by Bobby Adair
“Can they smell us?” William asked.
“I don’t think so. Their senses are the same as ours. They’re probably surrounded by the same stench.” Bray wrinkled his nose. “The only difference is, they probably like it.”
The creatures swayed back and forth. Every once in a while, one of them cranked its head and stared back at the forest, and Ella ducked low and held her breath.
“We should be fine,” Bray assured her. “We’ll just wait them out, and then we’ll adjust our path. It looks like they’re heading west.”
Ella peered over at William, who was taking in the scene intently. It was as if he were watching his future unfold. She wondered if he envisioned himself out in the open field. She’d protect him from that. She’d rather die than let him roam the wilderness like an animal. If it came down to it, she’d even…
She couldn’t think about that.
Ella swallowed the lump in her throat. William had turned to Bray, and she could see the curiosity on his face. It seemed like his fear had abated.
“How many skins do you think are out there?” He smiled.
“Forty-two,” Bray said.
William held up his finger and quietly counted the air. “You’re right. How’d you know that?”
“Lucky guess.”
Bray smiled at Ella, but she scowled and looked away. William was recounting, as if the Warden might’ve played a trick on him.
“Have you ever fought that many at once?” William asked.
“Not that many,” Bray said. “But close.”
“Did you defeat all of them?”
“Yep. I got thirty-five skins that day.”
“How’d you manage to do it?”
Bray smirked, unable to disguise his pride. “Do you want to know how?”
William nodded anxiously. Ella kept her eyes on the field, but found herself listening intently. Despite her mixed feelings toward the Warden, any knowledge he could impart would be worth having. Their survival might depend on it.
Bray gave one last look over the field, and then continued. “It happened about a year ago, right after the Brighton soldiers defeated a horde outside the walls. The demons had grown scarce, and many of the Wardens decided to head out past the frontier into the deep forests. I figured I’d head south. Most of the other Wardens were heading west, so I figured I’d have better luck in another direction. As you probably know, not many people have ventured that far away from the three towns, and I wasn’t familiar with the area. One morning, as I was coming down from my camp on a mountain, I stumbled on a pack of infected. They were trolling a field at the mountain’s base, scavenging among the trees. Because of the direction of the wind, I hadn’t smelled them, and by the time I saw them, they’d already spotted me.”
Bray paused for breath. William stared at him, eagerness in his expression.
“I turned, ready to flee, but I was butted up against an incline, and I knew that if I tried to run, I’d be overtaken. There was nothing I could do but fight them off. It took me a good part of the afternoon to slay all of them.”
“How’d you do it? How’d you kill them?” William asked.
Bray scratched his chin. “There are certain things you learn along the way—strategies that become instinct. Things you don’t know until you’re faced with a situation like that,” he said evasively.
“But don’t you have certain methods? Like the soldiers do?”
“I have my ways.”
Bray stopped and reached for his pack, watching Ella and William. He pulled out a flask of water and drank from it, letting his cheeks billow with the liquid. Ella felt a swell of annoyance. Rather than say anything, she held her tongue. When Bray was finished, he inspected the field and then resumed speaking.
“You want to know my secrets?” he asked.
Ella and William nodded.
“For one, never stop moving. The minute you stop moving is the minute you die. The demons have a difficult time catching a moving target. If there are a number of them, they tend to trip each other up, so you can use that to your advantage. Chase them from side to side, and attack the fiercest ones first. Never let yourselves get surrounded. In this particular instance, I had the mountain at my back, which limited the number of ways they could approach. If you get surrounded, you’re as dead as the soldiers we left on the mountain.”
Ella nodded her head, processing the information. William’s eyes were big and round, staring at Bray in amazement.
“You said it took an afternoon to slay them?” he asked.
“Almost,” Bray said. “When I’d thinned their numbers, I was able to lead several of them away and dispatch them individually. By that time, I’d decided I wasn’t going to flee. The prospect of silver was too good.”
“What happened when you defeated them all?”
Bray wiped his lips and returned his water to his pack. “Afterwards? I headed to The House of Barren Women and took a nice, hot bath.” He grinned.
Chapter 38: Ella
When the demons had disappeared from the field, Bray led Ella and William in another direction, avoiding the open grass and heading deeper into the woods. Rerouting would lengthen their journey, but it’d give them a buffer zone from the creatures.
After a few minutes of traveling, the smell started to dissipate, but Ella could still detect the odor in her mouth and nose. It was a stench she’d always equate with death. As persistent as it was, she was glad it existed—it warned them of danger, and it probably saved their lives.
They hiked for a while longer without speaking, and she could tell William was searching for the creatures. He held his knife in hand. Several times, when he thought no one was looking, she caught him taking a practice jab. She recalled his ambitions as a child. At different points in his young life, he’d wanted to be a soldier, a merchant, and a farmer. Although she wasn’t fond of some of his phases, she’d never squashed his dreams. As Ella knew from her own childhood, one’s aspirations would change over time, and there was no use dwelling on the fleeting whims of a child. It was best to let him explore the world around him, finding his own passions and his own path.
The realities of life would dissuade any child soon enough.
She pretended not to see William swinging his blade, letting him have his moment. Bray wove through the trees at a rapid pace, and Ella and William fought to keep up. It was evident he knew the forest as well as anyone, and she was once again grateful to have him as a guide. Most of the journey guides she knew, though knowledgeable about the wild, weren’t skilled in battle.
Bray possessed both attributes.
At one point, she heard the distant roar of the river, and she envisioned the demons drinking from its banks. In just a day, she’d learned more about the wild than a year of listening to stories in taverns could’ve taught her.
Most of the people in Brighton were isolated and removed, dependent on the teachings of the ministers. The only knowledge they had was from stories, and many of those stories were full of embellishments and mistruths. She’d always suspected this, but she’d never dared give voice to her theories.
Now that she was seeing things firsthand, many of her suspicions had been validated. The only way to learn about the wild was to immerse oneself in it, as dangerous as it was.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, William began to stumble. Ella reached out for his arm to steady him.
“Are you okay, William?”
He stared at her with guilt in his eyes. “I’m hungry,” he confessed.
Ella felt a shimmer in her heart—the feeling of a mother who’d been neglecting her child. They hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Regardless of their hurry, they could afford to take a moment. “Let’s stop.”
At the sound of their conversation, Bray turned back and wal
ked to join them. Ella shrugged the pack from her shoulders and opened it, pulling out an apple she’d taken from the soldiers. She handed it to William, watching him devour it hungrily. Then she withdrew some berries for herself. She was tired of the taste, but happy to be fed, at least.
“If we weren’t in a hurry, I’d catch us some game,” Bray offered. “But we need to get moving.”
Ella agreed. She finished her meal and washed it down with water. It was getting towards mid-day, and the sun bore down from overhead, splashing light through the trees. The birds and insects were as vocal as ever. It was as if the animals had forgotten the disruption of the demons, and were reclaiming the forest.
William stared at Bray as he chewed.
“What are the buildings like in Davenport?” he asked. “Do they look the same as the outskirts of Brighton?”
“Some are taller. But you can’t climb inside them. They aren’t safe, and they’re covered in weeds,” Bray answered.
“Most are forbidden,” Ella agreed.
“Do the kids go inside them anyway? Like they do in Brighton?”
“William!” Ella scolded. “You know better than that.”
“I haven’t gone in, myself,” he said, turning his head to disguise the lie.
“You better not have,” she warned. “And you won’t be exploring the ones in Davenport, either.”
“I can’t wait to see them, that’s all.”
“Who says you have to wait?” Bray asked.
Ella and William turned to ask for clarification. Before they could speak, they saw what Bray was referring to. Deep in the distance, over the tops of a few trees, were the tips of several majestic buildings.
“Welcome to Davenport,” he said with a smile.
Chapter 39: Ivory
The sky was bright and yellow when Ivory arrived at the base of a tower that stood twenty layers tall. Each layer was the size of a prairie, and he could walk through most of them without bumping his head on the layer above. Each was lush with plants around the edges and filled with small animals. Birds perched and nested. In the center of each layer, where the suns rays never fell, they were barren caves.
Vertical columns cut through the layers. Some were empty shafts that fell away to the ground. Others held the rusted remains of stairs, in places sturdy, in some covered in plants and shrubs, and in still others, fallen away over time, to leave gaps that couldn’t be crossed.
No stairs allowed for climbing from bottom to top. The tower was a maze. Ivory made his way up through a few layers on stairs that were intact. In one of the empty shafts, he climbed the rusted rungs of an old ladder. That was only good to get him past another three layers. Eventually, he had to climb on the roots and branches that grew between several floors, putting him outside the tower and in danger of falling a hundred feet to his death.
As he navigated the building, his mind wandered. He thought about The Cleansing. He was glad he’d missed it again. He’d seen enough bloodshed during his days to scar his nights forever. His uncle had been taken from him years ago; to this day he could still hear the man screaming. If it weren’t for Ivory’s father, Ivory would consider leaving the town and its walls behind. The wonderment of the ruins and the quest for knowledge beckoned with far more vigor.
He switched focus to the loot he’d taken, and the coins he’d make when he traded his metals in Brighton. For the millionth time, Ivory considered the possibility that he might one day come across a treasure trove of coins—ancient coins. If that happened, he’d have no need to collect metals for selling to the smiths. He’d only need to pretend to be a hunter of limited talent. He was surprised nobody had figured it out already. Anybody paying attention would know that his trips into the forest ran for way too many days and that he always returned with too little game. Anyone paying attention would know that the house where he and his father lived—where they used to live with Ivory’s mother and Ivory’s uncle—was more house than could be afforded on the income from Ivory’s and his father’s hunting.
Eventually, Ivory reached the highest layer, which had a roof overhead. He worked his way across the building. His thoughts of Brighton faded. His focus was on the coming few days, and the knowledge he’d gain while in the ruined city. Ever since his uncle had started taking him here, he’d found purpose far greater than anything in the township could have offered. He stepped over the familiar juts and holes in the ground, working his way to a more stable area on the far side, one that would serve as his home for the next few days. He could already make out the far outer wall of the building. There, at the edge, watching over the ruined city, sat Ivory’s friend and teacher.
Jingo turned. His silhouette against the gleaming sun showed the calcified warts on one side of his head as he said, “Hello, Ivory.”
Chapter 40: Ella
At the sight of Davenport, Ella and William hastily finished their meal. As she closed her pack, Ella kept her eyes glued to the treetops, as if the tips of the buildings might disappear. A part of her was convinced that the settlement was an illusion, and that she’d wake up again in the cave, listening to the sounds of demons feasting on human remains.
But the buildings were real.
Her eyes watered as she took them in. She recognized several already—ancient and looming, their tops crumbled, but holding. Although time had dimmed the details, the buildings looked familiar, as if she’d never left.
“Come on, William!” she said.
She tugged William along, keeping after Bray. Now that she’d seen Davenport, the forest seemed less menacing. It was as if the village itself was a repellent against the demons, and its mere presence would protect them. She had to remind herself that they were still in danger. The men in Davenport were just as apt to condemn them as those in Brighton, whether she reached her relatives or not. Though death would be less imminent, it would be no less severe. Their best bet was to immerse themselves in the village and find her aunt and uncle.
The last thing they needed was to arouse suspicion.
Ella reviewed her plan in her head. Her goal was for Bray to get them clothes, then sell her wares and seek out her relatives. If something went afoul, she’d have the silver and could seek refuge in another settlement.
The plan was far from foolproof, but right now, it was the only plan she had.
As she hiked after Bray, she prayed he’d be able to get them inside undetected. Showing up through the gates so soon after a Cleansing would arouse suspicion. Her memory of the village was almost twelve years old, and many things had likely changed since then, so she’d need to depend on him.
As she strode through the forest, she pictured Davenport vividly: the streets colorful and vibrant, the sound of merchants, traders, and children punctuating the air. She remembered walking those streets with her parents, holding their hands as they strolled past the vegetable stands and parked wagons. That was before the plague, and before the troubles she’d had at her aunt’s and uncle’s. Everything seemed more prosperous then. Whether it was the innocent gloss of childhood or her own naiveté, she didn’t know, but the memory was comforting.
William deserved to have memories like that. She’d make sure he had them.
As the buildings in the distance loomed closer, Ella noticed Bray had sheathed his sword, and she followed suit. It was always wise to stand down while in the vicinity of a town or village. Entering one with a weapon drawn was an easy way to get oneself killed. From what she recalled, there was a wall on the east side of Davenport, but she wasn’t sure if that was where they were headed. Bray had changed course several times; her bearings were lost.
“Which way are we going in?” she asked.
“Normally I’d take you through the east wall, but there’ll be too many guards there. I know another way—a path between buildings that’ll bring us closer to the merchants.”
“Not if we’re careful.”
She refrained from further questions, content to follow Bray. William scurried closer to her. He’d never been to another settlement before. Although she’d meant to take him, he’d been too young to travel. It was a shame they’d come under these circumstances.
Ahead of them, Ella could see the light of a clearing. In just a few feet, the thick underbrush had relented, and the outlines of buildings sprung into view a few hundred yards away. The sight of Davenport proper made her heart gallop.
Ella listened intently, expecting to hear voices. She could already read evidence of civilization on the ground—broken underbrush, the beginnings of paths, and boot prints in the dirt.
Bray stuck to the outskirts of the forest, keeping them out of plain view. As they crept through the trees, she tried to separate the buildings from the groping hands of nature, discerning what had once been the ruins of the Ancients. The walls of old buildings had long outgrown their function, and served as barriers to keep the village contained.
And somewhere inside those walls were the people she’d come to see. Somewhere inside were Aunt Jean and Uncle Frederick.
She bounced between excitement and fear. How would her aunt and uncle react when they arrived? Would they agree to help? What if they cast her away? She couldn’t imagine them betraying William. Ethan had been one matter, but a child? She swallowed. Every possibility needed to be considered.
There was a chance they’d be forced to flee. There was a chance the Brighton soldiers would catch up to them. Hell, there was even a chance her relatives would try to have her burned. If that happened, she’d fight her way out of Davenport, she’d get William to safety.
They were approaching the back wall of a building. Bray pushed aside the overgrowth, exposing the dirt-worn exterior. The building was covered in clumps of ivy, but he cast them aside until he’d revealed a hole in the wall. Through it, she could see the crumbled interior. Beyond the building, through another hole in the far wall, she saw a dirt road.
