors. We need fighters and as many as we can get. It can’t hurt to try,” I reason, softening my voice at the end, seeing the worry in his gaze.
“Piper, these are not just men…they are death itself. The lost souls everyone fears, please do not do this,” he pleads.
Getting up, I crouch before him and clasp his hands. “We both know I have to, otherwise why would you have told me about them? Logically, you know what I am saying is true,” I say sweetly. “I will try to be careful, but we have to take this risk and it cannot be you. If I fail, you must lead our people, they will not all follow me yet. You didn’t accept this mission, I did, I made an agreement with a queen and I plan to keep it. I have two choices—die tomorrow on a mountain trying, or on the front line fighting. Either way, I will know that I did everything I could.” I squeeze his hands in reassurance. “I am going, will you help me?”
I wait with bated breath as he searches my eyes. He must see my determination, because he sighs and he seems older now…defeated. “You know I will. Piper, promise me one thing…please, please come home.”
“I won’t make promises I can’t keep, but I promise to fight my hardest to,” I agree.
“I will see what I have that could help you.” He nods and stands, pulling me to my feet. “You are better going in the daylight. They will not think you are attacking them then…though that doesn’t mean they won’t kill you on sight.”
He moves away, going over to a chest in the corner and opening it. “I think I have a map here that they left, it just shows the entrance to the mountains in case we ever needed it, not that it will do much good, but…” He grumbles to himself and digs around as we wait.
“Piper,” Simon starts.
“I know.” I nod. “Keep training our people. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“If anyone can, it’s you,” he states, and scoops me into a bear hug. “Be safe, good hunting,” he whispers, and then places me on my feet and strides from the tent.
I watch him go before my eyes drift to my men who are all suspiciously quiet, but this will not be the end of it, I will hear their thoughts as soon as we leave.
“Here it is,” Trev yells, and passes over an old, folded up piece of paper. “Take supplies…and Piper? Show them your backbone, they will respect that.”
I nod, putting the paper in my jeans. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, don’t die.” He grins and I laugh.
“Got it, well, I’ll see you when we’re back,” I tell him and he nods solemnly.
“Then I won’t say goodbye.”
Smiling, I turn to my men and leave the tent, ignoring the fear clenching my gut. I would be a fool not to fear what Trev does, but that fear won’t stop me.
Not now.
Not ever.
Eighteen
The Mountain Man
“Did you hear the part where he said nobody comes back alive?” Evan huffs, racing up behind me. Turning with a sigh, I face them all down, crossing my arms as they stand before me in a line.
“I did, I’m choosing to ignore it.” I grin.
“Of course you are.”
“Evan, they are warriors, we need them. We need everybody we can get. Trev said so himself that they are the best, the scariest. Surely it’s worth trying to get them on our side? Worst case, we don’t, best case, we do.”
“I would think worse case would be dying,” Archel points out helpfully.
“Nope, told you we are ignoring that,” I counter with a smirk. “Look, you don’t have to come, but I have to try. Worth is counting on us, I want to protect this place, my home, my friends…and you guys. The more fighters we have on our side, the better. Jago, how many soldiers do the Cities have?”
“Lots,” he grumbles, “with guns.”
“Exactly, we need every advantage, and surely a terrifying race of warriors obsessed with blowing shit up is exactly what we need? It’s worth the risk. Everyone is counting on us, looking to us. Now’s the time to have courage, courage doesn’t always mean you make the right decision, but you do so honourably. I’m tired of being the underdog. They want to underestimate the North, then let them. We will show them exactly what we are made of.”
“Fuck it,” Jago grunts. “I’m in.”
“You are getting good at the whole motivational speech thing, Princess.” Archel winks. “Deadly mission where I get to test myself against warriors? You know I’m in!”
We all look at Evan then, who throws his arms in the air in defeat. “Fine, someone has to patch up your crazy asses.”
“Yes! Come on, my merry men, let’s grab our bags and some supplies and head into death mountains.” I start to whistle as I walk away.
“That’s probably what they are actually called,” Evan grumbles, but follows after us as we head back to the hut.
We didn’t unpack our bags, so I grab one, pull out some clothes, and add some water and fruit in there, making it as light as possible. I load up my weapons too, making sure to add my katana at my side and my crossbow over my back. I even slip a knife into my boot, and when I turn around, I spot Evan strapping on his knives. Archel is all ready to go, covered in weapons and black.
Jago ties back his hair and fastens on as many we
apons as he can carry before looking at me. “Well, Brawler, least if we die, we die together.”
“That’s the spirit!” I cheer.
I examine the map Trev gave me, which shows a passage between the crevices of the mountain hidden at the base past my house. Not wanting to be questioned about where we are going, we decide to leave straightaway and take his advice to go during the daylight.
As the tribe’s noises fade away, our legs aching from the climb over the sand-covered rocks to the base of the mountain, I push away my fear, it has no place right now.
When we stand at the bottom, I have to crane my neck back, and even then, I can’t see the top of the mountains. They seem to reach into the very sky themselves. Before us lies a pitch-black fissure, cutting between the orange mountains, just wide enough to go in one by one. On Trev’s map, it outlines where the mines are too, but they are marked with a symbol they must use for the people of The Lost.
It has two crosses and then a line down the middle, similar to lightning. I run my eyes over it again before putting the map away. I’m going in first, it’s my idea, after all. Taking a deep breath, I soak up the last of the heat before throwing back my shoulders and stepping into the dark crevice.
When nothing happens, I test another step, making sure to keep my eyes on the ground for mines. The farther we venture in, the more the temperature drops, until it’s almost cool. At least I’m not sweating, that’s always a plus.
I find the first mine fifty meters in, marked by the symbol. I know it’s triggered by pressure, so I step over it very carefully. “Mine,” I call out, and turn to watch them all step over it—apart from Archel, who jumps because he likes to show off.
When they are all past it, I turn back to the front. At least my eyes are adjusted to the dark, but everything is still in shades of grey, even the tiny stones beneath our feet are grey. The walls of the crevice have water dripping down the grey and black rock. The plants that are growing in here are vines, crawling across the stone like a living entity, popping up from the ground to try and trip you.
It’s slow going, and I can feel the time slipping away as we keep walking. We encounter five more mines before I see the sliver of daylight up ahead. No wonder people die in these mountains, they might even give up going ahead if they didn’t know anything behind us existed.
There is a tight squeeze before us, the jagged rock closed in, I even have to turn to the side to squeeze through, so when I see Jago grunting and struggling, I worry he won’t get past, but he manages to. Archel just climbs over it and lands on sure feet on the other side. Evan is right behind me waiting, in case he needed help.
“All good?” I question, but even as quietly as I talk, my voice echoes around before being swallowed by the rock, the mountain.
“Good, Princess,” Archel replies.
“Brawler,” is all Jago says.
“Let’s keep going, this place gives me the creeps,” Evan grumbles, and I nod, turning to face the front again just as rocks seem to rain down from the top of the mountain, tiny orange pebbles crumbling upon us.
Covering my head, I wait for them to stop, and realising none hit me, I push up to see Evan covering my head. “Thanks, Evvie,” I whisper, and peer upwards, but I can’t see anything.
Is someone up there?
Blowing out a breath, I step forward again, but as if my thoughts are running away from me, making me imagine things, or am I? I can feel eyes on us. I shiver under it. Are they watching us right now?
I can’t tell if it’s my imagination or not, but I keep going, unwilling to turn back at the first hurdle.
“Eyes,” Archel whispers, and I nod my understanding, he can feel it too. So they are watching. I guess I should have expected that. Anyone who land mines the way into their settlement is going to have sentries as well, after all, these people don’t seem to be the most welcoming.
I head towards the light ahead, climbing over rocks and stones and two more mines until we reach the end of the fissure. We stand in the dark, peering out into the light. I feel them crowding behind me, looking as well, and when I peer back, I see Archel hanging from the side of the wall to survey beyond us. That man.
It opens up into what looks like a flat area of the mountain, with two more up ahead from what I can see. It’s like The Forgotten, though, as plants are growing here, and trees, mixed with sand and death. There’s a skull painted in what looks like blood on a sign before us. A clear warning to turn back.
“They are going to be watching out there, nowhere for us to hide,” Archel points out.
“Then let’s hope they are bad shots,” I murmur, and step into the light, my heart slamming as I wait to be gunned down, but when it doesn’t come, I blow out a breath and walk forward, moving around the sign.
No one jumps out at us, or even moves. It’s empty, so we keep walking, but I can still feel the eyes on us, watching, waiting…for what?
Standing in the middle of what I now realise is a circle hidden behind the peaks of the mountains, I spin around, noticing everything is orange out here. So bright and different from the tunnel we just walked through.
“Brawler,” Jago snaps, and I look back at him to see him staring upwards. I follow his gaze to see what has caught his attention. It looks like a rock…until it moves.
A person.
They stand up with a gun held in their hand, and more emerge from the rock face, blending there, but now they want us to see. Lots of them, with guns, spears, and bows, all pointed down at us.
Their faces are covered by masks, some spiked, others plain, one even has a gas mask on and it is a terrifying sight. I spin in a circle to see them everywhere, all watching us…but what are they waiting for? A boom sounds…a clap?
I turn to see a man materialise in front of us, his hands poised, he made the noise. A roar goes up among the gathered warriors watching us, all eyes on him as he steps closer.
I swallow the urge to move back…because this dude is a fucking giant.
I thought Jago was big, this guy is bigger, almost inhumanly so.
The lower half of his face, from his nose down, is covered by a black leather mask, silver spikes pointing out of it. His eyes are strange as well, one blue and one brown, both locked on me. Big, slanting eyebrows arch over them. He has blond hair, the sides shaved, long at the back. It’s tied into a ponytail and brushes the back of his neck. I can see the beard hiding beneath the mask as well. He looks feral, like a big mountain man. Black marks, intricate almost, cover the left side of his face, wrapping around his bright blue eye and trailing down his neck to his bare, barrel chest.
That’s right, he’s shirtless, and holy fuck. He doesn’t have the lines that my men do, no, he’s too big for that, like a powerhouse. He has a huge, wide chest, his pecs bigger than my head, with the black markings covering it, running down the lines of his hips to the low slung leather pants, which are painted on to his massive thighs and legs, ending in black boots that are covered in spikes as well. He’s like the advert for post-apocalyptic fashion.
He looks scary as hell, but something about those eyes draws me in, so I step forward, his eyes lasering in on me, ignoring the men gathered at my back who are inching closer.
“Greetings,” I offer. Fucking greetings? What the hell, Piper? “I am Piper, from The Forgotten, I come to speak to your leader. There is an emergency or we would not dare cross on to your land,” I call loudly, my voice echoing around.
A murmur goes up among the men on the mountains, a gibberish of sorts, setting me on edge, but the big man doesn’t speak, just steps closer and examines me before starting to circle me. “Would that be possible?” I inquire, always needing to fill the silence.
I start to turn to keep him in my line of sight, but he picks up the end of my braid and looks at it before dropping it. When he reaches my front again, he stops.
“We mean no harm.” Laughter goes up among the others then, like they find the idea of us being a threat hilarious…okay
then. “Please, it’s an emergency.”
He steps back, nodding at me, and turns and starts to walk away.
Er, am I supposed to follow him? When no attack comes, I stare at his retreating form, and he stops and turns to look at me, his eyes narrowing, and jerks his head. Okay, guess we are.
“And I thought Jago was the quiet one,” I mutter, but follow after the silent giant.
“No shit.” Archel laughs. “Dude is massive, reckon I could still take him though.”
“Nah, I could.” Jago grunts.
“Shame,” I hiss, and when we are almost at the big guy, he turns and starts to walk away again.
“What do we do?” Evan questions nervously, looking around at the men perched on rocks still aiming at us.
“We follow him down the yellow brick road,” I answer seriously, before twining my hand with Archel’s and tugging him along as I start to skip after the big mountain man, singing. Archel chuckles and copies me, joining in even though he clearly doesn’t know the song, so he mostly just makes up his own lyrics.
We walk for a while before we reach what looks like a cliff. I stop, unsure on where to go, but the big man doesn’t hesitate, he just steps off the cliff. A scream leaves my throat as I rush to the crumbling edge to see him falling to a ledge below. He lands on bent knees and stares back up at me, and in his eyes I see a challenge to keep up with him.
Well, I’ve never been one to back down, so I take a few steps back.
“Pip, no—” Evan yells, as I leap from the edge.
I bite my lip to stop the squeal from coming out as I fall, my body turning weightless before I hit something hard with a grunt. I look around with wide eyes to see the big guy caught me in his arms. He places me on the ledge and I grin at him, but he turns away.
I glance up to see Jago and Archel already leaping after me, mid-air as if to catch me. Evan shakes his head, but throws himself off as well. Jago lands in a crouch, fist to the ground, Archel lands on light feet, and Evan…he falls over onto his ass with a pained yelp.
