The Dawn of Skye (The Someday Children Book 1)

by E. B. Heimdal

  Suddenly, a man steps out of the thick smoke. He’s clearly ill and struggles to breathe. Staggering, he walks towards the children and grabs the girl with his bloody hands. The look in his eyes is desperate, but at the same time he looks like he’s already given up, as if he knows that death has almost caught up with him. He tries to speak but no words come out of his mouth. A violent cough makes him stop but his hold on the girl intensifies. His cough dies out and he looks at them, whispering in stuttering sentences: “Stay here … and help me … don’t you dare … leave me here. What have you children done … sparing you … from the disease. Don’t let me die … with the other … wretched creatures.”

  Paralyzed, the girl looks at the dying man, who’s no longer moving. Her body’s frozen from fear. The boy kicks the man in the thigh and he falls to the ground, but he still holds on to the girl. She bites his hand and clenches her teeth so hard that they penetrate his skin. He opens his mouth in a soundless scream, his voice failing him once again. The taste of warm blood fills the girl’s mouth, and she frantically tries to spit it out. Finally, the man lets go of the girl. Death has finally caught him.

  They quickly move on and reach the other side of the smoke and the burning village. The boy looks back, shaking his head. A short while ago, everything was normal. People and animals were working, they were living like they’d always done, they were born and died like they used to. Now everything had changed. Everything was chaos and confusion.

  He breathes deeply before he leads them into the forest, an unknown terrain that they’ve never ventured into before, because the forest is dark and full of unknown dangers – and there’s no one to protect them. Out there in the dark, they’ll be all alone, without their mother or other grown-ups to protect or help them. But they need to get away from all the dead bodies and the crying children, and the disease.

  CHAPTER 1

  Five years later ...

  “Stop, Ecco! I can’t keep up any longer …”

  Skye’s voice is almost gone. They’ve been wandering at a fast pace for many hours without resting, and her heart is almost exploding from exhaustion. The mountain seems endlessly tall and impossible to climb. The steep mountainsides seem to go on forever. Ecco doesn’t stop until he’s reached the top of a small ledge on the side of the mountain. He looks at the horizon before he answers her.

  “We can’t stop before we’re safe!”

  “Can’t we rest, just for a moment? It’s roasting hot and I need something to drink or I’ll die from thirst.”

  Skye’s voice is hoarse and rusty, and finally Ecco gives in.

  “Alright, let’s take a short break.”

  He sits down next to a pile of large stones that have fallen down from the cliffside higher up. The air is dry and warm, and all is still. They’ve been wandering for days without finding fresh water, but they had to get away from the Great Valley. Something had been scaring the animals – and Ecco. He was afraid and felt they were being followed. He’d quickly decided that they needed to move on. Away from the Valley and across The Mountain. There had to be another valley or forest on the other side where they could be safe from their pursuers.

  They were taking a chance by wandering towards the unknown, but they couldn’t stay where they were. It was safer to keep moving, to stay away from others and keep looking for new areas with food and safety. They’d never stayed anywhere for long and had kept wandering from place to place, and that had kept them alive for the past five years.

  Ecco slowly sits down on one of the largest rocks and leans back against the cliffside. A tall tree casts its shadow on his face, giving it a break from the rays of the sun. He sits quietly without moving, like one of the scaled animals that sits on a warm stone all day and disappears at night when the sun’s gone.

  Skye looks at her brother as he sits there with his eyes closed and his head resting. It’s been a long time since she’s seen him relaxing, because he hardly ever does. He’s always busy finding firewood, making traps, looking for water or making her do her daily chores. Ecco’s taken care of her ever since the world changed. He was the one who was better at looking after the two of them, and this was the way it’d been since they’d left the place that was once their home. They’d never agreed on it or spoken about it, but it had felt natural and they’d settled into an everyday rhythm of him deciding where to go and what to do.

  Once, she’d been able to tease him about her knowing better since she was the older twin, but he no longer laughed with her when she said it now. Not like he used to before, when he would answer back by hitting his chest with two small blows, indicating two heartbeats.

  “Two moments, Skye. You are older by two small moments, and only because I let you crawl past me inside mother’s tummy.”

  Ecco opens his eyes, startled, and looks around nervously.

  “Did you hear something?”

  Skye shakes her head as she tries to listen to the sounds around them but she can’t hear anything other than her own breathing.

  “I’m sure I heard something!”

  He quickly gets up and stares toward a cave a bit further down the mountain.

  “There’s something by the cave! I’m sure I saw a shadow. Hurry, Skye, They’re coming!”

  In a panic he turns around and quickly runs further up the mountainside with Skye right behind him. He doesn’t stop until the sun is almost hidden behind the top of the mountain, and the temperature prepares to drop to freezing cold. Once again he looks toward the horizon as he carefully listens to the sounds around them.

  “I think we’re safe for now. Let’s set up camp here tonight and get something to eat. We’ve still got some dried meat left. I’ll find some firewood and build a fire. In a moment, when the sun’s completely gone, it’ll be freezing cold this high up on the mountain, but I think we can still keep warm if we lie close to the fire.”

  Ecco stops talking and coughs lightly. Skye feels a small sting in her heart, and she holds her breath for a moment. She listens intensely as her heart stands still. Nothing. There’s nothing. Ecco’s cough has stopped, and Skye can relax again.

  Skye moves quietly away from their camp with calm strides as her eyes scout the dry and dusty ground. Every little plant and root is picked up and collected, because even a small leaf can hold enough fluid to remove the worst thirst. For every step she takes, she makes a small footprint in the dust so she can find her way back to Ecco if she should lose her way.

  She collects some green leaves and grass, but she’s limited in what she can find in the barren mountain landscape. Without losing her motivation she continues to search. Soon the sun’s almost gone, and the night sneaks quietly forward, sucking all warmth out of the surroundings. The warmth that was so unbearable earlier has turned into a freezing cold. Skye’s cold too, and she’s been so occupied finding plants that she’s walked further away from the camp than she’d intended.She starts following her own tracks back to Ecco with her measly harvest and sees the flicker of the fire far ahead. The thought of sitting by a warm, crackling fire makes her walk faster.

  Suddenly Skye stops. Her eyes are glued to the dry ground and her heartbeat accelerates. Next to her own footprint there’s another print clearly made by someone else. It’s large, much larger than hers, and it’s fresh. Skye knows that it wasn’t there before because the ground had been clean like freshly fallen snow, not touched by wind or any living creature. She squats next to the print and examines it. It doesn’t look like hers or anything else she’s seen before. She tries to compare the print to her hand and gasps when she sees how large it is compared to the palm of her hand. Quickly she gets up. She has to get back to Ecco and tell him about her discovery.

  But she doesn’t get far before she hears a sound behind her. Skye tries not to panic and considers calling out to Ecco. But he’s too far away, and she’s afraid it will reveal her location to whatever it is be
hind her. From the corner of her eye she suddenly sees a large shadow disappearing behind a mound on the cliff, and she runs as fast as she can.

  “Ecco! I’ve discovered something strange …”

  Skye struggles to catch her breath before she goes on.

  “I don’t think that our pursuers are who you think …”

  Ecco looks skeptically at her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “There was a print on the ground and it didn’t look like a human foot. I don’t think our pursuers are someone but something …”

  Ecco cuts her off without really listening to what she has to say.

  “That’s just nonsense, Skye! Of course, there’s someone following us. And they want to hurt us. Let me worry about that, and sit down by the fire. Did you find some water or any kind of liquid?”

  Skye stops trying to explain, sits down, and discovers she’s lost everything she’d collected while running back to the camp. She looks apologetically at Ecco, but he doesn’t look mad or disappointed because at that moment a large drop hits his cheek. He looks up, smiling at the night sky.

  “It doesn’t matter now, because it’s started to rain …”

  Another drop hits his face, and Skye’s eyes open wide in pure terror. The drops aren’t water but blood.

  “It’s … It’s … blood, Ecco! It’s raining blood!”

  In a panic, Ecco wipes the drops from his face and looks down at his hand, covered in blood. In a fast movement, he jumps over next to Skye and looks up the cliff. A shocked gasp escapes his mouth. On a small ledge a little higher up, a terrifying animal baring its teeth looks down at them. One of its fangs is missing, and in its shoulder a broken spear sticks out. The fur around the entry wound is covered in fresh blood that slowly drops to the ground below. Drip, drip, drip. The wounded animal crouches, ready to pounce, and a dark, resonating growl gradually builds up and sounds from deep inside its throat.

  “Oh no. I think it’s a deer killer,” whispers Ecco frantically to Skye, as he tries to pull her behind him. Quietly he kneels and gets hold of a large stone lying on the ground. His eyes don’t leave the wounded beast on the cliff above. Skye presses her fingers into Ecco’s arms, afraid to let go, and as quietly as she possibly can, she whispers in his ear.

  “Let’s get away, Ecco …”

  She tries to pull him backwards, but she can’t make him move. For a long time, all three stand still, looking at each other. The only sound is the deer killer’s echoing roar. Suddenly, a stone falls from the cliff higher up, and in the next moment an explosion of pent-up fear and terror is released. With a swift leap, the deer killer jumps down from the cliff and lands right in front of Ecco.

  Ecco starts shouting like crazy. His voice is dark and terrifying, almost outshouting the deep growling of the beast. A confusing mess of screams and flailing limbs unwinds in front of Skye, and she can’t see what’s happening. Several times she sees Ecco throwing a stone at his growling opponent, which lunges at him in defense. Soon, however, she realizes that the fight is more noise and threatening moves than actual combat. Neither Ecco nor the deer killer seem keen to carry out their intentions, and after a short and noisy performance they both pull back on each side of the fire. Skye’s relieved that the confrontation is over.

  “It’s hurt, Ecco. It looks like it’s already been in a fight and that its opponent hit it. Maybe it’s just hungry like we are. It could probably smell our dried meat and was hoping to steal it from us. Let it go …”

  But Ecco doesn’t seem to listen to her, or else he’s ignoring her plea. Instead, he picks up an even larger stone from the ground and prepares to throw it. As he lifts his arm, ready to attack, the animal growls at him more intensely than before and flashes its teeth in a terrifying sight. Skye’s never seen such large teeth before and she instinctively steps back, shouting: “Ecco – let it be!”

  But he pays no attention to her. With great force, Ecco throws the stone towards the deer killer and hits it hard on the wound on its shoulder, and it screams in pain. He quickly picks up more stones and bombards the animal. Terrified, it pulls back towards the cliff face, but it can’t get away. It has nowhere to escape to. Ecco’s mood changes as the animal grows increasingly frightened and desperate, and he starts yelling at it as if it understands what he is shouting.

  “Well, you aren’t so brave now, are you, huh … I’ll get you! Come on, you coward …”

  Ecco doesn’t have time to finish his last sentence as the animal lunges at him in a final attempt to escape its opponent. They fall hard on the ground and roll over a couple of times in a cloud of dust and gravel. And suddenly, they’re gone. Disappeared over the edge of the cliff, sucked into the darkness.

  Skye runs screaming to the edge of the cliff and looks down in horror. The shadows in the ravine are darker than the darkest night, and it’s impossible for Skye to see what terrible sights the shadows are hiding. She calls out to Ecco, down into the darkness, but gets no reply. In despair she tries to find a way to climb down the steep cliff, but no matter where she tries she can’t find a way. Crying, she paces back and forth along the cliff edge as she calls Ecco’s name. She’s desperate, and alone.

  The next moment, the moon looks up from behind the cliff top and provides her with the little bit of light she needs to find a safe way down into the deep. Skye suddenly sees small ledges and bushes that can help her descend into the ravine. She looks up at the moon.

  “Thank you. You’re a true friend …”

  Now she has no problem finding her way down and soon she reaches the bottom of the ravine. With her heart pounding, she looks around, afraid to see what the ravine has been hiding. At first she can’t find Ecco or the deer killer, and she tries to figure out where they could be. After such a fall they should both be so bruised that they couldn’t move right away. The night sky is now so clear that it lights up all corners and recesses and finally a trace of the fallen warriors appears. Bloody prints lead away from the ravine. Skye can tell they’re the same prints she saw earlier today that she tried to tell Ecco about.

  She looks around nervously, but she can’t see the owner of the prints anywhere. The animal must have escaped the ravine. She can’t tell where the prints start, and at first it looks like someone from above has dropped them from the sky. Instinctively she looks up and sees a large, dense bush on the steep cliff face. It looks like a giant hand with crooked fingers, and it appears to have caught something – or someone.

  Skye starts smiling, because inside the crooked branches she sees Ecco’s face. His eyes are shut as though he’s sleeping. She can’t reach him, but she finds some small stones that she throws at him. One of them hits his face and he opens his eyes.

  “Ouch, stop doing that. It hurts.”

  Skye starts laughing.

  “No more than a fight with a wild animal and a giant fall down a ravine, I’d say!”

  Ecco fights his way free of the bush and jumps down to Skye.

  “I’m so happy to find you alive, Ecco … I thought I’d lost you … Are you hurt?”

  He winces before answering.

  “Nothing but a few small cuts and some bruises tomorrow. I was lucky. But that’s more than I can say for that damned beast! I hope I’ve inflicted some serious damage on it. One day, I’ll find it and finish it off – for good!”

  Skye feels her stomach turning, and she hopes he’ll feel differently tomorrow when he wakes up. She can’t help thinking about how much Ecco’s changed lately, and sometimes she doesn’t even recognize him. Where does all that aggression and hostility come from?

  With the last of their strength, they fight their way up the steep cliff and back to their camp. The fire is still burning weakly, and the embers cast a much-needed warmth on their cold and exhausted bodies.

  “I don’t know whether it was a stupid decision to wander up The Mountain instead of
staying in the valley. Maybe I just can’t find the way to … happiness and security. If I fail, will you forgive me?”

  Ecco’s voice is low, almost a whisper, and Skye looks at him and thinks he’s making fun at first, but sees that his look is firm and serious.

  “Always! I’ll always forgive you. We’ll find our way. Even though we don’t know what the way is, we’ll find it. I know it. I trust you completely. You’re my guide …”

  Ecco pulls her close and kisses her on the forehead. No more words are said that night, and in silence they eat the last dried meat before they fall asleep.

  The night is interrupted by shining flashes in the sky, followed by a deafening roar. Skye wakes up, startled, as the first roar breaks the sky. She’s always been afraid of the wrath of the heavens, but she also knows what it normally brings with it. Rain. As the first drops of rain hit her she hurries to turn her face to the sky and opens her mouth. Big drops of rain hit her face like small explosions, and her mouth is soon filled with water. It feels liberating to finally get some liquid down her dry throat.

  She gets up from her blanket and moves quietly over to Ecco.

  “Are you awake?” she whispers. He usually wakes up at the same time as her, as soon as the thundering starts, because if there’s something Ecco’s afraid of, besides strangers, it’s the fury of the sky. He doesn’t answer her right away, and Skye grabs his arm and shakes him gently.

  “Are you awake, Ecco,” she repeats a little louder. Ecco turns around in a fast movement and grabs hold of her throat. His eyes are wide open and he stares right into her eyes while his grip gets tighter and tighter. Skye starts to hit him in the face while she forces words out of her mouth.

  “It’s me, brother. It’s only me.”

  He starts blinking, as if he’s not been awake till now. The grip around her throat loosens. Ecco grabs hold of her neck and pulls her down towards him, while he gasps in panic.