Illiya - Taylor Neeran Chronicles #1

Chapter 13 - Overnight Bag

Just a quick question

"Taylor, um, have you got a minute?" asked Henry as he rushed up to her, all out of breath. One hand was held behind his back.

"Oh hi, Henry, good morning. Char said we're going on a long walk and he wants to get going now so we're not caught out in the forest tonight. We should be back later tomorrow. Can it wait?" Taylor said, watching Char nearing the edge of the forest.

Henry took a deep breath. "It'll just take a minute."

"Um, Char's almost disappeared over there in the trees, and I've got to follow him or I'll get lost. Tomorrow, okay?"

"Ah, sure, Taylor. Tomorrow. I guess it can wait."

"Thanks!" she said and gave Henry a quick kiss on the cheek before she started running.

"Great," muttered Henry, letting the single white flower fall from his hand.

Walk in the woods

"Wait up!" yelled Taylor as she entered the gloom of the forest.

"We must hurry," said Char. "You were wasting time. It is a long walk."

"That? Oh, Henry was just trying to tell me something, but he said it could wait until we got back. It can't have been that important."

Char nodded. "Today, we have a long lesson while we walk. Did you want to get out your... paper... to help you remember?"

"That's right!" said Taylor as she slipped off her backpack and fumbled with the zipper. She held the strap in her teeth and zipped it shut.

"Ready to go!" she said as she hefted the backpack over her shoulder and waved the notebook and pen.

"Good. Now, I will tell you of Illiya history. It is a good topic for a long walk as it is a long history."

Taylor scribbled madly as she walked. She was getting used to walking in the forest, neatly stepping over roots with only the occasional glance between scribbles.

Aarden

Taylor and Char had been walking for an hour when they heard a loud noise behind them.

Taylor stopped in the middle of the 'trail' that Char was following, although to her it looked like any other gap through the trees. "What is it?"

Char stepped behind a tree and motioned for Taylor to do the same. "Shh."

The noise grew louder. Taylor thought she heard screaming. The noise was getting closer.

A green figure came running towards them, gesturing wildly. Char stepped out and grabbed the Illiya just before they fell to the ground. Deep gouges on their back were oozing dark fluid. One word escaped their lips before they fell still. "Aarden!"

Char stood up and grabbed Taylor's hand in a strong grip. "We must run."

Taylor resisted, pulling back. "No! We need to go help!"

Char shook his head, tightening his grip. "No, we must run. Run or die."

Taylor ran alongside Char, but she was having trouble keeping her balance with him holding her hand. "Let me go!"

Char let go of her hand and ran beside her. Taylor stretched out her strides to try to keep up.

They had been running together for several minutes when Taylor tripped on a leaf-covered root and brought up her hands to protect her face as she fell. She heard a crunch as her left wrist smashed into a root and her hand bashed into her nose. Char ran back to her, bent down and swept her up into his arms. After he adjusted his balance for her weight in his arms, Char resumed running. "Run! Run or die!"

Taylor could hear noises behind them, getting closer. A howl, no, three, four, a whole pack. They were being hunted. Char ran faster and faster, twisting and turning through the forest, splashing through small streams and running up small creeks before continuing on through row after row of trees. They worked their way up hills and down the far sides, Char running all the way.

Char kept running long after the sounds of pursuit fell away. Finally, after what felt like hours, Char stopped and carefully let Taylor down to stand on the ground. Char sagged down and slumped against the trunk of a tree.

"Where are we?" asked Taylor, holding her sore left wrist. "Are we there yet?"

Char took a few moments to respond. "No. I do not know. In evading the Aarden, I took many turns, up, down creeks. I tried to lose our scent in the water. Then more turns, and more paths I do not know."

"So you don't know where we are?" Taylor asked quietly.

"No."

"You mean we're lost."

"Yes."

"And you don't have any memory of this place from your... memory tree things."

"No. Not for the past several hours."

"And those things - those howling things that were chasing us - they were... Aarden? Meat eaters?"

"Yes."

"And they attacked the village?"

"I must believe so, yes. Thraak died coming to warn us. He was of our village."

"What about the crew? My mother?"

Char shook his head. "I do not know. Perhaps they escaped in your - flyer."

"I hope so," said Taylor. "I really do. Wait! We can call them to check, and maybe they can come find us. Mum gave me another wrist communicator for my birthday and..." she inspected her left wrist, which had begun to show a dark purple bruise from the impact with the root.

She carefully moved her hand back and forth, sliding the black circle of plastic around her wrist. She poked at it with a finger, but nothing happened. A deep crack ran right through the face of the device where it had hit the rock. "Dammit! It's dead."

Char looked up. "It protected you. No broken bones."

Taylor unstrapped the useless communicator from her wrist and dropped it on the ground. "I think I'd rather have a broken wrist or a cut face. Now we're really lost."

Char nodded slowly. "We must wait before we try to go back. Aarden may stay for many days, hunting in the forest. It is not yet safe to return."

"But we don't know where we are or how to get back," said Taylor.

"This is true," sighed Char as he closed his eyes.

Taylor looked around at the trees and shivered. It was getting darker and a chill damp was creeping up from the forest floor.

"Char?"

"Yes, Taylor?"

"I miss my Mum."

"Yes."

"Can I... sit by you? It's cold," she shivered again.

"If you like."

Taylor walked over to where Char lay resting against the tree. She lay down and curled into him, putting her shoulder under his left arm. She unzipped the backpack and pulled out a thin blanket. "Did you need this too?"

"No, I will be warm enough."

Taylor spread out the blanket, covering everything but her toes. She overlapped the blanket onto Char's legs rather than tucking it in.

"Thank you," said Char, touching the edge of the blanket.

"Thank you for saving me. Again," she pulled the peak of the baseball cap down over her eyes and snuggled in deeper between Char's arm and chest. "Mmm, you're warm."

"You are very welcome, Taylor Alice Neeran."

"You remember my full name," smiled Taylor. "That's nice."

Char rested his other hand lightly on her head to add some warmth against the cold. "Rest well, Taylor."

But Taylor was already fast asleep.