Terror of the Shadow

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The dark, confined cabins of the Kannebore began to remind Laban far too much of the inside of a cave. Laban struggled to draw just one breath from the air that had long grown stale. The lights were set so dim that even a moonless night would have been jealous of its darkness.
   
So Laban was grateful when all twelve massive wheels ground to a halt. An alarm blared. Those who had been trying to catch a few extra minutes of sleep were startled awake.

A warning came over the intercom instructing everyone to don their gas masks. Laban slipped his over his face. He made sure it was secure, lest any of the toxic atmosphere find its way into his lungs.

Laban could hear the mechanisms somewhere far beneath his feet working to lower the enormous ramp that led outside. Once the first few people had unstrapped themselves from their seats and began moving towards the stairs, the cabin suddenly exploded into a mad frenzy of activity.
Laban turned to Gael, who looked about as reticent as he was to be trampled in the crowd.

"Maybe we should stick together," Laban said.

Gael nodded faintly. He held tightly to the edges of Laban's robes all the way down the stairs. Once they had reached the loading bay, however, Laban felt his small hand let go. He looked around, but the boy had disappeared. Another announcement warbled over the intercom, but Laban couldn't hear it over the noise of the other hunters. Laban thought he heard Nimrod's voice shouting through the din: "Come on! Just let me fly the thing! I'm the best damn pilot in this lot..."

Stepping off the edge of the boarding ramp and onto the soil felt almost, Laban imagined, like stepping onto a new world. He knew that it was just another part of the same desert that he had known all his life, but everything here was different. The air was slightly cooler and refreshingly damp. But the biggest difference was the color green.
The Kannebore had chosen to rest at the bottom of a shallow riverbed. The sandy slopes rose gently upward, cresting lazily over the banks. A crown of fluffy, green shrubs lined the ridge above them.

Shouts of "I've never seen so much green in all my life!" and "We've hit the jackpot!" could be heard from the others. The hunters tripped over their own feet as they scrambled up the deep sand of the banks.

"Well, hello there, brother," someone said, striding up to meet Laban. "Looks like you made it after all."

"Hey, Kol," Laban replied. "So... I guess there's food here?"

"Seems as though there is, yes."

Kol leaned over and scooped up a handful of the sand.

"It's still very damp. During the wet season, I'd be willing to bet that water still flows through here. Although, I don't imagine it gets any higher than a few feet."

"Does it rain here?" asked Laban.

Kol shrugged. "It may," he said. "But we won't be here long enough to find out."

"But if there are plants, there must be animals nearby, right?"

"That's what I hope. Come on, brother. Let's get a group together and see what we can find. Have you got a weapon?"

"Er... I've got a knife."

"Is that all? No firearms?"

"At the armory... Nimrod said I shouldn't use one."

Laban saw Kol's eyes roll behind his mask. "That man thinks he's in charge..." he muttered.

Kol unholstered the pistol at his side and handed it to Laban.

"Take this," he said. "Do you know how to use it?"

"I guess. Torreck showed me some before I went out on my first trip."

"Just don't point it at anything you don't plan on killing."

Kol turned to face the groups disembarking from the mouth of the Kannebore. "Aaron! Ilai!" he shouted. Two men turned in their direction. "Come with us! We're heading up north. The more hands we've got, the better."

"This is Laban," Kol said to the others.

"Of course we've heard your name, Survivor," Ilai said, shaking Laban's hand. "But I look forward to getting to know you personally."

"And it can't hurt to have him on our team. You know... just in case we run into any War'acks," Aaron laughed.

Laban understood that this was a half-joke, but that still meant there was something that they half-believed. But out of all the people in their little party, Laban knew that he was probably the least likely person to take down a War'ack today. What exactly had all these rumors been saying about him? Was he the only person in Ura-chan who hadn't heard them at this point?
Laban gingerly tucked the gun into his belt, careful not to pull back on the hammer or put his fingers too near the trigger. He dug his feet into the muddy sand and followed the others up the bank.

When they had cleared the top, they discovered that the verdure was much more scarce than they could see from their vantage point at the bottom; the greenery hugged closely to the wet edges of the riverbed, but wouldn't venture out very far into the much drier soil around it.

Kol stooped down close to the ground. One by one, he looked at the leaves and stalks of several of the bushy plants surrounding him.

"None of these are particularly useful to us..." said Kol. "But this one looks like some little creature has been nibbling at it. Let's keep moving."
Laban put his foot forward. The other stuck fast to the dirt behind him. He was frozen in place. The invisible hands of fear wrapped its icy fingers around his ankles, compelling him to stay exactly where he was. He wouldn't move another muscle.

"A-are you sure we should go this way? Is it safe?" Laban stammered. His voice quivered uneasily. Kol stopped mid-stride.

"Is something wrong Laban?" Kol asked over his shoulder. The other two in their party looked equally confused, but also showed traces of concern.

Aaron squinted his eyes, peering far off into the horizon for any indication of danger.

"No..." Laban said. "It's just... I just don't feel comfortable. Something isn't right."

Kol turned back around. He waved his hand forward, indicating that they should keep moving. Aaron and Ilai followed closely behind.

Laban couldn't stop the rapid beating of his heart, but he could try to ignore it. His knees knocked together, but he eventually convinced them to move. Keep one eye facing forward and one eye facing back. That's what Kol had said, isn't it? Laban looked timidly over his shoulder. He half-expected to see some sort of fiendish spectre standing over him, grinning mischievously as he cast his spells. But there was nothing. Nothing but harmless shrubs and grass, dancing with the gentle breeze. Laban took a long breath, and ran to catch up with the others.