I turn around. Someone is following me. I listen quietly, my own breath just as loud as the soft footsteps headed my way. It’s pointless to try and spot them. The trees are too dense and the night too dark. I’ve never seen a darker night. No stars, no torch. I move as fast as I can through the Forsyth without making any sound. The animals aren’t as quiet. They snap twigs and rustle leaves. I keep my eyes on the trees as I pass them by. I know them well. They’ll help guide me home. I wonder if my pursuer knows the forest as well as I do. I doubt it, even if he is a Kai tracker.
I’m amazed the tracker managed to find me at all. The Forsyth is massive. The forest spreads for miles and miles, splitting the country of Kostos in two. Even if he knew where to look, it takes a careful eye to spot anything in these woods. Dense canopy keeps out even the moonlight. Branches tangle together. Some trees grow so close together I have to pause to squeeze through the thick groves. The tracker must have spotted me when I passed through a large clearing a few miles back. When I heard the sounds of someone behind me, I thought at first it was someone from another village. But when the slight noises continued to follow me, I realized it was no random event. I wonder why the tracker hasn’t tried to overtake me. Perhaps he doesn’t realize who I am, just a boy from a nearby village. I’m tall enough now to be seen as older. Perhaps he thinks I’m a threat.
I leave my normal path and head deeper into the woods. I duck under branches, weaving between the thick trunks. My feet sink into mud. It must have rained recently. Normally I’d dodge the mud, stick to tree branches and rocks to mask my footsteps. Now I leave as many footprints as I can. Even a novice tracker could see these. I keep my ears open for new sounds, dangers others than the tracker. I’m not supposed to be out this late. Creatures that avoid our village become brave in the night. My dad would be furious if I got home past curfew. I’m hoping he’ll make an exception this time. It would be so much worse if I lead the tracker back to our village.
I make sure to keep an eye on where I’m going. The Forysth is massive and well up to the task of leading me astray. Its enormous size is one of the reasons the eastern and western parts of Kostos are so different. There are no roads through the Forsyth. The trees grow too quick. I read that the Kai, the ruler of Kostos, still tries from time to time to cut roads to the west. I don’t know why he bothers.
I move at an easy pace so the tracker can stick with me. He is close, probably 30 seconds behind me. Usually I like to sprint through the trees, moving so quickly the trees start to blur. Half the fun is feeling like you might smack into a trunk at any moment, which I’ve done a handful of times. As I head west, I consider my options. I could try to get as far west as possible and then double back, speeding up and hiding my tracks. But what if the tracker manages to keep up? I have to make sure that I have a good head start. I look around, unsure of where I am.
There! I see a tree covered in curling brown bark. I’ve always thought that tree looked like an animal with long fur. I’m close to some rocky cliffs with a cavern in the base. It’s got a back entrance that’s hidden in the shadows. I’ll lead the tracker there and then escape out the back. He’ll think he’s got me and I’ll speed back home while he searches in the dark cavern for the trapped boy. Maybe I can make it before my family sends out a search party. I step on some twigs, snapping them. The footsteps behind me grow louder.
The cave appears suddenly in front of me. The trees grow right up against the rock, their leaves so thick it’s impossible to know what is in front of you. I pause at the entrance and run my hands over the rocky sides, loosening some stones. They tumble down onto the ground clattering against one another. I disappear into the cave.
Every sound I make echoes inside. It’s not as dark in here. The top of these cliffs break through the tree line and moon light flitters through a small hole in the rock. I make my way to the back of the cave and tuck myself into the tunnel that will lead me outside. I can barely fit through the thin tunnel. Perhaps the tracker won’t be able to. Perhaps he won’t even see the break in the rock. A shadow enters the cave, followed by a massive figured. He fills the cave. So this is what a Kai tracker looks like. He seems more like a beast. He steps into the moonlight, revealing a broadsword almost as tall as I am clutched in his hand and a hawk like face. His long black hair is raided and twisted around his neck like a thick collar. If I stayed and tried to fight this man, there is no doubt in my mind that I would lose. I barely know how to throw a punch. The man is scanning the cavern, thankfully he can’t see me. I can see the thick muscles of his neck underneath the dark braid. Two rifles are slung over his back. As he turns slowly in the moonlight, I see a silver glint on his chest. A large K wrapped in an embroidered snake. It’s the sigil of the Kai. When the braided man turns around completely I slip deeper into the tunnel as silently as I can. I shuffle sideways, my back and stomach scrapping the rock. When I’m out of the cavern, I sprint through the night.
When I am sure the tracker, that braided man, isn’t following me anymore, I pause for a moment and rest by a tree. I bend over, my hands on my knees. I didn’t realize how out of breath I was. I take a canteen of water from my belt and drink it slowly. My hands are shaking as I put the cap back on. I can’t stay here for long. So I ignore my nerves, push myself up and jog through the trees. If I keep going at this pace, I’ll make it home in an hour or two. I’m sure my mom and dad are up and waiting for me. Maybe even Evan, my little brother. Hopefully they haven’t assumed the worst. The Forsyth has always been dangerous. There are all sorts of creatures hidden in the woods, poisonous plants, rocky cliffs, sudden changes in weather and now the Kai’s trackers.
I don’t slow down until I reach home, a village tucked in a clearing in the trees. There are about fifteen houses in the clearing made of the dark, brown trees of the Forsyth. Most are one large room. A couple have two. There are several villages scattered throughout the Forsyth. Nothing compared to the great cities on the eastern shore. I’ve never seen them, but I’ve read that they hold thousands and thousands of people. The buildings are made of steel rooms stacked on top of one another. I wonder if living in ones feels like being in a cage. My brother, Evan, always makes fun of my interest in the cities. Well, really my interest in anything that can be learned in books. He says he would always rather learn about something from seeing it, experiencing it. The more I read about the world outside the Forsyth, the less I want to ever experience it.
In the center of the clearing is a large fire pit surrounded by logs. There is a low fire burning in the pit and a man sitting by the fire. I walk towards him, guessing it’s my dad. As I get closer I see him put another log into the fire. The smoke from the fire is thick and dark. It surrounds my dad, covering his body. All I can see is his face. His curly, black beard seems to turn into smoke.
“Javin,” my dad says when I am close. He stands up and pulls me into a hug. “You had us so worried. Are you alright?”
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“I’m fine,” I say and sit down next to him around the fire pit. When I was little, he always towered over me and most other of the men in the village. It surprises me now to see we’re the same height.
“Tell me what happened.”
“After school I wanted to go swimming at the lake. On my way home I noticed that someone was following me. At first I didn’t think it was anything, but they kept following my trail. It was one of the Kai’s trackers.”
My dad’s brow furrows at the last two words. “Are you sure?”
“I saw him for a moment, but he didn’t see me. He had a badge on, the sigil of the Kai. And he was carrying two pistols.” Guns aren’t used in the Forsyth or in the west. Most of us prefer bows, spears and swords. Guns are too slow to reload and much too costly. “I knew I couldn’t lead him home so I just kept going and finally managed to lose him.”
My dad sighs. His breath creates a small gap in the smoke. It quickly disappears. “I’ve sat here all night wondering what happened. A dozen times I stood up to go and search for you, but I talked myself out of it. I trust you, you know that and I know that you think you did the right thing. But I never, ever want you to do anything that puts you in danger. If you had led the tracker back here, we would have dealt with it.” He puts his arm around me. That and the fire are wonderfully warming.
“Okay, dad. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re right,” he says. “Because I’m making a new rule for you and your brother. No more going out that far in the forest. Stay in sight of the clearing at all times. Do you understand?”
I open my mouth to protest and then stop. I have no argument, not after what happened tonight with the tracker. Stupid Kai. We don’t get much news from the Delphast, the capital city in Kostos. For decades all the cities on the east coast have ignored that people live in the Forsyth. Then a week ago a messenger from another village came to warn us about the trackers. The Kai issued a new decree, outlawing anyone from living in the Forsyth. The Kai says it’s for our own protection. Tension between the eastern and western halves of Kostos has never been higher. Everyone says we are heading for a civil war, with the Forsyth physically in the middle of everything. “Yes,” I say begrudgingly. “I understand.”
“Good,” Dad says. “Now can you tell me exactly what happened? Where the tracker found you? Where you left him?”
I tell him every detail, how I think the tracker picked my trail up in a clearing, how he followed me to the cave, what he looked like and how I got home. “What would happen if he found us?” I ask.
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Dad says, but I’m not sure I believe him. I don’t understand why the Kai has issued this new rule. The villages have been here for centuries and the rest of Kostos has mostly ignored them. Is this war really that dangerous? “Do you think we’re heading for war?”
My dad seems to consider this for a moment. “I’m not sure. The west and east have never gotten along. War has been coming for years, for decades. But will it happen soon? I’m not sure. The Kai says it will though.”
“I hate him,” I spit, well aware of how childish I sound.
Dad pats me on the back and stands up. “Hate is a very strong thing for someone you’ve never met. Save it for those who really earn it. Let’s get you to bed.”
Our house is close to the fire pit. Outside, my mom’s rose bushes still have a few flowers. They’ll be gone soon. The first frost will come any day now. The cold arrives quickly in the forest and stays for however long it wants. Inside the cabin, my mom stands by the window. She must have seen me talking to dad. She turns when she hears the door close, crosses the room and pulls me into a hug, kissing me on the cheek.
“Oh, Javin,” she whispers. “I’m glad you’re safe.” She holds me at an arm’s length, apparently inspecting me for any damage. Her inky blue eyes are wet.
“Me too,” I tell her. We have the same eyes. The rest of my face, the strong nose, the dark brown hair, the hooded eyes, I get from my dad.
She looks past me. “Is everything alright?” she asks my dad.
“Trackers,” he says. “I’m going to get a group together and set up sentries tonight. We should have done that as soon as we heard about the tracker.”
“Oh, Javin,” she says, pulling me into another hug.
Behind us I hear my dad leave the cabin. “I’m okay mom,” I mutter, but she doesn’t let me go for several seconds.
The main room of the cabin is still warm from the fading fire. I take off my jacket and hang it by the door. When the snow comes, I’ll sleep in my jacket. It’s not that cold now. A blue sheet separates the main room from my parent’s room and another from my brother and my room. I head back there now, moving as quietly as I can so as to not wake up Evan. I take my boots off before I pull back the sheet. Evan is fast asleep in the bed, his brown hair sticking out of a pile of furs. There is a candle still burning on the small table next to him. Mostly I don’t mind sharing a bed with Evan. I only hate it when it starts to get cold. He always takes my blankets.
I’m surprised to see a book lying open on the bed, one of Evan’s hands lightly holding it. I’m usually the one that falls asleep reading. Books are a rare commodity in the Forsyth. We try not to depend on the eastern cities for anything. It’s not that we eschew all of their technology like the west does. We just don’t really have access to it. Dad has a flashlight, a few gold coins and his books. We make as much as we can ourselves. Woven clothing. Plates from hardened and painted clay. Our school books are made by the teachers. So are many of the story books for little kids.
As proud as we are of being self-sufficient, there are many things that don’t compare. The books that Dad has, the ones that I love to read, come from the eastern cities. Histories of Kostos. Tales of other countries across the endless sea. Books on the animals and plants in the Forsyth. I swallow their lessons like water. Dad goes to great lengths to obtain these books. Every month or so he makes the journey out of the Forsyth and into Verfall, the nearest city to us. He goes on behalf of our village, getting supplies we can’t make. Medicine mostly. Boots. Pots and pans. He also brings back books. Sometimes, when I’ve been very good, he’ll let me read them first.
I take the book out of Evan’s hands. It’s one of my favorites, stories of the old myths of Kostos. He has the page open to the stories of the Forsyth. The legends say that the forest is a god. An evil god. It says that the trees can shift and change, so that you’ll always get lost. I flip to the next page and run my fingers over the raised letters. It’s my favorite myth, about the godspool. The myth says that gods got their powers when they found a mystical pool somewhere in Kostos. They used to be human, but when they bathed in the waters they became immortal, magical beings. I close the book with a snap. No one believes in these stories anymore, or about the gods for the matter. They haven’t for centuries. Most people don’t even know about the myths, but I’ve always liked to read about them. Dad says that there are some tribes in the west that still worship the gods. I don’t see how that is possible. How could anyone believe in such outlandish things?
I place the book on table and get into bed next to Evan. I move gently so as not to disturb him. I try to close my eyes, but I’m still wound up from the run. I stare up at the ceiling, tracing the rings in the wood with my eyes. I’ve done it so many times that I have each ripple memorized. Pretty soon it will have to change. In three years I’ll be twenty and I’ll build my own cabin in the clearing. No one is supposed to help you. I know it’s a rite of passage, but I’ve never been that handy. Any house I build on my own isn’t a house I want to live in. I’ve read that in the richer cities men have jobs, careers. Here we work to live, to survive. And we do it on our own. Well, mostly on our own. At some point I’m supposed to find someone to live with. That’s hopeless though. I’m horrible with girls. I can barely look at the girls in my class without blushing. Even thinking about it turns my cheeks red. I close my eyes and focus on Evan’s breathing. The rhythm is comforting. Familiar. It is the sound I sleep to. Everything else fades away and so do I.