The Fall

If you’ve arrived here please start at Chapter One

Chapter 2

He Tauiwi/The Foreigner

The Valley, New Zealand. 209 years after The Fall.

The boy is on his stomach as he makes his way toward a cliff’s edge. He is dirty, out of breath and scarred which makes him look much older than his fifteen years. He eyes the village and the valley below. It is surrounded by wooden walls and carved palisades. Smoke rises from chimneys and outdoor metal drums and fireplaces. People are going about their daily business. 

The boy moves away from the cliff's edge, takes his backpack off and eases himself back against a shrub. Pulling a water bottle out he drinks thirstily and catches his breath. This isn’t how he expected things to turn out. Who are these people? Can they be trusted? What am I going to do?

From a distance an echo drifts up the valley. He ignores it at first, drinking and resting. But hearing it again makes him uneasy. Nervously he strains to hear exactly what it is. The noise is closer. And clearer. His heart sinks.

Dogs!

The boy jumps up and runs for the cover of the bush. He looks back and sees he has left his backpack behind. He needs it. His life absolutely depends on it. 

The boy scrambles back grabbing his backpack and stuffing his water bottle inside. But when he turns to run there is a man standing in front of him. The man, Perenara is shocked to see the boy. He holds his hands up to calm him.

"Hey, it’s ok."

The boy tries to side step the but isn’t fast enough. Perenara grabs the backpack strap.

"Where’re you going kid?" The boy fights, struggles but the Perenara is big and much stronger. He easily rips the bag out the boys hands. The boy reaches into his pocket a whips out a knife. Perenara is shocked.

"Hey, there’s no need for that". The boy lunges at him with intent. Perenara jumps aside just in time. He eyes the boy. "Put that down before I hurt you."

The boy is puffing and angry. He points at the backpack.

"Who are you, kid?" The boy extends his hand further, pointing at the backpack. Perenara is quick. He grabs the boys hand and pulls him into a headlock.

"Drop the..." Before he can finish the boy swings his arm low. The knife digs in under Perenara’s kneecap. He screams, dropping the boy, stumbles backward and falls over the cliff. 

Perenara hits the rocks hard, smashing his head and is killed instantly. The backpack lands on the ground next to him. A small black disc flies out of the pack and slides under a shrub.

The boy peers over the cliff at Perenara’s twisted body. The man means nothing to him. The backpack does. Tears of anger fills his eyes but there is no time. The barking is moving closer every second.

Terrified the boy runs for the cover of the bush. He is sure footed and fast, smashing branches aside and jumping shrubs and roots. The barking echoes from every direction. Suddenly he comes across a clearing and stops. Clearings are places of danger and vulnerability. But the dogs are on to him. He has to run. He eyes a space in the trees across the other side and sprints. He is halfway across the clearing when the dogs appear. In his blind terror, he doesn’t see the twine carefully placed just above the ground. He trips on the twine and falls through leaves and branches and into a deep pit. 

Hitting the ground hard dazes him. He looks up at the dogs leaning over the pits edge growling and barking. There is a command. The dogs quieten and back off. Two people, Panea and Tiki approach the pit. They look down at their catch. They can not believe what they see.

"Quick, get him out of there", Panea shouts as the boy slips into unconsciousness.