Unwrapped: A Fated Realms Novel - 1 Page 9

  Fingers snapped in front of my face. Taine. ‘We need to get out of here.’

  Clutching the compass, I pulled out a map. ‘Here, hold this. The ground’s too muddy to spread it out.’

  Taine took the map and held it horizontally.

  I slid the see-through plastic compass along it, finding north and working out where we needed to go from there. ‘Take a few steps to the left for me.’

  He shuffled sideways.

  I got out a Day-Glo pen and drew our journey back to Pierre’s place. It led in a diagonal behind Taine’s back. ‘We need to go that way.’ I pointed before slipping the compass round my neck on its red string.

  Taine turned the map to face him and traced the route. We had a forest to walk through and a lake to go around. The terrain was mostly flat with the odd hill. Ten miles by car but avoiding the roads would take forever. I took a swig of water, got out a tin of sweets, and offered it to Taine. Blackcurrant sugar melted on my tongue.

  ‘Best get going.’ Taine folded the map away.

  I slid it in a plastic pouch and zipped it and the sweet tin back in my bag. ‘What time is it?’

  Taine pulled back the frayed cuff of his blue jacket. ‘00:44.’

  Stella and Pierre would be halfway home. We needed to focus on how to make it back ourselves. I wished I’d paid more attention in the orienteering lessons. We trudged along, one foot in front of the other. Felt our way across sloppy mud, checking the compass every ten minutes, avoiding the worst of the puddles.

  A moment’s distraction was enough to get me off track and I squelched up to my knees in cold, wet, sticky mud. The stagnant pond smell should have warned me. Mud oozed round my legs, bubbles forming, sucking me down. As I flailed, the ground swallowed me faster. Stinking mud crept up my thighs. I tasted bile in my mouth. My heart hammered, I needed help now. I called out to Taine.

  Taine had wandered about a hundred metres ahead. No reaction. I yelled again. The mud crept higher, reaching my hips. I cupped my shaking fingers around my mouth and yelled until I was hoarse. ‘Taine. Help me! I’m sinking.’ He might as well have been on Mars for all the notice he took of my pleas for help.

  The crickets mocked me as they echoed my cries. ‘Help me. Help me.’ I tried to scream but it came out as a strangled yelp. Each step took him further away. Soon he would be out of hearing range altogether. I tried to scream a second time. It caught in my throat. I bit back a sob of fear. After taking a deep breath, I tried a third time and screamed loud and long.

  Taine spun round and raced towards me.

  ‘Watch your feet! It’s a bog. Don’t want you sinking too.’ I tried to keep still, belatedly noticing my wriggling had made things worse.

  ‘Where’s a friendly tractor driver when you need him hey?’ Taine asked as if we fell into man-eating bogs every day.

  ‘Could do with rope too.’ Too much to hope for. We had both packed light, only grabbing essentials. Perhaps next time if I survived...

  ‘Yeah, about that...’ Taine pulled out his torch and shone it at the ground. He crouched, feeling with his fingertips where the ground was firm and where it was spongy.

  ‘You leave it in the Ferrari again?’ The mud crept higher, more slowly since I stopped moving.

  ‘Lamborghini…’ Taine knelt and crossed his arms for increased leverage.

  I crossed my arms and joined my hands with his.

  ‘Three, two, one, pull…’

  He tugged hard and I pulled myself towards him. It didn’t work. Instead, there came a sucking, squelching noise as I settled waist deep in mud. I felt the hairs on my arms rise as goose bumps formed. This was not how I wanted to die. Taine gripped me more firmly around my wrists and up towards my elbows. I did the same with him. He yanked me again, hard. My arms felt like they were pulling out of their sockets. He fell over backwards. I flushed as I slid across his body. At least I escaped the bog.

  ‘Roll this way.’ Taine patted the ground on the other side of him.

  I obeyed, grateful to be out the hole. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you. I thought you were never going to hear me.’

  All my muscles felt like jelly and I lay there for several long moments, staring at the moon. Taine fished out his tin of sweets, tipping one in my mouth: orange flavoured heaven. I was overwhelmed with relief at escaping the bog. Taine was as muddy as I was after hauling me out lengthways. My lips twitched, bonus.

  I got to my feet, taking care to avoid boggy ground and hugged him as soon as he stood. ‘Thanks. Owe you one.’ The tightness binding my chest, loosened. Were there any more bogs ahead of us? ‘Should we use our torches?’

  ‘We’d be better off watching where we’re going.’

  I recoiled. Punching me in the stomach would have hurt less. Turning away, I pulled the map out my bag. I held it at the edges anxious not to smear it with mud and wished I had wipes for my hands. Teardrops hung like jewels on my lashes. I blinked them away. Anyone could fall in a bog. The moon and stars were no help. They were too busy playing hide and seek. It was dark. I nearly died for goodness sake.

  ‘Sorry, that came out wrong. I don’t want to lead the Venator right to us.’ Taine sounded contrite.

  I lowered the map and put it away. ‘It’s harder than I imagined without torches. The dark and yesterday’s storm hasn’t helped.’

  ‘How far do you reckon we’ve come?’ His pale face shone against the brown mud darkening his clothes.

  I should cut him some slack. He had saved my life. Ahead of us were a large group of trees. ‘Three miles if we’re lucky.’ We plodded along. I kept testing the ground in front of me with one foot, reluctant to commit in case mud swallowed me again.

  ‘How much farther?’ Taine stretched and yawned. No afternoon nap for him. Lack of sleep sapped his energy, or perhaps it was rescuing me.

  ‘At least seven miles but with going round the lake, maybe a couple extra.’

  ‘I need a hover board.’

  ‘Same. We could whizz back in minutes instead of hours.’

  ‘Back to the future, here I come.’

  We lapsed back into silence, doggedly forcing our way past nettles, brambles and other spiky plants that yanked at our clothes, tearing them and covering us with tiny burs. To think some people did this kind of thing for fun. Mad.

  By the time, we reached the forest it was gone half two. We ate our rations while sitting on the weathered remains of a fallen tree trunk, covered with springy moss.

  ‘Hope Pierre and Stella are okay.’ I threw my apple core into the bushes. The mud on my clothes had hardened, making them stiff and uncomfortable. Where was a stream when you needed one? I was desperate for a wash, even with icy cold water.

  ‘Got to be more exciting than this.’ Ignoring his muddy hands, Taine dug a handful of trail mix out of his bag and munched.

  ‘This trek seems endless. What I wouldn’t give for a portal right now.’ I capped my water bottle and returned it to my bag.

  ‘If Stella had shown us how to portal at Versailles Gardens, we could be home by now.’ Taine zipped his bag and got to his feet.

  ‘Why train us and then not let us fight?’ I slid off the log and swung my backpack onto my shoulders with a soft thud.

  We picked a path through a maze of tree roots. I shivered as wind whistled through trees. I zipped my hoodie and raincoat tight around my neck and wished I had something warmer to wear. Pine needles and leaves crunched underfoot. Little light or rain made it through the densely planted trees. At least there should be no bogs to fall in.

  ‘It’s getting darker and colder.’

  ‘The moon’s gone again,’ said Taine.

  I tensed, the hairs on my neck bristling. Ahead was a glimmer of artificial light, jerking in swathes through the trees. ‘Look,’ I whispered, pointing. Could it be the Venator? I prayed the trees and bushes would hide us. We crouched, making ourselves smaller.

  ‘Let’s skirt around them,’ I said in a low voice.

  We crawled to
our left but remained alert to avoid any risk of ambush. Neither of us had a weapon. If we survived this, I would insist on getting one. Last time I asked, Stella said, ‘It’s not worth it. More people are killed with their own weapon.’ I argued that going up against armed soldiers with no weapon was idiotic. ‘Hide,’ she’d said, echoing Vashtin.

  Bits of bark, twig, pine needles and stones pricked my hands. Splinters lodged into cracks. Welts formed where they cut in. I pressed forward, pulling my hoodie sleeves over my hands to protect them. The intruders were over to our right, the nearest a mere twenty metres away. We kept motionless, breathing quietly and prayed the darkness would hide us as we waited for them to pass out of range.

  Once they were a few hundred metres away, we inched forwards. Leaves deadened the sound of our crawl. Splintered bark scraped and dug into our exposed skin. Pollen squirmed its way up my nose, inflaming cells and making them itch uncontrollably. I grabbed my nose and forced back a sneeze. A small sound escaped. One of the men turned and cocked his head towards me. Taine and I froze. I held my breath. My arms began to shake from the effort of holding still. Just as I thought I couldn’t hold still any longer, the man turned and moved on.

  Only much later, with no signs of further pursuers, did we stand. Stiff at first, I rolled my neck and shoulders to release the crick in my neck. After another ten minutes, we made it to the edge of the forest. We scanned for any sign of human activity and then ran forward. No cries or shouts sounded. A mile or so later, we approached the lake shown on our map. With the delay caused by crawling another hour had passed. The sky lightened but dawn was a couple of hours away.

  We slipped, tripped and fell over rocks and exposed tree roots and potholes on our way to the lake. Each fall decorated our hands, knees and shins with bloody gashes, bumps and bruises. Whether due to exhaustion or the earlier storm, or both, we struggled to remain upright.

  Any second now, whoever was in the forest might turn and come after us. It would be hard to evade them. Would our tracks betray us and lead them to Stella and Pierre? They may not be Venator, but the timing was suspicious. They located us so easily. Did they have motion sensors too?

  What was happening back at the house? Who won? Were Stella and Pierre lying injured, begging for help? Why had they abandoned us in the middle of nowhere? Did they appreciate how long it would take to return? How hard it would be? Humiliating not to be trusted to fight alongside them. We could have helped.

  The lake was about one hundred and fifty metres away when we heard twigs snapping behind us.

  ‘Get a move on Ellie.’ Taine grasped my hand and tugged me along.

  We shifted into a run and fought to keep our balance as we slid across muddy ground. A stench of metallic ozone and a shimmer of blue came from ahead of us as a portal crackled and sizzled into view. Taine and I jerked towards it. We had no idea where it went, but anything was better than the Venator.

  The sharp echo of shots firing concentrated our efforts. We dived headfirst into the gel of the portal’s whirlpool and landed sprawled face first on top of a hill. Dizzy, my breaths were fast and shallow as I recovered from the shock of gunfire. Another near miss. I forced myself to slow my breathing. Where were we? I sat up, pulled out the map and slid the compass into position as I fought to stop my hands trembling.

  ‘We’re about two miles from Pierre’s place.’

  ‘Some shortcut. We must have skipped four or five miles.’ Taine tugged out a bottle of water and some trail mix.

  ‘Do you reckon they’re still alive?’ I fought to keep my voice from quavering.

  ‘Stop torturing yourself. They made their choice. Now we make ours.’ He tipped back the bottle and drank.

  He was right. All we could do was stand and fight when our moment came. I finished off a bottle of water and crunched the remains of my trail mix. It tasted like cardboard but should provide energy. Wearily we trudged the last two miles. Placing one foot after another and another and another. If I never saw another rock or tree root, I would dance an Irish jig to celebrate. The last mile took an eternity. Blisters formed on my left heel and under my little toe aggravated by the mud inside my shoes. Each step was agony. Dancing was looking unlikely any time soon.

  Nearing the blue roofed house, I expected flashes of light, gunshots and noise. Other than nature, all was silent. The crickets continued their racket. Owls hooted overhead. Was it over? Were we too late? The ground seemed undisturbed. We commando crawled the last hundred metres, slithering forward as quietly as we could. No sign of intruders. The porch light beamed in welcome. What was going on?

  ‘What time is it Taine?’

  Taine pulled back the muddy cuff of his coat and showed me the luminescent dial of his sports watch. We had been gone over four and a half hours. I tensed as I grasped the front door handle, opening it. Stella had locked it when we left. Who unlocked it? I shivered as I entered.

  Pierre got up from the bottom of the stairs. Not a hair out of place.

  ‘What the -’

  ‘-A drill,’ said Pierre, ‘you passed with flying colours.’

  ‘A drill?’ My voice shook and my fists bunched. ‘You terrified us. Convinced us we’d find you both dead and gone.’

  Pierre had the gall to shrug. ‘A stress test. It needed to be believable. Come and get some hot food and drink.’

  Too exhausted to argue, we followed him to the kitchen. We shucked off our filthy coats, backpacks and shoes and left a trail of mud and debris behind us. Washing up liquid and hot water helped cleanse the worst of the mud from our hands. Once seated at the table, I slumped over, wiped out. Worse, I felt betrayed. Pierre ladled thick country stew into red bowls. Forks, spoons and cans of soft drinks were set ready for us. I couldn’t get my head around it. He tortured us - for sport.

  ‘Your map reading skills must be superb.’ Pierre set the bowls down with a thud. ‘Too much cloud cover for stars. How did you make it back so quick?’

  ‘Who was it in the woods?’ asked Taine between mouthfuls of stew.

  ‘Who fired the shots?’ My can hissed open as I pulled back the tab. The cool sparkling liquid soothed my parched throat.

  ‘Mates of mine. You needed to be taught a lesson.’ Pierre had the nerve to grin. ‘Earlier, you fought over nothing. There’s a real enemy out there. You need to take your training seriously.’

  Taine said, ‘I can’t believe you-’

  ‘-How were you so quick? Forty minutes ago, you were out by the lake.’ Pierre settled down on the bench across from us and drank a mug of tea and lemon. His eyes sparkled with interest.

  My spoon shifted into a stabbing position. I forced myself to relax my grip on it. Anger simmered inside me. How could he? ‘You scared us half to death.’ I nearly died. I swallowed the words, not ready to say them.

  ‘I meant to. Explain the last forty minutes. What happened?

  ‘A portal took us to a hill, two miles away.’ Taine’s jaw clenched.

  Pierre’s eyes widened. ‘I wasn’t aware of any portals near here. It might have been a trap. You could have run out of energy before-’

  ‘-We heard shots. Seriously you wouldn’t have taken it?’ I abandoned my spoon.

  Unfazed, Pierre spoke quietly. ‘Excellent for your first test. You should both get some sleep.’ He tidied up our bowls and shooed us off to bed.

  The stairs mocked us like false summits on a mountain. I used the banister to help haul myself up. Each step dragged. Only anger kept me upright.

  Chapter 13: Pierre

  Entering our rooms, we found mp3 players on our pillows. A note said they were preloaded with our favourite music. Whoopee-doo. I shoved mine on the side table. My head swirled with tiredness and my limbs trembled with the effort of holding myself upright. I entered the shower fully clothed and leaned on one wall. The water pounded over me, loosening the mud that plastered my clothes to my body. By the time I had removed the last item I was on the floor.

  I winced as I turned the jets on my
cuts, bumps and bruises, not wanting to risk infection by skimping. Mud and blood swirled down the drain along with hair, grit and splinters of wood. I twisted the shower dial off and staggered out. I wrapped a bath sheet around me and sat on the bed. My eyelids grew heavy. My head began to nod even as I towel dried my hair. I swayed sideways and lay down. Just one moment I promised myself. I pulled the covers around me and fell into sleep with the speed of someone falling off a cliff.

  Blinding sunlight streamed through the French doors. I had to squint to read the time as coloured dots spotted my vision. Noon. The air felt fresh, washed by the storm. It lost the heavy muggy feeling that frayed tempers the previous day. Memories rushed in. The ground almost swallowed me. I nearly died - for a drill. If my parents knew, they would go ballistic. A pang of homesickness hit me. What was I doing here? I should just leave.

  I dumped the damp bath towel from the previous night in the laundry bin. My discarded heap of wet clothes lay huddled in the shower. I wasn’t sure I could ever face wearing them again. My stomach rumbled. I pulled on clean black leggings, a red t-shirt and a matching zip up hoodie and left the room. Taine saw me passing and followed me downstairs.

  ‘I was about to come and find you.’ Stella lifted a homemade lasagne out of the oven. She placed it on a table mat next to a bowl of salad.

  Taine poured us both a glass of water from the jug in the fridge.

  ‘Give us all the details.’ Pierre strode into the kitchen and sat opposite Taine. He drummed his fingers on the table.

  We ignored him, still smarting from the previous night. My whole body ached. Cuts and bruises covered me. Everything I’d worn at Pierre’s place was torn or ruined by mud. I needed replacements if we were to avoid arousing my parents’ suspicions. My homesickness grew. I missed speaking to my parents and friends. If I had died yesterday, it would have been after two weeks of no contact. Unacceptable. For all their faults, I had never wanted to see or speak to them more. I would make Stella take me to a payphone if she wouldn’t relent over our mobiles.