Shaynen watched the way the stags walked. His stomach was hurting, and he was more miserable than ever. Exhausted but unable to sleep through the stomach cramps.

“Is it really that bad?” His mother whispered to him. “With all your moaning, you're going to wake everyone.” Shaynen looked up in confusion. He was miserable, but he wasn’t moaning.

“I’m not making any noise,” he said. His mother paused. They both listened carefully. Shaynen heard the small whimpering coming from inside the wagon.

“Stay put,” she whispered. Patting his father’s shoulder which woke him from his dazed look. His mother climbed into the back of the wagon.

“What happened?” His father asked.

“Someone might be sick,” Shaynen said. His father paled and looked over his shoulder. Shaynen looked at the reins.

“Can I drive?” He asked. His father pressed his lips together in deep concentration. He cleared his throat and handed over the leather reins. Jerking Shaynen’s hands briefly to get his undivided attention.

“Keep us on the road,” His father said sternly. Shaynen nodded. His father handed him the reins and ducked back into the wagon. Shaynen felt sparks of excitement as he held the reins. The stags drove themselves and cared little for the slight movements Shaynen made. But to him, his every twitch had the potential to cause catastrophe. The noise from in the covered wagon challenged his perfect stillness. Shaynen kept a determined watch on the dark road ahead.

"Over here too," Shaynen heard his mother behind him. She sounded anxious. Shaynen gave into temptation to look behind him to see his mother's panic. She looked at him with a kaleidoscope of emotions flashing across her face. Turning back to where his father was investigating. Reo and Crina stood up from their own investigations.

“What did the five of us do that no one else did?” Crina asked.

“Skipped dinner.” Shaynen didn’t hesitate before he looked back to the road bitterly.

“This is way too severe to be food poisoning.” Crina said. Shaynen listened over the side of the wagon. Resting the reins in his lap.

"Here, why don't I take over?" The doctor appeared, trying to take the reins from Shaynen.

"No, I got it." Shaynen insisted. Holding the reins away from him. " 'sides, I think you're needed back there." The doctor looked into the break of the wagon.

"Well, what's going on back here?" He asked.

"Mass illness,” His mother said. “Symptoms range from hallucination, slurred speech, and vomiting.”

“Pupils are dilated,” Crina said. “We’re looking at something targeting the nervous system.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down much,” the doctor shrugged. “Atropine, norepinephrine. Heck, even arousal in the nervous system can cause pupils to dilate.”

“Atropine…” Crina said slowly. “There’s a type of nightshade that grows in the desert, isn’t there? That might be-”

Shaynen saw a brief glint of fire out of the corner of his eyes while watching the road. He didn’t get a chance to see more of it before the stags reared up. Ripping the reins out of his grip painfully. He yelled as the steeds took off. The sudden speed knocked Shaynen back, the edge of the driver’s seat bruising his back.

“Shaynen!” his father yelled.

“It wasn’t me!” Shaynen yelled back. Lunging forward over the edge, to try grabbing the flailing reins. Rocks kicked up at the wagon as the wheels thundered down the road. Every wild swing of the wagon jumping over exposed rocks bounced Shaynen farther over the edge and closer to the reins. The leather straps whipped every which way, slapping his hands away. Shaynen braced his knee against the short wall and leaned farther. A grip on the back of his shirt ruined his concentration. He gained a new awareness of the stampeding hooves digging into the mountain dirt. The wheels careening wildly, splitting rocks into pieces. He was held out farther over the edge. Shaynen groped the edge and tried to push himself back into the cart, but the grip on his shirt had better leverage. He didn't even think to scream.

His mother grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the driver’s seat. She leaned over and grabbed the harness holding the first stag. With a few glowing pats, the steeds slowed. Shaynen stared wide and teary-eyed into nothing. His heart was beating so hard and fast it was trying to break through his chest. His mother turned and yanked him to his feet. Crushing him in her chest. It didn’t help his heart’s fast and violent pace. The wagon slowed to a stop, and Reo ran around to pick up the reins. Shaynen was lifted off his feet and dropped onto the ground. His mother rolled up her sleeves with rage radiating off of her.

"Out." His mother said, with enough force to knock over a leaning tower. Shaynen ducked around the wagon at the sound of his mother's anger. He peeked out to see the doctor glaring his mother down. She raised her hands and a dark mist, nearly invisible in the night, enveloped them.

"Was I unclear?" His mother commanded. A pale light illuminated from her collarbone where her dragon pendant usually sat. Intrigue touched the doctor’s face. He looked at Shaynen's mother and then at Shaynen and his father still in the wagon. Crina rounded the side and Reo here the reins at the front. Crina took Shaynen's shoulders and redirected him away.

"What happened?" She whispered as she led him away.

"That guy was trying to push me!" Shaynen said without care for who heard. "What's Mom doing?"

"Telling him off, I suspect." Crina said with a sigh. "Are you sure that's what he was doing? Why?" Shaynen shrugged. Crina looked at the front of the wagon.

"Shaynen, did you see him doing anything weird or unusual?" Crina asked. "At any time?"

"Yeah, he's always weird." Shaynen grimaced. "Saying weird things, lurking around. He's always weird."

"Can you be more specific? Did he talk to someone more than anyone else?"

"Uh…" Shaynen tried to think about anyone else who was seen talking to the doctor. "Just me I think."

"Did he ask you to do anything for him?"

"Yeah…" Shayne started fidgeting in Crina's stare. He started feeling guilty. "When we got close to the mountain, he asked for this plant with silver leaves."

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"And you found the plant? Do you remember what it was called?" Crina held his shoulders tighter. Her grip was hurting him.

"He said it was just called silverleaf. Cause it had silver leaves." Shaynen looked at the ground.

"You're not in trouble," Crina said. But her words rang hollow. She got up and rounded the wagon. Shaynen slumped against the side of the wagon. He couldn't hear the voices whispering in the driver's seat, but he could guess.

“We need to keep moving.” His father jumped out of the back of the wagon and scooped Shaynen up. “C’mon, let’s leave all this behind us.” His father climbed up and lowered Shaynen onto the driver’s seat. Taking the reins from Reo and waiting for them to hop into the back before starting the wagon again.

“What do you need us to do, Crina?” Shaynen’s mother twisted around to ask.

“For sure? Water.” Crina said. “That’s the most needed resource right now.” Shaynen curled up onto the seat again. The adults talking over him felt like they were crushing him.

"Dad?" Shaynen whispered, barely breathing out a sound.

"We'll keep an ear out for any running water. I think there's supposed to be a cluster of falls somewhere close by."

"Mom?" Shaynen said, equally quiet.

"How close? Do you remember? Is it on the road?"

"I don't think so,"

Shaynen curled up tighter. But his mother interrupted him by pulling him close and crushing him in her arms.

"It's okay now," she whispered into his hair. "We should have listened to you, you were right. We're so sorry." Shaynen rested on his mother's chest and relaxed a small amount. Enjoying the attention.

"It's not your fault," she continued, "you didn't know any better, and you were doing exactly what we asked you to." Shaynen nodded and relaxed a little more.

"You two should get some sleep," his father said. "I'll need you two awake and alert when the sun comes up."

"Right, why don't you hop in the back and see if you can get any sleep." Shaynen's mother let him go. He looked around at his father. Heart skipping around in his chest.

"I love you," his father said. Lowering the reins to give Shaynen a side hug. Shaynen offered a small smile and let his mother shoo him into the back of the wagon.

—--

Shaynen couldn’t sleep. His empty stomach was leaving him with painful cramps. The wagon rocked along, His parents trading off sleeping and driving. Their sleep was just as troubled as Shaynen’s was. Moving and trading off every few hours. Shaynen had moved into the wagon to attempt getting any kind of sleep. He curled up into a ball under a mountain of quilts. He laid still, hoping that he could trick himself into falling asleep.

The wagon's wheels crunched the dirt and rocks into the road. Making a steady rocking, creaking sound,. It annoyed Shaynen into giving up on sleeping altogether. He sighed and pulled the blankets off from over his head. A little white figure caught his eyes. Shaynen thought it was a lost toy because it was so still. It was white, but not ghostly pale. It had grays and chips like porcelain. The scales were like discarded flakes of porcelain. The tiny dragon statue blinked.

Shaynen stared at the still figure. Wondering if he’d seen it blink or if it was just his imagination. His breathing rattled in his chest. Slowly, he slid the quilts down and reached out to touch the little figure. When his hand got close, the figure jumped to life and snapped at him.

Shaynen covered his mouth before he alerted anyone to the little thing. The tiny white dragon turned its head at Shaynen, annoyed.

“I have nothing to offer you,” Shaynen uncovered his mouth. The tiny dragon snorted and approached Shaynen warily. He stayed still as the small dragon sniffed at his face. It had milky white eyes that looked glazed in its pointed white skull. With the dragon nose to nose with him, Shaynen could vaguely smell something awful coming from the dragon. Like something rotten. But he also noticed the dragon’s porcelain appearance resembled bone more than pottery. An epiphany lit up Shaynen’s face. He reached into his belt, scaring the dragon into darting away.

“Wait, I know what you want.” Shaynen whispered as he pulled out the little bag. He put it down and pushed it gingerly forward. The dragon eyed him suspiciously. Shaynen opened the bag and tilted it until the fallen tooth slid out. The ivory dragon’s tail lifted in interest. Taking another quick look at him before darting to the tooth. It grabbed the little tooth and inspected it. Shaynen grinned, showing the gap where the tooth used to be.

The dragon grinned back at Shaynen and held the tooth in its claws. Shaynen found the dragon’s mismatched teeth stomach churning. If his stomach had anything in it to churn. The dragon stretched its wings and, with a running leap, the tiny dragon took off. Shaynen watched it take off out the back of the wagon. It left Shaynen with a sense of wonder and contentment. He tongued the gap in his teeth and laid back down. Thinking about what happened. It helped him forget his hunger for a bit. He curled up into a ball, holding his stomach. Exhausted but unable to sleep through his stomach, trying to eat itself. He whined to himself and curled under the blankets. Feeling his ribs more prominently than he remembered.

Something crawled over his mound of blankets. Shaynen sat up, throwing the blankets off. He didn't see anything moving around, but the little bag his tooth had been in had reappeared. Outside the covered wagon, the skies were changing color. Leaving Shaynen wondering if he’d dreamt the whole thing. He took the bag and noted it was heavier. Sitting up, he opened the bag and tipped out a little palm sized fruit into his hand. His stomach leapt up into his throat and he shoved the fruit into his mouth before he even knew what color it was. He hardly chewed, nearly swallowing it whole. Pit and all.

The scratch of the pit made his throat hurt, but his stomach had a weight that he'd have felt in days. He crawled back into the driver's seat.

"Shhh, your mother's asleep." His father said as Shaynen sat beside him. "Keep an ear out for the falls. They're supposed to be coming up."

"Everyone's going to be okay now that the doctor's gone. Right?" Shaynen whispered.

"Hopefully," his father sighed. "Couldn't sleep?" His father changed the subject quickly.

"No, I'm too hungry." Shaynen said. " It's making my tummy hurt,"

"I know, kid, just be patient for a little longer." His father said.

"It's hard to be patient," Shaynen sighed.

"You're telling me," his father chuckled quietly. The ride went quiet. Only the sound of the wagon rocking and creaking down the road interrupted the quiet.

Shaynen looked up at the sky. Something sounded like rain, but stronger.

"You hear it too?" His father said. Shaynen nodded. "I think that's the sound of the falls."

"Where's it coming from?" Shaynen asked.

"I think it's this way." Shaynen's father turned the stags, so they went off the road in-between the mountain rocks. Shaynen leaned forward in the seat to spy the falls. The sounds got louder as the trail became more treacherous. Shaynen’s father jumped out of the wagon and took the reins around to lead the stags carefully around the deep cracks and large boulders. The wagon jumped and rocked Shaynen, making the little fruit in his stomach churn.

Just when Shaynen knew he would be sick, his father led the stags around a short corner. Revealing a pair of twin crystal clear waterfalls. Shaynen jumped up and his mouth dropped open.

“Crina! We found water!” Shaynen yelled. His mother jumped, startled awake. She looked up at the twin falls just a short way down from the cliff the wagon was walking. White froth flew over the edge and plunged into a little lake below, a little rainbow bridged over the mists.

Crina peeked out from inside the wagon and her face lit up with excitement.

“Amazing! Now if we could only get down there.” She said.

“If we follow around this edge, there’s a place over there that looks easy enough we can get down.” Shaynen’s mother yawned and pointed around the left. She elbowed Shaynen playfully. “You know what this means?”

“What?”

“Fish!” Shaynen’s mother said excitedly. Shaynen stared at her curiously. “We’ll have fish for breakfast!” The mention of breakfast made Shaynen’s spirit rise.

“Then let’s hurry!” Shaynen jumped out of the wagon and ran ahead towards the falls.