The Constant
Episode 1
TREVOR ROY BOOTH
Copyright © 2015 Trevor Booth
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the author.
In loving memory of Roy Thomas Booth, never forgotten.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Last Light
Chapter 2
Right Under His Nose
Chapter 3
A New Friend
Chapter 4
Happy Families
Chapter 5
The Tidal Path
Chapter 6
The End of Us
Chapter 7
The New World Awaits
Chapter 1
Last Light
Nathan sat slumped over in the corner of the room, he cradled a deep wound in his stomach, blood flowed out from between his fingers and no amount of pressure would slow it down. His skin was turning pale and his eyes were losing their colour.
“One day”, said Marteen with his thick African accent, “One day, your story will be told” Nathan looked up at his old friend and smiled, then coughed uncontrollably, Marteen knelt down beside him, “It’s okay”.
Nathan looked over Marteen’s shoulder and for a brief moment a spark returned to his eyes, he could see them, one last time.
***
Nathan ran desperately through the thick misty forest. The full moon lit his way through the icy cold winter night. His clothes were ripped, his skin battered and bruised, the ground was soaked and covered in tree roots.
Looking over his shoulder Nathan fell to the ground hurting his ankle, but the fear coursing through his veins got him up as quickly as he went down.
The forest suddenly dissipated and Nathan burst out into a large grassy field, tripping flat on his face. The grass was covered in a dark red frost. It smelt like rusted metal, he looked at his hands, it wasn’t just frost, it was blood, the frost was stained with the blood of hundreds of men, they lay strewn around him, swords and arrows protruded out of their disfigured bodies, a huge battle was raging and Nathan had ran right into the middle of it.
At the top of the field was a huge castle. Large round stone towers imposed themselves onto the valley below, the walls between them not much smaller. Hundreds of men stood atop them with bows and arrows, firing death from above, below was an army of heavily armoured men waiting to make their way up the field, their breath could be seen rising out of their helmets as they waited patiently for their time to fight.
Nathan hurried to his feet and ran as fast as he could across the field, arrows whizzed past him from every direction. From out of the trees behind him two men dressed in dark cloaks appeared, they took no notice of the battle around them, they ran straight for Nathan.
They ran with incredible vigour, a rogue arrow hit one of the men in the head killing him instantly. The other man didn’t stop, he didn’t look back, he just continued his charge forward. Nathan turned and ran towards a small town that lay at the bottom of the valley.
The town was dimly lit, the fog blanketed the empty streets, and the shops were closed. Anyone silly enough to be around this night was fighting near the castle. Nathan ran down a small alleyway and bashed in a doorway to a bar, he ran inside and hid behind the bar.
It was surprisingly quiet in the street considering the battle being waged not far away, the man in black walked slowly along the street, Nathan could hear his every footstep. Peering over the counter he saw the man standing right in front of the bar with a hood pulled over his face so he could not be seen. Nathan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his trembling hands then grasped the counter tightly.
The man turned to face the bar, Nathan quickly ducked back down, eyes closed, panting heavily.
“Come out, come out, where ever you are” the man taunted.
Nathan’s eyes widened, he rubbed his face and shook his head, slowly he peered over the counter again and to his shock the man was gone.
Crawling clumsily over to the window he looked outside, there was no one there, he could hear the faint sound of footsteps walking away. Breathing a sigh of relief he turned around and standing only millimetres from him was the man in black, Nathan stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.
The man took the hood from his head, he was surprisingly old with his face wrinkled and scared, his head bald save for a few grey prickles on the top. The man leaned over Nathan and pulled a machete out from behind his back, he smiled as he held the knife up to Nathan's face.
“Where are they” asked the man in a sick croaky voice, Nathan didn’t reply, “Where are they!” demanded the man coughing and spluttering.
“They’re safe” Nathan shouted, the man ran the machete down Nathan's cheek splitting his skin open, “He won’t stop you know, he’ll just keep coming.”“ He’s going to find them!” the man taunted.
Nathan reached under his pants and carefully took out a small dagger, “Not as long as I’m alive” he said, stabbing the man in the neck, the man dropped to the ground. Nathan stood up and looked down at him, the man stared back and smiled “What good to them are you here?” he said ripping the knife out of his neck, blood spurted everywhere.
Nathan turned and ran out of the bar as fast as he could.
Six months later.
The sun light shined between the leaves of the trees as it rose, the brisk morning air made way for the long hot day ahead, Nathan stood in front of his small stone hut staring at the dodgy looking ladder leaning against the roof, it had been a long cold winter and the weather had taken its toll.
With a hammer and nails in one hand and planks of wood in the other he climbed the ladder onto the roof of the hut, for hours he patched the holes and fixed the boards, he was the kind of man that always tried to stay busy, standing still only lead him to thinking too much and he had no interest in doing that.
Nathan wiped the sweat from his brow, the smell from his underarms caused him to turn up his own nose. He looked out at the sweeping vistas, from his roof top he could see for miles across the fourteenth century English countryside. The castle looked like a small tower way off in the distance, in the time Nathan had been here he had made a point of living as far as he could from it.
Nathan looked down at the grass below, he could hear the faint voices of children playing, the landscape changed before his eyes, it was the same place but different, more trees and a small creek ran in front of the house, Nathan knew it was his mind playing tricks on him, but it felt so real to him.
Two young children, a boy and a girl emerged from the trees. They ran over to the stream and splashed each other in the water, their laughter infectious, Nathan smiled as he watched them. From out of the house came a woman, tall and beautiful, Nathan could not see her face from above, no matter how hard he tried.
The woman urged the children to come inside, but they did not listen, they were having far too much fun, a rustling noise came from the bushes, the children froze, staring at the trees shivering. Suddenly a younger looking Nathan burst of out of the trees and chased the children, they screamed with laughter as their father splashed them with water.
Nathan knelt down on the roof top, closed his eyes and rubbed his face.
The sound of cracking wood broke Nathan’s trance, the world was back to normal, his wife and children gone. He looked down to see his foot had gone through one of the roof planks, great, he thought to himself, now I’m going to have to go into town to get some more wood.
It was a long walk into town. Nathan was the paranoid type, he took a different path each time he went there, some days he walked miles o
ut of his way, always coming out at a different part of town.
The town was small, but large enough for him to stay relatively anonymous. The town centre was a crowded place, dozens of tiny mud riddled alleyways ran every which way.
The little shanties that lined the streets housed far too many people for their size, the town reeked of the foul stench of human waste dumped onto the streets, no plumbing here.
One dilapidated store at the very edge of the town was where Nathan liked to visit, Richard the owner was one of the few people that Nathan liked to converse with, he was the closest thing to a friend that Nathan allowed himself to have.
“Nathan” Richard called out from his little chair behind the counter, “What brings you to town?”, Nathan approached the counter, with little to no expression on his face he handed Richard a list of items, Richard held the list close, his eye sight was starting to fail him, “I can do this” he said, “But it’s going to take a day or two”. “A day or two” Nathan said with surprise? “Some of the things on this list are not so easy to procure, your welcome to stay with me while you wait”.
The thought of spending time in Richards home was appealing to Nathan, something about his place attracted him, it took little convincing for him to agree and before long Richard had closed the store and the two had taken their conversation up stairs.
The loft above Richard’s store was not much to speak of, divided into two small bedrooms and a living area, but what it had was comfort, the two sat by the fire in Richards large rocking chairs, staring out of the window at the stars above, drinking the night away.
They drank so much that Nathan would forgot where he was and started telling Richard some amazing stories, things that Richard could never have dreamed of.
“Another drink?” asked Richard, pouring the wine into his glass not waiting for a reply, Richard sat back down and smiled, the kind of smile only a very content man gave, “What do you think about at night, all alone out there in the woods” he asked.
Nathan looked at Richard curiously, “Why do you ask?”, “No reason, just curious how a man with such a vivid imagination survives with no one to bedazzle with his wild stories” Richard jests.
“I have never been completely honest with you” said Nathan, “In what way?” asked Richard.
Nathan leaned forward in his chair, he ran his finger around the tip of the glass thoughtfully. “There is not a night that goes by when I don’t think about them”, “Your family?” Richard asked, “Yes” said Nathan staring deeply into the glass. “It’s very difficult keeping secrets”. “You’re behaving quite strange, even for you my friend, tell me what it is” it’ll do you good”.
Nathan contemplated the words he had longed to say, “I’ve told you I’m not from here”. “Yes” Richard replied, “What I haven’t told you, is where I’m from is very different to here, I’m from…….” Nathan began to say, just as a large black man walked up the stairs, startled Nathan stood up.
Richard turned around, “Easy Nathan, this is Marteen he’s been helping me around here”.
“Hello” said Marteen softly, “I didn’t mean to startle you, I was just bringing another bottle of wine”, “Thank you Marteen, just place it down here” said Richard, Marteen placed the bottle down and smiled at Nathan, Nathan half smiled back, his heart still beating rapidly.
Marteen headed back down the stair and Nathan sat back down, “Now, where were we, oh that’s right, you were telling me about where you were from” said Richard, “It isn’t important” Nathan mumbled, sculling his glass of wine and pouring himself another. Richard looked at Nathan and sighed.
The two stayed up so late and got so drunk that they both fell asleep in their chairs.
The next morning Nathan was awoken by the sound of clattering pots and pans, Marteen was making them an exotic treat in the kitchen. Nathan rubbed his aching head, it had been a long time since he was that drunk, he walked over to the kitchen bench; Richard continued his wine induced coma.
“What are you making?” Nathan asked, squinting his eyes and holding his head, “It is called Fatira, it’s kind of like your pancakes, you have it with honey” Marteen said with a smile, “Sounds delicious” Nathan said covering his mouth and gaging, Frowning Marteen said “I promise you, it’s most delicious”, “Sorry, it’s not a reflection on your food, just too much wine” replied Nathan.
It wasn’t until late in the day that Richard woke from his slumber, lying next to him was his icy cold Fatira, Marteen and Nathan leaned back in their chairs, very content with their day of eating, drinking and talking.
“I can’t believe what time it is, why didn’t you wake me?” Richard said, “A herd of trampling elephants couldn’t wake you” said Marteen laughing. “It’s nearly lunch time, there’s no way I’m going to get everything on your list now, you’ll have to stay another night. “ I’m sure I’ve got another case of wine around here somewhere” He said hiccupping with indigestion, “Or maybe not” He groaned, “Actually, I have an idea”.
Nathan sat forward in his chair and looked at Richard sideways, “What?” “It’s nothing bad, Marteen and I were going to run an errand today, I have some merchandise waiting for me at the castle and lord knows they’re not going to hand it over to him by himself” Richard said.
“I don’t go to the castle” Nathan said abruptly, “Please, I need that merchandise and you want your items so it’s a win, win”, Nathan held firm shaking his head, “Do me this favour and I will clear your debt” Richard said rather unenthusiastically. “It’s going to be dark before we get there” Nathan relented, “Marteen will take a tent, he’s well versed in living off the land, he will take good care of you” Richard said.
“I’ll make some more Fatira” said Marteen, Nathan groaned in agreement, Richard handed Marteen a list.
The two stepped out on the street, it was only then that Nathan realised how tall Marteen was, he stretched out his large arm to shake hands, Nathan shook it, Marteen smiled at him with his huge mouth.
“Come, follow me” said Marteen as he marched away quickly on his long legs, Nathan looked back at Richard, “Make sure he doesn’t short change me, I expect everything on that piece of paper” Richard warned.
Nathan and Marteen left town, the castle walls weren’t far from town but the main gate was quite a walk away.
Marteen followed the path making Nathan uncomfortable he was constantly looking over his shoulder to see if someone was following them.
“What are you looking for?” asked Marteen, “Nothing” said Nathan, “I have not seen you around town before, do you live nearby” Marteen asked curiously, “You could say that” said Nathan, Marteen stopped and looked at him, Nathan stared back, they gazed at each other for a moment before Marteen smiled, “I like you” he laughed before he continued to walk down the path.
“That’s a relief” thought Nathan.
They reached the edge of a large river, an old stone bridge stood in front of them, the sun was starting to set and the clouds and cold crept in, “We should stay here the night” said Marteen, Nathan nodded in agreement, “Follow me” he said.
The two left the path and followed the river, they went so far that the bridge could no longer be seen. They reached a fork in the river, at the edge of the fork was a run-down old mill, Marteen laid down some blankets on what would have been base of the old mill house just as the rain began to fall.
The two laid staring up at the darkening sky, the rain fell into their faces, “Tell me about yourself, where are you from?” asked Marteen, Nathan rolled away from Marteen rather rudely
Marteen looked up at the sky and smiled, “afekirhalehu” he said before snuggling down and closing his eyes.
The rain continued to fall lightly all night, by the morning they were saturated but that did not dampen Marteen’s spirits, he jumped to his feet, “Come, we must get moving.”
Nathan shivered as he got to his feet, he tried in vain to squeeze the water from his
clothes, Marteen pulled some dry clothes out of a sack “Here” he said handing them to Nathan.
The men removed their wet clothing, Nathan's eyes widened “I see the rumours are true” he smirked, “And what rumours would those be” said Marteen indignantly, Nathan reddened quickly turning away as he changed his clothes, Marteen smirked at Nathan's back.
It had rained so much the previous night that the river was starting to burst its banks, they were forced to walk a little further inland, Marteen struggled in the muddy forest, slipping and falling constantly, exasperated Nathan took the lead, showing Marteen where to walk.
They eventually found their way back to the old bridge, they crossed over carefully both fearful it would give way.
Now on their way again it wasn't very long before the path wound its way in to gardens of the castle, a large stone wall had recently been erected around the grounds, leaving only one entrance.
Nathan told Marteen to wait near on the path as he circled around the wall, Nathan was a very observant kind of man, he slowly paced around the wall until he reached the other side, then he circled back to meet up with Marteen, unfortunately for him, Marteen was already standing at the gate having a robust conversation with the guards.
“You have no business being here, now go” said one of the guards as he pushed Marteen away, Marteen towered over the men but he didn’t fight back, “I was sent here to get this list of things” said Marteen. Nathan approached the guards, “who are you?” said one of the guards, “Nobody” said Nathan, “Does this man belong to you?” asked guard, “No, but he’s telling the truth, Richard sent us for his merchandise” said Nathan.
The guard took his hand off Marteen while the other guard swung open the gate, “He’s your responsibility” said the guard, “Anything goes wrong, it’s on your head, now follow me” he grumbled.
Nathan and Marteen walked behind the guard, they both held their nose as the wind blew the guards fowl stench into their faces, the guard must not have washed in weeks, he reeked of piss and wine.
The Constant: Episode 1 Page 1
