Past in the Future by Lisa Krnac

Chapter 8

The night came quickly over the trees. The cavern made everything more scary. Henry had been sleeping since Peter left and he was shivering under Nadine's coat. Every sound went to Nadine's bones. She had her bow and arrow in hand and kept ready. Every time there was a sound Nadine strung her bow and waited for something to come into the light. For many hours Nadine wouldn't sleep. She paced around the fire hoping that nothing happened to Peter.

Nadine's eyes got very heavy and she soon fell asleep with the bow and arrow in hand. The fire went dim and soon the light went out.

Nadine woke with a bright light in her eyes. She looked up to see stars in the sky and turned to see that the fire was on. She figured that Peter must have put it on and looked around to find him. Nadine's eyes were adjusting to the surroundings and she saw a figure kneeling over her brother. When her vision came into focus she realized that it wasn't Peter. She picked up her bow and arrow and got a clear shot on the figure. "Step away from him." Nadine demanded. The figure stopped and looked in Nadine's direction. He was a tall man with short brown hair and clean shaven. He wore a cap and wore brown tunic and pants with black riding boots. It was then that she noticed a big black Friesen horse tied on a tree.

"I am not going to hurt him." He had said with his hands up. "I have medicine that will help your brother now please put down the bow." Nadine stared into his eyes and saw that he was serious, but she was not convinced. "Who are you? What do you want from us?".

"I mean you no harm. My name is Dustin. Peter sent me to bring medicine to a boy. I am a friend of Xander."

"Put your medicine on the ground so I can inspect it. And put all your weapons down too." Dustin obeyed and put down his long sword and the knifes from his belt and then went away for Nadine to come closer. Nadine kept the bow pointed and came close to the medicine. Nadine noticed that her brother was sweating with a fever and that he wasn't able to wake. She saw the medicine in the pouch, but she didn't recognize the leaves crumbled together. Her brother needed something and Nadine just hoped that this Dustin was telling the truth. She grabbed the weapons and than turned around and said "ok but anything funny and I will shoot this through your heart." Dustin nodded and went to work. He added some water to the mixture and opened the bandage. The cut was infected and swollen. Henry didn't move as Dustin put the medicine in his cut.

"the knife that struck him was poisoned." Dustin had said and than the bandage was put back on Henry's arm and he stood to face Nadine."Peter said you would be difficult"

"Why didn't he come if he knew I would be difficult."

"He ran the whole way from here. Peter wouldn't have survived the trip back, even on horseback. Right now your brother is very sick, I need to get him to Xander for some stronger medicine."

"Ok, say that I trust you. If you end up tricking me I will kill you." Nadine said the words with such confidence. She thought about what she said. She might have killed one man, but she didn't know if she had it in her to kill another.

"I understand." Dustin said. And that was it, he didn't argue or make a fuss. They put Henry on the horse and they started walking quickly through the dark. Nadine kept Dustin's sword and knives because she didn't trust him. Nadine had no idea what time it could be, but the morning sun was soon coming up. Nadine was in a state of confusion. She didn't know who to trust or what to do. She was determined to save her brother and she would do anything to see that happen.

Lisa Krnac