Kidnapped to Another World

KTAW Chapter 14, revised

Please check out my Amazon page for my other works. I also have some free stuff up on my website, and on SH.

Thank you for your support. 

Chapter 14

We edged closer to see what they'd signaled us for. All we knew was that something was ahead of us.

"Be quiet or we'll be discovered!" people whispered, passing it down the line as I neared toward the small hidden area where the commotion was coming from. People are still edgy from what happened during the attacks, and looking over their shoulder.

By now we were several miles from the orc fortress and the school. Maybe half a day journey away? It's a beautiful green area with lots of cover. And lots of trees are here too. But who would have known this area was so deadly either?

After talking so long I didn't realize it but we'd gotten pretty far. We'd been steadily climbing down into a rich valley area which had a bit of a slope but was getting more and more green the further we progressed. The grassland area felt cool to travel in but it was also making the edges of our pants dewy and a bit wet, we could smell all kinds of things in the air too with its rich freshness. It was very different from growing in a concrete city. Here and there I even saw evidence of flowers and bees growing and thriving around in the grass as it slowly but surely became a dense woods area. Surely if it weren't for the orcs this would have been the type of land that would grow buckets of crops for a farm with barely a hoe and plow being used it's so vibrant with life.

But... for it to be controlled by the orcs...how shameful.

Now the school and the orc fortress were just out of sight. But even though we'd made a few miles I didn't feel comfortable with how far we'd gotten just yet. It wasn't far enough to camp yet, nor was it good enough for us to be safe.

We probably weren't going to be that hard to track, I thought.

Creeping forward I had to duck low to stay hidden and found myself entering the hidden opening of a hideaway spot, but that was high up but with sheer drop-offs on either side of the path going into it.

It was a harrowing experience, and then suddenly we were crowding around what looked to be a sort of camouflaged hill overhang with a sheer cliff drop that was above the roaring water sprayed riverbank about forty feet down below that wound through shear sharp tooth shaped rocks. I couldn't see the river at first, but the heavy water vapor and noise of a waterfall close by was obvious and heavily scented the air with a fragrant spray that floated up from below feeling deliciously invigorating. It wasn't until later that I was able to see the fast moving river that was fairly loud below us and that gave off a cold current and vapor above because of its terrific force and speed.

We also had agreed that some of us would go ahead to make sure it was safe. There were several others here already, also staying low.

"Shh! Have everyone stay quiet. These guys might be dangerous!" Akimoto was saying, where he was at the front of the discovery and seemed to be the one knowing what was going on. He was pointing to something below us. Yuta was with him, having crawled up quickly and was one of the first to be there. They were both huddled under cover like the others and I could see the fear in their eyes.

The students had followed him here and there were at least twenty students getting close to this area and many of them were crawling forward on their elbows, laying flat like Akimoto while the others were trying to keep the rest of them quiet. They'd crept right up to the drop off of the precipice which made us somewhat secluded.