In the Panther's Wake

Chapter 36

"Markus, look!"

I point up at the seagull, watching it glide in the currents, not needing to flap its wings, perched on the wind.

I can't believe my eyes and the gull squawks again. Markus sits up to my left and I hear him laugh. I hug him, watching the seagull glide away beneath the sun, swerving off to the south-east.

"The sand is salty."

Markus puts his finger to his lips and his eyes go wide. "Maybe we're almost there."

I jump to my feet and pull Markus to his.

"A seagull! I don't believe it!"

I can't stop smiling and stare out to the east across the horizon. Dim in the distance, I can make out a rise in the land. Low peaks—hills. I search for a shiny glare beyond, the glimmer of waves, but the sun is too bright and the horizon too far away.

I face Markus. "We have to keep going. We must be so close now."

He nods vigorously. "I know... it's just so hard."

I take out the flask and shake it. A final few sips left. "We should have this now," I say.

Markus takes the flask and pours a final few drops on to his tongue, passes it to me. I take the last drops, close my eyes, and we face the east ready for one final trek.

I quickly grow delirious again, drifting in the waves of heat as we walk, longing for waves of cool. But the sand goes on, even as hills rise beside us. We start to pass small shrubs, only skeletons, but still signs of life. The sand before us begins to rise upwards in a gentle slant, and I realise we've been moving gently uphill for quite some time.

Markus crashes to the ground beside me, the burning sun at our backs giving him a final swipe. He tumbles and smacks his head, jerking his neck. He groans and I kneel beside him, helping him to sit up. He doesn't say a word; I just listen to his hoarse breathing, his raspy throat rattling my ears. I listen as the rasp grows deeper, another sound joining in, a quiet rush. I look up and turn around, expecting to see vehicles rolling across the ground.

But there's nothing there, nothing on the desert's fringe, so I step away from Markus and strain my ears again. I close my eyes, trying to block everything out, except the quiet sound of that gentle charge. And I hear it, a roll and crash, a roll and a crash.

"Waves," I whisper. "Waves!"

I heave Markus to his feet, putting his arm over my shoulder. We move forwards like that, stepping slowly towards the sound. The peak of the rise is just up ahead, a long straight band of sand ending in blue sky. I step quicker. Markus' eyes are fierce as he fights the pain. We take the final few steps and are hit with a million tiny sparkles.

The sea stretches out before us.

Blue and deep, it lies glimmering as far as I can see, more beautiful than anything I've ever witnessed. It looks gentle, but also strong, shining brighter than any light, purer, more vivid and real than anything else in this grey world.

I fall to my knees and laugh towards the sky, where a family of seagulls circles over the water. One of them swoops down, slips along the surface of the waves and flies up again, holding something in its talons—a fish.

Markus drops beside me and we hug, laughing and smiling, everything else suddenly gone, wiped clean from our minds. I stare at my big brother, see the tears in his eyes, but finally they're good tears—because we've made it.

**

We stand up and charge down the bank of sand, arms spread wide like the gulls above us. The waves sparkle like treasure, the sand begins to grow hard and moist beneath our feet. I turn to Markus and there's a smile on his face so wide, tears rolling down his cheeks. I laugh aloud and run forwards, pulling him with me. His laughter rolls in my ear, along with the sound of the waves, the splash, the rise and fall.

We collapse into the cool water and it burns at first—the salt. But then the burning stops, as if all the bad we've seen, all the misery and pain is cleansed off. Underneath, we're us, we're free. We hug each other on our knees, as another wave crashes down over our heads. We splash and jump and dive until we can no longer move from exhaustion.

I crawl onto the beach and lie in the red sunset. The sea looks pink, a crumpled sheet of metal that glimmers on forever. Markus lies beside me and we watch the mountains in the distance. I think I can see figures moving in the trees, but it could just be the wind moving branches and shadows. I can't tell what they are and right now, I don't care.

I turn back to the water, breathing in the sea air. It's salty, sharp and clean.

"We made it, Markus."

My brother sits up, looking at me and a slight smile pushes out his cheeks.

His hair flops and clumps in the wind. "We did, little brother."

I continue to watch the water, our mission complete. We set out to find the sea and here we are, bathed in its water and now bathing in its glow.

I don't know what lies in the mountains, or beyond. I don't know what we're going to do next or even where we'll sleep tonight.

What I do know is that we made it, against all odds. The panther guided us; came when we needed him most—but it was us who made it, Markus and I.

That's the most important thing. We were never alone, and we'll never be alone as long as we have each other.

As I said, I don't remember much of before, but it was meant to be better—easier. There were things in the world then that won't ever be seen again, and that might be sad for those who remember, but not for me. This is the world I know, this is the world I live in. And after what Markus and I have fought through, I'm not afraid of anything.

The life we had in the city wasn't always easy, but I still miss it. I guess if you live any way for long enough you'll miss it when it's over. We made the best of it, and Markus and I will keep on making the best of it.

We'll find food and we'll keep going, following the line of the waves until we find a stream and water we can drink. The waves will roll over our feet, constantly reminding us of where we are—the sea. I still can't believe it.

We'll walk till we find somewhere safe; maybe we can build a shelter, like the one we had in the metro station.

And then...I can't say. I don't know, I don't care. We'll be Ok. Like my father said, together we'll always be Ok. Markus is of the sea, and here he is, where he was always meant to be. I'm a warrior, and maybe now I'm on my way too. But it's just the beginning of that journey.

Markus sits over my left shoulder, only Markus, and for now, that's all I need to know.

Two thorns beside the sea, growing strong.