Pagewalker (26 page)

Our road was pretty strait forward from then on. We
followed a path east, Through the very heart of Northland. We
crossed the three joint rivers of River Superior. East onwards. The
coastline was still visible on the horizon to our left and the
mountains leading to the Brotherhood alter was on the opposite
horizon to our right. I could see the three large pyramid shaped
structures, piercing the clouds in the triangle that they stood.
One sat much lower than the others however, as though it had sunk
during some form of earthquake or plate shift. I spoke to Abe about
this and he told me it was from my writing of Dertrid’s Deed, when
the trio we hunting for the elemental weapons. Dertrid had been
ambushed by Samuel and narrowly escaped as the temple was caving in
around him. It truly is a strange thing to hear someone talking
about your work as though it were biblical. Abe resisted lines and
quotes, many of which I had forgotten I had written, shocked at
myself and amazed.

We travelled farther. Days evolved into night
and reverted to light once more as we continued to walk. Tessa had
caught a rabbit on the second morning of walking. I had noticed
that recently she had changed. It was as though Northland had
brought out a pure animal instinct in her. The rabbit tasted great,
cooked on a spit with some herbs. So I’m not complaining. I did
worry though if on our return to Earth would Tessa start bringing
me cats to roast each evening?

As we continued on East, we came close to the
town of Aondor, I so longed to visit. I wanted more than anything
to walk the streets to see them the way I had imagined. Like
re-visiting a memory of a holiday long past. The longing for Sarah
far outweighed the longing for sightseeing however. We had to press
on towards Oisin’s home of Dawn. From the way Abe described it, I
got images of Waco and cult compounds in my head. The expectation
of stumbling upon bodies on the open ground with red cups of poison
in hand, or burning buildings with charcoaled hand prints on the
scorched walls, haunted my walking daydreams. I struggled with the
thought of it all. When I wrote Dertrid’s Deed all those years ago
it was to create an escape for my mind. A place where all the
worries and problems I had in life disappeared. My own safe place.
How could it now be infected with issues such as poverty, class,
kidnapping and murder? Is it because I based it on humans? Therefor
human nature broke through as usual and destroyed everything around
it. True human nature seems to be complete matrix of diversity. I
have, and will, be a big supporter of diversity and equality but as
history of both our world and Northland tell us, Humans will always
exploit each other to better personal agendas.

The issue that made me nautilus over all
else, is that my wife, love and whole world has been put in
jeopardy and danger by a creation of mine. I may have not written
Oisin into existence but I created the perfect Petri dish for
disease to spread. That’s what he was, a virus, infecting the green
and beauty of this idyllic world. He must be stopped. Determination
drover me. My fists clenched tighter with each step. My unkempt and
bitten jagged nails, plunged into my palms.

Conversation had dried up between Abe and
myself now. After speaking on the essentials such as setting camp,
food, water and directions. We realised that we did not really know
each other. I tried to make small talk several times but it was
evident that neither of us were really interested in that. I think
however it was mostly due to both of us being pre-occupied with
worry of what lay ahead of us.

Hours of silence followed. Our pace
quickened. Abe was like a dog sniffing its prey.

Tessa
was
a dog sniffing her prey.

I was just praying!

The ground had become soggy. Tiny puddles
were left in our sinking footprints and we walked farther in. The
indents left behind remained for a short period of time. My boots
were heavy, and let’s face it, so was I. I’m a good 17stone of gut
and power, so sinking in the bog is what I did. Tessa and Abe were
both light footed so were able to move so much faster. The reeds
were growing higher and closer together as we ventured farther into
the bog. There had been a low mist most of the day, but that had
turned to a fog long ago. So think is reminded me more of smoke. It
covered your face like a dripping wet cloth and we trudged through.
Our clothes hanging heavy with moisture. The only sound was that of
our feet slapping the ground and clothes flapping like washing left
on the clothes line after a heavy shower.

In the distance we could hear a faint sound
of wood creaking. Then footsteps and a whip. The sound of a horse
was very clearly cutting through the thick fog. The very
distinctive sound of a horse and cart were now drawing near to us.
Muttering and swearing too was heard as we stoped to listen
closer.

Abe shushed us and we dove behind a clump of
reeds with a cold, sloppy splash.

“What is…” my sentence was cut short as Abe
pinched the air infront of my face. He did not move. His eyes
darting in every direction to calculate where the sound was coming
from.

I tried to question him again but the mumble
was becoming audible and my questions became answered for me. A
familiar and sweat inducing voice was heard over a series of
mumbles.

“Oh, you really do thing you are so cleaver don’t
you?”

“Well I only suggested we let them out for a
short break to relieve themselves, you are as much to blame as
I!”

“I should never have listened to your
nonsense”

“I rather they got out, than we clean the
kart later?”

“Well it hasn’t helped us much now has
it?”

*Muffled noises*

“In the name of the Gods, he will just not
shut up will he?”

“I know! Why do we even need him alive?”

“Because, She may come back for him.”

“She wont. She was our only ticket out of
here.”

“I'm sure there is another?”

“No, we are going back to my plan again!”

“No, please, that is not who I am!”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, that’s not who we are…”

*Muffled noises*

“Oh shut up!”

“Yes, Shut up, please.”

*Muffled Noises*

The Kart was so very close to us now. I could
hear every creak of the wood and the sound of bog water dripping
and splatting from the wheels. Tessa was close to me and I had my
arms around her. Holding her still so she would not run. Without
warning, her animal instincts kicked in. Her need to protect her
mother and friend. She growled deep and loud. I tapped her hard on
the nose to stop her but she continued to growl and stare in the
direction of the oncoming Horse and kart. Without warning, and
scaring the life out of me, she barked. One loud growl that
escalated into a barking crescendo.

There was a scream from the horse and the
kart pulled to a stop. Abe and I looked at each other. I could see
fear in his eyes, His pupils narrowed and his brow dropped into a
frown, his expression snapped to anger like a flick of a switch. A
shadow loomed over me. The sun had been blocked out by the fog long
ago but there was a new darkness. A Deep large shadow was eating
all light from around me.

That same voice came again.

“What the bloody hell are you doing lying
down there?”

I turned to see the first face I had seen in
Northland. Oisin.

The shock of his face almost crippled me. I
jumped to my feet and lunged at him. Primal anger took over and I
wanted to tear his head from his body with my teeth. My arms were
outstretched as I lunged, but in the heat of the moment I hadn’t
given my feet a second thought. The extra time we spent crouching,
and listening to Oisin argue with himself, gave my feet plenty of
time to sink in deep and get rooted firmly into the wet boggy
ground.

I managed to land with my face perfectly on
his foot. I remember nothing of what happened during the following
scuffle. Cloudy noises and blurry vision was all I experienced. The
sensation of being dragged and then dropped is all I remember.

Hours must have passed before I awoke. The
feeling of moving is usually a comforting one when you awake. It
reminds me of going on holiday in the car with my mum and dad when
I was a boy. Waking up in France or at the holiday camp. The safe
moment of sleep had just worn of and reality bit hard. I was in a
cage. We were moving and bumping around. I could see that we were
still ion the bog from the rips of the tarp over the wagon frame.
The smell of old dirty straw mixed with the distinctive animal
smell you get at Belfast zoo on a sunny day, or any country road
really, filled my nostrils. I sat up with a throbbing pain in the
back of my head and neck.

“You took a quare clout to the heed didn’t
ye?” Came a voice I had not heard before. The accent was very much
a northern Ireland, ulster Scott one. Quite young too.

“Yea,” I agreed rotating my head in a long
round motion while rubbing my neck. “Sarah?” It dawned on me the
moment I saw Oisin’s face in my memory. She must be here in the
wagon? But no. Typical of my fortune.

No sign of her.

Again.

I cried then. Simply overwhelmed and
exhausted, in pain and hurting I cried like a baby needing fed. Abe
shuffled over to me and put an arm around me.

“Come on now lad, you haven’t let Garret
finish.” I met Abe’s eyes. He had a smile on his face.

“GARRET?” I exclaimed,

“Yes sir, in the flesh!” He replied. Without
thinking I reached for him and embraced him like a lost brother.
They told me later that while I had been out cold Oisin had bundled
us all into the back of the wagon. Garret and Abe had managed to
catch up and discuss the next stage all in the time I was still out
cold so I had a little bit of catching up to do.

“Abe and I have been looking for you for so
long. Have you seen Sarah? Where is she? Tessa is wanting to see
her too!”

“wow, wow slow down there specky, you will
give yourself a heart attack!” Garret said with his hands on my
shoulders.

“Where is my wife, we thought she was with
you!” I said,

“She was” he replied “until earlier
today.”

I was shocked at how calm he seemed about it
all.

“What do you mean? Is she safe?” I snapped at
him, hands raised like a ‘WTF meme.’

Garret sighed and began to explain. I was out
on a scouting mission. My father had sent me out to look at a job,
I was on my way north of the Rebels rest. A stumbled across this
woman. She was dripping wet, head to toe and crying. I helped her
to her feet and stole some garments from the Staff at the Inn.” He
breathed in deeply again. I could tell he was making this short and
to the point for me. I don’t think he could read my mind, but he
must have known by looking at me that my patience would not have
stretched very far. “She told me about how she got here, I
instantly thought of the old stories my father had told me, about
the creator and how he brought us from his world to this one. When
she told me about her husband I knew she was important. While she
told me thing I was sure we were alone but Oisin must have been
nearby. We were on our way to Renir so I could introduce her to my
father. I assumed he would know what needed to be done. Oisin had
escaped that day, he must have passed us and overheard. Why he
didn’t grab us in the forest then and there I do not know.” Again
Garret took a deep breath to continue the story.

“When we arrived in the city there was a
commotion and screaming, I gathered to find out that two guards
men, from the traders guild, were killed in a mugging and the
thieves had escaped. I knew there was something wrong because we do
not kill our targets. I thought that was a good time to leave and
head to Sáann or the brotherhood temple. I was sure there would be
a way to get her home there. That’s when we were captured, we were
hungry and had stopped at the fair to try and barter food and
shelter. Things went seriously wrong from there.” His face dropped
“We met someone who tried to help us, but on our escape he was
beaten, and we were sold to Oisin. I do not know how long he
followed us but he saw his chance to get us and took it. He swore
he would get his revenge but I had no idea of the extremes he would
go to get it. Why he has kept me alive all this time is a mystery.
I was convinced it would only be a matter of time though until mine
had run out.” He nodded his head in the direction of the front of
the wagon. Oisin could be seen through more rips. He was arguing
with himself as usual, slapping his head in anger and again in
response.

“Where is Sarah though?” I pleaded. I was
grateful for everything making sense but, my attention span had
reached it’s end. “You said she was with you until this morning?” I
asked.