Deserted (10 page)

I had
stared at the Mediator in wary awe and I felt my blood run cold when he had
returned my gaze. I gulped and turned my attention away as my father came up
beside me. “Thank you, Mediator,” He had said and bowed quickly at the hooded
man. “Come along; we need to get back to town.” He looked down towards me now.
“We’d like to get there in under a day if possible, so you need to be quick,
alright?” He pushed on my shoulder, urging me towards the carts and I was more
than happy to oblige.

As we
pulled away from the Meeting Place, I cast a cautious glance behind me at the
Mediator and his men who stood eerily still, watching us depart into the
wasteland. Kay was immediately beside me, watching me with furrowed brow.

“Are you
okay?” he whispered as we took up the rear.

“Yeah…
kinda
creepy though, isn’t it?” I had expected Kay to laugh
and slough me off like he usually did to assuage my fears…but instead he
nodded.

“I don’t
think I’ll be coming back.” A cloud of dust kicked up around us, causing Kay to
rub his eyes harshly at the irritation.

“Me
either.” I took a handkerchief out of my pocket and quickly tied it around his
neck. “You need to start wearing these; it’ll help to keep the sand out.”

“That’s
not exactly doing my eyes any favours.” He scoffed.

“I said
it would
help
, not that it would remove all sand forever. You
are
in a desert, after all.”

He
smirked at me. “Well maybe you should do something about that.”

“Oh
should I?” I laughed, “I’m just expected to single-handedly save the world,
huh?”

“Yup.”
He covered his mouth with the blue bandana I had given him but I
could still see his smile through its thin fabric.

“Alright,
alright,” I replied as I pulled my own handkerchief up, “I’ll save the world.
As long as it doesn’t fall on a Friday, though; Fridays are
‘me’
days.”
He cackled at my use of a weekday; we didn’t use those words anymore but
pretending to be from the before-time was always a fun game of ours. Some of
the adults didn’t care for us doing it, though.

We never
offered to go to the Meeting Place again and we were never asked. If my father
really did speak to the Mediator outside of Provisioning days, then how did we
still receive goods every 2 weeks? Wouldn’t it have risked our Provider’s
wrath? What did my father know that I didn’t…just what exactly happened to
them?

Still no
sign of the men I’m looking for but it’s been quite the day all the same. It
all started with something I never thought I’d see out in the desert; we saw a
flower. An actual, living flower out here in the wasteland! It was pure white;
I’ve never seen it in my books and definitely not in real life! Actual plant
life…I couldn’t believe it. We were passing underneath a rock cliff when I saw
it growing in the shade; it seemed to be thriving in the harsh winds. I had to
stop and study it.

           
I cradled the silky petals in my fingers and gazed at its beauty; its small
leaves rustling gently in the wind. Its fragrance was subtle but calming, a
smell I had never experienced before. It fluttered so innocently…so full of
life in such a barren wasteland. Is Kay’s world full of flowers like this? I
wanted to take it with me but I knew better; to take it would be to kill it. I
had hoped it would continue to prosper and that I could return someday to see
an entire garden surrounding it. I wish I could have spared it some water but
that was not a luxury I could afford. Whatever the Reckoning had done to this
world, somehow this little flower persevered. It must be extremely resilient to
still be growing to this day. Maybe the world wasn’t as barren as everyone
thought? I grew hopeful at the sight but I knew I had to press on. Someday,
little flower…I will come back for you.

           
We continued on from the beautiful blossom, finding very little throughout the
day. Thankfully there were no sandstorms in sight but neither were there any
towns…or any other sign of possible life. Where could Kay and my father
possibly be? I had almost fallen asleep on
Ponika’s
back as he slowly treaded onwards when I finally saw something in the
distance…a tall building of some sort, I had thought, but regardless it was the
best opportunity I had. I urged
Ponika
towards it and
he galloped instantly; perhaps he knew of the promise of it, too. Once we
arrived I realized it wasn’t buildings at all, but pillars; large, onyx columns
that must have once held aloft something amazing but now lay eerily barren in
the sand. I dismounted as I gazed at the sight around us, squinting as the sun
occasionally pierced my eyes. The pillars jutted up towards the sky, covered in
winding ivy; their heart-shaped leaves fluttered violently  in the breeze
as I made my way through the large towers of stone. More plant life; maybe I
was getting closer to that Utopia? I grabbed a few stray leaves from the ivy
and gave them to
Ponika
, who nibbled on them as we
walked. I had never seen things so tall before; what could they mean…who built
them? As the sand billowed away under my feet I saw signs of what once must
have been a cobblestone street. Where did it lead to, I wonder? There was
nothing but sand for miles.

           
“What could have been here,
Ponika
?” I patted his
neck as he continued to graze.

           
As I looked skyward at the towering pillars a sudden thought crossed my mind.
The slabs of stone reached higher than the tallest cliff faces…I could see for
miles if I managed to reach the top. Putting a small pile of leaves on the
ground for
Ponika
I grabbed tight onto the ivy,
hoping the pillars would block the wind from blowing away my horse’s meal. The
vines were surprisingly sturdy; at first glance they looked flimsy in the
blowing wind. I had never been one for climbing but this was worth it; all I
knew was that I shouldn’t look down. Oddly enough I seemed pretty good at it; I
hurled myself up with ease. I was almost at the top when I felt a sudden
vibration within the dark-stoned pillar I was climbing. I froze as I listened;
the earth was rumbling below me. I held on for dear life as I looked down at
Ponika
who was glancing around nervously. As the earth
rumbled, the pillar started to move; the ivy suddenly ripped from my hands as
the base of the pillar cracked and the earth jutted forward.
Ponika
danced around in a panic, neighing at me
worriedly.  I scurried down the flaying vines as fast as I could as the
tower started to lean, shaking violently as it aimed towards the pillar next to
it. It was picking up speed at every passing second but I was too far up to
jump down. I could see the second tower coming up fast; I knew I wouldn’t make
it off my pillar in time. I braced myself for the impact as the pillar I was on
crashed into its neighbour and I jumped, grabbing the peeling ivy on the new
tower and continued my journey downward with
Ponika
frantically following me as I went. The ground below started to crack open in
various places and spines from some beast emerged from underneath, moving
incredibly fast and throwing shards of earth in every direction. Yet
Ponika
, bless his heart, still followed me, darting away
from danger but always coming back to wait for me. All the towers were shaking
now and most of them had already fallen. I had to jump again onto another
pillar as they all fell, still climbing down as fast as I could grab but I was
still too high up to jump down without injury. I looked at
Ponika
as the earth rumbled and saw him just barely bolt out of the way of the moving
creature underground. More of the beast was exposed through the gaping earth;
it was a dark brown and covered in scales and at one point I think I saw a
large, unblinking eye…although it was moving too fast for me to know for sure.
As I leapt down the loose ivy I was reminded of the story Kay had told me about
a similar creature when we were in the library; some kind of giant worm. I had
assumed it was fictional, like I always did…just how much did he read that was
actually true?

           
Finally reaching a safer distance to the ground, I jumped, doing my best to
roll as I landed but a sharp pain shot through my foot all the same. I knew it
was just a sprained ankle but it still hurt as I limped my way onto
Ponika
who tried desperately to stay still for me. I was
barely up his back when he took off as the earth rumbled even harder at our
feet. I couldn’t see where the worm was now but I could still feel its
vibrations. As I adjusted myself on
Ponika’s
back the
ground around us suddenly exploded, sending sharp chunks of soil into my legs
and arms as I tried to protect myself.
Ponika
,
somehow, never missed a step as he was pelted with shards all along his sides.
Clutching my now injured arm in my hand I saw the earth behind us shatter as
the creature’s scales emerged from underground. It was moving incredibly fast
and my heart raced as I saw it get ever closer. The giant worm had started to
raise its head from beneath the soil, exposing the beginnings of a massive jaw;
it appeared ready to swallow us whole. Just what exactly was this thing?

Thankfully,
Ponika
needed no instructions; he charged forward
faster than I had ever seen him go. He zigzagged in his path, trying to force
the massive beast to make sudden turns that it was not swift enough to do. The
worm started to slow as it constantly tried to align itself to our path until
it abruptly stopped.
Ponika
continued on regardless
but I kept my gaze on the giant creature, watching as it sat motionless in the
upturned earth. It glared at us, but would not follow. When it was a mere speck
behind us, I could barely see its figure turn around and disappear into the
ground. I assumed a victory – somehow we had survived - and I clapped
Ponika
on the side of his neck in joy, praising him. No
sooner had I congratulated him when a large rumbling echoed in the distance. I
assumed at first that it was just a remnant sound of the retreating creature,
but I couldn’t be too sure: this sounded farther away than the havoc we had
just escaped from and I saw no signs of the previous beast.
Ponika
continued to charge ahead and I listened intently to the world around us. This
felt different…it seemed to be a long, low growl in the sands as opposed to the
vibrations we had felt earlier. Did we really cause the giant beast to give up
his chase…or was there something else out here that the worm didn’t want to
associate with?
Ponika
never stopped either way
though, continuing to charge into the night, long after the quakes and
vibrations were just a distant memory. I had to urge
Ponika
to slow down as he started to pant heavily; I really wanted to tend to his
bruises but I couldn’t get him to calm down enough to stop. I still had my
salves in my satchel that were perfect for minor scrapes and bruises; I had
hoped that they would be strong enough for both of our injuries.

           
When I had finally calmed
Ponika
down I encouraged
him to travel slowly. I hopped off his back and limped alongside him, worried
for his health from what we had just escaped. I rummaged through my medical
kit, knowing that, if nothing else, I had my ‘miracle cure’; it was guaranteed
to fix any wound. I had little of it, though, and didn’t want to touch it
unless absolutely necessary. Thankfully, the bruises were not as bad as I
feared and I had the perfect lotion to fix them. I rubbed the medication on my
horse’s injuries and while he protested the salves at first, he eventually
calmed himself; the medicine must have started working. I applied some salves
to my own bruises, revelling in the soothing sensation that came upon me from
the cool liquid. My supplies were now dangerously low, but the bliss I felt
from the ointment would not let me stress about it – not yet, anyway. We had
almost stopped completely in our trek just from sheer exhaustion, but never
gave up entirely. It gave us plenty of time to enjoy the feel of the medicinal
lotions, at least, and to pace our racing hearts. I wasn’t sure if it was the
effects of the medicine or perhaps my injuries but I remembered walking in a
sort of haze, closing my eyes and enjoying the cool feeling on my skin as my
injuries started to heal.

*

           
I bolted my eyes open to the feel of harsh sand ripping across my face. Had I
been sleepwalking again? The winds billowed harsher than ever before today; I
could barely see my own footsteps behind me. I still walked alongside
Ponika
, whose face was as downward as he could go; the poor
thing had sand beating at his eyes. I threw my hands across his face, doing my
best to shield him from the raging sandstorm as I guided him forward.

           
“We’ll get out of this soon enough, boy.” I had to yell my words at him over
the sound of the wind, my voice muffled through my bandana.

The
wind, of course, had picked up and we found ourselves yet again in the middle
of a sandstorm; the one thing I had told myself I would always avoid was now
the safest place in the wasteland. As we travelled through the blazing storm I
noticed the earth ahead appeared to fall away and the outline of a ruined
building came into view. As we inched forward, I finally saw where the sand
seemed to be slipping away to; a giant rift in the earth had now halted our
progress and the sands around us streamed into the darkness that permeated the
scar, constantly falling and sliding away under our feet. As I stared into the
nothingness before us I thought back to the creature we had just escaped. Was
this scar the work of such a beast?
Or perhaps something even
larger?