Silver Dew (3 page)

As I jogged along beside Sebastian through the woods, my thoughts began to drift back in time to that wonderful and terrifying day when it had all began...

Sebastian grabbed my hand in an urgent grip as we raced out of his bedroom and down the hall in the Jensons’ house. It vaguely surprised me when I felt no pain in my arm though the memory of the Binding was fresh enough to still make me wince in anticipation.

He hauled me along behind him without glancing back. I nearly tripped as I scrambled down the stairs after him, trying my best to keep up with his frantic pace. I slammed into his back at the bottom of the stairs where he had come to an unexpected halt. He cocked his head to one side, listening, standing so still he barely breathed. My heart pounded in my ears as I strained to listen, my breathing raspy and unsteady from fear.

That was when I noticed the house was quiet, a deadly silence hanging over everything like a heavy mist. The warmth and familiar sense of comfort that usually filled the Jensons’ home had vanished. The quiet creaks and groans of the original wood floors, the sounds of the old beams expanding under the morning sun’s warmth, the vibrant hum of life that filled the air – it was all gone. There was nothing but silence.

“Don?” Sebastian called Mr. Jenson’s name quietly and apprehensively as he slowly stepped away from the staircase, towing me along protectively behind him. Together we quietly inched around the base of the stairs, my heart in my throat, my hand clammy and limp within Sebastian’s warm, firm grip. “Don?”

Sebastian paused again by the kitchen door, his hand squeezing mine more tightly as he reached for the door handle.

Creak.

The unexpected sound of the loose floorboard from the hallway above our heads made us both flinch. The tense silence lasted for a split-second longer and then suddenly heavy footsteps were pounding down the hall above us.

“Run!” Sebastian yelled. His words were completely unnecessary; my heart was already racing, my whole body so tense that I was in motion the instant the first heavy footfall fell.

Sebastian pushed me ahead of him as we raced through the kitchen and out the side door of the Jensons’ home. We sprinted around the house, my mind only registering the slightest sense of relief to see that no one was waiting for us in front. He leapt onto his motorcycle, kicking up the stand it rested on and thrusting his only helmet into my hands. Without hesitating once, I slid onto the bike behind him and stuffed the helmet onto my head. It seemed ridiculous to me that I had once been so afraid of riding on his bike when now I couldn’t wait for its engine to come roaring to life. Sebastian fired up the engine and accelerated almost simultaneously. I barely had time to wrap my arms tightly around his waist before we lurched forward, the back tire spitting out gravel as we swerved around my car that I’d parked so close to his bike.

“NOOOOO!”

I recognized Walter’s howl of rage behind us, much too close for comfort.

I was nearly frozen with fear but somehow I managed to turn my head over my shoulder just enough to glance back towards the Jensons’ house as we peeled out onto the quiet, morning street.

The sun was so bright, it made it difficult to discern many details in that one, fleeting glance. But I immediately recognized Walter’s dark silhouette as he angrily kicked in the door of my black Austin Mini. It was more than confirmation enough that he was working with the Others and had not just been looking out for my mother’s interests as her new confidante. Another figure, who I figured to be male though he was shorter and slighter in build, stood just behind Walter, motionlessly watching us race away. And I just caught a glimpse of a third tall, dark figure rounding the corner of the house before the hedge at end of the driveway blocked them all from my view. A cold shiver ran down my spine as paralyzing fear overwhelmed me.

I hugged Sebastian even tighter and squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the nightmare away. I took several slow, deep breaths through my nose before I regained enough control to speak.

“They’re not following,” I forced myself to call out between clenched teeth.

I sensed, rather than saw Sebastian’s nod of response. He didn’t ease up on the throttle one bit, leaning into the next corner at nearly double the speed limit. I felt like I was going to throw up as the bike tipped down, leaning dangerously close to the asphalt before coming out of the curve.

Over the sound of the rushing wind in my ears and the frantic pounding of my heart, I could just make out Sebastian’s steady chant that sounded more of a frantic plea: “I want for us to be safe. I want for there to be only four. I want for us to be safe. I want for there to be only four. I want…”

He had told me moments before, five would be enough for the Others to combine their wants and overpower our desire to escape - and to live. I had only seen three but what if there were more still inside the house or in the back yard? What if there were five, or even more? Tears trickled down my cheeks and were whipped away by the wind as I wondered for how much longer we were going to live…

I
SHOOK AWAY
the memory with a shudder.

“Are you alright?” Sebastian had pulled us to a halt as soon as he felt my hand tremble. He turned to face me, his gray eyes softened with concern.

“I’m fine,” I lied. He rolled his eyes at my generic response but thankfully let it go. I hated bringing up the past; nothing good ever seemed to come from it.

Sebastian looked around at the lengthening shadows in the forest, glancing quickly up at the fading blue sky. “It must be getting close to six o’clock by now. Let’s find a spot to make camp for the night and then I’ll go hunting for dinner.”

I nodded my agreement, forcing out a smile as I pushed the frightening memories away.

“You take such good care of me,” I teased. Sebastian laughed in response.

“Yes, kidnapping you two weeks before you graduated from high school so that you could run for your life across the country with me was extraordinarily responsible. I’m actually quite impressed with myself; I’ve turned you into a runaway and a dropout. You’re welcome, by the way,” he added with another laugh. I was glad to see he was smiling but nonetheless, I continued in a firm but gentle tone.

“You didn’t kidnap me – I’m not a child and I
chose
to come with you.”

“What choice did you have? If you had stayed…” His smile faded with his words.

“I had already chosen you,” I reminded him softly. I held out my right arm, slowly turning it over to indicate the intricate, black design of my tattoo that twisted in and around itself as it wrapped up the full-length of my arm and disappeared beneath my stained t-shirt sleeve. “Before you remembered the Others, before we knew what kind of danger we were in, I had already chosen to be with you.” I twiddled with the ancient ring on the fourth finger of my left hand as I spoke, my fingers stroking the twisted metal and rubbing the small, warm amber heart at its center.

Sebastian’s eyes followed my movements, a small smile curving his lips as he watched me play with the ring.

“You were so angry when you took my ring back. I half-thought you were doing it to spite me, and half-hoped that you might be motivated by something more.”

“It was mostly-spite,” I retorted but now with a smile of my own.

Sebastian grinned back at me, pleased by my playfulness. “I’ll turn that spite-ring into an engagement-ring yet,” he promised with a cheeky sparkle in his eye. “Come on, let’s choose a campsite.”

Sebastian took my hand, lacing my fingers through his as he slowly continued down the trail. I could already see an open area up ahead that would be as good a spot as any. It would appear that at least some of Sebastian’s wants were still being fulfilled.

I followed Sebastian down the trail but once he had turned away, I let my smile fade. He hadn’t been able to hide the strain in his eyes and the forced quality to his laughter that had now left me ill at ease. I knew he must sense the change in the air that had begun not long after the storm had disappeared. There was a strange, expectant sense of gathering catastrophe of which even I was aware. It was a heavy, intangible quality to the air, a mood emphasized by the evening light and eerie silence, unexpected in the forest. I knew, with an undeniable certainty, that something was about to happen. Something had changed.

Chapter Two – Fire

I was surprised when Sebastian left me to set up camp while he hunted. Apparently, he was trying to pretend nothing was wrong – which made me even more certain that something was. The fact that he had left me alone despite whatever new danger we faced bothered me. It meant that whatever had changed, whatever new danger lay ahead for us, it was inevitable. It wouldn’t make a difference if he was with me or not, if we were going to die, there was nothing he could do about it. It could only mean one thing – the Others must have been joined by a fifth and they were already close on our tails. The realization was not as horrifying as it should have been. I had known this would eventually happen; in a way, it was almost a relief that it would be over soon… almost. I felt strangely numb with only a faint sense of fear quivering at the edges of my empty calmness.

I tried to keep myself busy while I waited for Sebastian to return, forcing my mind to stay focused on the tasks at hand. I liked to have camp properly set-up and ready for his return, wanting to contribute some small effort to our survival in any way I could.

There were still no clouds in the sky and the air felt warm and calm, sticky even. I didn’t bother building a lean-to for the night, even though I had learnt how from Sebastian’s expert teachings. Tonight we would sleep under the stars. Because of the earlier, heavy rains the ground was still damp enough that we’d be able to have a fire but we’d need to use the tarpaulin to sleep on.

I set myself to work, using a stick to dig a small fire pit and then gathering several armfuls of firewood, searching underneath the thick brush to find branches and twigs that would be dry enough to burn. The light was beginning to fade in the depths of the woods so I lit the fire without waiting for Sebastian. I was only slightly comforted by its quiet crackling and its gentle glow. The feel of unseen eyes on my back made me shift uneasily as I laid out our bed.

“Just your imagination,” I muttered to myself. A bead of sweat slowly trickled down my spine.

I knew Sebastian would be back soon. He was never gone for longer than half an hour – sometimes returning after what felt like just a few minutes with enough food to last us several days. I knew if I stood around, idly waiting for him, my thoughts would head in a dangerous direction so I forced myself not to think about the terrifying dangers that lay ahead of us and instead pushed myself into action. I grabbed our water bottles and began marching towards the sound of a nearby, rushing river. The fire was small and the river was close enough that I felt safe leaving the campsite unattended for a few minutes.

I found a good spot where the river bank wasn’t too steep and I began to cautiously make my way down the slope. The river was running low this time of year, and I had to carefully make my way over the uneven surface of rocks and pebbles to reach the water’s edge, wary of the slippery stones with only the fading sunlight to guide my way.

It was noisy there, the sounds of the rushing current drowning out all else. It made me feel increasingly nervous, as if anyone could sneak up on me at any moment and I’d never notice. I filled up our water bottles quickly, frequently checking over my shoulder and glancing back to the faint sparkle of embers drifting up between the trees where I’d set up camp. I forced myself to calm down, taking a few quick minutes to wash the sweat and grime off my body that had collected throughout the day. I had gotten used to being outdoors and being dirty, scared and tired. But I tried to wash myself at every opportunity. My long, wavy hair had quickly become a problem and so two weeks ago now I had taken Sebastian’s sharp pocket knife and sawed off the length of my ponytail, leaving just enough hair to pull it back from my face with an elastic band. It had felt surprisingly liberating, the weight and heat of my thick hair so easily cut away and thrown aside. I had no idea how I looked without the trademark locks I’d proudly worn all my life and surprisingly, I didn’t really care.

The cold river water felt so refreshing against my hot, sweaty skin that I was tempted to throw myself into the river, clothes and all. My body twitched and my muscles trembled from the sudden strong desire. The water seemed to beckon to me, flashes of silver sparkling just below the surface, enticing me to jump in. The shadows were rapidly lengthening and it was hard to tell how deep or how strong the current was away from the river’s edge. I reluctantly decided to wait until morning when perhaps Sebastian and I would have time to take a morning swim together. I doubted it though.

I watched curiously as the flickers of silver that I’d seen began to grow in both brightness and multitude. My eyes opened wider in amazement as a school of fresh river trout rapidly swam for the surface, leaping into the air in perfect synchronization so that their silvery scales flashed under the sun’s last weak beams before disappearing again into the river’s rushing waters. I doubted I’d ever grow used to the strange anomalies that occurred when Sebastian was nearby. I watched the river in wonder for several more seconds, waiting to see if any other fish would perform for me but the waters flowed steady and straight without the slightest sparkle of even one trout’s metallic scales.