by HC MacDonald
We continued running away from the building. We had only gone half the length when the next explosion quaked the earth making her stumble as she ran. I reached out a hand but she had already steadied herself and we continued to run.
The building exploded again and completely collapsed on itself, then disappeared altogether. My concerns grew. Maybe something in her blood triggered this. Fear captured my mind. Would the explosion signal Nezra to come?
The whole area surrounding us began lifting of mist. Sunshine peeked through the overcast clouds that hovered above. Thistles and briars slowly changing to grass and wild flowers. Trees began to untwist reaching up to the sky. We kept running.
Everything changed. The Koboldrone gone. For now at least. But why? I needed answers to all of my questions. We continued running a little longer, I started turning us north to lead her in the direction of my home lands. We ran for another mile, then she slowed and began to walk.
I slowed my pace to walk beside her. She stopped and put down the young boy she was carrying. I followed suit with the girls I had grabbed. She scooped the unmoving children into a hug and for a few moments I watched as she embraced each of them. She looked at me then and said humbly, “Thank you.” Then buried her head back into the children whispering to each.
I was memorized by this display of affection she had for them. My heart reached out to her. I didn’t want to take away her hope and tell her that there is nothing we can do for them. I would have our elders try to break this curse, but chances are they would remain in this mindless state forever.
Silently I took a few steps back. I needed to clear my head and assess our situation with my new travel companions. I wondered if it would be safe to bring them home. Would the Elders help them or turn them away? Would I be putting others at risk? Standing here watching her with them. My mind was made up. Taking them home was the right thing to do until a better plan could be made.
Chapter 4
Home
Raina
He looked at me with those brown and gold flecked eyes. They were sad. He just nodded his head at my thanks. I was so happy to be with my family again. I figured we were far enough away to be safe. I felt so relieved, I needed to let my emotions out with a proper hug and kiss for each. As I looked at them. A blank expression was on their little faces. Snap out of it I willed. They were void of all emotion. Same expression as I had found them wearing when they were sitting in that room full of children. All the children had a blank stare on their faces.
The grief began to hit me, all those kids trapped. I didn’t have the strength or speed to grab more then my family. I never expected so many of them to be there. Then, for the building to explode! When I ran into that last room and saw them lined against the wall I was overwhelmed. Luckily Keiko, Juji, and Wyatt were sitting together. I pulled them up easily. As I started running, holding on to them tightly, they ran in tote. I yelled at the others to follow, but no one moved. I called to them till we got to the door.
When it swung open without my push I almost dropped Keiko’s hand in the panic that had consumed me. I ran thru, determined to get them out. Dragging them behind me. Instead of danger it was that man again. I didn’t know why he was there but he seemed to be helping me. Out of the building together we ran. Now here we were, far enough I hoped away from the danger.
I had looked back only once, hoping to see if any of the other children were following. There were none, and I struggled to keep my guilt and grief in check. My only peace was the hope that in their state of mind; they didn’t know what had happened. I couldn’t dwell on the guilt, so I focused on the hope that I saved my family and they would come back to me.
I kept hugging them, and whispering, it’s okay, I love you, we are safe now. Not sure what to do. In return, still, blank eyes stared back at me.
Then, a small hand touched the side of my face. Turning to look at Juji, I could see the recognition and light returning to her eyes. She was the middle child of the three at five years old. Sporting choppy short brown hair and golden brown eyes. Her cheeks rosy, a little chubby, and so kind. The most affectionate and loving of the three. As I looked at her I could see she was scared and happy all at once.
Keiko was next to have the mist remove from her mind. She leaned in and held me around my neck. Tears began flowing down our cheeks. Then I felt the tug of my shirt sleeve. Wyatt was watching me ready for his turn to be hugged. He was the youngest of the group at four and a half years old. He had short blonde hair with a callous in the front, making his hair always stand on edge. Which fit his personality perfectly. He still had a bit of baby fat to him, and was all giggles. The boy was ticklish everywhere.
I pulled him into a hug and together we embraced each other till our fears and doubts were gone. Standing up and looking around the woodlands we were in, I heard Juji ask, “Where are we going?”
“Headed to a new home far from here.” Was my reply.
“Where did you go, we waited for you to come?” Keiko chimed in.
“I was looking for you.”
“Here we are!” Wyatt giggled out.
At that I tickled his tummy till they were all laughing, putting aside the horrors of the days.
I looked up at my strange companion. He had a shocked look on his face. He was tall in stature. My guess just over six feet tall. He had silky brown hair with highlights of gold running through it. He hadn’t shaved in weeks and his scruffy start of a beard had flecks of gold as well. His eyes were a dark brown, very thoughtful, when he didn’t look shocked or confused. He carried himself with an air of confidence and wisdom much older then he looked. I guessed he was in his early twenties. Not much older then I am at eighteen. His clothes were plain. Button down long sleeve shirt with small tears. It looked like he had been in a few fights. He was well toned from what I could tell, not to muscly, definitely not weak. He was watching us. I could feel my cheeks heat up so I quickly focused back on the giggling threesome at my feet.
“Time to get moving”
“Do we have to?” I heard in unison.
“Yes, it is time. Who would like to lead the way?”
“Me, pick me, please, pick me, I’m first.” Juji was jumping up and down excitedly.
“OK, OK, I pick you.”
“We need to keep our eyes out for others that may be on our path. If you see someone, then we must hide.” The stranger spoke.
“You mean hide and seek like we always play” Keiko interrupted.
“Yes, we are hiding from anyone we see, but we must hide together. Got it?”
“OK.” Then more jiggles from the children.
This was a favorite game, they knew it was a requirement of our safety, but we always pretended it was a game anyway. This simple act saved our hides more than once in the fortress.
We started to walk again, not really knowing where we were headed. This wasn’t the direction my mother and I had planned out. The sun was in the wrong placement for us to be headed west. Our guide was steering us another way. My hope was that he would help us, not trap or betray us. If I had to fight him for our freedom, I would. We walked maybe ten meters, when Wyatt was already asking to be carried because his ‘legs didn’t work anymore.'
As much as my ankle hurt, I couldn’t say no. So up he went onto my back. It was easier for me to deal with the pain, and help him out than to carry him in my arms.
No sooner then five minutes had passed and both Keiko and Juji were complaining that there ‘legs no longer worked’ too. Exhausted and in pain, I was contemplating who’s turn would be next, as well as, how I could encourage them to walk, when my dark haired companion lifted Juji onto his shoulder, then reached for Keiko and did the same.
We walked in silence for a while, letting my companion lead us. My mind contemplating all the questions I had for him and which I should ask first.
I settled on, “My name is Raina. This is Keiko, Juji and Wyatt. Thank you for all your help.”
He smiled in retur
n, or was it a slight laugh, either way it looked nice on him.
“My name is Leon. I live a couple days walk from here. I thought it would be safest for us to head that direction. Get you food and water before you traveled on.” He said with a curious glance up at the two girls make a birds nest out of his hair.
“I appreciate your added help. We all do.”
“Who are these guys?” he asked.
That was easy to answer and the question was probably sparked by the fact that Keiko and Juji were now decorating his head with anything within arms reach. Berries, leaves, twigs. I even think I saw a caterpillar, but I wasn’t going to tell him. Instead I silently laughed.
“They are my family. Brother and sisters of sorts.” I continued, “My mom had come across some women that had been imprisoned while pregnant. She helped see them to give birth and together we hid the children and cared for them. Keiko’s mom died 3 years ago. She got sick and couldn’t recover with the medicine we had. Juji’s mom was sent to the arena a year after Juji was born. She never returned. Wyatt’s mom died giving birth. I do not know about their fathers. Fighting the Raiders or possibly dead, who knows. I will search for them when I have the chance. Right now they don’t have anyone else, so we adopted them into our family.” I paused for a moment considering if I should take a direct approach in my questions with him.
“What are your intentions with us?” I countered a question.
I think I caught him off guard, because he choked on his own air and sputtered a moment. He wasn’t use to such direct questions I ventured. Living in the fortress compelled me to be direct. It was the only way I could help others at times.
Leon claimed he had no plans or motives for us, just saw we needed help and thought he would be of assistance. He was traveling home anyway. Why not together. I thought that an honest answer. Before I could ask more, his asked another question.
“How did you keep from falling into the Koboldrone’s spell?” Leon inquired.
What was he talking about? I had never heard of the Koboldrone? I think I was looking at him dumbfounded, because he repeated the question and added, “the cave, the building, the town,” to the end of his sentence this time.
“Oh, um, I don’t know, I was dreaming when a women appeared and told me to wake up, and I did. Then I started searching again for these guys so we could get back to our travels. Were you there at the Koboldrone?”
He hesitated before answering, which made me a bit nervous, then said, “Yes, I was also awakened from my slumber in the cave, and saw you. So, I followed you out and thought I would make sure you were safe. I saw you run into that building. Well, after that here we are.”
More questions filled my mind. I felt he knew more and wasn’t telling me everything, but then I wasn’t sharing with him that we lived in the fortress, or the magic we used to get here. Also, the fact we were hiding from the Raiders, and Nezra. Ooh, that evil man unnerved me even now, so far away. I was truly lucky he didn’t know we were living at the fortress. Back on track, my turn I thought.
“What do you do when you’re not following people out of caves or causing building to explode and disappear?” I said with a smirk.
He gave a dry laugh and tried shaking off the crown of leaves from his head. He only accomplished dropping the caterpillar down his shirt. By the expression on his face he was not at all happy. The girls were off his shoulders in a flash. He then ripped off his shirt and began whipping it against his back to get it off.
I started laughing so hard I almost tripped on the fallen tree trunk in front of me. I set Wyatt on the ground, walked over, put my hand on his shoulder and gently removed the infestation of the single caterpillar.
Someone this ridiculous about a bug was definitely not going to harm us. If he did lead us into a trap, I was sure that with a single caterpillar I could get us out. With that I let my worries and mind relax.
Chapter 5
Change
Leon
I hate caterpillars! They make me itch. I’m not scared of them, I just hate their itchy sap covered legs sticking to my back. I would have gotten it off to, but the dang thing was in the center of my shoulder blades. No matter how I reached or swatted at it, I couldn’t get to it. That’s when I heard all the laughing. It just made me mad. Maybe I was mad because I was embarrassed. She put her hand on my shoulder, it was soft to the touch. Displacing my anger for the moment. Gently she removed the caterpillar and set it free. I would have smothered it personally. I hate the things.
Once I got ahold of myself I was able to enjoy the laughing at my expense and joined in. Maybe that’s how they handled stress and worry; with a laugh. Not the way I would do it, but I am not them.
I slipped on my shirt and began buttoning it up. I could still feel the soft touch of her hand were it had laid. She was still snickering at me by the time I finished. The sun was low in the sky and I knew night was coming soon. We needed to set up camp and rest. Find food and water, and protect ourselves from anything else that might begin lurking in the dark. At that, I announced we stop for the night.
All I got in return was a sarcastic lift of her eyebrow. “Guess we should” was all she said. Right then all the laughing and fun disappeared. She set to work getting the kids to gather small sticks and branches. They were efficient in their tasks. I couldn’t help get the feeling forging for food and warmth was something they did often. It made me sad. I decided to leave them to it and went in search of larger logs for shelter, food, water and something to defend us if needed. I was secretly hoping it would be a quiet night.
Some distance from where we stopped; I found a few trees with three large bushy branches that would work well to provide some shelter from any rain, and hide us from passer by’s. I went to work kicking and jumping on the branches to rip them from the trees. I stacked them in a pile and continued looking for something to use as a weapon.
I eventually found a broken branch with a tapered edge. It wasn’t the sharpest of points, but would work with enough force to make anything think twice before attacking again. It would have to do. I heard the faint sound of water deeper into the woods. I headed in the direction of the sound.
Soon I came across a peaceful brook. There was green lush vegetation lining the edges of the water. Large leaf banana palm plants, multiple herbs, and cattails. I knelt down at the edge of the brook, gulping in the refreshing cool taste. I took advantage of the water and splashed myself down. Ridding my face and body of sweat and dust. The cool water hydrating my skin and renewing my energy. Guilt from my pleasure crept into my mind. I needed to take some back to the others. Grabbing a banana palm I folded it into a cone and filled it with the refreshing liquid. I took one last drink in the brook myself, stood, then turned to head back.
I already felt like I had been gone for to long. Hurrying to my pile of odd shaped branches, I loaded up and headed back following my tracks to where I had left them for the night.
As I rounded a tree they came into view. I wasn’t expecting the sight I saw. So serene it was. A small but effective fire was started. A squirrel was tied to a stick over the fire and sending a smell that made my mouth water and stomach ache. How long had it been since I had eaten? The girls were gathering berries at a nearby bush. However, they had more on their faces and in their mouths then they had gathered onto the leaves for the group. She was sitting next to the fire Wyatt in her lap. Talking and giggling. She was helping him hold a stick in one hand and in the other, one of her small dagger. Together they sharpened the stick to a point. She then leaned in close to his ear and whispered to him alone. A smile from ear to ear appeared on his face. He jumped up and ran to join the girls eating berries. I longed to belong to this family.
I dragged my contribution of branches to the camp, with it, made a heap of noise. She turned to look at the commotion. Worry on her face. It quickly turned to a smile as she looked at me and shook her head. I think I even heard a small laugh. It was then that I saw the small lean to behin
d her. Nestled in the trees for protection. It was just big enough for the children to lay in. My mind was attacked with more questions. She was either really good at this, or I had been gone longer then I thought. I leaned toward the second.
She waved me over and with a smile. Took the water, giving it to the children to drink first. Then requested me to use the branches to hide the lean to and provide more camouflage and protection for the children. How could I refuse? I put my large branches around the small camp making it disappear. This entitled me to a pat on the back, which I gave myself.
Now that camp was done, I sat on the ground by the fire and took in my surroundings in detail.
The lean to was secure on an ‘A’ frame of wooden sticks, with plenty of leaves and small branches helping with the disguise. The padding they had put in the shelter was thin but effective adding a bit of warmth and comfort from not being directly on the ground. I looked at Raina, she was covered in dirt and smut except for the fresh leaves wrapped around her arm and ankle. Her boot off to the side, but close enough to grab and run if needed. Everything was in arms length. Small and compact. No one seemed to mind, but me. At six feet, space was nice. I also new that given our situation it was a luxury right now and I probably wouldn’t sleep much anyway.
“How is your ankle?” I asked, upset with myself that I had forgotten she had been hurt and cut up. I respected that she didn’t complain or fret over her injuries, but looking at the dried blood on her shirt sleeve and bloody foot, I knew it had to be causing her pain.
My thoughts were interrupted by her voice.
