To the Ends of the Earth

Epilogue

Clive

"Again." I commanded.

Gabriel frowned at me but complied, lowering into a fighting stance to mimic mine. He was coming along well, though I'd yet to see a repeat of the efficiency with which he'd briefly fought on our way out of the village. Then, when confronted by one of the slavers directly, he'd responded as if possessed, executing precise movements to disable his opponent.

He'd admitted to some boxing experience in what he called his "supposed-to" life, but expounding upon that proved to be challenging and it didn't explain that moment. It was as if someone else had taken him over and I was having trouble finding that person again.

He lunged, a bit sloppily, and I had no problem dodging his reaching arms before sweeping his feet out from under him. He landed on his back with a huff.

I lowered my hand and helped him back up to his feet.

"You're projecting. You tense up right before you make a move. It tells me exactly what you're going to do. You need to relax."

He frowned and darted a quick glance off towards the road. "Sure. Relax."

I sighed and dusted my hands off on my pants. We really needed to find some new clothes. I was still kicking myself for not taking the time to strip the masked slaver of his uniform as well as his gun and ammunition. I would not make that mistake again if the opportunity presented itself.

"I think we're done for the day. Go get some rest with the others and I'll take first watch. We have a lot of ground to cover tonight."

He didn't argue, joining our two traveling companions at the edge of the woods and rifling through his pack for something to sleep on.

We'd reached the other side of the woods within two days. Turns out the protection of the woods around our borders had been quite the illusion indeed. When we got here at daybreak, we found a large road that edged the woods and moved off into the horizon. A town could be seen off in the distance, but we were too far away to see details.

The slavers have been moving trussed up villagers from farther down the road all day and loading them into giant trucks that reminded me of open livestock transports. The others had dropped their jaws in awe. Maybe they'd never seen anything like it on earth, but I had. Let's just say it wasn't my first experience that I could remember with the capture and trade of human beings.

We've spent our time hiding out of sight and beginning the basics of self-defense, at my insistence. I won't risk myself to save any of them despite what they might believe, but neither do I want their death or capture on my conscience. The dichotomy of those feelings isn't lost on me, but that leaves me with teaching them to watch their own backs. All except Danny. He's vicious enough without my training. We sparred once and we both agreed I should focus on the other two.

I can tell that Maggie, and maybe even Gabriel sometimes, would like to try and help the captured villagers. Only Danny and I are sensible enough to understand that there's nothing we can do. Not here, not now.

Odds are most of them will be taken to one of the large cities Gabriel is so intent on reaching. I'm not sure what he thinks he's going to find there, but we only have so many choices. Maybe, once we're there, I can figure out a way to free Bertie. Or buy her. The only moment that gave me pause was when I spotted her familiar blonde head among a group of women at the back of one of the trucks. Her fate doesn't bare thinking about.

We plan to move at night, at the very least until we can find a change of clothes that aren't so conspicuous. We'll most likely end up following the path of the transport trucks, I assume their first stop will be the town we can see in the distance. Maggie overheard a conversation between two of the masked slavers that leads me to believe the town is called Dunmar. We'll get new clothes, more supplies if we can, and hopefully some kind of directions. I'm not sure I have much hope for this insane little journey but we aren't captured and we have limited options. We're better off than the rest of the villagers in any case.

I'll spend the next few hours watching the activities of the slavers as they spend their time rounding up their acquisitions and organizing to move. It looks like they will be traveling at night as well, from what I can tell. I doubt they'll wait another whole day before they move.

I'll watch them for a bit longer (what else can I do after all?) and then I'll wake one of the others so I can get some rest before the long journey ahead.