All manner of things went through Fern's mind though nothing in particular. Some of it even nonsense in those few seconds watching her life about to be taken away from her. It was the sorrow that overwhelmed her, the sadness to leave the people she loved, the person she loved. What foolish thing had she done? She could see the reflective eyes of the creature as it came toward her, teeth bared, wide open mouth waiting to take her flesh and tear it from her body. She closed her eyes, drawing her last breath and succumbed to what the fates had devised for her. She felt the rush of air on her face and the foul acrid smell of the creature before her as she steadied herself for her demise.
Standing tall and proud, she waited, listening to the final beats of her heart. Awaiting the searing pain and suffocation the beast would cause when its teeth sank into her throat bringing her down to the ground and holding her there until she gasped no more. The milliseconds were turning into a lifetime, interminably long but leaving no time to cry, no time to scream, no time for regret.
Suddenly there was something different, air from a different direction. Not just the creature in front of her but something else as well, something powerful. Then they were gone and her ears heard the heavy crash of bodies falling to the ground nearby. She heard a half crazed scream come from the creature as it struggled and then a gurgling, which she comprehended was its dying breath.
She was shaking violently leaning against the tree, quivering so much that the bark was catching upon her clothes. She didn’t feel it trying to pierce through to her skin for her body felt it was no longer hers just a flexible band that was wavering ready to fall. She was afraid to open her eyes but she had to, she had to see how she had managed to survive and what she was to survive to.
Her eyes were open; they were staring at the dead creature beside her and the large body that slithered across it. She stared at the fangs that were dripping blood and poison, the glowing eyes that were turning to look back at her.
“Abacus!” she whispered, “Abacus, my saviour, my friend.”
She fell forward onto the snake and the dead creature’s body sobbing soft shivers of delight at the gift of life as she gave her thanks. She was trembling with such intensity that she could barely control her limbs.
The snake circled around her, wrapping her in his strong body controlling her convulsions, pulling her away from the thing that she lay upon. Her face was soaked with tears from fear, relief and joy.
“Thank you!” she mumbled and continued to weep but now she was not just weeping from relief at being alive. The turmoil of the last few years swept through her. Visions amassed together, sneering females, fights with Oak, distrust of Elm, the indecision at what her job was within the clan, feelings of being unwanted and finally her own disobedience against her leader. Her tumultuous emotions crashed over her in waves as she grieved her whole life, a life ended, a changed Fern now reborn.
She fell asleep with Abacus circled around her, a moat of safety, and a moat that nothing would dare to cross. Her sleep was filled with violent nightmares; she was running trying to escape an ever pursuing enemy, an enemy that she didn’t know, invisible, there but not there, no form or shape but always chasing her, always close at hand. She was always gasping for breath, so tired, so very tired, but still she had to run. Always running because her enemy was relentless it wouldn’t give up, it would never stop and although she tried to run faster she was never any further away from it. She awoke at the touch of Abacus thrusting his nose into her side and gave a start as she remembered what had happened.
It was still dark, she must have only slept a short time but Abacus wanted to be on the move. That meant danger must be approaching and she realized that the smell of blood and death would be attracting many creatures of the night. She arose slowly noticing she was sore. She was stiff too but she knew that once she moved the stiffness would leave, her mobility would increase. Abacus was already moving through the forest ahead of her, leading the way so she followed carefully stretching her arms to release the tightness and moving her head from side to side to release the tension in her neck.
“Abacus,” she whispered, “we must head toward the lake to the bay.” Abacus continued to slither through the leaves, she knew he’d heard and he would guide her safely to where she wanted to go.
She was still sleepy and stumbled over roots making more noise than she really should have to be safe. Her attention was grabbed from sleepiness when she heard shrieks and cries behind her. She heard something being dragged and a roar followed by a screech, crashing of trees and more angry cries. The beasts had come and found the dead creature, they were fighting over it. She shuddered involuntarily once more glad that she had Abacus and his intuition to save her.
She watched him quietly move in amongst the trees, he must have heard the cries too but he paid no attention. She tried to dispel the sounds as best she could and concentrate on being quiet and quick, the two seeming to be incongruous at the moment. The noises continued, her senses spiked by the arrival of the creatures. She could now discern the tearing of flesh and the breaking of bones in amongst the throaty growls and snarls. She could almost picture the creatures’ bloody satisfied faces as their fangs ripped skin and muscle tissue from the stationary carcass.
They’d been travelling for what seemed like hours, it was hard to tell without the sun to go by. The grey mist of dawn was falling upon the ground as the earth had cooled during the night, causing the air to fog, dropping dew upon the now cold leaves and forest floor. Fern reached into her bag and took out a melini tablet and ate it whilst travelling, she stopped for a moment next to a bush of extremely large leaves and ducking her head under one leaf poured the water that had collected upon it into her mouth. Abacus stopped too, he looked around at her and then continued on his journey. Fern had to run to catch up with him.
When the sun finally started its climb in the sky she knew it was going to be a beautiful day and her spirits rose with the hot plasma sphere. She was feeling more agile again, her stiff limbs becoming supple once more, her confidence rising as her physical condition improved. The melini bar gave her an energetic burst that made her feel like sprinting but there was no reason to waste her fuel when she was already so close to the lake. She knew she would have plenty of time once there to wait and ponder on what action she would take when she espied the Citans.
She smelled the water before she saw it. The air was fresher, vitalizing, it stimulated her being and left her tingling before she even cast her eyes upon its soft waves upon the shore. Abacus stopped before he reached the edge of the forest and Fern knelt down beside him. Stroking him affectionately she thanked him again for saving her life and kissed the snake upon his flat head.
“I love you Abacus, you’re my only true friend, having you makes all other friendships nothing more than trivial relationships. You mean so much to me Abacus, always take care, I never ever want to lose you.”
The giant snake raised his head and she watched his tongue vibrate in pleasure, giving him one last stroke she turned and walked out of the forest.
By the time she turned Abacus was gone leaving nothing but a few overturned leaves. She sighed, thankful at having such a faithful protective companion. A beautiful animal to care for her could only mean that she was worthy, she must remember that when she doubted the reason for her existence, she was worthy. She would prove herself to the Woodlanders and to Oak, she would squash her emotions and be more careful, she could not rely on Abacus to always be there to save her.
Looking across the massive lake to its horizon of water she wondered just what the Citans planned to do once they reached the point. She figured that from wherever they had slept for the night they would be making their way through the forest to their destination but she was confused as to what that destination could be. On the point there was nothing. Where and how would they go from there?
She sat for an hour in amongst the grass and bushes, hidden but bored. She took off her shoes and rubbed her feet, wriggled her toes, twirling her ankles for a little while and then put her shoes back on. She laid back looking up at the blue expanse of sky and grabbed clumps of grass with her fingers, feeling the texture of it within her hand, it was cool and felt good. The sun was warm upon her face so she pulled her bandanna off and placed it over her eyes with the point of the bandanna falling down over her chin. She listened to the soft lapping of the waves on the shore and became absorbed in the rhythm of it, the sound softly vibrated in her head until it became nothing more than a hum.
She awoke with a start. Something was happening, activity somewhere. She listened carefully but all she could hear were the gentle slaps of water upon the shore. She pulled the bandanna from her face and continued to lay still, her eyes darting to either side of her, her ears straining. Still, she heard nothing. Something had startled her, this was no dream or imagination, the air was different, it was expectant. She was breathing slowly, taking deep regular breaths to calm herself, her adrenaline was pumping, and her intuition told her she could be in danger.
There it was, a sound, she didn't know what it was but she heard something, a scraping. Now she heard a thud of something hitting the earth hard, followed by whispers, definitely whispers from people. Careful to be as quiet as possible she rolled onto her side and then onto her front. From there she brought herself together onto all fours, this way she could be ready to spring if necessary. The whispers were to her right and she purposefully turned herself to that position so she could perhaps glimpse them through the grass and bushes. Still, she couldn't see anything. Everything was silent and her heart beat faster, she tried to keep her breathing slow and steady. The silence seemed to go on forever and she felt like screaming with the suspense, then she heard them, close, very close, almost touchable close.
She caught sight of them at the same time they caught sight of her but she was already upon her feet and running, running as fast as she could for the forest, a vision of two boys in her head. A picture of boys with dark hair, unshaved, short sleeved shirts, canvas pants, one with a knife in his hand. She couldn't tell what they were yelling at her, all she could think was that she needed to reach the trees; in the trees she would be safe. She heard the crunch of feet behind her, stones, earth and grass being trodden heavily upon and knew they were chasing her. Her thick red hair was in her face and she hastily swept it away from blocking her view of trees to where she was making her get away to. She could feel the sweat upon her from laying in the hot sun and the increased amount from fear and sudden exertion.
She was near the trees, only a few more strides away and she would be safe. That was when the bullet whizzed past her ear and she dropped to the ground. Quickly she leaped to her feet again and was almost at full sprint when she heard the voice yell, “Stop now or I'll kill you this time!” The trees were so close, could she make it? Would he miss her again or did he really miss her on purpose or would he just shoot her anyway if she stopped? The growl of the words, “I mean it!” came to her ears and she halted, still looking at the trees that had been her hope of escape. There was no gunshot, he was keeping his word.
Slowly, she turned around to face her pursuers. The two were close and she now knew that had he wanted to kill her, he very easily could have. He still held the handgun pointed at her, threatening her not to move, to stay where she was, to wait, to be at his mercy. His partner still held a knife in his hand; it was pointed at her too.
A scowl crossed her face, she didn't like the idea of being at anyone’s mercy and she wondered if she could take the two of them. Perhaps she could distract them and take them down with the small sword that rested upon her hip. A small smile crossed her lips and vanished as the boy with the handgun stopped in front and stared at her. The other was there as well; they both looked to be appraising her. Scanning her from head to toe she saw a flash of excitement in their eyes, a look of interest.
“Who are you?” the boy with the gun questioned, his voice softer now as he drank her in as if she could quench his thirst.
His eyes ran up and down her body making her shudder in repulsion. A further shiver ran through her with her emotion of revulsion, it was anger. How dare he!
“My name is Fern.” she replied, her voice haughty with irritation and she glared at them defiantly. The other was looking her over too, as if she were a piece of expensive merchandise that they’d been lucky enough to find. She shifted a little, feeling not the danger of death but something else, an experience she knew nothing of and if made her wary.
The boy with the gun stepped closer, smiling, she could see that his mind was actively processing many thoughts and she felt none of them could be good. He was closer to her now and she could see that his skin was ruddy and tanned, his eyes were wrinkled from squinting, and his hair was as untamed as her own, a long mass of thick dark brown held back from his face in a ponytail. Using the gun in his hand he ran it down the side of her face. She wanted to pull back but her stubborn nature made her stay still in defiance. A self satisfied look crossed his face.
Once more he was looking her over even though she glared at him in disgust. With his gun he picked up some locks of her hair and then to her surprise bent down and sniffed it. She pulled back in disdain appalled by his actions. She clamped her mouth shut as she felt the surge of vitriol spurt forth in words of anger, at her hatred of being treated with so little respect. The other boy was also closer now and his eyes were stripping her of her dignity too.
“Who are you people?” she yelled at them turning from one to the other.
She was rewarded with nothing more than a sneer from the boy with the hand gun and a grunt from the other who had now put his knife away. He no longer viewed her as a threat.
The boy with the gun was circling, evaluating her.
“What are your plans?” she asked, “are you going to sell me?”
The boy with the gun laughed. “Can you be bought Fern?”
“What?” she yelled back in shock flinging her hair back as she spun to face him, causing him to laugh more and poke at his friend as he continued to walk around her like a predator circling its prey.
“Feisty isn't she?” he nodded at her to his friend.
His friend nodded back enthusiastically, a lascivious grin crossing his face, his eyes brightening as thoughts she didn't want to know went on behind them.
The boy with the gun was talking again. “You’re going to make our Captain very happy. He has a penchant for good looking girls.” He gave a self satisfied smile, “and because of that he will be pleased with me.”
He was still circling her whilst she stood listening.
“You're going to help me to become second in command Fern.” He nodded at her now as he passed her front. “My lovely Fern, you’re going to be a very useful persuasive piece that I’m going to play.”
“You’ll not use me!” she sneered back at him turning her head to where he was. “I would rather die!”
He stopped his circling to stare into her face as he smirked and continued to walk around her.
“Now, now, Fern, that would be such a terrible waste, something as lovely as you to become nothing more than rotting flesh when it’s such a fine soft flesh too.”
He stopped once more and touched her face with his fingertips; she turned on him like a spitting cat.
“Keep your hands off me!” She warned.
Again, there was the smile and then a nod as he walked on once more.
“So much enthusiasm Fern, such a strong passionate nature, I'll bet you'll be really hot in bed!”
Her face lost all of the blood within it; her breath was stifled at what he was suggesting. She pushed the images away of this horrible brawny boy before her, his hands upon her body. His smile broadened more as he saw the fear develop in her eyes.
“I can promise that no-one will touch you Fern, well no-one except the Captain. You’re to be a gift from me to him.”
His look filled with pleasure at the thought and she realized that she would have no choice but to be a prize for his Captain, a bribe to step this boy up in his Captain’s esteem.
“I am no-one’s gift!” she yelled and grabbed the sword at her hip but the other boy already had hold of her hand as she struggled to raise the small blade.
Bringing his knee up, he knocked it from her hand, still holding her wrist. She stood wincing as he twisted her hand behind her back, a look of glee upon his face and relish at being so close to her, at touching her, his body getting closer as she squirmed.
“Fern, would you rather Gisburn touched you? I can see he's enjoying this way too much but you aren't enjoying it at all and I don't like the idea of my gift being damaged before it reaches its recipient.” He stopped and leaned in closer; Gisburn was still holding her right hand and pressing into her right side. The boy with the gun moved to her left side and whispered into her ear. “If you promise to behave yourself I promise that no-one will touch you other than our gentleman Captain.”
He was leaning further toward her now, her squirms becoming more insistent but Gisburn's hold becoming only firmer.
“You stand a better chance of keeping your honour with the Captain Fern, than you do with us.”
He pulled back a little watching her as her facial expression changed from anger and disgust to query.
“I can see you’re clever Fern. Be clever and behave so we don't have to kill you, because if we decide to kill you, we’ll do some very unpleasant things to you before you die.”
Her look of sheer horror showed he’d had the effect he wanted and both boys laughed. She couldn’t tell if they were serious or if they were just trying to scare her. Did things like that happen, like years and years ago, in the terrible stories that had been passed on through books. She felt nervous; her pride couldn’t allow her to die in such a way. She had to bide her time and at least give herself a chance to live and escape.
Her eyes hardened now as she looked at the two gloating boys, one was holding each arm, Gisburn purposefully leaning against her body. He was grinning as he made a writhing motion. She wanted to vomit but most of all she wanted to thrust the blade that lay at her feet deep into his disgusting beating heart. The boy with the gun moved away.
“Let her go Gisburn!”
To which Gisburn begrudgingly did.
“Pick up her sword and let's go.”
Gisburn bent down and picked up the sword and whilst doing so he ran it along the inside of her leg toward her thigh. Swelling with anger she stepped back bringing her foot to his shoulder as she sent him backwards onto his backside. He looked up at her his face tight and angry. The other boy was laughing but immediately stopped when he saw Gisburn lunge at her. Deftly, he grabbed the back of Gisburn's shirt and pulled him back. “Don’t touch her again,” he warned, “unless you want to wake to the feel of a cold blade against your ribs!”
Gisburn drew back his face contorted in anger and fear. Fern now knew who had control. But it was power he gained through fear and fear could turn on you, it was a weaker power that was usually short lived. She was going to have to be careful with this boy, she’d need to try and stay on his good side, and he obviously wasn’t one to try to play. Taking her arm he pulled her along at the same time grabbing the sword harshly from Gisburn.
“Let's get back to the boat.” he growled.
As he hauled her along with the gun at her ribs Fern went through scenarios in her head. Ways that she could escape now, rather than later, but every scenario ended in her being shot dead and so were not plans she could go through with.
It wasn't long before they reached an anchor settled deep into the dirt, the thud that she’d heard. Attached was a boat that had been dragged onto the gravelly shore.
“Get the anchor Gisburn.” he growled brandishing the gun toward the object and then quickly thrusting it into her ribs again. He was looking out to the lake but she couldn’t see anything out there and wondered where they’d come from.
“Who are you?” she asked, studying him more now, taking in his bulky body, his height, which was not much taller than any of the Woodlanders and noticing the hard muscles on his arms.
He gave her a sneer, “Lakellers.” he replied, pulling her once more toward the boat.
She didn’t know much about the Lakellers, she knew they lived on the lakes, collected food on shore and ate the envillions, a fish that had taken over the lakes after the Devastation when all the other fish had died. She also knew they were thieves.
“What’s your name?” she asked trying to soften her voice to become more coaxing and friendly.
He gave a snort, recognizing what she was trying to do and gruffly replied “Madden,” as he grabbed her hands together.
She noticed that he’d put the gun in his pocket and had pulled out a rope. Her chance to escape she thought as she wrenched her hands upwards but she’d forgotten Gisburn who was now behind her, his hands tight around her waist his body against her back.
Madden gave her a rueful smile and grabbed her hands again knotting the rope around one and brutally pulling it behind her back whilst Gisburn moved out of the way. Taking hold of her other arm he wrenched the rope tight around it, biting into her wrists. Without warning he pushed her forward making her stagger.
“Now get in the boat,” he growled.
She climbed into the boat and sat at the front as he directed her to. She watched as Madden dragged one side of the boat toward the lake and Gisburn dragged the other. When the water was gently lapping at the sides, both boys being knee deep in it, they leaped into the boat. With their backs to her, they grabbed an oar each and whilst they sat side by side took long pulls. Looking beyond them she noticed the boat had more benches and four more oars resting inside. Obviously, it was used by more than two normally and she could see that Madden and Gisburn were having problems directing the boat.
The process was taking a long time to get the boat to move through the water and she resigned herself to her thoughts. She could try to escape, throw herself over the side but what good would it do to drown? Slowly, the boat edged its way through the waves and started to pull away from the grasp of the land, inch by inch going further into the lake. As she watched the trees become smaller she wished that she were like the other Woodlander females at home safe, obediently going about their business.