Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (27 page)

Wren
shook her head, beginning to wonder if there were any certainties about the
distant reaches of this island.  Was it so unsafe and secretive?  Why did no
one know?  They only stayed in their own areas and never left them?  Then
again, Calico…

“Calico,
you came from the plains, correct?” Finn asked as if reading Wren’s thoughts. 
“How in hell did you manage not to have traveled through this way already?”

Wren
listened closely as Calico released a sigh.  This was a matter that the girl
had refused to speak of, and by the look on her face now, she was only going to
reveal it because it might affect their level of trust in her.

“I
did a thing that I was warned not to do,” she said. “I traveled from my camp to
the nearest pirate cove and hid away on a small vessel that was headed toward
Bleed Neck Bay.”

At
that confession, even Nix cut a disapproving glance at her, but said nothing.

“There
was something I had to do, and I had to try it no matter the consequences,”
Calico said solidly, making an excuse for herself.  “It was working out
perfectly until quite a while after I’d already gotten off the ship, when the
pirates found out about me watching them.  But enough about that.  It is done.”

The
others had to be content with that.  They relented.

The
trees were very thin now, the grass scarce.  As was the way of the world, all plant
life had vanished in a flash, giving way to a portion of land beyond which was
gray and desolate.  There were craters and gorges, piles of rubble that looked
like small mountains, but this land was just as empty and dead as the charred
forest on the distant side.

It’s
a wasteland
,
Wren thought with some degree of disappointment.  Just looking at it made her
throat feel dry.  She wanted to cough up dust from her lungs like an old mummy.

In
the distance, she could see the shadows of the mountains, reaching up over the
flat grounds.

“If
we keep a steady pace,” Calico started, judging the distance, “we’ll be at the
mountain’s base in a couple of hours.”

Finn
nodded as he examined her reasoning.

“Perhaps,”
he said with hesitation. “Considering…”

His
voice trailed off, but Wren did not allow it for long.

“Considering
what
?” she urged.

“Oh,
well, considering we don’t run into any setbacks, Wren dear,” said Finn.  If he
thought he was protecting her by that, she would beg to differ.

“Elaborate,”
Nix commanded, not bothering to turn.

“Vorks,
actually,” Finn offered up.

Wren
looked at him in confusion at this word.  It was certainly foreign to her.

“What’s
a
Vork
?” she asked.

“Vorks
are beasts that live under the ground,” Finn explained, “They are some of the
oldest nightmare monsters that learned to repopulate – especially dangerous.  A
Vork can pull you beneath the surface and swallow you whole!”

He
was clearly caught up in the drama of the moment.  The idea of coming into
contact with one
excited
more than frightened him, but it had the
opposite effect on Wren.

“What
does it look like?” she ventured, quite set on avoiding them at all cost.

“No
one really knows,” Finn said with a good-natured laugh. “That’s how fast they
can come upon you.  We have no recorded knowledge because no one has ever seen
one and lived.”

 “I’ve
seen a dead one,” Nix inserted.  “It was a large, worm-like creature.  Not so
dangerous out of its own habitat.”

“Is
that so?  Imagine that…” Finn responded, taking note.

“There
is a saying that if you ever see a Vork, you’ll never see anything ever again,”
Calico went on, ignoring them.  “I would think that Rifter has escaped one
before.  You know how he’s always looking for a challenge.”

Wren
hummed thoughtfully, her mind filling with fond thoughts of Rifter and harsh
thoughts for Calico.  How could she claim to know him?  For a moment, fear
filled her belly at the thought that Calico might have gotten closer to Rifter
in her absence.  A fire flared up inside her.

Wren’s
mind had slipped away, once again remembering a forbidden kiss and a betrayal,
but she did not manage to rekindle her anger very far.  Nix cut her off with
precision.

“We
have to stay alert on this ground,” he said firmly.  “One false step could cost
us our lives.”

Wren
decided not to encourage talk of Rifter, even after Calico’s comment.  She
wanted no arguments.  Everything should go smoothly.

She
continued across the ground, wondering how exactly she should place her steps. 
Should she move quickly or slowly?  It was all a mystery, but she had not
needed long to decide before she was stopped in her tracks when those before
her halted.

She
said nothing as she watched Nix peer over the area.  Finn stomped the ground to
test it, and then turned back to the group, who now stood completely unmoving.

“It’s
hollow here and farther on.  Best tread carefully,” Finn said.

Wren
didn’t like the sound of this. 
Hollow means Vorks
, she presumed.  She
knew enough now to guess that.  She stood motionless, awaiting instruction.  In
her moments of doubt, she looked to Nix.  Perhaps it was strange, considering
the past, but she had come to rely on him.  She
trusted
him.  He
wouldn’t lead her astray.

“Perhaps
if we pass near the rock formations, we’ll be harder to detect,” Nix suggested.

They
all seemed to agree on that strategy – or at least none among them had a better
idea.  They moved together in an orderly line, cautious but undisturbed as they
reached the first rocky obstruction.  They passed around the far side of it
where the ground was craggy and uneven, for apparently flat ground was better
to avoid.  The slope gave way to a sort of valley beyond – empty as the open
ground behind them – but there was an unusual arc of minerals that rose up over
their heads, casting a broad shadow over them.  Wren was only concerned with
keeping her footing, staring at the ground to mark the placement of her feet
until Finn spoke up.

“Look,”
he said, his voice full of wonder.  Raising her head, she followed his gaze
toward the curving ridge she had seen, elevated on skeletal pillars.

Skeletal
…  Wren realized
that they were
bones
.

She
hadn’t seen it at first glance, but now she recognized the strange formation
for what it was.  The ridge was a backbone that towered over them in an arc,
curving down to a long tail on one end and a massive head on the other.  The
mouth was lined with enormous teeth as long as her hand.  The bones had been
cleaved of flesh by wandering predators long ago, leaving the rest to rot away.

Without
having to speculate, Wren knew what this beast was.

The
Ren.
 
She remembered this creature.  They had met up with it on more than one
occasion in her time.  This was a dangerous nightmare; unkillable, they’d
said.  The boys had saved her from it once – the very same that had Nix pulling
her free of its jaws in the frozen tundra.  The second time, it had swooped
down on them as Rifter had been battling the Scourge, attacking as the world
had gone mad.  Rifter had cut off the Scourge’s hand and fed it to the beast…

And
it came here to die.

Wren
was able to pick up her pace and move on behind the rest of them, only to eye
the Ren with little feeling toward it.  She was glad that it had died, merely
grateful that it was not available to terrorize them now.  Still, she could not
help but wonder: if the smallest taste of the Scourge’s malady had devoured
even the most frightening of nightmares, what would it eventually do to
them
?

2

Nix
was not as interested in the Ren as the rest of them were.  The nightmare beast
was simply one of those old memories that had no relevance in the new world. 
It had been an impressive feat back then, but now it was only a corpse.  It was
not a threat and so he gave it no mind.  Instead, he peered toward the
mountains in the distance, estimating their position.

If
they moved at a steady pace, they might be able to secure an area near the base
for camp – that was considering that none of them would run out of energy
before they got there, which he knew he couldn’t count on.  He could make it,
but he knew for a fact that Wren couldn’t.  She was not as athletic as the rest
of them.  They had the advantage of Tikilin, but this was already accounted for
and
counting on
that.

And
will there be more danger if we pick up our pace?

He
searched for other options, wondering how long it would be before their first
encounter with a Vork.  It seemed inevitable.  The creatures would certainly
notice a free meal traveling so foolishly over their ground.  Nix wasn’t
looking forward to this, but they would have to pull through it somehow.

He
looked at those with him now, wondering if it bothered him that they had been
involved in this mess.  He supposed that he could not deny that all who had
once kept Rifter’s company were
already
involved, even Calico in an
indirect way.  But not Wren.  She shouldn’t have been here.

He
glanced at her, surprised that she was looking back at him, awaiting
instruction.  Nix stared at her a moment, considering her role here.  This girl… 
He was not sure how he felt about her anymore.

Keeping
his feet planted, he felt suddenly uneasy.  Though it was said that a Vork
could not be detected, he had the keen senses of a hunter, and
he
was
aware of its approach.  He could hear it – the rumbling beneath their feet.  It
came now.

“On
my word,” Nix said, grabbing the attention of his companions and looking back
towards the mountains, “everyone run as hard as you can, and don’t look back!”

“What’s
going on?  You hear something, mate?” Finn asked, not daring to move.

“Just
do what I say.  Finn, stay with Wren no matter what.”

He
saw Finn take her hand.  She seemed worried, but Nix couldn’t let that distract
him.

He
waited to mark the location of the Vork – to be certain of which direction it
was moving – feeling the tremor stronger now, shaking him,
taunting him
. 
It was about time.

“East. 
Go now!” Nix said, waving them on before him.

Finn
took off, pulling Wren along.  The ground was rising up in a mound that trailed
swiftly in their direction – the path of a Vork preparing to surface.  Nix drew
his gun, intent on buying them time–

“You’re
not planning on staying to
fight
that thing?”

Calico
had started away with the others but had stopped when she noticed that he
wasn’t following.  Nix turned back to her in annoyance, his timing off now. 
Why had she
stopped
?  Had he not clearly said–?  No matter.  There was
no time left.  Rushing forward with a snarl on his lips, he grabbed her wrist
harshly and pulled her along with him.  She had not gotten a proper
head-start.  He knew he’d be able to catch up, but now he had her to worry
about.

Just
like her
,
he thought heatedly, rushing onward as danger approached. 
Always meddling
.

3

Finn
tore across the ground, forcing Wren to stay with him by keeping a tight grip
on her hand.  He wasn’t sure what was going on behind them or whether Nix and
Calico were following, but he didn’t have time to look back.  Clearing the
distance was the top priority, and he understood that.

He
could hear Wren struggling to breathe now.  The running was a bit too much for
her.  She wasn’t used to it, but if she would just hang in there with him a
little longer
– a little longer
…  At that moment, the idea that he had
no destination began to bother him.  Run east.  That was all he was given?  The
mountains were hazy shapes on the horizon, but they could not hope to make it
there!

Alternative
– what’s an alternative!

Finn
fought to regain his sense of direction, taking his mind off the matter at
hand.  His focus was lost –

He
didn’t see that the ground was weak.

Before
he could correct, the brittle earth had broken beneath his weight.  His foot
slipped and he started down, tumbling along a slope that opened up to the
cavernous underbelly of the world, and before he could stop it, Wren was
falling along behind him – down, down – deep into the dark.

4

“
Wren
!”
Nix yelled, releasing Calico and moving toward the hole where the two had
disappeared.  He was prepared to jump in after them, even without knowing what
awaited him there in the depths – even if it was a Vork he had to face
head-on.  The choice was not ideal, but he did not even have to consider it. 
He had promised himself that nothing would happen to her while he was at her
side, and he would keep that promise.