They didn’t stick to the road heading west for long, instead, they turned south and off the path. The underbrush was sparse, making it easy to walk at a decent pace; Darius in front, Anne following second, and Kate close on her heels. It was late morning, so the sun was happily shining from between some scattered clouds. The trees provided enough shade for them to avoid the sun for the most part. They walked in silence while Anne was lost in thought.
I am going back. I can’t believe I am actually going back to that… place. Tom, I miss you. I wish you were here. It feels so strange inside me since you got taken away from me. I made some friends, and it helps, but I need you. Don’t you worry brother… I will find you, and whoever took you will pay.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Kate jabbed her with her elbow.
“Is my Anne still in there? I thought I lost you there for a minute.” Kate said smiling.
“I was just thinking about Tom. We… we really need to find him.” Anne in a gloomy voice.
“Hey, cheer up! We are setting off on an adventure and a rescue mission.” Kate said as she enthusiastically punched the air in front of her. “And you are not alone. Remember that.”
Anne cracked a small smile, making Kate grin broadly. The crystal around Kate’s neck caught Anne’s attention.
“Still curious, aren’t you? Good,” Kate winked.
Darius stopped under a good patch of shade and turned around, pulling out his map again and ushering them closer.
“We are far enough from the chapel now. So, based on the documentation I found regarding the facilities, I believe it is somewhere in this area here.” Darius pointed to a big forest far to the southwest. “Do you know if this is accurate, or of any way that might lead us there?” He asked and handed Anne the map.
She tried to make sense of all the markings and contours until she recognized that which she was looking for. She pointed at a small clearing on the east side of the big forest marked Myrtle Valley.
Darius pulled the map closer to his face. “Myrtle Valley is it?” He asked. “Yes. The place is west from there.”
Anne fought to contain her rising emotions as her thoughts returned to the farm with little Tiffany and John. A warm sensation brushed her consciousness, burning right behind her navel. Anne jumped when Kate shook her by the shoulder, snapping her out of her train of thought. The unknown warmth inside her vanished almost instantly.
“I told you, I will look after you,” Kate whispered in Anne’s ear. Anne stared at Kate’s crystal which now had a very prominent glow that faded moments later. Darius was oblivious to the situation as he mumbled to himself while looking intently at the map. Kate put her finger to her mouth to signal Anne to keep this quiet.
“We need to take the fastest route, and we need to keep a very low profile,” Darius started. “We can head west from here and then go south from San Vehema, but it is dangerous and the roads. Well, all paths are probably dangerous anyway. The problem is that the road leading south from San Vehema is very busy, with increased reports of military movement as well. It will be difficult to skip past everyone.”
Darius looked up from the map at Anne, puzzled. “How did you manage to make it to San Vehema from way over here?” He pointed at the forest on the map.
“Well, by train. Mostly,” Anne mumbled.
"Lots of walking. Oh and in a military convoy or two." She continued sarcastically.
Darius frowned, then checked the map again. “Oh, I see.” He spent a few moments in deep thought. “That might just work.”
“What might just work?” Kate asked shortly.
Darius lowered the map for them so they could see and dragged his finger across train tracks that ran towards San Vehema. “These tracks are just a few hours south of us. If we follow this east, away from the city, then it turns south and crosses the sea, bringing us a little closer to where we need to be.”
“And we would encounter very few people if any. Except for passing trains of course,” Darius added. “The only thing that worries me…” he paused. “Let's first see what our path holds.”
Darius folded the map and tucked it away. With a satisfied look from Kate and Anne, they set off toward the tracks. It wasn’t long until Kate started humming a tune while they walked. Anne listened intently and was soon humming along. The humming had a surprising effect on the monotonous journey, making the hours pass quickly. The rumble of a train signaled that they are close to the tracks, but the trees were considerably denser and larger now, making the rumble echo from all around them. Anne and Kate jumped in surprise when a blurry mass suddenly rushed past, only a few arms-lengths ahead of them. Kate held her chest as she breathed heavily, and then started giggling.
“At least we found the tracks,” Kate yelled amidst the loud rumble and then dramatically pointed at the passing train with both hands. Anne couldn’t help but grin. Darius smiled broadly and shook his head. They waited for the train to pass and the rumble to fade before they could talk again.
“Right,” Darius started. “So, we found the train. It’s going to be dark soon, so I suggest we follow the tracks for a while and then make camp before the sun sets.”
A soft rumble interrupted the conversation.
“Another train already?” Kate wondered out loud.
“No,” Anne said, blushing bright red. “That was me.”
The laughter and teasing lasted a good hour or so before Kate calmed down. Her face was redder than Anne’s and she struggled to keep her eyes dry. Even Darius added a taunt now and then by reassuring her that they will have a proper meal after setting up camp. Anne didn’t speak a word and wished that she could dig a deep hole and crawl into it.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
They found a spot to camp under the trees, far enough from the tracks so that the sounds of the trains passing don’t wake them when they tried to sleep. Darius had packed tightly rolled-up sleeping bags for each of them.
“Get yourselves a soft patch while I start on a small fire pit,” he said as he threw the sleeping bags for them to catch, then pointed to where he will build the pit. “Will you two get some wood for the fire when you are done? There are some thick stumps here, but we would need some kindling to get the fire started first.”
“Yes, father,” Kate replied as they dropped their backpacks and quickly unfolded the sleeping bags close to where Darius had gestured. “C’mon Anne, let's get some wood quickly before you growl again.”
“Hey, that’s mean! You can get wood by yourself then,” Anne shouted.
“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist,” Kate apologized. “I’m sure my stomach will growl even louder than yours if we don’t eat soon.”
“I have no problem believing that” Anne retaliated with an irritated glare.
Kate winked at her and with a sigh, Anne followed her away from their camp and deeper into the forest. The tree canopy made the light fade very quickly, and they had only a handful of sticks when the sun had set, and it became too dark to see clearly. Crickets and other insects started their nightly symphonies.
“We are going to need some light. I can’t see a thing. Kate, did you bring a flashlight?” Anne mumbled.
“Ummm… it is in my backpack. Back at camp,” she replied.
“Wonderful!” Anne exclaimed, more irritated than before.
“Hey, I tell you what. If I show you something amazing, will you forgive me and be your cute self again?” Kate asked.
“It will have to be pretty amazing,” Anne grunted.
Kate threw down the few sticks she had gathered. It was silent for a few seconds when suddenly a small yellow glow illuminated the area around them. It was the crystal around Kate’s neck that was glowing. Although the light was very faint, it made it possible to see where they were going.
“Well, that is actually handy,” Anne said.
“Just wait,” Kate whispered.
Kate took a deep breath and slowly rubbed her hands together. A few sparks shot out from between her palms, then her hands dimly glowed with the same color as her crystal. Kate kept rubbing her hands together sending even more sparks flying out in all directions. The more she rubbed, the brighter her hands became. She stopped when her hands were blazing, like steel pulled out of a very hot furnace, but with bright yellow light. Everything around them was basked in a warm, golden glow.
“What do you think?” Kate asked with the widest of grins as she held her shining hands out in front of her. Anne’s eyes were so wide that they were in danger of falling out.
“That- that is- wow,” Anne struggled to form words.
This is amazing! She never hinted at anything like this, ever. What a way to reveal this. Why do I feel so… cold all of the sudden?
“How?” Anne finally managed to ask.
“I would let you gawk at me as long as you’d like, but we have to hurry, I can’t do this forever and I’m hungry.”
Anne kept staring wide-eyed at Kate’s hands.
“Can I feel it?” Anne asked. Kate pinched her lips as she fought the urge to laugh.
“Ok, you know what. High-five? My hands are quite hot, so I don’t want you to burn.” Kate said as she held up one hand.
Anne counted to three then made a jump for the high-five. Their hands collided with a satisfying clap and a burst of sparks.
“Awesome! How’s your hand? No burns I hope,” Kate joked, but with a hint of concern in her voice.
“Give me your hand,” Anne commanded.
“What?”
“Please? It didn’t hurt,” Anne reassured her. Kate reluctantly held out a hand. Anne grabbed it, making a few sparks flash, and held it for a few seconds. They both cried and pulled their hands away.
“What was that?” Kate breathed. “Your hand was- “
“Freezing,” Anne interrupted. “Kate, your hand felt like blocks of ice.”
“Yours did too,” Kate gasped. “This makes literally no sense.”
Kate stared at her hands with clear confusion painted across her face when she clenched her fists and looked at Anne.
“My sweet Anne, I trust you with this, but only you. Please don’t talk about this to Darius or anyone. He has seen some of what I can do, but not everything. And, he has different… beliefs… concerning how I can even do this in the first place.”
“There is more?” Anne gasped.
“Yes, yes, calm down. Let's just get wood for the fire so that we can eat. I don’t want you to growl at me again.” Kate laughed and started picking up twigs and sticks with her glowing hands. Seeing that she won’t get any more answers out of Kate, Anne joined in.
Soon they were walking back, each with a generous pile of kindle in their hands. They saw light ahead where Darius had lit a lantern and hung it from one of the overhanging tree branches. Kate hastily dropped the twigs on the floor, held her hands in front of her face, and softly blew on them. Like blowing out a candle, her hands quickly flickered and dimmed until they were back to normal. She gathered up everything that she dropped, and they made their way to the campsite. Darius was dragging a log to the fire pit when they arrived.
“Ah, that looks like a good amount to get the fire going. Kate my dear, please get the fire going. I need to get one or two more logs.” Darius said with a heavy breath as he dropped the log next to a ring of stones. “The matches are in my rug sack’s left pocket,” he said as he rubbed his hands to get rid of some splinters. He soon disappeared to find more wood and Anne and Kate quickly piled what they found inside the stone circle. Anne noticed that the sticks from Kate’s pile had scorch marks.
Why would her hand feel cold to me?
Anne started for Darius’ rucksack to get the matches, but Kate took her hand to stop her.
“We don’t need that,” Kate winked.
She knelt, looked around to make sure Darius was gone, then held out her left hand. Like striking a match, she drew a finger across her palm, and it lit up. With a small flame engulfing her fingertip, she poked at the kindle to set it alight.
“That is so cool,” Anne exclaimed.
Kate blew out the flame on her finger and dropped down next to the fire. “Well actually, it's hot, not cool,” Kate mumbled.
“You know what I meant,” Anne said as she sat down next to her.
The light from the fire danced across their faces, making Kate’s eyes shimmer from behind a few locks of red hair.
“I know, I’m just teasing. Though I am very confused. I have no idea why it was so cold when you touched my hand,” Kate said with a sigh. Anne shrugged and took Kate’s finger that she used to light the fire.
“And?” Kate asked.
“Normal,” Anne whispered.
They sat in silence after adding some larger stumps to the fire. The crackle of the flames mixed in with the soft ambient sounds of their surroundings. Kate rested her head on Anne’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
“So tired…” Kate mumbled.
The fire crackled loudly when Darius dropped some big logs into the fire.
“There we go,” he said, looking pleased with the fire.
“Don’t you go and fall asleep just yet. Food will be ready in a few minutes. I just need to heat it.”
Anne and Kate merely grunted in response.
Late evening was soon upon them. Anne was curled up in her sleeping bag, with Kate softly snoring next to her. Darius was also quietly sleeping on the other side of the fire, which was quietly smoldering. Anne could hardly keep her eyes open, yet her mind kept thinking back to what Kate had shown her, and what impact that could have in saving Tom.
Tom… we are coming for you.