“I guess that settles it,” said Chorus resignedly. He looked away from them as he thought about what they should do and where they should go. He made up his mind and relayed his plan to the family. “Let’s take the wagon and head to my dad’s place for a week. We can stay there till our troops drive out that scum.” He then instructed them to go pack a bag of clothes to last them a week. They did so. Yet Trance felt rather odd.
As they come out of the house again with their bags the sounds of fighting could just be heard. With a look of surprise and terror they turned and sprinted toward the barn. Trance then voiced an idea, “You go on. I’ll cover you.” He took a deep breath and steadied himself and nocked an arrow to his bow. He had picked it up with the ax, a sword, and the butcher knife when he had packed his own bag.
“No! You should come with us. You’re more than welcome to come with us. You’re a part of our family now,” said Chorus, concerned. He did not like the idea of leaving Trance alone with that angry army headed straight for him.
“Trance, please come with us,” said Maxine, “You’re like a son to me. Please come, you’ll be killed if you stay.”
The kids also asked Trance to come with them. He found their offer very appealing. Yet he had a nagging thought. He loved the Markems very much. Yet while he had been with them he hadn’t searched for his own family. Maybe if they separated he wouldn’t be distracted and he’d actually be able to locate his family and learn what had happened to them. He did not know whether they had survived like him or been killed.
“No, you go on without me. Give me the address of where you are going. I’m going to cover you and then maybe I can find my own family. When I do, I’ll contact you and let you know how I am,” said Trance, trying to explain. “I’ve loved every minute that I’ve been here. I love you all very much. Now you need to go and get out of here. I’ll cover you as long as I can. I can keep them from chasing after you. Go or we’ll all be caught and killed,” he declared bravely.
Chorus looked at him with surprise and worry. He knew what was coming down the road and what might happen to Trance. How could the boy hold off an army and let them get away? It couldn’t be done. “You have to come with us. If you stay you’ll be killed.”
Trance stood his ground and said very calmly, “The Lord helped me defend your house from those ten knights. Maybe he’ll help me survive the rest of the day. I’ll be okay. You need to go or we’ll all be surrounded.” Chorus gave in and the two hugged. Chorus then turned and helped his family into the wagon that resembled a minivan pulled by two Clydesdale-sized robot horses. Martin wanted to stay with his friend, but Trance persuaded him to go with his family. The Markems were finally ready to go.
Trance stood bravely and waved as the wagon was maneuvered out of the barn and started down the road for freedom. He turned and wiped a tear as he decided what to do. First he needed to check his weapons for defense. He went back in the house, collected all of the arrows he could find and then retrieved the hunting spears. He removed the scabbard for the sword he had recovered and put it on. He also retrieved the mace, then ran out and checked the road. The wagon was almost completely out of sight and his heart beat faster as he looked the other way and could see the battle coming closer.
He suddenly felt alone. He was used to this sensation; on Earth he often went off by himself. He just felt more at peace at times when he was off by himself. However, this time he was in mortal danger off by himself. What should he do, and where should he go? He headed to the barn to plan out his escape, and hopefully to keep the Boulthorians from following the Markems. Suddenly he heard a noise behind him near the house.
There near the house were two Boulthorian knights with torches. They hadn’t even checked out the house. If they had they would have come across their fallen comrades. It appeared that they were there just to burn the house down. Rage filled Trance as he saw them and without hesitating he turned and shot them both down. He didn’t have time to celebrate his success because four other Boulthorian knights had seen him, so he had to swiftly leap back into the barn.
Several arrows struck the barn and a couple even zipped into the barn behind him. Trance sprinted to the back door of the barn and looked out to see if anyone was out that direction. He made up his mind to head for the forest that bordered the farm. If only he could make it there he could get away.
He quickly noted in his mind a route to go and ran out and toward the large ditch that ran along the nearest field. As he raced that way he spotted more enemy knights headed his way. Trance turned and fired a number of arrows at them. He didn’t take the time to see if he hit anyone or not. He turned and ran until he reached the ditch and jumped into it. The ditch was empty and dry and perfect for him to race down. As he sprinted along the ditch toward the forest a volley of arrows came down behind him.
He ran on and stumbled. He got back up and stopped. A Boulthorian knight with an ax had jumped down into the ditch just ahead of him. Both of them stood for a moment and looked at each other in surprise. The Boulthorian knight had expected his quarry to be a trained Althorian knight, yet here in front of him was just a lad.
“Stop!” yelled the Boulthorian knight as he looked smugly at the boy. If the boy had the stupid notion of taking him on he would be killed in just moments.
Trance knew that this knight could kill him in an instant, but he was blocking his escape route and was preventing him from going in search of his family. “Let me leave in peace. I don’t want to fight, I just want to leave and find my family,” Trance said as calmly as he could. He really didn’t want to fight at the moment. He had been lucky at the house, but now he felt the impact of what he’d done. God forgive me for what I’ve done, he prayed, and help me. If he’d have to fight this man, he might go down, but he’d go down swinging.
“I don’t think so,” sneered the knight, as he looked the boy up and down. “I saw what you did back there at the house. You shot my friends like a professional archer. You’re going to be my prisoner.”
“I don’t think so. Just let me go. All I want is to do is get out of here,” said Trance, getting nervous and wondering what was going to happen next.
The Boulthorian knight was getting angry and decided that this was it. He prepared to take the boy down. It would be quick and painful. “You’re not going anywhere. The only place you are going now is the grave.” The knight raised his ax and started toward Trance.
Trance dropped the bow and drew his sword. He wasn’t quite expecting the weight of the weapon but got it raised. The knight approached him and he swung the sword to meet the ax. Surprisingly he fought the knight rather well and caught him off guard. The knight was not expecting this. They fought for a couple minutes when Trance saw his opportunity and drove the sword into his opponent. Both were surprised, Trance couldn’t believe that he had just battled and beaten an enemy knight like this, and the Boulthorian knight was shocked that this lad had the lethal skill of an expert swordsman.
Trance sheathed the sword and picked up the bow. He quickly readjusted the weapons and started to run again. As he sprinted along he saw the trees coming into view. Safety was only a few yards away when four arrows streaked into the ditch by him. He picked up his pace and raced on toward the forest. Escape was very close. He was scanning up ahead for a place to climb out of the ditch so he could get to the trees. There, another hundred feet away, was a place where he could climb out easy enough and the trees were just a couple yards from there.
Nearly there, just a few more feet, and then he heard running feet and the clink of armor. He got there, scrambled up the slope, turned his head slightly and spotted four more Boulthorian knights running flat out toward the ditch. Just as he reached level ground, the first knight had reached the ditch, leapt in and swung his halberd at him. The hatchet-sized ax head hit the ground at Trance’s feet with a thud. The knight quickly withdrew the halberd and swung again. Trance ran a few feet
and turned, took aim, and hurled a spear at the enemy knight. The knight ducked and scrambled out of the ditch and then threw his halberd at him. The halberd solidly struck a tree near Trance. Trance turned and raced into the forest, nocked an arrow to the bow and turned to shoot.
His first arrow missed completely; however, he set himself up and fired another arrow and this time nailed the second knight coming out of the ditch. The knight screamed and fell back into the ditch just as the third and fourth knights came up and joined the first knight as he drew a fair-sized curved sword that looked like a pirate’s cutlass. The first knight had ducked behind a tree and was moving from tree to tree, trying to stay out of Trance’s line of fire. The knights all moved in trying to close in on him. They simply considered him an enemy knight and were out to get him. Trance ran on and occasionally shot at them, trying to bring one more down as he was starting to run out of steam. Trance got to a large rock and ducked behind it. As he looked at it he thought that he could climb to the top of it.
Trance scrambled up the rock and set himself so he could see the approaching knights. He waited and sure enough opportunity appeared and he was able to shoot down one more of his enemies. The remaining pair of knights ducked out of sight. Trance waited and watched, feeling his nerves start to shake again. He had never dreamed that he would ever actually be fighting enemy knights like this. Then he suddenly saw them and he knew what he had to do.
They were too close to shoot properly with the bow. With a deep breath he drew the sword and got ready. Without hesitating and surprising himself as much as the two Boulthorian knights he dropped down near them and stood up ready to fight. The two knights jumped and turned on him. With great skill he battled both knights and forced them back. They struggled for a few minutes before Trance got lucky and thrust his sword into the knight wielding a mace, but received a gash from the other knight’s cutlass. Trance leaped and turned to duel the remaining knight. Their swords clashed and flashed deadly as each man sought the other’s weak spot. Trance got cut again and knew he was about to lose when he slashed his enemy’s middle and followed up with a deathblow. Trance panted, exhausted, and looked for more enemy knights that might be pursuing him. He didn’t see any and went back up the rock to retrieve the bow.
With sadness at leaving the Markem’s farm, he turned from the farm and started back into the forest. He was down to seven arrows. He knew that he needed to make more distance from here before night fell. He started moving as quickly as possible into the trees, trying to get as far away as possible. His brain began putting together what he had to do when night was to fall. He’d need shelter and food. How would he build a shelter, and how would he get food for himself? Then another fear hit him. How was he to find another town, and how would he find his family? Little did he know, he was heading in the right direction.
Chapter 7
Voices in the Dark
Trance had run for several hours and kept looking over his shoulder for any enemy knights. His boyhood fantasies seemed to be coming true. How many times when he was growing up had he imagined fighting knights and surviving alone in a forest? He had not belonged to the scouts and did not know for sure what to do when night fell. He decided he would have to plan how to build a shelter and what he needed for food.
He began thinking about a shelter, when he should build it and where it should be. He glanced at his watch and thought that he should probably stop and start on his shelter in about an hour. He then began looking around for materials for a shelter. The forest floor was littered with fallen tree limbs and even fallen trees. As he scouted out supplies for shelter he was also searching ahead for a place to build it. After half an hour he spotted a small clearing where he could build a small shelter and stay the night. He got to the clearing and decided to set up.
First, he decided to clear a space for the shelter that would protect it from the weather. Next, he went to gather supplies for the shelter. He found some good-sized and straight limbs and some smaller branches that would make a good solid frame for his shelter. A few yards away he spotted a couple thick trees that had a unique looking bark.
The bark of the tree looked like canvas in a way and felt like it when he approached and touched it. The bark was also sort of loose on the tree. Trance took out his sword and cut off and peeled enough bark to cover his shelter. With the limbs and bark he began to build.
The shelter began to take shape as he rather crudely connected the limbs together. He had cut strips of bark off the limbs to use as twine to tie the limbs together. The frame for the shelter looked like a small tent. He then took the canvas-like bark and layered it on the frame, attaching it as best he could. He then decided to find something to eat. He left the clearing and went in search of food.
He kept track of how far he had gone and what direction he had taken so he could find his way back to the shelter. Twenty minutes later he found some small animals that were a cross between a squirrel and a rabbit. It took five arrows before he was able to get one of these swift little critters. He tracked down all of the arrows and tried to get a couple more of the animals to make more of a meal. Fifteen minutes later he had managed to bring down three more of them. On the way back to his shelter he gathered up some wild berries and wild vegetables that Chorus had taught him about. He could use them to make a complete meal.
He took his food supply back to his campsite and set them aside as he turned to set up a fire. He cleared a space in front of his shelter, made a ring of stones and gathered up some firewood. Trance had learned from Chorus and Martin how to start a fire in the woods when you don’t have a match or other fire-starting item. For five minutes he tried and tried to start some kindling burning. He had constructed a rather crude bow with some string and a flexible branch and then wrapped the string around a straight stick that he had stripped and sharpened to spin on a block of wood. He continued to spin the stick, wondering if he would start a fire or drill through the block of wood, until the block slowly started to smoke and gradually glow. Soon a cinder ignited and he got it onto some wood shavings and with a gentle breath lit up a small fire. He leaned over and blew gently on the small flame that was slowly starting to consume the kindling. He began adding some wood of various sizes from pieces that were just larger than the kindling, gradually increasing the sizes to some larger logs. It was soon a respectable fire and Trance then began to prepare his meal.
It took him several minutes to prepare his meal. First he skinned and cleaned the little animals and then cleaned his vegetables and cooked them by skewering them and roasting them above the fire. He ate that night rather quickly, discarding the bones and vegetables that he hadn’t eaten. He sat there afterwards by the fire for a long time and gazed up at the stars.
As he stared at the stars and pictured the constellations he prayed that he was heading in the right direction and would be forgiven for his actions of the day. He also asked for wisdom in seeking his family and protection during the night. Finally he climbed into his shelter and curled up in the soft pile of leaves that he had placed there as a bed. He lay there with the sword lying beside him and drifted off to sleep, dreaming about knights and his family. Where was his family? Were they still alive? Would he ever become a knight?
***
In the morning he woke up and put out his fire. He took down his shelter and packed it up. He had figured out how to pack it up so he could carry it and set it up later at a new campsite. He then looked about and decided to clear up the campsite. In minutes he cleared the site to look as if he’d never been there. With a sudden thought he went and buried the bones from last night. He guessed that the animals would eat his discarded vegetables so there would be little evidence about his being there.
He made his way through the forest and wandered on. He kept himself alert and looked for another place to set up camp. He didn’t see any people, houses, or roads. He journeyed on and started enjoying the scenery and admiring the splen
did trees and bushes. The gentle tinkle of a stream reached his ears, and he chuckled at the thought that where there was a stream there were fish.
The stream was several yards away, so he hurried toward it and stopped and watched it for a while. There were a couple fish that jumped and he decided that he’d try and catch them. The easiest way to catch a fish was to attach a string to an arrow and shoot. He searched his belongings and came up with enough string to go across the stream. He waited and soon a fish jumped and he shot. The arrow missed. A few minutes later he had another opportunity and tried again. He missed and waited again. Three more times he tried and missed. Eventually his shot was true, and he landed two fish in a row. They would be enough for today.
He walked on with his catch and finally set up camp again. He set up his shelter, which didn’t take as much time as the previous night. He took some time to disguise the shelter and then set up his fire pit and started to cook his fish. He had found more wild vegetables and prepared another good meal for himself.
His mother had trained him well. It was forever ago when his mother had tried to teach him and his sister how to cook. Heather had picked up cooking very quickly, while he on the other hand had problems for a while. He eventually picked it up too. Most of the time he needed the recipe in front of him, but he gradually got better. His mother had told him that one-day he would need to know how to cook.
He slept more soundly than the night before and got more rest. He woke the next day and packed up again. He tramped on and had an idea. If he followed the stream uphill, he might find a lake. Up he climbed the hill for four miles till he stepped out of some brush and found himself on a white shining beach. Before him was a pristine little lake. He strolled down the beach and watched the lake, fascinated. Two birds flew by and the scene just seemed perfect. It was so peaceful that he felt completely at ease. The lake seemed to shimmer and the trees were out of a fairy tale. A fish jumped and made perfect circular ripples across the surface of the lake.
Space Knights: The Arrival Page 9
