New World

My feet hit the dirt trail hard, and I pitched forward down the slope, careening wildly through the trees. By the time I regained my balance, I had to scoot back from the edge of the cliff, crouching against the mountainside to catch my breath. A wide valley stretched out before me, the bottom covered by a shining lake.

It took my breath away for an entirely different reason than the soldiers chasing me. Shouts filled the woods, growing ever closer. So I crept forward and peeked over the edge of the rock. I should be able to handle that. Climb carefully down til I could safely drop. No worries, right?

I swallowed before turning and lowering myself over the edge, working my way slowly down below the tree line, my heart hammering against my ribs until I was safely below the canopy. I kept going, my hands aching and my arms shaking, until my next glance down showed the ground only a couple feet below me. I dropped, skidding in the loose soil, and turned in the direction of the lake.

Why are we forbidden to leave the valley? My older brother’s words echoed in my mind. One of the last things he’d ever said to me. He’d always been the one defending me against the rest of the kids in the village, determined to make sure I knew that my slim build would never let me amount to anything back home. Never a marriage proposal, or a job, or a family.

I picked my way through the forest, angling towards the sound of water to my right. My reply to Branson echoed through my mind as I worked carefully through the undergrowth. Because it’s all dead out there.

But all around me, animals chirped and squawked and sounded the alarm that an intruder had stumbled into their midst. The leaves were green, some of the bushes had clusters of berries tucked away in their branches. The valley had looked lush from above, and even on the ground, I saw little evidence of death, decay, or rot. At least, not on the scale we had been taught covered the rest of the world outside our little valley.

I reached a small stream and knelt beside it, cupping my hands and bringing the water to my face for inspection. It looked clear. Smelled like clean water. I lapped a few drops with my tongue. Tasted fine. I drank it carefully, slowly, but it never gave me any indication of being unclean or harmful.

I’m sorry, Branson. Sorry I doubted you when you needed me most. So, terribly sorry I let you leave alone. I will find you. Someday.

I set out again, following the stream by sound rather than sight. The soldiers would look for me stumbling obviously along the banks, and I refused to give them that satisfaction.

I will find you.

I hadn’t seen any sign of habitation from above. Saw no sign of human contact below. I had no idea where he had gone, which way, or even how far he’d made it. If he’d been caught. The soldiers said they caught everyone, but…Uncle Eris had come back. He hadn’t escaped a second time, but they had definitely lied about the first.

Guess his wild stories aren’t so unbelievable after all.

The sun worked its way down the sky. The sounds of pursuit faded behind me as I grew closer to the lake, once more staying back from the shore. I picked a direction based on difficulty–one side had rocks entangled with the roots of the trees, forming a series of small caves and canyons, which would be far less difficult for me, with my meager provisions, than a fully armored soldier carrying heavy weaponry. I tried to keep following the shoreline barely visible through the trees for as long as I could before I stopped for the night, huddling with my back to a rock wall, tucked into a small crevice. The stars began peeking out over the tops of the trees in front of me as the light faded swiftly now. Much faster than the higher valley we lived in.

What else have they lied about? Are there people out here? Civilization? Other tribes, other villages? Are there any cities left?

How far will I even be able to make it?

Shouts echoed through the night, interrupting the calls of the wilderness. I tensed, but remained still and silent, save the thudding of my heart. I pressed a hand over my chest as if that would silence the damned thing. Almost like it wanted to be forcefully stopped for good.

Lights flashed through the trees, illuminating my surroundings, and I shrank back into my little crevice. But they passed on by. One of them passed so close to the trees blocking me from view that I could smell the sweat on him, hear him muttering curses at the rocks that didn’t hold my light footprints as evidence of my passage. The woods that would not give me up as a sacrifice to regain their peace.

I stayed crouched there long after their calls and lights had faded, my legs cramping and my bladder protesting painfully. I slowly, gently rolled my shoulders and neck to work out the kinks as the sky above me began to lighten. The soldiers nearly always returned to the village by dawn. I was very likely safe…but something told me to stay hidden a while longer, some sense that kept me curling further back into the rock pressed against my back.

It wasn’t until the sun started to drift down from the highest point in the sky that I crawled out, joints and muscles stiff and cracking as I moved, and followed the sound of running water to a nearby stream. I cupped my hands and drank slowly. Once my thirst was satisfied, I turned to look out over the blue expanse of the lake, lined by endless green climbing the slopes surrounding it. And in the gap between the mountains directly opposite me…a wild, thriving expanse of life.