A World Divided

by Rebekah Clipper

  “You say strange things. Maybe they hit you a bit harder than I thought.” Elise could hear the humor in the other girl’s voice.

  “They weren’t gentle about it.” As she said this the memory of Chase lying lifeless on the floor of Aroon’s home flashed into her mind. A lump formed in her throat, and she swallowed hard. She couldn’t think about it too much, or she would break down. “Just give me a second to think.”

  The other girl stayed silent as Elise worked up the courage to open her eyes again. She heard the whinny of a horse ahead of her and crunching of gravel below. She had watched enough wild west shows to deduce that she was travelling in a covered wagon of sorts.

  After a few minutes, she slowly parted her eyelids until her hazel eyes met the crystal blue eye of her companion. She was as human as Elise. One of her eyes was covered with a crude eyepatch made from plant matter. She had long, straggly black hair that looked as though it hadn’t been washed in weeks. Her skin was deeply tanned, although it was hard to judge the exact shade since she was covered with dirt. Elise guessed this girl was about thirteen or fourteen.

  The girl gave her a radiant smile, dimples displayed deeply on both of her cheeks. “Well, hello there. Nice to see your eyes.”

  “Thanks.” Elise almost said it was nice to see hers too but stopped herself. There was a dark, crusted substance below the patch that was suspiciously similar in color to the blood that had dripped from Chase’s jaws. Instead she said, “It’s nice to see you too.” She smiled shyly at the girl.

  “The name’s Ashley. You?”

  “I’m Elise. Where are we?” She looked around. There wasn’t much to see. They were in a wooden structure that had four small slits at the top of each wall just big enough to let the light in from outside.

  “I was hoping you could tell me that. I was out on a training exercise when I was ambushed. I tried to fight back, and the bastards decided to take my eye for my effort.” She indicated the patch on the right side of her face. “I’m not sure how long we’ve been travelling for. It’s been at least a few weeks. I wasn’t really aware of time for a while there. Having your eyeball popped out will have that effect. You’re the first person I’ve seen besides the guards. We stop occasionally, but they never let me OUT OF THIS BOX!” She yelled the last part and pounded on the wall of the wagon. Elise had been listening, mouth wide open. She couldn’t imagine being so nonchalant about losing her eyeball. A twisted part of her wanted to see beneath the patch, but she held back her curiosity.

  “How long have I been here with you?”

  “You’ve been out for a few hours. I was afraid you weren’t going to wake up. At least the jack asses were kind enough to give me a bowl of water and this rag.” Ashley held up the cloth she’d been wiping Elise’s head with. “You should be honored by their care and devotion.” Ashley’s words dripped with sarcasm. “It’s possible they might even want to keep us alive long enough to get us to wherever the hell we’re going.”

  “Why would the troggles do this? It doesn’t make any sense. They’re supposed to be friendly characters,” Elise said, trying to think back on the events prior to waking up in the box. “Aroon was kind. He fed me and… fed me and gave me a place to sleep. I could hear him when the others showed up. I think he was trying to protect me from them. I don’t even know if he’s alive.”

  “I don’t know about troggles,” Ashley said as she wiped a tear from below Elise’s left eye. “I’ve never seen one in real life, just read about them in my studies. The guys who grabbed me looked human enough. Well, like soulless psychopathic humans that get their rocks off hurting young girls. I have some experience with the shape changers and the jack asses were definitely not them. Was Aroon a troggle too?”

  “Yeah, he helped me when I was lost in some caves. I don’t know what his real name was, that’s just what I called him because he made a funny ‘aaaa---rrroooonnn’ noise.” Elise tried to imitate it and laughed a little bit. “He didn’t seem to mind the nickname.” She lowered her gaze to the floor. “You know, all I’ve ever wanted is to live in a land filled with magical creatures, but now I just want to go home.” She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees.

  “Where’s home?” Ashley asked, as she gently placed her hand on Elise’s hair and softly ran her fingers through the curly strands.

  “Greensville, Washington. The state, not the capital,” Elise responded absently. The other girl’s gentle strokes had a calming effect on her. The pain cleared in her head, replaced with a dull thrumming.

  “In all my studies I’ve never heard of Greensville, Washington, the state or the capital. Is it near Clarensdell?”

  “I don’t think so,” Elise said. “We were teleported here somehow. We don’t have anything like troggles or skattles at home.”

  “There were others with you?” Ashley asked, her voice soft.

  “My mom was in the bathroom with me when some sort of magical whirlpool showed up. I don’t know where she is now. And Chase… He was with me, but he’s not anymore.” The tears were back. Elise was getting so tired of crying.

  “I won’t push anymore. I’m sorry. Your story’s just so wild. I’ve never heard of anyone being transported from another land before. It’s pretty unbelievable. Even so, with you here we may just be able to bust out of this place.” Elise looked back up at the one-eyed girl, feeling doubt. Ashley flashed her another dimpled smile.

  Elise frowned slightly. “How’s that?”

  “That, my friend, is a very good question. Every day just before evening our captors stop to set up camp. At that time one of them will come to bring me food and empty out my bucket.” Ashley indicated a small bucket that sat in one corner. Elise had been doing her best to ignore the foul smell that rose up from it. “They leave it close to the door, so no one has to actually come in. If you look closely you can see there’s a smaller opening in the door. They take the bucket and replace it with a fresh one. I tried moving it once to force them to come in, but they just left it in here, and I was stuck with it for another day. Believe me, I don’t want to try that again. I’ve tried to talk with them, convince them to come in here with me, but they never take the bait. They refuse to respond to me at all. I believe if I can get one of them in here, I have a good chance of taking him out. I’m often underestimated, because I’m small, but I’m fast and not afraid to spill some blood if I have to.”

  “How can I help?” Elise tried to keep the whine out of her voice. “I’m just small, and I’ve never hurt anyone in my life. I’ll be in the way if there’s a fight.”

  “All I need you to do is lay down and stay very still,” Ashley said. “Then, when I say run, you run. Not hard at all, right?”

  “I don’t understand how that’s going to be very helpful. They may just think I’m still knocked out or sleeping.”

  “I’ll shout for them. Tell them that you’re not breathing. They clearly want us for something or else they wouldn’t have grabbed us in the first place.”

  “And how do you know you’ll win?”

  “I don’t, but I can guarantee you a swift death in a battle for our lives is much better than whatever they have planned for us when we get wherever we’re going,” Ashley said. “I’ve heard of groups of men who kidnap girls, and the stories never have a happy ending. Believe me when I say death is better.”

  “But one of the troggles was a girl.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Man, woman, troggle. It’s amazing what some people are willing to do for the right price,” said Ashely, a look of disdain crossing her face. “Don’t assume that just because someone is a girl, they’re not evil. Some of the worst acts in the world have been committed by women.”

  “Like Helenab?” Elise asked.

  Ashley gave her an assessing look and responded, “Yeah, she may’ve been one of the evilest people ever. It took a lot of mighty warriors to banish her, and a lot of lives were lost in the attempt. Tell me again how exactly you know so
much about my land.”

  “I told you, it’s Monoflufee,” said Elise. “I thought it was all make-believe, just a show for kids. I didn’t think any of it was real. It’s a cartoon about different magical animals and their adventures. The main bad guy is Helenab, the evil enchantress. Each episode is thirty minutes long, and they always end with some sort of lesson like ‘be kind to others’ and ‘listen to your parents’ and ‘love is the strongest power on Earth.’ Stuff like that. My favorite character is Lesembo. My grandparents got me sheets and pillow cases with him on them. But I also like Milufan. He’s pretty funny. Lesembo can be too serious sometimes, but that’s just because he lost the love of his life.”

  “You know an awful lot about our history for someone who’s not from around here. Lesembo and Milufan were two badass warriors back during the War of Souls. People say they’re still around, roaming the mountainsides, but no one I’ve talked to has actually ever seen them. Creatures like them were the first to be wiped out by Helenab when she tried to steal the throne from our king. Without them, and others like them, this land would be totally screwed.” Ashley looked away as she spoke. Elise stayed quiet, waiting for Ashley to come back from wherever her mind had taken her. After a few moments Ashley looked back at her. “Now you’re going to have to explain to me what a cartoon is. It sounds like a very strong type of vision magic.”

  Elise giggled and tried to find the right words to describe a cartoon to the older girl when the wagon slowed and stopped. “No time for a lesson now,” Ashley said, “It’s time for a little fun. Lay down and don’t move.”

  Elise did as she was told, lying as still as she could on the hard wood floor of the wagon. She watched Ashley through slitted eyelids. Ashley performed several stretches. She bent forward, touched her hands flat on the ground, and looked between her legs, smiling at Elise. After several breaths she straightened and pulled one leg up behind her then replaced it with the other leg.

  When the stretching had been completed, she stood motionless, her head cocked slightly as if she were listening to something. Elise tried to listen too, but heard no sounds besides the occasional whinny of a horse. The minutes rolled by as quickly as molasses rolling down a hill on a winter day. Elise took shallow breaths, trying to remain as motionless as possible. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was afraid anyone who came through the door would be able to hear it.

  Elise starting to think no one was going to come to their prison. Maybe this is just a quick stop, and we aren’t even at camp yet, Elise thought. She wasn’t sure about bandit camping protocol, but from her vantage the sun appeared to be high in the sky still. Wouldn’t they wait until later in the day to set up camp? As she was getting ready to say this to Ashley the door at the back of the wagon was ripped open. Jarring sunlight filled the cell, obscuring Elise’s vision. She heard a loud cry from Ashley as the girl launched herself at the intruder. A moment later the black-haired girl landed hard next to Elise, letting out a huff of air on impact.

  “Really? That’s really all you have? I am severely disappointed.” The voice was husky but clearly female. “Now get off your ass, Ashley.”

  Ashley’s gasps for oxygen slowly melted into exasperated laughter. “I had this under control, Jade. Where do you get off coming to my rescue when I am perfectly capable of rescuing myself?”

  Ashley pushed herself up with her forearms. The woman, silhouetted in sunlight, made her way across the floor and put a hand out for the one-eyed girl. Ashley grinned up at her and grasped the outstretched hand.

  Jade studied Ashley’s face, thoughtfully. “Missing something?”

  “I figured a little disfigurement would boost your chances of getting a man. I was just too pretty for them to notice you.”

  “You’re going to be the death of me, girl. Now let’s go before they see what I did to your guards. Fortunately, the procession has been delayed by an unanticipated felled tree in their path.” Jade turned to exit.

  Ashley took two steps and then stopped. She turned to look at Elise who had remained motionless on the floor. “Come on kid. Unless you want to find out what’s at the end of this ride.”

  Elise pushed herself to her feet and followed the other girl out of the wagon without a word. She was trying to process what just happened and was having a difficult time wrapping her mind around it. At the door Ashley waited for her, a hand held out to help her down. When she exited the wagon, Elise was numbly surprised to see brown leather boots laying on their heels to the left. She was even more surprised when she realized the boots were attached to legs. She looked at the back of her rescuer, wondering if the woman was any safer than the people they were escaping from. She felt some relief that at least Ashley seemed to know her. Elise didn’t really know Ashley at all, but she felt like the other girl could be trusted.

  The woman had two swords sheathed in an “X” across her back. Her hair was cropped very close to her head and was a shocking shade of neon green. She had skin darker than anyone Elise had ever seen before. Clearly defined muscles played on her shoulders and upper arms, which remained bare beneath her tan tank top.

  Jade looked at the girls and brought a finger up to her plump lips. Apparently, the sign for quiet was interdimensional. Her pure purple irises passed over Elise. The warrior woman didn’t look impressed by what she saw. Even so, Jade held one hand up and waved the girls forward. She moved in a controlled, silent crouch. Ashley followed using the same technique. They were so quiet Elise was sure they could creep directly behind a person without being noticed. Elise tried to imitate the other two and was disheartened when the gravel beneath her shoes betrayed her steps. Jade looked back again with a frown. Ashley looked back as well and rolled her eye dramatically before giving a wink. Or maybe she was just blinking. It was difficult for Elise to tell.

  Voices drifted toward the retreating girls’ backs. They were too far in the distance to be discernable. Jade had them creep next to several wagons that flanked the one they had been riding in. So far, the only living creatures they had run into were a few brightly colored horses who did nothing more than snort in their general direction. Elise loosened her tense muscles, thinking they would make it out without seeing anyone when a voice from the opposite side of one of the wagons said, “What’s the damn holdup?”

  Jade stopped immediately and held her hand up in a fist. Elise nearly collided with Ashley who braked hard in front of her. “Do I look like I know any more than you?” replied another voice. “It’s not like I’m a farseer or anything. I don’t mind the stop. My feet are killing me.”

  “Oh, quit your bitching. Your feet aren’t the only thing that will be killing you if we don’t make it to our next campsite before nightfall,” said the baritone voice that had spoken first.

  “If you’re so worried about it then why don’t you walk up and see what is going on?” The second man had an edge in his voice.

  “You know we can’t leave the prisoners, idiot.” Elise decided mentally to refer to him as bad guy number one.

  Bad guy number two let out a guffaw. “They’re just dumb beasts. It’s not like they’re going to hatch an elaborate escape plan in the ten minutes it takes you to walk up front.”

  As the bad guys discussed the merits of abandoning their post, Jade looked at the two girls and pointed to the foliage on the side of the road. Without looking back to see if they followed, she turned and quietly led the way to cover. Elise took a deep breath, stealing herself to make her own silent escape when a sound in the wagon next to them stopped her in her tracks. “Aaaaaaarrrrr---oooooonnnnn!!”

  Ashley stopped at the sound as well and gave Elise a knowing glance. She held up one finger and then held her palm out at Elise. The younger girl figured that meant she needed to stay put. Ashley turned back around and hurried into the foliage after Jade. Moments crept by at a snail’s pace, and Elise was thinking of following the other women, when they emerged back onto the gravel road. The look on Jade’s face made Elise’s heart
skip a beat. The woman looked just shy of enraged, the corners of her lips turned down in a frown. She pointed at Elise and then pointed to the space beneath the wagon. Elise got the hint and gently edged herself into the space indicated.

  Jade walked to the spot Elise had just vacated, let out an audible cough, and said, “Excuse me, gentlemen.”

  Elise looked to the opposite side of the wagon at two sets of booted feet. Bad guy number two muttered, “What the hell?”

  Both sets of boots made their way toward the sound of Jade’s voice. They stopped at the front end of the wagon and bad guy number one exclaimed, “I don’t know who you are, woman, but you need to get the hell out of here. Unless you want to come warm my bedroll tonight.”

  “A woman this fine wouldn’t want to lay with an ugly snoggum like you,” bad guy number two said. “Let me show you what a real man can do to rock your world.”

  Jade let out a small laugh. Elise wished she could see more than just their feet. “I’m sorry,” Jade said, the laugh remaining in her voice, “there must be some mistake. I don’t see any real men in the vicinity.”

  “Bitch, you’re going to regret your words,” bad guy number two responded as his booted feet moved closer to Jade’s. He stopped suddenly. “What the-?” The man’s voice quavered. Several muted thumps followed and suddenly both men lay before her, eyes open but unseeing. Blood oozed from the ear of one of the men. She hadn’t even seen Jade’s boots move, but they were now firmly planted next to bad guy number one’s head.

  “Come on then, child. Let’s get your prisoner and get our asses out of here.” Jade’s voice sounded calm, if not slightly irritated.

  Elise slithered her small body out from under the wagon and looked up into Jade’s face. She saw a small flutter beneath the woman’s flesh as if it were settling into place, and Elise remembered Ashley mentioning something about shape changers. She wondered if she was looking at one right then or if her imagination was playing tricks on her. She didn’t have the courage to ask, so she turned to the rear of the wagon and went to release her friend. The door had a small lock on it.