Land of Shadows

by Jeff Gunzel

  * * *

  The air remained hot and humid long after the sunlight no longer peeked in and out between the treetops. But even well into the evening hours, a time which should have brought the singing of nocturnal beasts and insects, still not a sound could be heard. The companions made no fire, as the harsh lessons of the last time they had done so were still fresh in memory. There was an odd, scattered light throughout the forest, a dull gleam that seemed to come from nowhere yet everywhere all at once, so a fire for light was not going to be necessary anyway.

  They sat close to one another as they forced down a simple meal of jerky, nuts and raisins. The bags were full of dry rations that would keep for a very long time, if not exactly provide a hot meal. Skins filled with warm water washed down the banquet.

  Morcel rambled on and on of his time in the games. It was a funny thing, really. This brute of a man, who had taken so many lives throughout his own time, had a rather likeable personality. For one thing, he had no bloodlust whatsoever. This seemed odd, given his profession. Killing was business for him—no more, no less. Taking life was just the byproduct of the job he had been hired for. It was never personal, which allowed him to keep his mind untarnished, and to a lesser extent to keep his innocence.

  The man was witty and quick with a joke or a jab at Jacob about whether or not he used his spiky hair as a weapon. He spoke with great sadness of the Dronin warrior whom he had met the first day he was forced to compete in the games. His mind had been in a dark place those first few days. However, the warrior Dokani had given him hope. The man sought no fame or glory. Dokani only wanted to get back to his family, to hold his wife and kids once more. He fought like a lion that day, side by side with Mocel as waves of alcatrosses swarmed the arena like bees. Dokani fell that fateful day. Morcel received a few new scars to add to the old, but he knew he too would have fallen that day had he not met Dokani.

  The others listened intently as the warrior spun his tales of both near misses and outright victory. All the while, the only purpose to the carnage was to find some way to survive, just to do it all over again. His eyes stared off into the trees as he relived every moment.

  Jade, however, sat several feet away. She leaned against a tree, keeping to herself. She seemed even more distracted than usual, fiddling with the ring Berkeni had thrown to her. Berkeni had said something about being able to find them as long as she wore it. It was a rather plain-looking ring that seemed to have no real value. The shiny silver ring was thick, like one a man might wear, and had no jewels of any kind embedded. Where some kind of stone or jewel should have been, sat a flat, silver surface with a shallow carving of a roaring lion. She slipped it on as her thoughts drifted to when she saw Berkeni last. He had served as a host for Ben to communicate with her one last time. Up until now, she had carried blame and guilt in her heart for his demise—the father she never had, the father she would love for the rest of her life. Their final encounter provided the closure she needed.

  There was a slight rustling of leaves off in the distance. Jade’s eyes shot in that direction. She clearly was not the only one who heard it. In a flash, the men were on their feet with weapons in hand, each of them scanning the immediate area for any movement in the brush. Even though they saw nothing, given the total silence up until now, there was no reason to take this lightly.

  “Get the bags, let’s go,” said Morcel as he grabbed a bag with one hand while firmly gripping his axe with the other. Everyone began to scramble around quickly. The bags were still mostly packed and there was no fire to put out, so they were up and moving in under a minute.

  As they marched along at a brisk pace, the sounds of breaking twigs and rustling leaves could be heard on both sides of the path. “Faster, but don’t run,” mumbled Morcel as he picked up the already brisk pace even more.

  Low growls echoed from both sides of the path now. It was clear that the pack of whatever followed them was keeping pace right along with them. They finally got a look at one of their pursuers as the giant cat stepped out onto the path, cutting them off from going any further.

  The great cat had the head of a lion, but a large forked tongue hanging from its open mouth seemed to be a thicker version of a snake’s. The tongue snapped around like a whip as the beast growled. Two rows of tiny horns flowed down the length of its spine. Its body was covered with short black fur and was far smaller than the large head would indicate, but razor-sharp teeth and claws promised it was plenty dangerous enough despite its average size. As it growled in a slow, bubbling rumble, tiny slits that seemed almost like gills quivered from its neck as they exposed themselves with the vibration.

  Seeing as there was no place to retreat, the four companions placed their backs against one another to form a defensive stance. Because the low growls could be heard coming from everywhere as they echoed off the trees, it was impossible to determine the cats’ numbers.

  Yellow eyes materialized in pairs, peeking through the brush. The subtle sounds of crunching ground and dry leaves continued to move around them, proving the cats were circling before deciding when to strike.

  “Well, this is a fine mess you kids dragged me into,” said Morcel as he gripped his axe. His eyes probed the brush, trying to get a lead on where the strike would most likely come from. “I could have been drinking mead in a tavern with two girls on my lap.”

  “Focus, Morcel!” snapped Jacob as he held his staff out straight in a defensive stance. “This doesn’t help anything right now.”

  “You said you owed me. You, Jade!” Morcel yelled, shifting his axe from one hand to another, trying to keep in line with the eyes that seemed to constantly shift positions in the brush.

  “What?” exclaimed Jade as she kept shifting the position of her daggers from point up to point down and back again. “You can’t be serious. Maybe we’ll talk about this another time?”

  “Get ready, you bloody fool,” said Eric, trying to focus on getting his mind right for the inevitable confrontation, but having trouble concentrating with Morcel acting crazy like this. “We need you right now. Don’t fall apart on us.” This is not like him at all. He is no coward. What is he thinking about?

  “You said you owed me. Well, I’m calling it in right now. You have to do what I say. On your honor!” the warrior bellowed at the top of his lungs.

  Time seemed to stand still as the warrior slowly stepped out of the circle and turned to face the other three. His face shone with serenity as he looked each one in the eye for several seconds. His eyes fell on Jade last, whose face was filled with pure horror and confusion. Morcel gave her a slight smile followed by a wink. He felt nothing but peace in his heart. His death would have meaning. “I’m calling it in, Jade,” he said in an utterly calm whisper. “Protect Eric. You must succeed where I have failed.”

  With a thunderous cry that shook the leaves from the trees, the warrior whirled around just as one of the cats leaped from the brush. His axe buried deep into the beast’s skull. Morcel pulled it free just in time to catch another across the throat, nearly decapitating it. Dark blood pumped out like thin tar as he ran through the brush screaming wildly, “I’m right here, you dogs! Come and meet your end!” He ran through the brush at a blistering pace as thorns and sharp branches cut deeply across his face, calling out taunts as loud as he could.

  The three friends watched in horror as the beasts went flooding across the path through the brush on the other side. The cats had taken the bait! Sounds of battle and Morcel’s loud continuous taunts could be heard off in the distance. His sacrifice was complete. The warrior would die a warrior.

  “No!” Eric screamed as he tried to run off in the same direction. Both Jade and Jacob tackled him before he could even take three steps. “We can’t leave him,” he said as he thrashed wildly to escape their grasps. “He’s going to die!”

  Crash. Jade’s fist slammed down into his face. “That’s right, you stupid farm boy. He is going to die!” she screamed as she rele
ased yet another right hand. “He sacrificed his life for you. Many have given their lives for you. They sacrifice. They give up all they hold dear in this world, and all you do is question them, you bloody fool.”

  Jade was unleashing rights and lefts with almost every word now, held-in frustration released like a river. “You never once—not once—honored their sacrifices. Every single person in the world has more faith in you than you.” She got in one more right-hand punch before Jacob was able to finally pull her off.

  Eric was a bloody mess at that point. Jacob had to hoist him up while putting one arm over his shoulder so they could move quickly and get out of this area.

  Jade grabbed all the bags, and they were off as fast as they could move.

  Eric simply had to shake off the cobwebs from the pummeling he received. After fifty feet or so he was able to move on his own.

  Jade led the way, not looking back a single time.

  They marched on for several hours before stopping again. It was now closer to morning than the middle of the night. On one hand, pressing on would have allowed even more distance between themselves and the incident, but they were completely exhausted and simply needed to stop.

  Jade lay down immediately, not saying a word to either of them.

  Jacob and Eric stayed up for a bit longer, each chewing a piece of jerky. It was hard to tell the time of morning, given that the light never seemed to change much.

  “I’ve never seen her that mad,” said Eric as he used some of the water from one of the skins to wipe dry blood from his face. His eye was swollen, and he had many welts on his forehead. “It’s possible she’ll never speak to me again.”

  Jacob said nothing, merely took another bite of jerky, staring off into the distance.

  The air finally started to feel a bit cooler, which was a welcome change. There was no breeze, however, which would have been better. The eerie silence remained. This was the first time they wondered if the total lack of nature’s songs would affect their sanity. It was just so unnatural. They sprawled down on the ground, trying not to think about it, not to think of any of it, but it was no use, as Morcel’s face drifted through their thoughts. There were no comforting dreams for anyone.

  After a few hours’ rest filled with unsettling images dancing through their thoughts, it was time to move yet again. They repacked the bags with the little they had taken out and set off once more.

  Jade took position at the front without saying a word. The boys fell back a bit to give her some space. She didn’t seem any less angry than before, and they saw no reason to make it worse.

  Eric and Jacob continued on in complete silence, keeping watch in all directions, not trusting this forest one bit.

  The routine stayed intact for the next two days straight. They would stop a few times a day just to rest while Jade generally swiped a sack full of rations and slipped away to lean against the nearest tree. Jacob would still sit with Eric, but it was always silent, as their unspoken thoughts and worries remained so. Even though they hadn’t known Morcel that long, they had considered him a friend. The fact that he had given his life for a cause not of his own haunted everyone—especially Eric, who continued to replay Jade’s words in his head. He knew she was right, of course. Many had sacrificed themselves for him, and all he did was question their motives. The truth in her words seared through him like fire. His guilt became a close a companion.

  The evening camps were no different than the daily breaks that had become more and more frequent. Jade would sit alone against a nearby tree while the two boys sat together and ate quietly. Jacob wanted so badly to try and reassure his friend, to tell him everything was going to be fine; that Jade would snap out of this soon and it would be like nothing had ever happened. But as positive as Jacob was nearly all the time, he just couldn’t do it. He could see no silver lining here. Jacob could always brighten a room with his wit and flashy smile, which rubbed off on those around him. This, however, was just different. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure everything was going to be fine. He started to feel more like Eric had rubbed off on him.

  The general mood had reached its lowest point. The boys no longer walked side by side. Jacob took up the rear. Everyone wanted their own space as the seemingly hopeless journey continued.

  Eric had finally come to a decision. He walked faster to share space with Jade. They needed to talk. He walked beside her for a time, but she looked the other way, trying to pretend he wasn’t there. She never so much as looked at him, but didn’t chase him off either.

  “How much longer is this going to continue?” Eric mumbled, looking everywhere but at her. She finally spared him a glance as they continued down the leaf-covered path. “Look, I don’t know what happened back there. I didn’t want him to give up his life so recklessly for a cause not of his own. But he made a choice, and whether or not I agree with it, he made it!”

  Eric aggressively grabbed Jade by the shoulder and spun her around so they were face to face. He saw the startled look in her eyes, but he continued anyway. This needed to be said. “He made a choice. I never had that luxury. My life was once normal and good. I had a father.” He winced even as the words came out. “I never wanted any of this. It was forced on me!”

  He began shaking her as anger flooded through him. “And you—you had even less of a choice. Taken away as a baby with no memory of ever being loved. Forced to train like a savage every single day for a cause you never even bothered to question. Whipped like a dog! Did you think I didn’t see the scars on your back that you’ve been trying to hide all this time?”

  He stopped shaking her as the blind rage subsided. Just now he seemed to realize for the first time what he had been saying, had been doing. He jerked his hands away as if Jade were made of hot coals. By then Jacob had run up and tried to step in between them. Eric stared at his own hands in disbelief, as if they had acted on their own.

  Forcing himself to look up at Jade was nearly unbearable. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Disbelief and pain filled her eyes. He wished he could crawl into a hole after cutting her so deep. “Jade,” he said as his own eyes began to tear up. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  Thsssssssssp. A sharp pain ran up the side of Eric’s neck. When he instinctively reached with his hand, he pulled out a small dart with two blue feathers attached. His eyes grew wide with panic as he screamed for everyone to run. Three steps were as far as he got before collapsing to his knees. He tried hard to clear his head as it began to fog up, to force his failing body to respond.

  His heart sank as the other two fell to their knees right next to him, each with a similar dart protruding from their necks. As the forest began to spin around him, Eric’s final thoughts were of his treatment of Jade, how those very well may be the last words he would ever say to her. That fleeting thought filled him with more pain and horror than the possibility of his own demise—a fate he now felt he deserved—as the jungle faded into blackness.