It wasn’t until they reached the bridge that it became apparent that there was a shield over this too and it was impossible to use the bridge to get across the river. Kayleb watched the swirling water flow freely through the arches of the bridge and he wondered how this could be. The river at this point was very wide and the water seemed to be deep. The current was extremely strong and Kayleb knew that the only way to continue their journey was to cross the river or walk around the settlement and the deserted city, adding hours to their journey. Kayleb wasn’t sure what they should do. David could be coming along the other side of the river at any moment and he did not want to miss him if they had to take a diversion.
Rowan looked at the rippling water in awe. He thought that he might have a chance of swimming across but Kayleb, Cornwall and Indigo would not be strong enough swimmers. Rowan looked back down the river. He knew that they should go and tell David and the others that the village had some sort of plague but his overwhelming conviction was that they should continue on to London as they were, just the four of them.
‘I could try and swim across and see what the current is like,’ suggested Rowan. He saw the horrified look on everyone’s faces.
‘I don’t think it is as bad as it looks,’ Rowan continued.
Kayleb shook his head. ‘You would probably drown, Rowan. The current is too strong and I don’t think Cornwall can swim.’
‘I can!’ replied Cornwall defensively. ‘But not that well,’ she added.
The dog looked at the water eagerly, his long fur rippling in the breeze. He edged closer to the water’s edge and, before Kayleb could stop him, he leapt off the riverbank and plunged into the river.
Kayleb held his breath as he watched the dog paddle furiously, the swirling water buffeted the dog against the bridge’s shield. A couple of times the dog’s head disappeared below the surface of the river but the dog steadily worked his way across and then finally made it to the other side. Kayleb exhaled with relief.
‘Oh ... that was close. I thought he was dead as a rhino then,’ exclaimed Kayleb.
The dog barked at them, encouraging them to join him. He shook the water from his fur and ran up and down the opposite riverbank, barking frantically.
‘I don’t think we can get across the river,’ said Indigo.
‘There is another crossing point.’
Kayleb, Rowan and Cornwall spun around to see a tall man approaching them. He had long dark hair and a short beard. He wore a clean white shirt and a black waistcoat. His face was scarred but he had a warm smile and Kayleb did not feel alarmed as he did not look like a ragged waster. The stranger’s manner wasn’t threatening in any way.
Rowan looked at the man anxiously. He did not want to get captured again. Panic shook his body and he felt he had to flee. The river was his only escape route. He threw himself into the river. The water was icy cold and took his breath away. The current dragged him under the surface and the weight of the travelling water pounded him against the bridge’s shield and he could feel the air in his lungs being beaten out of him. His arms felt like lead weights and were useless against the current. He was thankful to be forced up into the air again by the current, so he could draw a breath, but his arms still were not strong enough to swim properly and they thrashed against the water like broken paddles.
Kayleb, Cornwall and Indigo watched on in disbelief. They all looked at each other in despair. How could Rowan have been so stupid? He had seen the dog struggle to get across the river and it was a miracle that he had made it at all.
The dog barked anxiously at Kayleb and wanted to help but wasn’t foolish enough to go into the river a second time.
Rowan was exhausted. He was growing weaker. He knew at any moment the water would drag him under again with its slippery fingers and he would not have the strength to surface again.
Cornwall turned to the stranger. ‘Please help him. He’s going to drown, if we don’t do anything.
‘Yes,’ Kayleb joined in, ‘we haven’t eaten properly for days. Rowan will be weak.’
They didn’t have to ask twice. The man had taken out a knife and was already cutting a branch from a young sapling on the riverbank. He ran to the water’s edge and held it out to Rowan and luckily Rowan managed to grab hold of the end of the branch. Rowan was unceremoniously dragged onto the edge of the riverbank and then everyone helped him out of the water.
‘What were you thinking of, jumping in the river like that? Were you frightened of me?’ asked the stranger.
Rowan’s pride was hurt. He looked at the man with mistrust, even though he knew he had just saved his life.
‘I ... I slipped. The bank is very wet and steep here,’ whispered Rowan quietly.
‘It was a good job I was here then!’ said the man. ‘By the way, my name is Zordar. What are you all doing here? It’s a dangerous place to be. The wasters here are particularly mean. I guess by the clothes you are wearing you have met David. Where is he? He should have reached the bridge by now.’
Kayleb looked at the others. He wondered if they recognised Zordar’s name. Rowan was too concerned with his soaking-wet clothes to notice but Indigo raised his eyebrows at Kayleb, so he too had realised that this was the man who had killed David’s daughter.
‘Thanks for saving Rowan,’ said Kayleb. ‘He’s always getting into trouble.’
Rowan cast an injured look at Kayleb. ‘We have heard about you,’ continued Kayleb. ‘David told us about you when he took us in; we were travelling with him until yesterday. We have been on a rescue mission. Rowan got himself caught by wasters and we managed to track him down to this village. Now we’ve rescued him we are going to go back and find David. We will have to let him know that if he is on this side of the river we’ll have to go around the village and that will put hours on our journey. If he’s on the opposite bank we will be able to continue as the village is only on this side of the river. I hope they haven’t crossed the river like we did.
‘You don’t have to worry. There is a crossing point not far from here,’ said Zordar. ‘We will bridge the river there and find David. I have some bad news for him.’
Kayleb looked at Zordar uneasily.
‘We were going to meet you at the coast, near the tunnel. How come you are here?’ asked Kayleb.
Zordar looked anxiously at everyone. His brow was furrowed and they could see by his eyes that something was terribly wrong.
‘There’s a problem,’ he said. ‘The tunnel has been discovered by the authorities; they’ve destroyed it. I need to warn David. How far ahead of him do you think you are?’
Kayleb looked down the river; he was thinking hard. The three of them had walked most of the night and now it was late afternoon. David and the others should have been at the bridge hours ago.
Indigo had been thinking along the same lines.
‘They should be here by now. I hope nothing has happened to them,’ continued Indigo. His voice sounded sluggish; he felt weak with hunger.
‘I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s usually able to look after himself, but if he goes to the tunnel entrance he will be overpowered. Come with me. We will walk down the river to my camp. You all look exhausted; I have food and water. We will be able to watch for David in safety from there.’
Rowan knew this made sense. The sun was beginning to set and he felt chilled. He needed to dry his clothes and eat.
The dog ran up-river with them, on the opposite bank; he seemed to know that he would be with them all again soon.
‘There’s a crossing point by that tree stump,’ Zordar said, pointing towards the remains of an oak tree.
As they approached the stump, Kayleb realised that the body of the tree was lying just below the surface of the water; only a thin strip along its length was exposed and had been carved flat creating a walkway across the river.
Zordar led the way and soon everyone had crossed the river, much to the relief of the dog, who greeted them all affectionately.
‘Somebody is pleased to see you,’ said Zordar, stroking the dog. ‘He’s not a hunting dog. He is much too friendly. Where did he come from?’
‘The village,’ announced Kayleb proudly, ‘He started following me when I was searching for Rowan.
Zordar looked concerned. ‘You didn’t drink any water in the village when you were there, did you? I think that the water is infected. It is probably cholera that is making everyone sick. The trouble is they don’t have a sewage system, just a pit on the edge of the village, and eventually the sewage seeps into their well water and festers. Whole villages get wiped out that way.’
Kayleb shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t drink any water. Did you, Rowan?’
Rowan was thinking hard. There had been a canister of water in the stud pen and he had picked it up to see what was inside. He had lifted it to his lips and the water had touched his lips but he had not drunk, as the dog barking outside of the pen had distracted him.
‘No ... nearly ... but no. I swallowed a lot of the river water. Do you think that’s contaminated?’
‘You should be all right,’ said Zordar, smiling. ‘We will keep an eye on you and even if you did get sick David would be able to help you.’
‘It was horrible,’ said Kayleb. ‘They’re very sick in the village. I saw piles of dead bodies. Could David help them too?’
‘I wish he could,’ replied Zordar, climbing down the riverbank, ‘but they’re scared of David. They think his healing powers are unnatural and treat him as an outcast. If he went into the village today, they would probably kill him.’
‘That’s awful,’ said Indigo. ‘He would only be trying to help.’
‘I know,’ replied Zordar. ‘I think the leaders of the villages feel threatened by David’s abilities and they preach to the wasters that David is evil and should be rejected to safeguard their own positions of power.’
‘That’s crazy,’ said Kayleb. ‘Don’t the wasters see that David could help them?’
Zordar shook his head. ‘I don’t understand why but I guess some people will let themselves be led by another, even if it is detrimental to them. Life out here is hard and these are desperate times.’