The dark night sky changed to light pastel blues long before the sun was visible over the tall mountain peaks. Light gray clouds swam across the endless blue offering shade. However, the burning heat of the flat rocky desert had slowly waned. Leaving the nights colder and the days almost temperate. Near the falls, the morning air was even colder. Mist flew from the body of water and sprayed over the wagon’s canvas covering.

Reo and Shaynen’s mother were in the water, working out how to fish with their current resources and taking stock of how successful the attempt would be. In the wagon, Crina and Shaynen’s father were in the wagon, caring for the ill. Shaynen was running back and forth between the pool and the wagon. Bringing water to the wagon and his father. He’d asked how his mother was getting along with breakfast and his mother would promise it would be soon.

By the time his mother had started making a net, Shaynen had vanished.

“Aelius, where’s Shaynen?” his mother asked as she wove a net in the driver’s seat. Shaynen’s father looked out the back of the wagon in panic.

“Shaynen!” He yelled. The yell made Shaynen’s mother drop what she had in her hands and jump off the wagon. Equally yelling. Reo turned from still knee deep in the water and started scanning the water surface. Paying extra attention to the water under the falls. Shaynen’s mother and father ran around the wagon. His father pausing with a sigh of relief when he ran past the resting stags. Untied from the wagon, they were curled up together by the side of the pool. Nestled between them was Shaynen, passed out and still holding the water pail.

His father called off the search, and his mother brought one quilt. Deciding it was best to leave him there until he woke up. Shaynen’s parents sighed heavily as they returned to the wagon.

“How’s it looking?” His mother asked Crina in the wagon. She appeared out the front and ran her hand through her hair tiredly.

“Not great. I mean, I guess it could be worse.” Crina admitted. “We’ve lost two, doesn’t look great for three others. Mostly the kids.”

“This is all a disaster.” Shaynen’s father whispered, falling to sit heavily on the wagon’s side.

“Yeah,” Shaynen’s mother said. Sitting next to him. “I don’t even know what to do anymore.”

“Yeah,” Shaynen’s father nodded. Neither had any more words to say.

“Maybe we should just rebuild here,” Shaynen’s mother said. “The wagon’s wheels won’t last. The river looks to be a breeding bed. We can take our time here while we can.”

“What about the-” Shaynen’s father looked around but didn’t say the words. His mother looked at the water.

“We build in the falls. It can’t cross running water.” She said, “It might take a little time, but we built in the treetops after…” There was an uncomfortable silence.

“We’ve overcome worse,” she finally finished.

“Have we?” He asked.

“We just have to keep telling ourselves that we have.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “At least until we’re settled.”

“Guess that means you aren’t planning on returning to your brother,” he squeezed her hand back.

“No,” she said. “I had another of those dreams.”

“About your brother?”

“About the whole place,” she scooted closer to whisper into his ear. “It was raised up and blackness was coming out from under it. Consuming everything.”

“Yeah, good call then.” He nodded. “So we’ll see what we can do here.”

"We could do worse. It's fresh and drinkable water." She mused. "Fish will be most plentiful during mating season. We'll have to figure something out, but Crina's amazing with vegetation. If anyone can make something grow here, it's her." He nodded, along with her musing.

"You think he'll come around?" He asked.

"The doctor? Hope not." She said, "His funeral if he does." He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“Let’s hope this is the end of our adventures.” He said.

“That’s what you said when we had Shaynen.” She narrowed her eyes at him playfully.

“Yes, but I mean it this time.” He leaned his head back against the wagon with a smile.

“mm-hmm, and in a few years’ time will you be telling me you didn’t mean it after all?”

“I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

—---

Shaynen awoke with a start when the stags he rested on moved. He looked around the blurry daylight air, half-asleep. His stomach was hurting again, and he was desperately hungry. He stared at the glittering pool and considered yanking more of his teeth out. There was another one on the top that was slightly loose. Shaynen tried to wiggle it with his tongue, but it hardly moved. He grumbled and got up to his feet. The memory of breakfast rumors woke him fully. Followed by the panic of missing breakfast and having to travel the rest of the day without food like he had the night.

Shaynen ran to the water’s edge and yelled at his mother, who was waist-deep in the water with one side of the net.

“I haven’t missed breakfast yet, have I?” He yelled. His voice barely made it over the thunder of the falls.

“No, we’re still fishing.” His mother yelled back. Shaynen’s shoulders fell.

“How long’s that gonna take?” He yelled.

“I wish I knew!”

Shaynen huffed a long sigh and threw a rock into the water.

“It’s gonna take longer if you throw rocks!” Reo called. Holding the opposite side of the net. Shaynen crossed his arms and stomped to the wagon. The stags were wandering about the little cove area. Grazing on whatever they could find. Crina and his father were near the falls themselves. Pointing at dirt and talking between themselves.

Shaynen walked up and grabbed his father’s hand and leaned on his side.

“Oh, good morning. How long have you been awake?” His father asked.

“I’m hungry,” Shaynen snapped.

“So are we, kid. Your mom’s working on it.” His father said sourly. Shaynen frowned and leaned on his father’s side and glared at the ground.

“How long’s it gonna be?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” His father shrugged. “You need something to do?”

“Yeah,” Shaynen sighed. Resigning to whatever chores his father could think of, just to ease his boredom.

“Might be about time you learned to swim,” Crina said. Shaynen looked at the water where his mother was fishing.

“I think mom might get mad if I get in the water.” Shaynen said. Feeling uneasy at the idea of being in the water.

“We’d go down stream where we wouldn’t bother anyone.” His father said. Taking Shaynen’s shoulder and turning him around.

“Do I have to?” He asked.

“It’s a necessary skill,” his father explained. Leading Shaynen around the edge of the lake. “We’re thinking about building our new home here, on the water.”

“I thought we were going over the mountain,” Shaynen asked with a hint of annoyance.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“Plans change,” his father shrugged. “This place is very picturesque, isn’t it?”

“Pict-rest?” Shaynen asked as he looked at the falls.

“Picturesque. It means beautiful to look at.” Shaynen’s father explained.

“Picture-esk.” Shaynen mumbled to himself. Staring at the falls and trying to see what made them pretty to look at. It was all just a bunch of white water falling to a bunch more water. He shrugged and looked back at his father.

“I guess,” he said finally. “But how are we gonna make a new home here?”

“With hard work and using what we have.” The pair passed the bulk of the lake to where the large body of water trickled into a large river.

“We’re going to want to stay away from where the lake pulls into the river. The current is strong there and you might get pulled under.” His father said. Shaynen attached himself to his father’s leg and hid behind him. Staring at the water distrustfully.

“Let’s just get in the water for now. Then you’ll learn to float and so on.” His father said. Rolling up his pants above his knees. Shaynen mimicked him, but slower. His father took him by the hand and led him into the water. The cold water shocked Shaynen into dropping his father’s hand and backing out of the water. He trembled as his father coaxed into the water. Keeping his arms tight to his chest as he was drawn knee-deep into the water.

The water was frigid. Goosebumps covered Shaynen’s body as his father tried to splash him with water and make him more comfortable. Nothing worked. Shaynen stayed on the edge, never going deeper in the water.

“How long are we going to be doing this?” Shaynen asked through his chattering teeth. Water dripped from the ends of his hair.

“Until you learn,” his father said. “Every day if we have to.” Shaynen felt dread in his stomach. He took in a shuddering breath and charged forward until the water was up to his chest. The freezing water sent a shock straight into his heart.

“Let’s do this quick,” Shaynen said through his shivering.

“That’s the attitude!” His father grinned. “Okay, let’s flip you over and get you floating.” Shaynen fought through the cold, getting familiar with basic swim strokes. He swam until he was sore and tired. Falling under the water until his father would pull him up again.

“You getting tired?” His father asked.

“Yeah,” Shaynen said.

“You should say that instead of floating face down in the water.” His father towed him toward the shore.

“Too tired,” Shaynen mumbled. “And hungry.”

“Crina’s got a fire going so you can warm up there.” His father said. “And it looks like your mother’s getting something going.” Shaynen perked up at the sight of his mother descaling a puny fish. He hoped there was more than just that one that was barely big enough to fit in Shaynen’s hand. He sat next to his mother, who paused in her slicing of the fish to look at him.

“Learning how to swim?” She asked.

“How did you know!” Shaynen asked in pure awe.

“Mm, a mother’s secret,” his mother winked. Returning to prying the bones out of the fish.

“How many fish did we get?” Shaynen asked excitedly. His mother’s smile faded slightly.

“Not as much as we’d like.” She admitted. “We also have to keep it pretty weak to feed the ill.”

“Oh,” Shaynen said disappointedly.

“Crina says they should be up and helping by tonight.” His mother said. “With more hands, we should be able to catch more.”

“Yeah? Promise?” Shaynen asked hopefully.

“Promise.” His mother said. Leaning in to brush his nose with hers. “Cross my heart.”

“Here, you must be freezing.” Reo dropped a large quilt over Shaynen. He ducked under the weight of it. He giggled and peeked out from the mountain of a blanket. His mother smiled and giggled a little at him.

“You want to help?” His mother asked. Shaynen giggled and stuck his arms out from beneath the quilt. He wasn’t much help from his little blanket fort, but he was happy to work at the busy work his mother gave him. Crina and Reo kept hovering around the back of the wagon. Keeping a careful eye on the sick. His father had vanished but occasionally popped up, crossing the camp and muttering to himself. Shaynen watched him curiously.

“What’s dad doing?” Shaynen asked as his mother filled a bowl of stew for him.

“Checking the perimeter and figuring how to protect our borders.” His mother said. Watching his father round another corner. “I wish he’d take someone else with him, but I suppose we don’t have many hands to spare.”

“I can go with him,” Shaynen said as he drank the thin broth. He finished the bowl of watered down soup in a single breath.

“Someone other than you,” his mother laughed. “I mean someone bigger and stronger, in case there’s something dangerous.”

“I can be big and strong.” Shaynen said, standing up and handing back his bowl. Hunger begged him to sit down and stay, but Shaynen could see into the pot and it was dismally low.

“Be careful!” his mother yelled after Shaynen as he ran off.

“I will!” He yelled back. Shaynen climbed the cliff side where his father disappeared. Calling for his dad as he ran at his top speed. There were small glimpses of the enormous mountains that showed off the landscape far below. Stretching out as far as the horizon could reach. Shaynen paused and looked out to the sandy plains he’d crossed and the shadow of the forest beyond that. It tugged at his heart.

“What are you looking at?” His father appeared behind him.

“Home,” Shaynen said. His father rested a hand on his shoulder and looked out alongside him.

“I miss it too,” his father said with a sad sigh. “But this place will feel like home before you know it.”

“I guess,” Shaynen nodded. “Will we ever go back?”

“I don’t know, kid. I don’t know.” His father pulled him to his side and gave him a little squeeze. “But we have more than enough time to find out.” His father offered him a smile and Shaynen forced one back.

“What are you doing, wandering around, anyway?” His father asked.

“I came to help you,” Shaynen said. “Mom said she wanted someone to go with you, so here I am!”

“Here you are.” His father chuckled. Shaynen redirected as his father started walking. “I’m scouting around. Looking for where our natural boundaries are and how defensible we are.”

“Okay!” Shaynen nodded, skipping ahead. “Do the mountains make us more defensible?”

“Absolutely,” His father agreed. “Luckily for us, we don’t have many natural enemies, so there isn’t much we have to worry about.”

“What do we have to worry about?” Shaynen asked. Turning around and walking backwards.

“Wild animals and any groups who want what we have,” his father said.

“What do we have?” Shaynen snickered. Nothing in the wagon, as far as he knew, held any value.

“Who knows? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” His father said. “What we have someone might want bad enough to kill for.”

“That’s silly. If they just ask, we’d share.” Shaynen shrugged with a roll of his eyes.

“True, but not everyone thinks that way.” His father said. “Turn.” Shaynen paused as his father rounded into a maze of giant rock paths. He ran after his father.

“So what do we do?” He asked as he ran up and took his father’s hand.

“We get rocks and make walls and fences to keep wild animals out.” His father said.

“And the people?” Shaynen asked.

“We’ll see. I don’t think it’ll be much of a problem with how hidden we are.” His father said. Pulling Shaynen along the paths and back to the lip above the camp. He stopped to look over the basin and to where the river trailed off between the mountains. He pointed at it.

“We’ll have to put up a fence or net there.” His father said. “So no one gets washed away.”

“That would suck,” Shaynen nodded.

“Oop, your mother’s waving us down. We better go see what she wants.” His father nudged him and waved down to where his mother was waving up and making large sweeping motions toward the wagon. Shaynen waved down to his mother and followed his father down into the camp.

—--

Shaynen watched the fire flicker. Walking around the wagon was a group dedicated to watching over the camp during the night. Shaynen was feeling a little tired, but not tired enough to sleep.

“You getting bored?” One woman asked.

“Yeah,” Shaynen yawned.

“Oh, when did you lose a tooth?” She asked.

“Yesterday,” Shaynen said. Opening his mouth and showing off the gap.

“Wow, all grown up already.” She shook her head. “Before we know it, you’ll be striking out on your own.”

“I will?” He asked.

“If you like,” she said. Picking up a stick and rearranging the ashes. “It looks like the fire is dying. Could you grab some more wood?” Shaynen jumped up to his feet.

“Okay!” He chirped. He ran around the wagon. Earlier there had been a woodpile, but there was nothing left of it.

“We’re all out of wood and we need more.” Shaynen stopped a pair of adults.

“Okay, we’ll bring some back.” They said.

“I’ll come too!” Shaynen smiled. “I’ll keep out of trouble, honest!”

“Well…”

“Okay, but stay close and if anything happens, you run right back here. No stopping, no nothing. You understand?”

“Yes!” Shaynen cheered. He skipped after the pair.

“Keep your eyes out for any wood,”

Shaynen nodded and watched the ground. The pair spoke quietly as they walked. Occasionally giggling at something and picking up a stray twig. Shaynen kept on their heels and snatched up the twigs he could see from the narrow view. A sudden stop made Shaynen bump into the back of their legs.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Shh!”

Shaynen peeked around and felt his heart stop. Stumbling around the edges of the mountains’ winding paths came a man with cold, dead eyes. His rib cage was torn open and black ick was leaking from his missing organs.

“Shaynen, go.”

They pushed Shaynen back. He was too stunned to run. The glowing eyes turned towards the trio. Shaynen jumped, startled into a sprint as the undead charged.