Lana was being jostled back and forth in the cabin, right on the edge of the wagon. "Why don't you guys use cars?" she blurts out, her face smacking against the rough wood. "Can't you see the gravel?" Ruby responds matter-of-factly, focused on typing at the front of the wagon. Ariek, who was next to her holding the reins, chimes in, "Yeah, and who took off your blindfolds?"
Ruby giggles, relishing in the sound of Lana's discomfort. "Oh dear, not having Drew here is going to be more challenging than I thought."
"You know, you could just let me go."
"Haha, shut up."
The wagon soon becomes filled with Lana's groans and the wheels squelching through the muddy ground. Only now does she notice the animal veering to the left. She struggles her way closer and sticks her head out. Ruby shrieks. "Get lost, you annoying bug," she says, attempting to push Lana away with her small, wiry hands.
"I just want to see..." Lana finally realizes. "Hey, why do those horses look strange?". "Well, my dear, let me enlighten you about this marvelous creation. After years of selective breeding, we humans have developed a creature that can traverse almost any terrain effortlessly..." He continues to talk, almost to himself now.
When he notices Lana still in awe, he gives her a sinister look, glad for the distraction. Ruby grows even more sullen and jumps into the wagon. She secures herself tightly against the wall with a rope.
"Hey, what's happening?" Lana screams in agony as the horse accelerates to unbelievably high speeds. Inside the wagon, her body is tossed around in ways that even Amara's training couldn't replicate.
"Here we go," Ariek says as the horse charges towards a mountain and begins to gallop with its tough, brittle hooves that are at least the size of Lana's head. The wagon starts to fall apart. "Ariek, I think we should stop!" Ruby yells, gripping the floor tightly, her laptop in hand. Ariek just smiles. He enjoys the rush and the feeling of his soul until the wagon loses a wheel. Then another. Soon, on top of the mountain, the wagon loses all four of its legs and half of the transport is destroyed. Thanks to her quick reflexes, Lana manages to hold on. She clumsily jumps out of the wagon.
"Why didn't you tie me up?" Ruby smirks, "You're already tied up." A crude laugh escapes her. Lana headbutts her. "What the heck!" Ruby screams. She stumbles to the ground, clutching her head, and Lana lunges towards her. A hand grabs Lana in mid-air. It was Ariek.
"Oh no, you don't. I'm not losing my GPS."
"Is that all I am to you?"
"Well, who else will make sure we don't get hacked by the government?" Ariek remarks. Ruby curses under her breath. Ariek scanned the surroundings and spotted an abandoned building nearby. "Alright, listen up. I'll fix this wagon here, and you two better behave until then," he declared, untying Lana. Ruby questioned his decision, anger evident on her face. "Don't worry, my snakes will keep an eye on her. I just need some help finding wood for tonight," Ruby glanced at the darkening sky.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
"And what about me?"
"Be a sweetheart and make sure Lana finishes her task quickly, alright?". Ruby regrets asking.
As Lana struggled to carry two logs on her back, she glanced over at Ruby, who was still engrossed in typing on her keyboard. Lana dropped the logs and quietly approached her from behind.
"BOO!" Lana exclaimed, trying to startle Ruby.
Ruby didn't react so Lana simply waves a hand in front of her face.
"What?" she asked, slightly annoyed.
"What are you doing?"
"None of your business," Ruby replied, closing her laptop and tapping on a nearby snake. The snake hissed loudly, and a group of snakes slithered to the ground, ready to guide Lana back to work.
Lana thought to herself, That must be the leader. If I can just escape from kill that snake, I can escape from here. She glanced at Ariek in the distance, carefully hammering a piece of wood. But can I outrun him? Suddenly, the snake sprayed something into Lana's eyes. She fell to the ground, desperately trying to wipe the liquid away.
Where's the water?" she asks frantically. Ruby notices the water bottle beside her. "Here, take it," she offers the water to Lana. But before Lana could grab it, Ruby throws the open bottle on the floor, soaking everything.
"Why would you..."
"It is my water."
And just like that, they were in another argument. Ruby tries to call the Head Snake, but Lana grabs a stick and stabs the snake through her blurred vision.
"Now it's just you and me."
Ruby is mortified. Lana goes for a punch, then another, but stops at the third one. "Dreng! Dreng!" Ruby yells as tears start to flow down her face. Lana comes back to her senses. "Oh, I'm sorry, ...I just got...," she tries to apologize but struggles to find the right words.
"Is there any way I can..."
"Leave; just leave. Just go away, you annoying pest," she pushes Lana's arm away. "I-I..." guilt tightens its grip on her throat.
Sis, sis a memory resurfaces. A memory she doesn't need, a memory that never happened.
She hesitatively walks away to the distance, not knowing if her tears are from the snake acid.
She can tell that Ruby won't notify Ariek, yet...
Ruby woke Ariek up the following morning. He grumbled to himself, then noticed Ruby's red eye and exclaimed, "Oh dear." He attempted to hug her, but stopped when he saw Ruby flinch. "Alright then. The cars are ready," he said softly. "Where is the girl?" Ruby hesitated. "She—"
"Is she right here?" Lana appeared in front of them, her hands outstretched to be tied. "I give you one chance, and you come back," Ruby mouthed. "I kinda of got lost," she mouthed back while scratching her head. Ruby let out a small chuckle. Ariek, unaware of the inside joke, let out a hearty laugh too. "Alright, hop in. Since we lost a whole day, we need to make up for it." Ruby frowned once more.
They all settled in, and Ariek double-checked the area before patting the horse. "Let's ride." In the back, Ruby still had herself tied up. Lana groaned as she hit the floor and noticed a knife that had landed neatly beside her. She followed its trajectory until she saw Ruby looking away. "What," she said flatly, with a hint of embarrassment. Lana smiled, untying herself.
"It looks like the rope got misplaced." Lana giggled as she spoke. "Oh no, I might have to snitch on you to Ariek." She began to whisper, "But I think he's too preoccupied with his baby." She pretended to ride a horse.
Laughter erupted from the back. "Hey Ruby. Is everything alright back there?" Ariek asked, leaning back. Ruby handed Lana an extra rope and said, "Everything's fine now!" Ariek heard more giggles, and a wide grin spread across his face.