“Help… Me…”

The soft cries persisted through the night, barring Bo from sleep. As Gale snored beside him and the wind howled outside the tent - punctuated by the occasional bolt of lightning – he lay there, awake.

As he tossed and turned, the voice kept calling. It was louder each time, even if only by a minuscule amount. But this added up, and by morning – the cry for help wasn't so soft anymore.

"HELP ME!"

Bo groaned and stared up at the tent ceiling. Little streams of greyish light wormed their way through tiny holes in the fabric, casting a gloomy ambience across Bo's exhausted face. It was cramped and claustrophobic, with barely any room to turn or move – let alone stand up. Of course, the tent was only built for one person… not two.

Still in the grips of morning fatigue, Bo wasn't sure whether he was asleep or awake. He swayed between the two, dipping back and forth like a metronome – but never finding peace in either place.

Sleep was fleeting thanks to the inescapable shouts and his crowded thoughts – while staying awake was just as hard.

Bo reckoned that in his entire life, he had never been as tired as he was right then. He certainly couldn't think of another example off the top of his head. Then again, he couldn't really think of anything, not with his jumbled thoughts piled up into a tower that threatened to collapse on him at any moment.

Too many things had stacked up against him – whether it was the dull throb in the back of his head; the annoying shouting; or the roaring winds.

What was worse – he couldn't go outside.

Trapped as he was, all Bo could do was listen as wind rammed itself at the tent and lightning crashed like heavenly judgment. He wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon, and if he did - he might never return... not alive anyway.

Thankfully, he had anchored the tent with some big rocks and then some more – just to be safe. He had seen what happened when a tent wasn't adequately anchored and didn't want to be one of the idiots that ended up spending a storm out in the open. Or worse, in Ethron's tent.

As he lay in a bored stupor, muffled footsteps approached. He could feel the sand shifting minutely as two shadows walked along the side of his tent and stopped at its opening.

He blinked, trying to clear his mind. Who could it be? He wondered dully – his thoughts swamped in brain fog.

"Bo!" A shout came from outside, "Let! Us! In!"

He didn't react for a moment, sitting in his malaise as he tried to process what was happening. Finally, after the cogs had turned and clicked together – he realised it must be Leo and Tor.

They crowded in and quickly found there was nowhere to go.

Gale took up about half the tent by himself, and the rest was packed with books and old maps.

"Where… do you sit?" Leo asked breathlessly. His cheeks were bright red from the stinging winds that had lashed sand across his face.

"I just sort of perch," Bo demonstrated what he meant by crouching in the pile of books.

"That doesn't look very comfortable," Tor pointed out.

Bo shrugged, "It's better than nothing,"

"… Fair enough,"

The two followed suit, crouching beside Bo as Gale snored relentlessly. When they had settled down, they both turned to look expectantly at him.

"What?"

Tor rolled her eyes, "Well, tell us what happened!"

Bo sighed, "Oh right, I had forgotten about that,"

"We hadn't," Leo said seriously. He seemed to be treating the situation as life or death. Which it was. Gossip was rarer than Goldust during a storm. More valuable too. Goldust didn't help pass the time or ease boredom.

"Right…" Bo paused, searching for where to begin, "It all started in front of this strange cave…."

----------------------------------------

"I can't believe you saw an Oasis!" Leo shook his head for the thousandth time, "I'm about to venerate Oasis, and I've never even seen one up close,"

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"It's not a big deal," Bo shrugged.

"Not to you, maybe," Tor cut in, "But that's the literal representation of our god. How would you feel if I went away for a few days and saw a dragon?"

"Not great, I guess,"

"Exactly!"

"By the way," Leo said, "I've been wondering how you moved so fast yesterday?"

"Huh?"

"You know - when you were running to the Sarpa. You ran so quickly I could barely see you,"

"I didn't realise I was that fast," Bo said, absentmindedly massaging his throbbing head.

Tor nodded, "It was even faster than I've seen any of the hunters move before. That's why none of them could stop you in time,"

"Really…" Bo mused, "I had no idea – it didn't really feel that fast to me,"

They were still perched in the tiny tent and arguing as another shadowy figure approached. Their back was hunched, and they walked with a slight limp – shuffling towards the tent's entrance with an unsteady gait.

"Bo!" a voice he instantly recognised as Fran called out.

"Come in!"

She opened the flap and tried to enter – failing whenever she saw that there was nowhere for her to go.

"Oh, sorry," Leo said, shifting so that she could join them.

Fran stooped to enter and didn't speak for a moment, taking everything in quietly. Her eyes shifted from the crouching kids to the snoring old man. "You don't expect an old woman to crouch, do you?" She scolded – walking over and prodding Gale with her foot.

"Huh?"

"Move, you big oaf!"

"What's goi-" Gale didn't get to finish his question because Fran had bent down and shoved him upright. She then sat beside him, smiling sweetly at the three kids.

For his part, Gale didn't look quite awake yet. He frowned and rubbed his eyes, trying to grasp the unfamiliar situation as Fran began to speak.

"Have any of you eaten?" She fussed.

They all shook their heads,

"I couldn't cook anything because of the storm last night," Bo said.

"Tor and I are fasting," Leo added, "It's the week before our communion, so…."

Fran nodded, "good for you two," She smiled, "If only my Bo was so responsible,"

Bo would have liked to point out that Tor didn't seem too enthusiastic about the whole 'fasting' thing – he had even seen her sneakily nibbling on a Horus shoot when she thought nobody was looking. But he thought better of it, instead choosing to make loud noises as he ate in front of them.

"Mm, this is so good," Bo lied as he chewed on a leathery strip of dried Sarpa. It wasn't good, actually. It tasted and felt like rotten tree bark. But Bo liked seeing the frustration on Leo and Tor's faces enough to pretend the meat didn't taste like poison. It was the little things in life.

"So, what's up?" Bo asked Fran as he chewed on the strip of leathery meat.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you about the deal I made yesterday,"

"The deal with Ethron?"

"Yes,"

Tor's eyes widened, and she shifted excitedly, "I don't think I've ever seen him look that angry before,"

"Me neither," Leo chimed in.

"I have," Gale spoke for the first time – drawing curious gazes from the rest of the group. "What?" He asked defensively.

"I've just never heard you talk before, sir," Leo said.

Gale rolled his eyes, "Call me Gale,"

"Yes, sir," Bo said with a salute.

With a sigh, Gale shook his head, "Anyway, I've seen him that angry before – but only a few times."

Fran looked thoughtful, "Was it the time he lost his favourite eyeglass to Elder Gunther?"

"No… well, actually yes," Gale paused, "But I was thinking about the time that Bo's parents…."

Fran's eyes widened, and her hand shot up to cover Gale's mouth. "It's not the time," She glanced at Tor and Leo, "Or the place to be talking about things like that,"

If his brain was working right, Bo might have cared more about Gale being interrupted. He didn't know much about his parents, and the little he did was mostly by accident. Most of what he had gathered was from other people's off-hand comments or casual mentions of them. Not only that, it was frustratingly hard to get a straight answer out of anyone when his parents were concerned.

Fran had told him they were hunters who died a few years after his birth, but other than that - they both remained a mystery to him.

It was frustrating not to hear more, but Bo trusted Fran enough to accept that she had reasons not to tell him more. Besides, he didn't much care who his parents were. He couldn't even remember their faces anymore, and when he tried to picture them - all he saw was Fran.

"It's better not to talk about that right now." She continued. "So, I'll tell you about the deal I made," She glanced at Gale and Bo in turn, "Pay attention, you two. This concerns both of you,"

Fran waited for both of them to nod before she continued.

"Well, we'll be at Fox mountain in a few weeks, and when the time comes, I usually do the ritual. This year will be no different..." She paused, "actually, it will be different. You see, Ethron has big plans for the coming year and has asked me to alter the ritual slightly,"

"Big plans?"

"Yes, he wants the Karak to take the top spot at the next tribe meeting and has asked me to prepare an offering for the fox,"

"He doesn't really believe all that good fortune hogwash, does he?" Gale scoffed. "It's just a fox,"

"Shh," Fran hissed, "Don't say things like that out loud; you never know who... or what might be listening,"

"Anyway, I need your help gathering a suitable offering for the fox," She faced the group, "I know it likes precious gemstones – so maybe," She stared pointedly at Gale, "You might have an idea where to find some,"

"I might," Gale conceded.

"Brilliant, that's sorted then. When the storm passes, I need you to gather something the fox would like. Something shiny. You can take these two," She gestured at Leo and Tor, "They could use the experience with their new bodies after their communion,"

"Got it,"

"As for you," She turned to Bo, "Ethron let you stay under the condition that you join the hunting party…." She paused before finishing, "as a scout,"

There was a sharp intake of breath as everyone heard this. They all knew the death rate of scouts, and Bo being made one was as close to a death sentence as it came.

"Okay," Bo nodded, non-plussed.

"Are you sure?" Fran asked earnestly, "I can try and get him to change his mind if-"

"No, It's fine. I've always thought that being a scout would suit me anyway,"

Fran bit her lip and nodded, "right,"

When no one said anything else, Gale asked, "Is that everything?"

"Yes, that's all," Fran nodded.

"Okay, then get out, all of you!"

"What? Why?" Tor asked indignantly.

"I want to go back to sleep!"

After they all filed out, Bo was left to stare up at the tent's roof blankly. His eyelids drooped but wouldn't close, and the voice was growing louder still.

"Help Me!"

He didn't know how much more he could take. Hopefully, it would be over soon.

If it wasn't, he might do something stupid.