Chapter Thirty
The Unmarked: Book One
Table of Contents:
[Prologue] [Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5] [Ch.6] [Ch.7] [Ch.8] [Ch.9] [Ch.10] [Ch.11] [Ch.12] [Ch.13] [Ch.14] [Ch.15] [Ch.16] [Ch.17] [Ch.18] [Ch.19] [Ch.20] [Ch. 21] [Ch.22] [Ch.23] [Ch.24] [Ch.25] [Ch.26] [Ch.27] [Ch. 28] [Ch.29]
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Dawn.
Lifting her eyes from the little triangles drawn on the map, Dawn stared out in the distance at the range of mountains that stretched on for miles. She, River, and Scarlet had left the inn early that morning, and were nearing the Torrem Mountains. There was a path that led through the mountains which Guardians used to travel between the Uplands and the Lowlands. But they wouldn’t be using that path. They would be marching straight into the unknown.
A sense of dread wrung Dawn’s heart and stomach. On paper it seemed so straight forward. The camps Lilly had outlined were evident. But Dawn had trouble wrapping her mind around how she would even begin to navigate those territories in real life. Neither she nor River had ever travelled through the Mountains, let alone through the restricted areas. Worries of getting lost or running into wild animals seized her. Was she marching straight into a death trap?
Of course, she made none of her concerns evident to River. She wouldn’t show weakness. She reminded herself that if Lilly had charted all the unknown territories, then it meant that they were passable and somewhat safe. She also reminded herself that people lived there, secretly. If she could only reach one of the camps, then she would be fine. She could figure out the rest of her plan once she got there.
As usual, Scarlet rode with River. She was sleeping because that’s all she did lately. No more nightmares. No more seizures. Only sleep. Dawn didn’t know why it had all stopped when River came along. Maybe because Scarlet knew he was there. Maybe because he brought her a sense of security and comfort. Dawn tried not to get jealous at that. She didn’t want to think about why she hadn’t managed to make her sister feel safe and calm. Dawn shook her head. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Scarlet wasn’t in those terrible states anymore. This morning, she had even managed to get Scarlet to eat some more. Dawn had stuffed a piece of bread in Scarlet’s mouth, worked her sister’s jaw up and down so that she would chew the food. Then she covered her mouth and pinched her nose, and repeatedly whispered for her to swallow the food until she did. Scarlet had managed to take down three mouthfuls of bread and a few sips of water. It wasn’t much, nearly not enough, but it was better than nothing. After feeding her, Dawn changed her sister’s diaper and washed her soiled body. Yes, she made her grown sister wear a diaper. It was pitiful, but it was less pitiful than having to lay in one’s own piss and crap. After that, they restocked their supplies with food, water, medicine, rags, and bandages, and headed out on the road. Not the Member’s Highway, however. They wouldn’t be travelling that way for fear of coming across too many witnesses, and because it wouldn’t lead them to where they needed to go.
It was unknown to them how far ahead they were of their pursuers. Dawn had been camped out in the same place for over a week. River had managed to find her simply by asking the right people the right questions. So how easy would it be for Olive and the rest of the team to find them? River had told her that he had left his team destabilized by leaving Olive injured, possibly with a concussion (Dawn wished she would have been there to see that). He suspected that it would have taken a few days for them to regain their footing and come up with a plan. However, it would be to their disadvantage to count on it. They needed to assume that they were being closely pursued so that they would remain on their guard and travel fast. It was only once they got into the mountains that they would be safe. No one would be foolish enough to wander through unfamiliar territories. No one except for them, of course. But at least they had a map. And hopefully, they were the only ones with a map.
The passage they were taking into the Mountains was a secret one. If Olive and the rest of the team knew that River, Dawn and Scarlet were attempting to cross the Mountains, maybe they would have assumed that they would be taking the common trail. Maybe that assumption would have caused them to neglect following their tracks and gone a different way. But in the end, it didn’t matter what her pursuers assumed or didn’t assume. There was still no reason for Dawn to be reckless and slow, especially not with Scarlet’s health being at risk.
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As they trod through a forested trail, sun filtered through the foliage and cast its golden glow across Dawn’s face. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy its warm touch on her cheeks. She had been trapped in that small dirty room in that small dirty town for a whole week. It felt good to be out in nature again. To breathe in the clean air, move without constraint, hear the rustle of the trees and the songs of birds, and to feel sun on her flesh. She allowed the sensations to calm her nerves.
A gentle breeze blew.
Remember what it means to be alive…
Dawn shot her eyes open.
“Did you say something?” she asked River.
“What?”
“Never mind”.
They continued onward, stepping from one patch of light to another pool of shadow. The light bringing birdsong and warmth, the shadow silencing all and leaving behind a chill. Dawn found herself anticipating for the next patch of light, longing for its reviving touch, dreading to leave its pleasant company. The walk became rhythmic, the rhythm became hypnotic. Dawn’s mind was in a trance. Time stopped existing.
Sun, shadow, light, darkness, warmth, cold, life…
Something caught her eye.
It was a sparkle on the left hip of River’s horse. Dawn leaned forward and squinted her eyes, but before she could make out what it was, the glistening disappeared. All patches of sunlight disappeared. Something rumbled overhead. Dawn looked up, clouds were rolling in. The sky flashed, moments later, thunder boomed. River and Dawn exchanged a look. A droplet fell on her cheek.
“Storm’s coming” River said.
Another flash.
“We should keep our eyes peeled for shelter”.
Another roll of thunder.
Dawn nodded.
Another droplet.
They signaled for their horses to move faster.
It did not take long before the pitter-patter across the forest floor turned to a deafening hum, and the inconsistent flicks of raindrops on Dawn’s skin became an all-consuming, evenly distributed sheet of water.
Only a few miles later, and Dawn’s hair and clothes were plastered to her body. She continuously blinked water out of her eyes and needed to squint to see ahead.
River slowed his horse to a stop. “It’s useless!” he shouted over the roaring storm. “I can’t see anything! The rain’s coming down too hard!”
Dawn raised her hand to silence him. Something had caught her attention.
“What is it?” River whispered, moving in quietly besides her.
“I heard something” Dawn replied in an even tone. Yes, there was rustling behind them. Dawn slowly dismounted her horse and put a hand to the knife at her hip. Her muscles and jaw tense. Her heart pounding against her chest. Her mind running with the endless possibilities of who or what might be there. She scanned the premises, but there was nothing except wet vegetation and the thrumming of rainfall.
As Dawn was about to relax, a flash of lighting turned the world to white and thunder boomed so loudly that it shook the earth and rattled Dawn to her core. For a moment, she was totally incapacitated. Blind and deaf to the world around her. She furiously blinked her eyes and worked her jaw up and down to unblock her ears.
A figure appeared in front of her. Dawn drew her knife, even though she was still dizzy and disoriented.
The figure approached.
“Who are you!” she shouted.
No answer.
Her senses began to readjust. She saw what looked like a man.
“Who are you?” she repeated, not sure if she was still hard of hearing because of the thunder or because the stranger simply had not answered her.
The man stopped a few feet in front of her. She could see him clearly now: an elderly man - very much like Rosemary - with dark leathery skin and wavy brown hair streaked with white, hair that reached his shoulders. A grey beard covered his face.
“What business have you here?” Dawn asked, feeling distressed at the man’s presence. But not because she felt like he posed a threat to her life. She couldn’t quite place her finger on what it was that was making her feel this way.
“What business have I?” He finally answered back, sounding rather amused and unconcerned by the fact that she was pointing a weapon at him. “What business have you here?” He spread his arms, “These are my lands”.
The man’s voice carried strength. It didn’t rattle like Rosemary’s, which Dawn had expected by the looks of him. No, this elderly man spoke with confidence. Authority.
She gave him a suspicious look. “Who are you?” she asked a third time, slightly lowering her knife.
The man placed his arms behind his back. A knowing smile spread across his lips and his eyes gleamed.
“I am Jeziah” he answered.
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