Eden Forest (Part one of the Saskia Trilogy) (14 page)

the first resting area in the next hour, we will be a day ahead

of them.”

An hour later, night has fallen completely. This world is

weird. There’s not as much as one star in the sky, even though

it’s clear and the moon is red. It’s not creepy the way you would

think. It’s breath taking.

We slow down. Tristan helps me off the horse. “We rest

here.”

I don’t have the energy to argue. So a nod of my head is

all the reply he gets. Not that he notices. Tristan and Legis

are pushing sand back with their hands and pulling out of the

ground what looks like large rolls of leather. Legis rolls his out.

It is full of blankets, wood, a hammer and a few large pieces

of paper wrapped around something the size of a large stone.

Tristan’s holds similar things, but also glass bottles along with

what looks like strings of leather.

They set to work. They have tents up within the hour. I have

to say I’m impressed by their skills. I pull back the flap of the tent

that Legis has erected. There are blankets all over the ground,

giving it a cosy feel, yet it’s spacious enough for all three of us to

sleep in. I really hope that’s not the case or I’ll just sleep outside.

Tristan starts setting up a small fire. I sit down beside him.

“Is this a different era?”

He pauses what he is doing and considers my question. “In

a way, yes. Saskia is very different from your world… I am not

knowledgeable enough of your world, but Legis would gladly

tell you.”

I look at Legis. “What do you want to know?” he asks

while kneeling down on the opposite side of the fire, as Tristan

continues setting it up. I feel like saying I want to know

everything, but I think about the most basic question I want to

ask.

“What is this place? Is it all sand?” I hope the answer to my

last question, is no.

“It is a world parallel to yours and in ways no different. The

outskirts of Saskia is sand, but that is as far as it goes.”

Okay, next question. I’m watching Tristan from the corner of

my eye as he lights the fire. He has no lighter or matches, yet the

flames begin to build. “How does he light the fire?”

Tristan looks up at me. Legis speaks then. “In our world, we

are born—”

“Legis, enough,” Tristan says, then rises. He lifts the brown

paper parcels and opens them, handing each of us bread, cheese

and one of the glass bottles. I look at mine. The bread is as thick

as three slices of normal bread and the cheese is cut generously.

Is this our dinner?

“Eat,” Tristan says while tearing his own bread. A perfect

gentleman.

“No butter. A bit of coleslaw maybe?”

Legis laughs. “Sorry, but this is it. One of the differences in

our world. We eat to live, but in your world you live to eat.” I

don’t like the statement even if it is partially true.

Tristan ignores us and eats his own. He seems to have no

social skills.

I can’t eat anything. My stomach is still unsettled, and as

much as this chat seems normal enough, these guys have just

kidnapped me. I open the bottle. It has a corkscrew on hinges as

its seal. I take a sip first, testing it. It’s wine, white wine, tasty. I

take a deep gulp and then reseal it.

“So do you have cities or towns like us?”

Legis looks at Tristan for approval. A nod of his head allows

him to answer. “I would not say we have cities, because you

will think of large metal structures. Ours are more like large

villages. The central point is the castle.”

“A castle. So do you have, like, a king and queen?”

Once again, Legis looks to Tristan for approval and receives

it. “Yes, we do.” I sit there and try to picture this village with its

big stone castle in the centre. Legis interrupts my thoughts. “We

live very simple lives here compared to your world.”

I never would’ve guessed, but I don’t voice that. Instead, I

go right back to the start. “So are you going to answer my first

question? How did he light the fire?” I look sideways at Tristan;

he’s looking directly at me. I blush. Thank God it’s dark. “How

did you light the fire?” I ask him directly.

Tristan comes over and sits beside me. “Before we go any

further, I need you to understand I am not your friend and I

don’t have to answer your questions.” He looks me straight in

the eye. “Understand?” His words are cold and harsh.

“Yes, I understand.” My voice comes out in a whisper.

“I am going to scout the area,” Legis says and leaves.

Tristan rises, returning to the opposite side of the fire. “Get

some rest. We have a lot of ground to travel tomorrow.” He

throws me a leather roll. “Wear these tomorrow,” he says while

looking me up and down. “They are far more suitable.”

Taking the roll, I walk to my tent. This guy really hates me

and I don’t know why. I push Tristan to the back of my mind. I

have more important things to think about. Like why I’m here.

But I know at this stage they will not tell me anything.

I lie down on all the blankets. It’s really comfortable. My

mind wanders to Jessica, Dad and Josh, wondering if they’re

looking for me. Poor Dad—first Mum, now me. What if they

have my mum here in this world? But it makes no sense.

I stay in the tent for a while, unwrapping the leather roll.

It contains a white tunic, trousers, socks and boots. I start to

change straight away, but keep my cloak on over the outfit. I

can hear Tristan telling Legis he’s on guard and then Tristan

goes to the other tent.

I lie there biding my time. I don’t have many options. Only

when they are asleep, I will escape. Going back the way we

came is not an option, but at this moment, I just need to get

away from Tristan and Legis.

After waiting another two hours, I creep from my tent.

Legis is asleep by the fire. Carrying my boots in my hand, I

pass Tristan’s tent and hold my breath. As I tiptoe past, sweat

gathers on my neck. If he wakes, what would he do? Kill me?

Fear makes me move faster. Once I pass, my speed picks up.

When I glance back, the glow of the fire is far away. Now I

only hope that Legis told the truth about this place not being

all sand, or I will die of dehydration. But I’ll take my chances.

After my boots are on, I stand still to let my eyes adjust to the

dark. The red moon casts only a small amount of light. The

temperature drops the farther I go into the desert, causing me

to wrap my black cloak tightly around my body. West seems the

best direction to go; it’s far away from Tristan and Legis. I just

hope it will not take too long to come across normal ground,

and then I can figure out how I’m going to get out of this mess.

The first hour I gain a lot of ground and am feeling positive

about the decision I made, but as the hours slip by and sand is

all I see, my thoughts turn to fear of never seeing home again.

This god-forsaken desert could take my life yet. My thighs

burn; my throat is dry.

How long have I been walking? Looking up at the sky tells

me a few hours. It’s starting to get brighter and the temperature

has risen. When I turn away from the sky and try and focus on

my feet again, dizziness washes over me, causing me to stumble

and fall face first into the sand. The need to sleep pulls at me;

my body feels exhausted.

When was the last time I ate? Saliva flows into my mouth at

the thought of food. I swallow it to try and tame the dryness

in my throat, but it does little good. I once read that you can

drink your own urine only once in a dire situation and it would

not poison your system, and this definitely qualifies as a dire

situation. The thought of that makes me get up onto my feet

and walk, my steps are slow and clumsy.

Movement in the distance makes me stop. I squint, but my

eyes can't focus properly. The dizziness settles as I stand still

for a few moments. I refocus. Nothing, no movement. So I keep

pushing farther with the feeling of dread. Catching movement

again, I stop. It's closer now, but it doesn’t seem possible, unless

whatever it is, is moving at an incredible speed. A horse? No,

no dust or sound. Tristan? I freeze. No, he’d be coming from

behind me. At this thought, I turn around and laugh at the

emptiness I’m faced with.

God, I feel as if I might lose my mind out here. The cloak

on my shoulders feels as if it weights a ton. I strip it off with no

energy to carry it and dump it on the sand, hoping a wind will

rise and cover it over, hiding the path I have taken. Maybe being

in the tent with water and food wasn’t so bad. Then I scold

myself for such weakness.

“No, he took you from your home.”

My newfound anger pushes me on. The movements are all

around me now, but it must be my imagination, as they seem

to move when I move. Noise comes from my left, no, my right.

I strain to listen. The noise comes again. It’s like the hiss of a

snake, only louder. Then it’s all around me. I turn in a full circle

but can’t see anything. My head spins, causing me to fall onto

the sand again. Closing my eyes, I try to let the dizziness pass. I

roll over on my back, keeping my eyes closed.

Keep it together, Sarajane, I tell myself, but the prospect

of dying makes laughter bubble in my throat. I let it out. My

laughter soon turns hysterical and I feel like crying. I open my

eyes and every part of my emotions turns to fear.

A white grotesque face looks down at me. It shimmers as

I try to focus. I question what I’m seeing, if it’s real or not.

The creature hisses at me, showing off a long black tongue

that slides between black pointed teeth. Eyes that are hollow

and empty stare at me. Fear runs through me as more faces

appear around me. I shut my eyes and pray for this to stop

and repeat to myself, This is not real, over and over again.

But when I look up, they’re still there, staring at me with

hungry black eyes.

Digging my elbows into the sand, I push my body up. The

creature closest to me rises off his haunches and places his foot

on my chest, pushing me back down. His body is human-like,

only hunched and twisted. The others start to look impatient.

Growls rise deep in their throats.

I hold my breath, afraid to breathe. What are they? Frozen

with fear, I don’t move as much as a muscle. The creature’s

inhuman growls start to rise.

One of the creatures moves closer to me very slowly. As

he moves, he keeps glancing over at the one who pushed me

down, so I assume he’s the leader. It licks its lips. A whimper

of fear rises in my throat as it reaches me. My noise attracts

the attention of the leader. He grabs the creature just before it

touches me and throws him on the sand. The creature slams its

fists into the sand while looking at his leader. It points at me.

“Eat.”