Falling Downwards

How to get from point A to B

A loud piercing shriek came from the boiled kettle, Tristan could see Jody sleeping on the couch, blankets pulled to her ears. Daniel was sat on the floor by her, still looking at the maps. Every once in a while he would scribble something on the maps and look at them like he solved the puzzle to end world hunger.
" Daniel, the noodles are almost ready will you wake up Jody." He poured the boiling water out of the kettle and into three separate cups, his hands burning from the heat of the kettle pushing against his skin.
" Tristan I don't think I can, she kind of scares me."
"Jody has that affect on people, just wake her up, this is burning my hands." Daniel gently poked Jody on the shoulder hoping not to startle her, she woke up slowly, clearly confused at first to where she was and who the boy was sitting in front of her. She looked so tired, the colour drained from her face.

The smell of the Noddles spread around the cabin, suddenly Jody was standing beside him, he didn't know she was behind him until her hand reached up to the cupboard in front of her. " How long do you think until they find us?" She was planning ahead, noticing things before others did, she knew how everyone felt by just looking at them. " You look worried, I thought it might have been because you know we have to leave soon," she whispered now to stop Daniel from hearing, " the guards will find us if we stay here we have to go, we have to 'be gone' by tomorrow evening. They'll find us if we stay and you know that." He did know it, although he hated admitting she was right. " Your right, we have to leave but where will we go? We can't go back to chansdon they will look for us there, we should go to...."

Tristan was cut of mid sentence when a gun shot echoed through the forest surrounding them, all of a sudden Daniel was alert, holding a gun to the door of the cabin, for a guy who can't swim he might have a few hidden skills which they could use. Jody stood in the kitchen finishing her noodles, not caring that death could be standing outside the door, but she could handle herself, she has powers all she has to do is wave her hand and you could fold over in pain.

Nothing happened. No guards came bursting through the door or smashing through the windows, the gun fire had stopped and Jody had finished slurping her Noddles from the cup. They sat around the table looking at the maps, which had scribbles drawn all over them from Daniels deep thoughts.

"Why have you drawn X's all over this part, we need to be able to see the map to read it you know!" Jody exclaimed, she pointed to the X's scrawled across the map pointing out possible routes they could have went down all of which now had red ink splodged across the paths. "I only drew the X's where we couldn't go if you look up here it's too close to the castle and everyone around this area are supporters of the king," he pointed to the top right hand corner of the map, Chansdon, is straight through the big red X," if I am right..." " Which you probably aren't." Interupted Jody.

" If I am right, they would have put wanted posters up and I don't think they would care if we are brought to them dead or alive." Jody hated to admit it but he had a point, it would be better to go to a country where they are least likely to get recognised then go to a place where there is a bounty on their head. " Ok then, what do we do boy scout." She winked at him, he was amused knowing he had cracked the wall of hatred built around her for a moment, but in that short moment of defeat he saw a girl who was scared and fragile. It was quickly replaced again with distaste. She got up from the table and started rooting in the wardrobes.

" So we are heading west then, towards elf shore." Tristan was running over the plan for what must have been the millionth time in around twenty minutes. Jody liked this side of him, the side that planned, instead of making irrational decisions that would most likely get them killed, she was also glad that she was rubbing off on him.

Ding! A light bulb went off in her brain... Elf Shore!!!

"Wait, when I first got here there was a sheet with numbers and elf shore written on it, it was hand written." She was packing her bag with the necessities for the trip but had quickly dropped it when the memory came to mind. " What do you mean, where is the sheet?" Tristan was surprised but there was also curiosity in his eyes. " I don't know where the sheet is but what if the numbers where latitude and longitude for some where in elf shore." They started looking at the map when Jody recited the numbers from memory 44063204, 67024509.

" Was the note signed?" Tristan was acting weird, frightened. " No, but it could have been one of the others, the deserted, we never found out what happened to them. They may have gotten here and are now telling us where to find them, think about it their clothes and stuff weren't here, someone had to have taken them." Tristan kept putting his clothes into his bag then walked to the sink to fill his flask. " Or it could be someone setting us a trap or someone that we have crossed paths with before, Jody we have alot of enemies some of which who were, the deserted, but they betrayed us, they know where these hideouts are too." She hates being second guess and Tristan must of noticed because he went on to say, " we just have to be careful about what we do next."

She could live with that, doing what needs doing with caution and she new it killed him to have to be the reasonable one. They kept packing and by 7 O'clock they were waiting for there chance to leave.

They would have had to cross the lake again at some point the best point possibly being where all the guards were, and the rowing boat. Daniel felt like a weakling, not being able to swim, it was his fault that they had to take the dangerous route, he couldn't swim so they had to go back to the boat. They were walking through the forest, Jody leading the way, Tristan not far behind, neither of them had weapons but Daniel guessed they had powers which would come in handier. Their heads kept moving from left to right, watching in the trees surrounding them, for unwanted visitors.

It was awkward walking around with them, not talking Daniel thought. "Guys why do they say that you are falling downwards, I don't get it?"
"Daniel, ssh.... You know we want to get out of this forest alive!" Jody turned to him with a look that could have killed and for all he knew it possibly could.

Tristan turned to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward, he whispered as he walked," people say we are falling downwards because they say we are going to hell. It's not a nice term when others say it too us but when we say it to each other it's not derogatory." Tristan looked up at Jody further ahead," give her a while she will come around she doesn't trust easily, she's has a really rubbish life so far."

Daniel noticed that Tristan cared about her, he could see it in the way he looked at her, in the way he listened to her and took on bored what she said, he didn't seem the type to take others opinions on bored." Ok. I will just wait until she trusts me before I speak out of turn again."they laughed in unison, then all of a sudden Jody was flung off her feet and landed in front of them on her back. They both reached down and pulled her onto her feet.

"Ouch, that hurt." She was holding her head in pain, as Tristan let go of her arm she fell towards the floor but Daniel kept hold of her arm holding her up. Tristan scanned the trees around them but couldn't find anything. He pulled Jody's arm around his shoulders and Daniel followed suit and the carried her towards the rowing boat.
"What happened!?" Shouted Daniel as they set her down in the rowing boat.
"I don't know but this isn't good. If it's the castle they are using our own people against us or its someone that has a real bad thing for Jody."
"We should get out of here, quickly."