by Jay Barnson
He coughed. “Really good batch...”
“We’re almost there. The peaches are just a couple of feet away!”
She crawled forward, focusing on escaping this horrible place. As she pushed forward, she felt Burke start to slip away, almost like he was turning to sand in her arm. She cried out, “Peaches! You gotta get to the basement and get some of them peaches!”
The world exploded into light, and she found herself laying on the floor, next to the shelf. A heavyset, white-haired man in a tattered, filth-covered bathrobe lay beside her. A millipede crawled across his back, and his arms were marked with dozens of insect bites. His left leg was covered with blood, most of it dried, dark, and caked with dirt, but some was bright and oozing from a red, swollen gash along his thigh.
“Oh, my God! Burke!” Josie cried. “Jessabelle, take his other arm. We’ve got to get him to the hospital.”
Burke did his best to help, but the women bore most of his weight. His flesh was cold, and his lips under his filthy beard were white. He shivered and convulsed as they got to the narrow stairs. Jessabelle strained.
“Peaches,” Burke muttered and fell to his knees.
“You can get peaches after we get you up the stairs and not a second before!” Josie yelled. “Get to your feet!”
Jessabelle strained to lift the man. “You can do it! You came so far. We got out of that dungeon, we can go farther.”
Burke shivered, flailing with his arm draped over Jessabelle’s shoulder. His hand found the railing, and he struggled back to his feet. Jessabelle did her best to support him, but there was not much she could do on the stairs.
It took several minutes to get Burke up the stairs and out into Josie’s truck. Getting him inside the pickup was another effort. Jessabelle expected the man to get better and more lively in the morning heat, but if anything, he slowed. His shivering got worse. He stumbled trying to get in the truck, groaning and collapsing on the seat rather than sitting.
“How far is it to the hospital?” Jessabelle asked.
“About twenty minutes,” Josie said. “Or about ten the way I’m about to drive.”
Jessabelle got into truck, cradling Burke’s head in her lap as Josie gunned the engine and they roared along the broken road and onto the highway. She leaned down and spoke to Burke. “It’s okay. We’re home free. The doctors will get you all fixed up, and you’ll be as good as new. Then you can come back home tomorrow and have all the peaches you want.”
Burke coughed and then muttered so quietly Jessabelle barely heard him over the roar of the truck’s engine. “I don’t think,” he said, and coughed again. “I don’t think I want peaches anymore. I hate peaches now.”
The sun was already up by the time Jack awoke. He checked his watch. He’d slept for nearly twelve hours straight, and he was starving. He threw half the blanket off, and realized he was still in his underwear.
“You sleeped a long time,” Rumela said.
“I must have been really tired,” he said, sheepishly slinking into his clothes. At least they were perfectly dry. After discovering that his shoes were still on the squishy side, he rummaged through the packs for food. He found a bit of stale bread, which he split with Rumela, and several apples. He gave all but one to the giant, and ate the last for breakfast for himself. He didn’t tell her it was the last of their food.
“Me and you heading back on the trail now?” she asked, pointing to the trail returning to the bridge and the main road into the city.
“I ain’t sure that would be a good idea.” Over the western treeline, Jack spotted trails of smoke. His best assumption based on half-remembered maps of West Virginia was that Sanguine paralleled Charleston, and therefore would sit where the rivers met. While it would take more time, by following the strip of forest that bordered the river, they could escape further notice until they reached the city.
Then what? Other than the knowledge that there were already giants there, what would happen? The guard’s offer to buy Rumela as a slave made Jack feel like he needed to take another bath. On top of everything else, they’d need to find something to eat again soon. That would be a challenge without any money.
Moving with more confidence than he felt, Jack plunged deeper into the woods. The forest along the river wasn’t nearly as dense as much of what they’d passed through on their way to Dane’s Point, but it kept them hidden. For all Rumela’s size, she moved almost as quietly through the woods as Jack. After a few minutes, they found a horse trail and followed it west to a clearing.
Jack stopped at the edge of the clearing and ducked down. Rumela, following behind, did the same. Four men on horseback surrounded a young woman, also mounted. Jack only saw the girl’s back, but her long brown hair was painstakingly braided, and her clothing was clearly of higher quality than most of what he’d seen Around the Bend. Granted, most of that wouldn’t be good enough to sell on the rack of a thrift store, but her mint-green blouse had leather laces and ruffles unlike anything he’d seen since coming to this world. Or before, for that matter. The legs of her practical trousers were tucked into black leather riding boots. One hand held the reins of her horse, while the other gripped the hilt of the knife at her belt.
She was someone with wealth, which would explain the presence of the men. Jack recognized two of them-Zainus and one of his lieutenants. Clearly, the bandits had come to take advantage of the wealthy girl out for a ride. Whatever they had in mind, it couldn’t be good. As quietly as possible Jack slid his sword from its sheath and creeped closer.
Zainus raised his voice. “No, I insist,” he said, not even trying to hide his sneer. “You must come with us immediately.”
Jack charged toward them with what he hoped was a courageous battle-cry, holding his sword high as if he actually knew how to use it. Zainus stared incredulously as Jack closed the distance. The other three men drew their weapons. Halfway through his charge against mounted, skilled fighters who outnumbered him, it dawned on Jack what a terrible idea this was.
Behind him, Rumela shrieked her own rendition of Jack’s battle-cry, a sound that no human vocal chords could imitate. Even as her ally, the sound chilled Jack to the bone. Chaos erupted as men and beast reacted to this horror. One man’s horse reared up in terror, dumping its rider onto the ground, a hoof clipping the girl’s mount in the head. Her horse bolted away, and the girl spilled onto the ground as well, landing with somewhat more control. Both horses fled.
One man gained control of his mount and raced off in another direction. Zainus and his lieutenant fought their horses for a moment. Then, perhaps sensing the odds had turned badly against them, they fled before Rumela could reach them.
Jack sheathed his sword. “Rumela, I am lucky to have you as my backup.”
“Yep, you are,” she said, grinning.
The girl on the ground gasped as Rumela showed her teeth. Jack turned to the girl. “Sorry about that, miss. Let me help you up!” He reached down to help her.
She responded with a swipe from the gleaming dagger. Jack pulled back just before she would have chopped his fingers off. She sprang to her feet, holding her dagger in front of her, pale blue eyes darting between Jack and Rumela. One of her braids had come undone, and dirt from the trail marred her mint-green blouse. Some twig or thorn on the ground had scratched her cheek. In spite of all this, the girl was the most beautiful creature Jack had ever seen. She looked young enough to still be in high school, like a teen-aged Anna Kendrick with piercing ice-blue eyes.
The young woman bared her perfect teeth in a snarl and said, “Keep away from me or I’ll slice you open so fast you’ll trip over your own guts!”
Jack had spent enough time in the mountains to know that beautiful things were often deadly, so he kept his distance and raised his hands.
Rumela snorted. “Should I grab her, Jack?”
“What? No! No, we’re the good guys here! We’re here to rescue you!”
The girl blinked and wrinkled her nose. “Rescue? From
whom?”
“From them bandits! Zainus is their leader, and he is one mean son of a b... one mean feller. He and his men were robbing a village near us, and we stopped them. Well, me and Jenny... it ain’t important. Anyway, we stopped him. And then he tried to take revenge on me by shooting me with a crossbow when I wasn’t looking. If it weren’t for my magic amulet, he would have killed me, too. And...”
The look in her eyes grew more incredulous as he spoke. The time for shutting up had long passed. Now she looked at him the way his neighbors had looked at him when he was twelve years old and had warned them that there was a ferocious giant in the woods. It didn’t matter that he had been telling the truth. He had gained a reputation as an outrageous liar. Jack shifted gears. “Anyway, he’s a bandit, thief, and probably a murderer. I saved you from being robbed.”
“He wasn’t robbing me.”
While she was probably right, Jack didn’t want to think about the bandit leader’s other intentions. They were too horrible to imagine. “Well, he had bad intentions, that’s for sure.”
“If you were trying to rescue me, why did you hurt Adam?”
“What? Who’s Adam?”
She pointed to the unconscious man who had been thrown from his horse. Jack had forgotten about him. “Ain’t he one of the bandits?”
“No, he’s my bodyguard!”
“Oh. Sorry about that.” He peered down at the man she called Adam. His clothing didn’t seem all that different from Zainus’ lieutenant, but maybe that was a common style. He was still breathing, although his eyes were closed, and he hadn’t fallen in the most comfortable position. “He ain’t done a good job protecting you from them bandits.”
“He’s new,” she started, and then shook her head. “Besides, those weren’t bandits. They work for my father.”
“Ma’am, I hate to break it to you, but I know for a fact they are bandits. And if they work for your father, then maybe your father is into some shady dealings.”
She chortled and lowered her dagger. “You really don’t know who I am, do you?”
“Nope. I’m new in town.”
“Your accent is strange. Where are you from?”
“Maple Bend, ma’am. My name is Jack Parsons. This is Rumela. I reckon your horses will find their way back home, if the bandits didn’t take ‘em. In the meantime, I s’pose we ought to make sure you get home safely. And your friend Adam, too. It looks to me like he needs some bodyguarding of his own.”
The young woman continued to stare at Jack and Rumela. Jack tried not to stare back, but he couldn’t help it. He really hoped she didn’t decide to stab him, because he’d never be able to fight back. He could run away, maybe, and always remember the beautiful, mysterious, and incredibly pissed-off girl he’d saved from bandits along a wooded trail—even if she never believed he’d saved her.
The girl carefully sheathed the dagger and sighed. “I’m Delcina. I may be a fool, but I think you are telling the truth. Regardless, it seems I have little choice at this point. I am no match for your giant.”
“I ain’t, either.”
“Wrong!” Rumela said. “Jack and his friends bested six giants of my tribe, and that evil witch. Jack, you told me you don’t lie.”
“I don’t! I was no match for them, either. I just got lucky. My friends did the hard part. Anyway, can you carry that man and the bag, or should I carry the bag?”
Rumela laughed. “Bag ain’t heavy now, and that man looks skinny. Besides, he’s playing ‘possum. I could toss him over my shoulder...”
Adam groaned. After a moment, he sat up, looked at Jack and Rumela, and then jumped to his feet and drew a sword. “Villains!” he cried. He staggered as he tried to get into a fighting stance. Adam seemed to be in his early twenties, and while not heavily muscled, he was wiry. He’d be no match against Rumela in a fair fight, but Jack wouldn’t want to have to fight him.
“No, the villains ran off,” Jack answered. “It’s just us. Y’all are fine, now.”
Delcina waved at Adam. “It’s okay, I think. They said they are going to escort us home.”
“Why should we trust them?”
She sighed and pointed at Rumela. “Would you rather fight them?”
Adam looked Rumela up and down. “I advise caution.”
Delcina snorted and then covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry, Adam. Of course. We’ll be cautious.”
Jack pointed down the trail. “Is it this way, ma’am?”
“Yes. My... house is this way.”
Jack took position next to Delcina before Adam could. Adam fell in immediately behind them. Rumela hesitated, frowning at Adam before taking position in the rear of the group.
Delcina asked, “Where is ‘Maple Bend?’ I have never heard of it.”
“It’s... um... kind of a long way off.”
“How far?”
“That ain’t an easy question to answer.”
“Why not?”
It was Jack’s turn to sigh. He took a deep breath. “You ain’t gonna believe me, but it’s another world. We got here by going through a magical opening about three weeks back.”
She nodded. “I have heard of such things.”
“Really? You ain’t pulling my leg?”
“Pulling your leg? I don’t understand.”
“It means you are kidding. Or just saying what you think I want to hear.”
She laughed. “That is a strange expression. No, I am not ‘pulling your leg.’ I’ve been taught legends about such places since I was a little girl. I thought they were all gone now or sealed up.”
“The one I came through is sealed up now.”
She pursed her lips. “If it is sealed, then you cannot go back.”
“Nope. Least not for a while. So, I reckoned I’d explore a bit. Mostly I keep running into that bandit friend of yours, Zainus, who keeps trying to kill me.”
“He’s not my friend. I barely know him.” She sounded wounded by his comment. “He does work for my father.”
“So what brings you out to the woods?”
“I like to explore, too.”
“Find anything cool?”
“Cool? That’s why I do it before the sun gets too hot.”
“No, I mean, cool as in interesting.”
“Today, I met a young man from another world and a giant who claimed to rescue me. Does that count?”
Adam grunted behind them. Jack laughed. “Yeah, I reckon that would. I found something pretty cool today, too.”
“And what is that?”
“The prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” He regretted saying it instantly, even though it was the truth.
Her scowl confirmed his mistake. Before he could apologize, she said, “Are you attempting to flatter me then, Jack?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so... Look, I ain’t that good at talking to girls. I never know what to say, and I put my foot in my mouth as soon as the words come out.”
“Then you were lying?”
“No ma’am. It’s the honest truth. Just stupid of me to say to a girl I just met. That’s probably something I should only say after we have been on a date or something.”
“A date?”
If he had a third foot, he would have kicked himself to the point of being incapable of sitting. “It’s nothing.”
One corner of her mouth lifted. “If it’s nothing, then tell me.”
Jack couldn’t tell if she was furious, serious, or teasing him. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Like I said, I ain’t had much experience with this. I ain’t actually been on a date before. But it’s when two people, you know, go spend time with each other.”
“Like we are now?”
“No. I mean, maybe. Usually not with a bodyguard and a giant.”
“Without a chaperon?”
“A shappy-what-now?”
Her laugh was silver bells in the air. It was his turn to be confused. She pointed ahead. “We’re almost out of the woods.”
“Would you get a look at that!” he said to no one in particular.
Rumela stooped down to get a look below the tree cover. “Pretty,” she said.
Jack grinned and looked at Delcina. “I’ll bet you never get tired of that sight.”
“The castle?”
“Yeah! That’s amazing.”
“I guess so. You get used to it after a while.”
Jack whistled. “Not me. You are lucky to live around here. Where do you live, by the way? We can at least walk you to your house.”
She didn’t answer. Adam snorted. Jack looked back at him and scowled.
They left the cover of the woods, and followed the trail through fields. Jack tried to figure out a way to slow their pace, or come up with some excuse to see Delcina again, and didn’t hear the sound of approaching horses. Rumela turned first and said, “Jack? Horses. And soldiers.”
Jack turned. From either side of the trail, cutting off their retreat back into the woods, came two dozen horsemen. Some wore armor, and all bore crossbows or old-fashioned guns which they aimed at Rumela. Zainus and his lieutenant held back behind the cavalrymen. A dark-skinned man with a wide mustache and armor made of thick hide plates approached. He had a flintlock pistol in one hand, the hammer cocked back and ready to fire, while he held the reigns of his great black warhorse with the other.
Jack instinctively lifted his arms to shield Delcina behind him, although he knew it was useless. He’d underestimated the bandits in this world. There seemed to be a never-ending supply of them.
The man spoke, his voice a rich baritone. “Let the princess go and submit to arrest quietly, or we shall kill you where you stand.”
