Chapter Three
“So, what are we going to do?”
The question was posed by Jason and it was the fourth time someone had asked. He and about fifteen other Leaf Children were sitting in a half circle with Nikko rather self consciously in the middle facing them.
One of the children, a young girl with long brown hair that flowed down her back in curls, spoke up. “You tell us Nikko. You have the necklace. You are our new leader.”
From the time he had had the chain placed around his neck and the marble had shone, which it continued to do, Nikko had been not only accepted into the family but held as their leader. Even Jason agreed reluctantly at first, and then more readily regarded him as the senior member. That did not mean he lost his arrogance. Far from it. Jason maintained his manner and made it quite plain that if Nikko was the Number One then he was Number Two.
The children were all looking at Nikko for an answer and he knew he had to give them a good one. There could be no uncertainty or indecision. He knew that, in a way, his future with the Leaf Children depended on how he was going to lead the rescue of Gabrysia. Indeed, his entire future depended on it.
Well,” he started. “First, we have to find out where the Drongs have taken her.”
He looked into their faces and continued. “If I understand what you said before your search parties in the past didn’t find anything. Where have you looked?”
“We looked everywhere.” It was Jason who answered. “We went out to the north and the south and then east. Nothing but empty forest.”
“What about the west? Didn’t you look there too?”
“There is nothing there. Once you go about a kilometre the trees end and there is nothing but rocks and sand hills. It’s known as the dead Place.”
“Are you sure there could be nothing there? A camp hidden in the hills?”
“It has always been known as the Dead Place,” said Jason. “No-one has ever seen anything there.”
Jordon interrupted. “Venki went there once. Ad when he went back we didn’t see him again.”
“Be quiet brat,” said Jason and glared at the younger boy.
“Who is Venki?”
“Who is this Venki, and what was he doing here?” repeated Nikko when he received no immediate response.
There was a brief silence and then the girl with the long curls spoke. “He was our leader before Gabrysia. He went to the dead Place looking for one of our family who had disappeared and he thought the Drongs might have taken him. But he came back and said he could find nothing. Then he said he was going back to have a closer look at the Dead Place and we never saw him again. At least that’s the story that has been passed down to us. It was before our time too.”
“Maybe we should look again,” suggested Nikko. “There must be a reason why this Venki didn’t come back. He couldn’t have just disappeared like that.”
There was a general fidgeting by the children as they exchanged glances. There was an air of fear in the room and Nikko sensed they all suspected he was right but did not have the courage to agree in case the next decision was for someone, maybe one of them, to go to the Dead Place and see what was there.
They were absolutely correct in their worrying assumption for Nikko elected to reinforce his position. If he was going to be ultimately held responsible for either finding Gabrysia or leading a search party that turned up nothing, he was not going to neglect any possibility. Even if it meant facing the mystery of the Dead Place.
“We will go there,” he stated, “First thing in the morning some of us will set out.
We will have to leave early because it is a long way and we don’t want to have to spend the night there if it is as desolate as you say.”
There was an audible shiver in the chamber, and again all present looked sideways to one another, asking in their eyes if they or their companions would be chosen.
Little Jordon stood up and said firmly: “I’ll go. Please Nikko, can I come with you?”
“Don’t be silly, squirt,” said Jason. “You’re too small and would get in the way. Anyway, you keep losing your arrows and if you came you would probably lose yourself. Then we would have to go looking for you too.”
“I will not,” said the boy. “Please Nikko. Can I come?”
Nikko thought for a moment and said: “I think Jason is right Jordon. You are too small for this. We might actually find the Drongs and have to do battle with them. You could get hurt. Why don’t you stay here this time and help the others look after things.”
Jordon was about to protest but sat down and sniffed a few times before lapsing into silence with his eyes downcast.
“I will go of course,” said Jason. “And I suggest five others come with us. We don’t want too many to go crashing through the forest making all sorts of noise. Also we have to leave a good group behind as defenders just in case.”
He looked at Nikko who did not disagree. Jason immediately went on: “Those who will come are Fallon, Danielle and Simon.” He paused before adding: “Porky, you and Josh should be with us too.”
Seated to the left of Nikko, nearest the doorway, a fat boy with ruddy cheeks and blonde hair that seemed to stick out from his round head in all directions, smiled broadly. “Great,” he said and slapped the boy next to him on the knee. His friend, who was facially the mirror image of Porky, also grinned and said “Great.”
Nikko was to learn later the two boys were identical twins whose names were Joshua and Mordacai. They were alike in every way except Mordacai was a lot heavier. They both ate huge amounts of food but for some reason while Mordacai expanded sideways Joshua kept a slim figure. He also kept an abbreviated proper name whereas his brother was soon to become known to all simply as Porky.
They were excellent fighters who were not only skilful but who also loved to test their abilities in any way, whether it was in archery or physical combat, or in tracking or devising tactics. The others in the intended search party would be glad to have them along.
As much as Porky and Josh were alike, Fallon and Simon were dissimilar. They were about the same height and weight with fair hair and brown eyes of course, but Simon was the most talkative member of the Leaf Children. He would enter any conversation and attempt to take it over completely with his incessant patter. Fallon was
the complete opposite. Comments had to be prized out of him and then they were more often than not limited to a single word.
Oddly enough they seemed to seek out each other’s company and it was quite amusing to see them together with Simon merrily chatting away without taking pause for breath and Fallon seeming never to say anything. He either agreed with everything Simon said, the others remarked, or he simply didn’t listen or couldn’t be bothered to comment.
To be fair Fallon was the strong silent type. Literally he was the strongest boy in the forest having proved this one day when a branch from a tree was blown down in a gale and finished up on top of one of the girls who had against all caution ventured outside. He had heard her cries for help and had gone into the story and by himself lifted the branch off her legs so she could crawl away. After the storm passed and the wind had died down two other boys had tried to move the branch nearer the tree so they could break it up for firewood. But they couldn’t budge it.
His silent side was evident when he was asked how he had managed to do it him self. Fallon merely replied: “Had to.”
“That’s it then,” said Jason. “The seven of us will leave when the sun rises tomorrow. In the meantime we had better spend the rest of the day getting ready and making sure everything is alright while we are gone.”
Later Nikko approached Jason who was filling water bottles made out of small twigs covered with layers of sap from the trees. The resin set firm and prevented any liquid leaking out and at the same time ensured the bottle was not broken if it was dropped. This method was also adopted in the making of doors and windows and trap doors. Thin layers also protected ropes.
Nikko called Jason to one side. Making certain that no-one else was within hearing he said: “Tomorrow could be very dangerous you know. We don’t know what we will find or what will happen. Do you think we should be taking Danielle with us? She is just a girl.”
Jason looked at him and then roared with laughter. “Just a girl,” he spluttered. “You wait. You’ll find out she not just a girl.” Then he added: “Don’t worry. She’ll be OK.” Then he thumped the stopper in the water bottle and walked off, still laughing.
For the rest of the day the children prepared for their trip and helped make sure they were leaving all in order at the camp. Precautions were outlined numerous times and lookout positions posted, arrows apportioned out and windows and doors checked. Ropes were tested and then everything was scrutinized again.
By nightfall everyone was satisfied with the arrangements and they retired to their tree chambers to get a good sleep. But Nikko did not sleep well. He tossed and turned fitfully with his thoughts racing over the day’s adventures already and those which he might experience the next.
When he did finally fall asleep he dreamed of his home and pictured his mother and father sitting in the lounge of their house watching television and talking. In his dream each of them left what they were doing from time to time and went into his room where he saw himself lying in his cot with his quilt kicked to one side and his toys arranged around him. His parents would bend over him to see he was alright and then stand by the side of his cot smiling at him before tip toeing back down the hall to the lounge.
He dreamed the same scene over and over again throughout the night until he was jolted awake by Jason shaking him with an urgent: “Wake up. Come on. It’s dawn and we have to get moving.” His parents vanished and he was back in the chamber on a bed of soft warm leaves.
Within half an hour the seven children were ready and prepared to set out on the long trek to the Dead Place. The other children had gathered to farewell them and with final reminders of safety measures the group departed. Before they left Nikko gave the necklace with the red stone to a tall child named David. Someone had to be in charge during their absence and Nikko did not want to loose it while they were out exploring the unknown.
If they were not concentrating on what lay before them, known and unknown, they would have noticed that not all the children could be accounted for. Jordon was missing.
They headed west and walked until the sun had lost its pink tint and was a gleaming golden ball in the sky behind them. They trudged through the forest for about three quarters of a kilometer and then Nikko called a halt and ordered a rest and refreshments before they proceeded on the final stage.
Later, as they were about to continue on Danielle lightly caught Nikko’s ar, and whispered to him and Jason nearby “Don’t look now but someone is in the bushes to the left. There was some movement there and I thought I heard a sound.”
Neither of them turned but Jason let his water bottle slide off his shoulder. It rolled a few feet in the direction of Danielle’s warning and came to a stop. He casually walked to pick it up. Then at the last second he rushed towards the bushes. As he did so there was a scream and out through the brush hurtled Jordon yelling at the top of his voice. As he ran his little hands reached behind him into his breeches rubbing up and down briskly. Then he bent to rub his leg and fell heels over head landing in front of a dumbstruck Jason.
“You,” bawled Jason. “What are you doing here?”
Jordon was rolling around on the ground trying to undo the pin on his breeches and at the same time undo his tunic straps.
“Yoowwie,” he wailed. “Ants. I’ve got ants all over me. Get them off me please. Oowww! Oowww!”
Nikko could see the ants, big black ones, all over his legs and on his shirt. Some were crawling up on to his neck. He and Danielle quickly joined Jason and together they brushed the biting insects off the little boy’s body. They could see there were already tiny red bumps which in a few minutes became larger and more nasty looking. By the time Jordon had refastened his pin and completely removed his top he was a mass of painful looking bumps and lumps.
“How did you get here?” asked Nikko. “You should be back at the camp. Why did you follow us?”
Jordon explained what he had done as he scratched at his legs, bottom and arms. It turned out he had risen before the sunrise and waited in the trees some distance to the west of the camp until the search party had headed off. Somehow he had managed to stay just in front to the side of them the whole time until they stopped to rest. He was tired too and sat down on the ground and closed his eyes for a while. The next thing he knew was that ants were crawling all over his legs and when he tried to brush them away they started biting him and he had to get up and run to try to avoid being what he feared was eaten alive.
“You stupid little brat,” Jason said. “You could have ruined everything. What are we going to do now?” Then he answered his own question: “We’ll have to take him back.”
“No time,” said Fallon.
“Fallon’s right,” agreed Simon. “It’s too late and we’ve come too far to turn back now. By the time we reached the camp we would not have enough time to come back and still have a good look at the Dead Place. We’ve already walked about seven hundred meters by my count and it has taken this long. Also the water would have to be fetched again and then it would be another long walk back. We would not reach this point again until afternoon. Then we would have only an hour or….”
“Agreed,” interrupted Fallon.
“He’ll have to come with us,” said Nikko. They had no choice. Jordon would have to join them or they would have to put off their search until tomorrow. The sun was already approaching the high point.
“You should have seen yourself,” giggled Porky. “You stopped dead in your tracks when Jordon came bursting out of that bush. You looked like you had seen a bear.”
“Two bears” laughed Josh. “Two huge black bears charging. You look terrified. Dead in your tracks. If he had been two bears, or even one, you would have been. Dead, that is.”
Jason glared at the twins, his eyes blazing. “That’s it. Come on parrot. Can’t you say anything that fatty doesn’t start for you? Let’s see who’s afraid.”
Nikko stepped between them. “That’s enough,” he snapped. “Any fighting we do will be with the Drongs. Not ourselves.” He added quickly: “We have to get moving again. As Fallon said we have a lot to do yet and there’s not much time left. Josh, you take care of Jordon. Danielle and Jason will come with me in the lead.”
And with that he straightened his things and handing Jason his water bottle moved off.
The rest of the party fell into place with Jordon trailing, still scratching and rubbing his now swollen arms and legs.
As they had been walking through the forest Nikko had been able for the first time since his arrival to closely examine his surroundings. He observed that the musical leaves extended only in a relatively small perimeter around the tree camp and were to be seen nowhere else. In fact, the whole nature of the forest had changed dramatically once they were out of sight of the camp.
The Leaf Children lived in about a dozen trees scattered around a clear area of roughly two hectares. The border of the camp was marked by thickening scrubland where the trees were closer together and the undergrowth was dense. The further out one ventured the denser became the forest until about half a kilometer away it was more like a jungle than a forest where the tree tops almost blocked out the sub and the big green leaves of the ground plants slapped a person with waterladen plops and the tall grass made walking tiring.
Occasionally there were places where a big old tree had finally ended its life and come crashing down, cleaning a space where it landed and making an opening for the warm rays to penetrate until the combination of water and sunlight fostered the regrowth of plants and the clearing eventually became overgrown again. It was in one of these recently created clearings that the search party had momentarily rested.
During the long hours of walking, and for that matter the brief stay in the camp, Nikko had not seen any birds or animals. Naturally he excluded Torpah from that observation but not a single bird had flown in the trees or any animals large or small passed within sight or hearing.
He had seen ants and Porky and Josh had referred to bears but he had not seen one or the tracks or any other signs of animals. Certainly no pets were kept by the Leaf Children. The family had not talked about animals at all, but if he remembered correctly some of the toys on the shelves in the main tree chamber were dogs and elephants and so on and he thought he had seen a giraffe even. Most of them however he had not been able to recognize.
Nikko recalled his own toys he had to play with. There were plastic fish and two favourite green and blue turtles and a pink whale that he splashed around with in the bath, a large fluffy raccoon that was appropriately named Racky by his mother, a brown and white dog wit large floppy ears and a cute little pink tongue that stuck out of its mouth, and a penguin dressed in a red tuxedo which left only the white breast and face showing. For a time he had also had real animals coming to see him.
A little black and white kitten had suddenly appeared one day and his mother and father had allowed it onto the house where it explored every room carefully and sniffed at him. The kitten visited a number of times but equally suddenly stopped coming which was a shame because he liked feeling its sleek fur and chasing it from room to room. A big black dog had also called on them and slept on the front steps during the night. But it too went away and never returned.
Nikko loved animals and was surprised why the Leaf Children did not have any as pets. It was certainly peculiar that the forest did not seem to harbour any at all. Maybe they were there but he just had not seen them. He made a mental note to ask someone about it when they got back to camp. For now though he had to concentrate on searching for Gabrysia and preparing for their arrival at the Dead Place.
The party continued through the jungle with the dropping leaves soaking their tunics. The further they walked the denser it seemed to get and Nikko began to wonder how far they would be able to go before the jungle prevented them from proceeding any further. But just as this thought was starting to realty concern him the trees and scrub ended and white light struck their faces.
Someone might just as well have sheared off all the plant life in a straight line and then poisoned all the grass. For there in front of them lay a vast arid landscape. Not a single tree or bush. Not a blade of grass or indeed any life at all. There was only cracked brown earth rising in ranges of small to large hills covered with boulders.
It was as if a giant hand had torn some of the island away, squeezed every drop of life out of it, and then stuck it back, throwing rocks and stones all over it in an attempt to hide the damage it had caused. The peaks were mostly craggy and sharp and there was a steamy mist rising from the ground which made the horizon fuzzy and unclear.
The unhindered rays of the sun beat down on the land and the searchers could almost feel their damp bodies and clothes sizzle and dry out. The Dead Place was indeed very dead looking and resembled a cemetery with some of the boulders looking like rough headstones.
“Well, I think we’ve found it,” said Porky. He added without his usual grin: “And now that we have I’m not sure that I’m glad.”
“What an awful place,” joined in Jordon. “It looks like it’s cooking.”
Desolate was not an adequate description. Foreboding and evil was more appropriate and whoever had given it the name of the dead Place had been very perceptive, Surely nothing could live our there.
“Look at those hills and those rocks,” said Simon. “Some of them must be a hundred meters high and weigh tons. We can’t go out there. Half an hour in that sun without shade at all and we’d probably fry and die. I’m already thirsty just standing here looking at it,” and with that he took a long drink of water from his bottle.
Jason had said nothing but now he turned to the group. “Listen” he said. “We’ve spent hours getting here and we can’t simply turn around and go back. We came to look for Gabrysia and she might be out there somewhere hoping we’ll come and get her. So we can’t go back without having a look. If we are careful and it doesn’t take too long we can at least try.”
Danielle nodded her agreement. “I think we should do as Jason says. We have to try.”
Nikko had been scanning the area through squinting eyes. He too was deeply worried about venturing into the barren land but knew they must. He had not expected the Dead Place to be quite so terrible. So dead. A brief search was all they would be able to carry out.
He wiped the perspiration from his eyes. “There is no way we can just walk out there and wander around hoping to find Gabrysia. It would take us whole days and we could get lost. We don’t even know how far the Dead Place extends.” The others murmured their agreement. “What we’ll do I think is head for that fairly big hill over there to the right. If we can climb it I think we might be high enough to get a good view of the land. We might save a lot of time and it could show the parts we should concentrate our search on.”
“Right,” said Fallon.
The children checked their water bottles and using the straps from their tunics tied bunches of soggy leaves around their feet in rough fashioned shoes. Living in the forest where the grass was thick and soft they had not had to worry about their feet. But here in the blistering heat it was essential and it was Josh who had come up with the idea of the leaves and straps. He had also cautioned against removing their tops or they would be badly burnt so their garments hung loosely about their waists.
Cautiously they set off ever mindful of stepping around the rocks whenever possible because they looked sharp and were undoubtedly hot. It was relatively easy to concentrate on where they walked because they kept their faces down to avoid the persistent sun, and before long they were covered in perspiration and had to constantly wipe their eyes and brows. The sun burned into their shoulders and they could feel the moisture dribbling down their backs.
They walked in single file with Jason leading, followed by Nikko and the others and Josh bringing up the rear as guard, keeping a hand near Jordon in front of him. With brief upward glances to ensure they were heading in the right direction they reached the base of the hill Nikko had pointed out.
Rocks and dirt had tumbled down and formed a barrier around the bottom which they had to scramble over before they were able to tackle the slope. The hillside itself did not appear too difficult to climb. There were jutting ledges every few feet and rocky crevices they could put their feet into to help them up.
After a short pause to catch their breath they began the climb with Jason again going first and the others in order.
The hill was a lot higher than they had thought and despite its being relatively easy to scale they were exhausted after only twenty meters or so from having to exert themselves so much in the merciless heat. A few times young Jordon slipped but was grabbed by Josh and pushed back up to the next ledge and crevice.
Finally they reached a level very near the top, about fifty meters off the ground where a wide ledge formed a platform. Having all clambered onto it and taken deep hot breaths they looked around them.
The view was incredible. It a straight line from where they had come the jungle formed a solid wall as far as they could see. It looked impenetrable. To their right and left there was an endless expanse of nothingness. Hill after hill and countless boulders strewn haphazardly around. It was simply a lifeless land.
The group was speechless. No-one said anything for a long time. They could not take their eyes off the depressing scene and felt compelled to gaze in amazement.
It was Fallon who spoke the first uncharacteristic words. “This place is bad. Things have happened here which are evil. We must not stay.” They were the longest sentences he had ever spoken but no-one noticed. All were captivated by the horror of the landscape before them.
None of them had ever witnessed anything like it in their lives. The Leaf Children had been protected by the forest with its verdant life. Nikko had only experienced his own home with its small garden and the various parks and similar gardens he had visited with his parents. The nearest he had been to such a barren place was the beach but that was quite different. This scene was utter desolation. There was nothing clean here, no water and any life that may have existed in the past had long expired.
Danielle broke the stunned silence. “I can’t believe anyone could survive in this place. Even the Drongs would not possibly choose to live here. The jungle is better.” She added: “What do you think Nikko? Do we waste time looking for Gabrysia here or do we go back and try the woods again?”
Nikko had been looking to the right, that is to say the north, studying the land as closely as he could through the heat and steamy air. There was a sense of sameness in every direction, but something was bothering him which he could not put his finger on.
“Umm,” he answered. “Umm. I suppose so.”
“What is it?” asked Jason. “You’re not certain. Is it something you see or what? You’re not considering going out there and turning over rocks or climbing more hills are you?”
Nikko continued his northerly gaze. “I suppose it is just the place. But something does bother me. I don’t know what it is but something is not right here.”
“We know that,” said Porky. “It’s like hell. Of course it is not right. In fact everything I can see is wrong. Just look at it. There is nothing but rocks and mountains and this awful heat. Another minute here and I will probably melt.”
“Come on,” said Josh. “We’re wasting our time. Let’s go.”
“Just a minute,” continued Nikko, waving his hand as if to ask them all to sit and be quiet. “We can wait a bit longer.” Then he said: “Look. Tell me what you see there. Danielle?”
“Well, I can see for forest or jungle very clearly. And I can see many hills, a dead tree, a lot of parched ground that looks like concrete and hundreds of boulders all over the place.”
“Jason?”
“The same. Also the heat. I can feel it and see it too. It’s stifling.”
“Josh?”
“The same.”
“Porky?”
“Me too.”
Fallon?”
“Same.”
“Simon?”
“I can’t see anything different.”
Nikko seemed to not to be satisfied still. “There is something,” he said. “I am sure of it.”
“I can see something,” said Jordon.
They all looked at him and Jason gave an exasperated hurrumph and asked impatiently: “What can you see brat?”
“A dog,” he replied. “Up there. On the top of the hill over our heads. There’s a big black dog sitting near the edge watching us.”
The others quickly looked up, craning their necks and scanning the hilltop from one end to the other. There was nothing but the white hot sun burning into their eyes,
“What are you up to Jordon?” asked Josh. “There’s nothing there. It must be the heat and the haze. You’re seeing things.”
“We’ll all be seeing things if we stay here any longer,” added Porky. “I say we get back to the trees and the shade as soon as we can.”
“I saw it,” repeated the youngster. “I did truly. It was there.”
Simon wiped his forehead with his arm. “If there was a dog up there it is a pretty smart one. How could it have climbed up? We had enough trouble ourselves.”
They all agreed Jordon was imagining things and that the heat was playing tricks with his eyesight. On the other hand Jordon insisted he had seen an animal. And that’s where they left the argument as they prepared to climb back down the hill. As they were about to continue their descent over the side of the ledge Nikko clicked his fingers.
“That’s it,” he exclaimed. “I knew something did not fit.”
“What?” asked Danielle. “What is it?”
“Look again,” said Nikko. “Go on. Look carefully. What do you see out there?”
Jason answered. “We’ve already told you. Hills, rocks, a dead tree, heat, evil, misery, and more heat. There’s nothing else.”
“But that’s it,” said Nikko. “The tree.”
“What about it?” It was Danielle who asked trying to calm the others into listening for an explanation though she could not for the life of her imagine the importance of a tree.
“Don’t you see,” said Nikko. “There is only the one tree. Not another one anywhere.” He went on: “Where are the others? How come there is only that one? If there had been trees here in the past you would expect to find something remaining of them. But there is not even a branch or a tree trunk lying anywhere. Except for that one big dead tree with n o branches, I find that peculiar.”
Nikko went on cautiously, almost like he was thinking aloud: “Assuming there were trees here before, where are the others? Assuming there was never any trees here where did that one come from? Either way I don’t know the answer.”
He turned and looked at the others’ faces. They did not reply. Nikko looked in the direction of the tree again and said: “I think we shou