Searching for Darkness

by Leah Ward

  As he continued to float, he saw fish jump from the water and attack the deer that were drinking. He saw a snake no bigger than the elephant’s trunk attack and kill with apparently just its venom, knocking the massive creative over. He even saw a lion attacked by the same birds that had chased after him just a few days ago.

  Checking his book, the miles flew off. Eighteen to go, sixteen, fourteen, ten… Halfway done, he thought.

  Around what he calculated to be late afternoon, he felt his stomach burn with hunger. Not wanting to eat because you don’t have much left is a hard thing to accomplish when you’re starving. He pulled out his loaf of bread and ate half, along with one of his apples and a few berries. By the end, he certainly wasn’t stuffed, but it would have to do.

  He took the extra time to lie down on the raft and relax, hopefully to fall asleep, as he hadn’t slept much the night before. As he floated softly down the river, he drowned out the sounds of the beasts on land, and his mind focused on the sky. The clouds were puffy with white tops and grey bottoms growing darker. The sun shone down on him warming his bones…

  As he watched the sky, his mind cleared and he started to think about his parents and about Agmund. How glorious it would be to find the cave, to fulfill their destiny, to truly impress Agmund. It would all be worth the danger, the fear, the revolting terror, and the physical exhaustion. Suddenly, his daydreaming made him feel extremely drowsy.

  He checked the map again, eight miles left now. He fought off sleeping, because if he did, how would he know when to stop the raft?

  The sun was so warm though… The sky so peaceful… The floating so relaxing… And, in no longer than a few minutes, he was out cold, dreaming of his hopeful victory…

  When Edwin woke, he was confused as to his whereabouts. Floating down a river? Then it hit him, and he remembered. Oh no, he thought. He grabbed his bag, flung open the top and reached for the book.

  ‘ONE MILE TO GO’

  Luckily he hadn’t gone farther than he needed to, and had awoken just in time. Sitting up on the raft, he noticed the forest looked different, it was darker. The clouds were completely darkened and the sun was hidden behind them. The angry sky made the forest look mean, and scarier than what it looked like before he fell asleep.

  The river wasn’t as calm as before either, the wind had picked up and made his raft shaky. At certain points, he thought he might fall into the river because it was so unstable. Rain started to trickle, and then pour violently from the clouds. The drops stung his arms, feeling like small needles. The wind gusts were powerful, making the rain shift and fall sideways. It was a brutal beating, and a fight to stay afloat.

  BOOM!

  Lightning struck a nearby tree, splitting it in half from the top down to the trunk. The sound made Edwin jump, sending the raft rocking back and forth. One side went under the water, and Edwin leaned hard towards the other so the raft wouldn’t flip. He put his backpack on and secured the straps as best he could so that nothing would fall out during the storm’s twists and turns.

  BOOM! BOOM!

  Twice the lightning hit down, on another tree and a few bushes along the shore, catching them on fire. Edwin was thoroughly soaked and his arms red from the stinging rain. He couldn’t imagine how wet his clothes inside his backpack were, or how soggy his bread would be after this was over. Then he thought about something; when lightning strikes the water, doesn’t it electrocute everything else that is touching the water?

  Hearing the thunder roar he knew that lightning would strike soon again. He also knew he had to get off the water and find some sort of shelter, but where? Trees were being split in two and bushes were catching on fire, where could he possibly hide?

  Lightning struck, this time just a few feet from the water’s edge. Edwin’s stomach was in knots, he had no way of steering the raft, how would he get it to shore?

  In the blink of an eye, a branch was ripped from its tree, and slung into the air. It came crashing down and hit Edwin so hard in the head that it knocked him completely off the raft. It also knocked him unconscious.

  He landed hard in the water, and slowly sank, his backpack weighing him down. The air bubbles flowed gently from his mouth. One by one they floated away from his body and up towards the surface. His straps loosened in the water and out floated his belongings as well. His soggy bread, the bruised apple, his nonpoisonous berries, his dampened matches, the now-broken-flashlight, and last but not least, his most prized possession – the book entitled ‘Finding the Cave of Darkness’.

  CHAPTER 7

  White light filled Edwin’s eyes, and when it slowly started to disappear, his vision was blurry and the Earth seemed to be spinning wildly out of control. In one blink, he saw dirt, wet dirt on his hands and touching his face. All that he could gather was that he was lying on the ground. The next blink, he tried to tilt his head up but it fell back down. Blinking once more he saw trees, lots of green trees hovering over him. They swayed and moved in circles. Again, darkness filled his vision. Desperately he tried blinking, as if his body didn’t want to stay awake yet he was using every fiber of his being to remain conscious.

  Another blink, he turned his head down to look at the rest of his body. More than half his body was still in the water, from the bottom of his breastbone down. His shirt was ripped open, and he saw several cuts along his ribs. Confused he tried to hold his eyes open wider, so more information could soak in. Those are strange cuts, he thought. Trying to lift his hand to his ribs, his fingers touched his body hard. He had barely any control over the mechanics of his limbs. The cuts moved in and out as he breathed. Then his vision started to fade. One last attempt he tried to move his hand closer, and he noticed water flowing in and out of the cuts. His head fell hard down towards the wet sand. He rolled over to lie on his back, and the last thing he saw before blacking out was a blurry vision of someone hovering over him.

  Edwin opened his eyes slowly, his face squinted with pain. He felt as if he had carpet burn all along his back, it stung so badly. He tried to move his arms, but when he looked down towards them, he noticed they were tied together with vines. The vines struck his memory; he knew he had used them before, but for what?

  He tried to move his legs, but it was no use – they were tied together as well. Realizing that he was completely restricted, his senses started to kick in. How did he get here? Where was he? Wait…

  He was moving. He still wasn’t able to see anything but blurs, but he could feel the rhythmic jerks that skid him along the dirt. That is where the carpet burn feeling had originated - he was being dragged. But by whom? He thought.

  He tried to scream out, maybe something along the lines of ‘Hey, I am awake, I can try walking now!’ But, when he went to speak, he found that he couldn’t. He was so tired that nothing more than a faint whisper escaped his lips. And, as if he was hit with a tranquilizer, his vision blacked out again.

  Cold water flushed over his face, startling him awake. Gasping for air, Edwin was stunned to see a girl standing in front of him holding a now-empty, dirty bucket.

  “Why did you do that?!” Edwin yelled towards her, not as loud as he could have been, had his voice not cracked.

  The girl didn’t say a word; she just stared at him, tied to the kitchen chair. He had dark hair, wet and matted against his forehead, and his eyes glowed – they were such a gorgeous shade of green. His clothes were ripped and torn, and part of her felt sorry for him - he was rather scrawny to be traveling through the woods alone. He even looked like he was covered in bruises.

  “Why are you staring at me? Where are we? Who are you? Why am I tied up? Why –”

  “Wow you talk a lot.” The girl said to Edwin, ignoring all of his questions. She walked to the tiny kitchen and stirred the soup that was boiling in a black pot over the fireplace.

  “Are you going to answer my questions?” Edwin asked, becoming frustrated. “Listen, you are tied up because I don’t know you and you may be dangerous.” The girl said, as
if they were having a normal conversation.

  “Yeah. Okay, I’m the one that’s dangerous when you dragged me to your house and tied me up. That makes a lot of sense.” Edwin said sarcastically. She didn’t make any indication of answering.

  Looking around, the house he was in looked dirty. It was very tiny and had a staircase that winded around the edge of the house and led to a loft. Paying closer attention, the house was circularly shaped, like a round hut. How odd, he thought. There was a black kettle boiling over the fire, and a small wooden table in front of him that had two bowls, and two cups set on it. The only window that Edwin could see, had a strange contraption that had clothes hung over them. They were dripping, as the setting sun seemed to slowly be drying them.

  Looking closer Edwin recognized the clothes. “Are those my clothes?” He asked the girl.

  She looked around as if she was surprised that he was talking to her. “What clothes? Oh, those? Yes. I assume they are yours, I found them hanging out of your backpack.” She told Edwin.

  Suddenly, Edwin’s memory flashed back to the events prior to this one. The backpack, the journey, the book leading him to the cave, Agmund, his parents… “My backpack! Where is it? I need it!”

  The girl continued to fix dinner, paying him no attention.

  “Please. I promise I will do no harm, I just need something from my backpack, it is very important.” Edwin pleaded. The girl looked at him, trying to decode if he was sincere or not.

  “Well, I don’t know what you are looking for because all that was in there were clothes.” She said to him. Edwin was shocked. Was she telling the truth? What if she knew about the cave and needed the book more than him? It would explain quite a bit…

  “My book, I need my book! It was in the backpack!” Edwin frantically said. “Sorry pal, it must have fallen into the river.” She told him, filling the bowls on the table with piping hot soup, seeming to show no remorse or care for what he was talking about.

  “What was I doing in the river?” Edwin asked, confused.

  “Wow you really don’t remember?” The girl said. The two of them stared at each other. Looking into Edwin’s eyes she saw fear and knew that he could cause no harm. He doesn’t look much stronger than me anyway, she thought.

  Edwin noticed her long, wavy, dirty blonde hair and how it looked like she hadn’t brushed it in days. She had bluish-green eyes, and looked about the same age as him – perhaps a year or so younger, yet somehow tougher and not afraid. Her clothes were more tattered than anyone he had ever seen before, and dirt covered her arms and legs. She looked rugged for a girl, and considering that she dragged him to wherever they were, he knew she had to be strong. Through the dirt, he still found her extremely pretty, and her face was perfectly proportioned.

  “Look guy, I don’t know what to tell you about your book, but it’s gone.” She said to Edwin. She noticed he looked as if he was going to cry. “Uhm, I have soup ready.” She told him, changing the subject, hoping that he wouldn’t actually tear up, knowing that would be extremely awkward.

  “I don’t really feel like eating.” He replied, even though he was starving and knew he needed to eat.

  Not listening to him she grabbed a knife that was hidden in her shoe and headed towards him. “What are you doing?” He said, fear obvious in his voice.

  “How are you going to eat without hands, duh!” She said jokingly as she cut the vines from his wrists and ankles in one swift motion. He looked at her wide-eyed; the knife narrowly missed his skin as it chopped through.

  “Go on, eat while it’s hot.” She told him.

  The smell of the vegetable soup lingered at his nostrils. No matter his feelings, he couldn’t pass off the warm meal. He devoured it, while the girl watched and savored her own. “What’s your name anyway?” Edwin asked, his bowl completely empty.

  “Would you like more?” She answered, ignoring him. He shook his head yes, and she got up from the table to refill his bowl. “Why is it you don’t want to answer any of my questions? Are you a crazy person or something?” Edwin asked half-jokingly.

  “Well I did tie you up and drag you to my house.” She said full of sarcasm. She sat his soup in front of him and once again he gobbled it down.

  “Seriously, I have to know your name? Come on, please?” Edwin begged. She sighed. “Okay fine. My name is Lena, or at least that’s what I think it was.” She said, looking down at her bowl.

  “That’s a pretty name, what do you mean you think? Don’t you know your own name? I mean, what do your parents call you? And where are they anyway, it’s getting pretty dark?” Edwin asked curiously.

  “I live alone.” She answered simply and quietly. Edwin was completely baffled; someone actually lives in the forest? Alone?

  “Why do you live alone? How do you survive? How could anyone live in the crazy, unpredictable forest?” Edwin asked.

  “The forest isn’t that bad, a few predators, and it’s mostly quiet so I don’t mind. I’m not much of a people person, anyway.” She told Edwin. Now he made the connection, she wasn’t a Seer like him.

  Suddenly, she jumped from her seat, staring at him in horror. “What? What’s wrong Lena?” Edwin asked panicky. “Your hand…” She pointed with one hand, the other covering her mouth.

  “Oh? Something burned it, it doesn’t hurt that much though now.” He said, relieved that was all that she was concerned with.

  “Edwin… You said the forest was crazy… You have the mark on your hand… You’re traveling through here alone… You are… A Seer?” She said as if it was the worst type of person imaginable. “What does that have to do with my hand?” Edwin asked, as he looked down at his hand.

  “You don’t know? Did you not kill anything in the forest?” Lena asked, still bothered. “Well… Yes, a wolf, but he attacked me and something happened. When I opened my eyes, he was burned to death and I had been burned on my hand too.” Edwin explained.

  “No Edwin. You killed him; you have the power to throw fire. The burned ring on your hand is a symbol that you can, it is meant to be a warning to all those who cross paths with you that you fight with magic…” Lena explained to him.

  Edwin was shocked; he had never made the connection that the fire had come from him. It was impossible! Agmund hadn’t mentioned being able to throw fire or anything else besides seeing a world that most couldn’t.

  “Actually that would explain a lot, I knew you were strange because you had gills when I found you. That’s why I tied you up, who knows what you could’ve been capable of…” Lena said.

  Wait… what did she just say? Edwin thought.

  “I had what? Gills?” Edwin asked.

  “Yes you had gills… But when I pulled you from the water, they went away.” She told him. Now the once unclear memories about the raft flooded his mind. The raft he made, twenty miles downstream, a terrible storm, he hit his head, and that’s all that he could remember. After that he only remembered waking up along the shore with blurry vision.

  “That is another power of a Seer, most only have one though, not multiple…” Lena informed him.

  “How do you know so much about Seers? You aren’t one, right?” Edwin asked.

  “Oh no, I am not. I have seen many in my time here in the forest. I have seen most do terrible things with their powers, but some have been peaceful. I only took you in because I saw you floating in the river when I was down fetching water.” She said.

  “Well thank you, I appreciate it. But… now it was all for nothing. All my time, the dangers I went through - it was all waste, and my parents would be so disappointed.” Edwin said as he sighed and leaned his head down to rest in his hands. He was utterly broken and hopeless; he didn’t even know how to get back home.

  CHAPTER 8

  “Why was it wasted just because you lost a book?” Lena asked Edwin. He sighed and answered with a lack of hope in his voice. “The book was called ‘Finding the Cave of Darkness’ and it was my guide to fulfilling my parents�
�� destiny.” Edwin told.

  Lena’s expression gave him the impression that she knew what he was talking about. She changed the subject quickly. “Your clothes should be almost dry by the morning.” She said. Edwin’s eyes squinted, trying to read her. He noticed every time she changed the subject, it was because she didn’t want to answer one of his questions or acknowledge what he just said. He wondered what, or if, she was hiding anything.

  “Do you know of this cave?” He asked her. “I’m not a Seer.” She said quickly.

  “How did you know you have to be a Seer to see the cave?” He said, with boldness showing in his tone.

  She hesitated, wondering if she should be truthful or not, until she finally answered. “Yes, I know of the cave and that it contains a book. I have followed Seers to it before… Wondering why they travel so far just to find this book that’s hidden deep within it… I cannot see the cave, but I know how to get there.” She told him.

  “Obviously they couldn’t get the book because it’s still in there, but why couldn’t they? So did anyone even make it out of the cave then?” He asked.

  “No, I never saw anyone come out of the cave. Half the ones that I followed didn’t even get that far.” Lena responded.

  “The ones that made it all the way, why did they not find the book then? How is it still there? I wonder why they never came out? That’s kinda scary…” Edwin asked worrying about what the answer might be.

  “I don’t know why. As soon as they went in, I heard cries for help. They wanted to get out but couldn’t or something… I don’t know what happened to them…” She confessed. She had always felt guilty for not going in and saving them - how could she save them though? How do you save someone from something you can’t even see?