{"id":188,"date":"2010-03-20T17:30:55","date_gmt":"2010-03-20T23:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atfmb.com\/Evermist\/?p=188"},"modified":"2010-03-20T21:36:27","modified_gmt":"2010-03-21T03:36:27","slug":"chapter-twenty-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/atfmb.com\/Evermist\/2010\/03\/chapter-twenty-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Twenty-Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2010, Patrick Hester.\u00a0 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n

Chapter Twenty-Four<\/h1>\n

The road itself was wider than he thought it would be, easily capable of having six or seven horses ride side by side without bumping or jostling each other.\u00a0 Eli kept his horse as near the middle as he could, keenly aware of the sheer drop awaiting him over the edge.\u00a0 Luckily, Jaycn kept talking, and concentrating on his voice made it easier to ignore the fact that they were climbing higher and higher with every step forward.<\/p>\n

“We won’t see much trouble today,” Jaycn said.\u00a0 “I’ve only heard of seeds making it this far over the Wall, never seen it with my own eyes.”<\/p>\n

“All right,” he said, trying not to notice how high they were already; the pier below was beginning to fade behind a haze.<\/p>\n

“It’s always rough when you’re new.\u00a0 You’ll get caught up really quick.\u00a0 Just do what I say when I say it, don’t mouth off to anyone.\u00a0 Everyone needs everyone here.\u00a0 Don’t make enemies.”<\/p>\n

“I hadn’t planned on it,” Eli said.\u00a0 Jaycn grunted.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“I know you have questions.\u00a0 Now is the time to ask them, before it gets crazy.\u00a0 We’ll have time in the Keep, but here it’s just us, a couple of scouts.”\u00a0 Jaycn clicked his tongue and slowed his horse to ride beside Eli.\u00a0 He set the pace at a quick walk, not quite a trot.<\/p>\n

“I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do,” Eli offered after a moment.\u00a0 He had other questions he wanted to ask, but somehow, they didn’t seem appropriate and he didn’t want to offend the older man.\u00a0 Jaycn merely nodded.<\/p>\n

“It’s difficult to explain here where you can’t see things for yourself.\u00a0 Up top, it’ll be more clear.\u00a0 Essentially, we ride before the patrol.\u00a0 Not out of sight, just a bit ahead.\u00a0 You ever go hiking out in the wilderness?”\u00a0 Eli shook his head ‘no’.\u00a0 “Well, it’s not like that at all.\u00a0 In the wild, you look for a bent bit of grass, maybe a broken branch on a low tree or a bush, indent in the mud – anything that might point to someone or something dangerous coming your way.”\u00a0 Eli nodded; that made sense to him though he couldn’t imagine how you would notice ‘bent grass’, especially from the saddle of a horse.<\/p>\n

“Here, you look for anything that isn’t right; it can be a bump in the snow on the road, an acorn in your path, tracks in the snow.\u00a0 You also listen.\u00a0 The top, it’s quiet; deathly so.\u00a0 You hear a creaking, a rustling, maybe the pop of a branch snapping from the cold, that’s the only warning you’re going to get before it all happens.\u00a0 You hear any of that, you sound the alarm, warn the men.”<\/p>\n

“What have you seen?” he asked.<\/p>\n

“Everything.\u00a0 Too much, sometimes.\u00a0 I keep trying to leave but the island brings me back.”<\/p>\n

“I wondered…” Eli didn’t finish.\u00a0 He’d wondered why someone Jaycn’s age would be here, or still be here.<\/p>\n

“Why I went beyond my five years?” Jaycn barked a harsh laugh.\u00a0 “I’ve left this place three times.\u00a0 Each time, I tried to forget what I’d seen, what I’d done, but I couldn’t.\u00a0 There’s just something about this island; it gets under your skin, into your head and it won’t let go.\u00a0 So I keep coming back until it’s done with me.\u00a0 I also make better money here than I’ve ever managed out there.\u00a0 Not good at much else.”\u00a0 Jaycn shrugged.<\/p>\n

Eli didn’t say anything for a long time.\u00a0 He kept his eyes on the road before him, his hands on the reins of his horse, but something was nagging at him.\u00a0 Jaycn seemed content to ride.\u00a0 When they came to the bend and started up in the opposite direction, he could see the rest of the squad about half way up the first leg.<\/p>\n

“Do you have strange dreams?” he finally asked.<\/p>\n

“Dreams?\u00a0 Sometimes.\u00a0 I think we all do.”<\/p>\n

“Do we ever… go inside?\u00a0 Inside the Wall?”<\/p>\n

Jaycn blew out a hard breath.\u00a0 “Yes.\u00a0 Not often, but sometimes we have to go in and clear out the ring.\u00a0 It’s hard work, back breaking and dirty.\u00a0 They usually use it as punishment for anyone breaking the rules or causing trouble.\u00a0 You only have to do it once to toe the line.”<\/p>\n

“Have you ever…?”<\/p>\n

“Once, yes.\u00a0 I don’t recommend it.”<\/p>\n

“What about deeper?”<\/p>\n

“Deeper?” Jaycn asked.<\/p>\n

“Into the island.\u00a0 Into the forest.”<\/p>\n

“No,” Jaycn said emphatically.\u00a0 “Never.\u00a0 No one has that I’ve ever heard of.\u00a0 It would be suicide.\u00a0 Damn trees would shred you.”<\/p>\n

Eli nodded but he kept remembering his dream and the ancient temple covered in vines…<\/p>\n

Tell your friends:<\/em>
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\u00a9 2010, Patrick Hester.\u00a0 All Rights Reserved Chapter Twenty-Four The road itself was wider than he thought it would be, easily capable of having six or seven horses ride side by side without bumping or jostling each other.\u00a0 Eli kept his horse as near the middle as he could, keenly aware of the sheer drop […]<\/p>\n

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