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The Sliver – Part 6 of 6

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< Return to The Sliver Part 5

Kait paused, her mind still struggling to understand what was happening. She stepped towards her brother, but Calos called out pointing towards the floor.

            She looked down, her eyes following a soft splattering sound. Her breath caught in her throat.
            The sliver was not just a piece of a thorn. Somehow, the thing had grown and thin tendrils whipped at the air and ground, slapping against the stones and blood. It bounced as if the flesh and blood had given it unreal life.
            “That… that… was in… me…” Keirn whispered.
            The demonic seed slapped some more, bouncing like a fish out of water. It eventually strayed close to the firewood where the thin tendrils stopped striking stone and hit bark instead. Filled with an unnatural purpose the tendrils wrapped around the wood digging into the surface. The thorny seed sucked against the bark, imbedding itself within the fibrous remains. There, it appeared to take root, new tendrils cracking from the seed’s surface and wrapping around the wood.
            Kait watched in horror as the firewood was quickly enveloped within a green mass. The wood shook from the ordeal splintering beneath the strength of the plants crushing grip.
            Calos immediately sprang forward, rapidly snapping his palm against the piece of wood. As if sensing his approach, some of the tendrils unfolded attempting to wrap around his wrist with their thorny grip. However, the strike came so quickly that they snapped only the empty air as the chunk of wood became airborne. It struck against the floor once before skidding into the dying embers of the fire.
            There was a popping and crackling as the flames leapt upon the new fuel. The fire burst into life as a sickening squeal arose. The sound persisted for a few seconds as the three watched the flames burst along the green plant, running all along its length and turning it into charcoal. The squealing then ceased.
            Kait hurried to her brother, who had already begun tying his blood soaked cloth around his open wound.
            “Are you alright?” she cried.
            He looked up at her. Gone was the wildness that had greeted her earlier, replaced by weariness and a hint of relief.
            “I got it,” he smiled before his head fell back and his eyes closed.
            Kait and Calos picked him up and lay him close to the fire. Calos padded up his bedroll as Kait tied a clean bandage around his hand. She used a damp cloth to clean his arm and face as best she could.
            “I’ll stay up and watch over him,” she told Calos. But he shook his head and refused to go to sleep. The two of them stayed up watching over him until sleep snatched Kait from her persistent vigil.
            When Kait opened her eyes, she was greeted with the bright morning sun. She slowly raised her head, half wondering if the events swimming foggily in her mind of the previous night had just been a bad dream. However, her heart began to beat furiously as she rose from her slumber.
            She was lying alone in that empty inn.
            Neither Calos nor Keirn were anywhere in sight. Keirn’s bedroll was still unrolled on the ground, rumpled and carelessly laid aside. Kait reached around for her bow, affirming its proximity, before she quickly tossed on her over coat. She was just clasping her cloak when Calos strolled casually into the inn, a few large branches tucked under his arm.
            He gave her a quizzical look as he walked to the fire, threw a few fresh pieces of wood on, stoked the flames and stirred the softly boiling pot.
            “Ummm… where’s Keirn?” Kait asked.
            Calos pointed out the door. Bow and quiver in hand, Kait walked to the empty entranceway.
            The town was still deserted, small whirlwinds of dust kicking along the dried streets. Kait looked up and down the main throughway then ducked back inside the inn.
            “Where exactly is he?” she asked.
            Calos sighed and waved his hand at the door. Kait frowned.
            “Wouldn’t it be easier if you just told me?!”
            Calos chewed his lip, and then smiled. He produced a pool, scooped some of the cooked wheat into it and offered it politely to her. Reluctantly, Kait dropped the subject and turned to eating the meagre gruel that was breakfast.
            She was almost done her bowl when Keirn strolled in.
            “Finally. I thought we would have to toss a whole day’s travels because you weren’t going to wake up.”
            “Where have you been?!”
            “I see Calos made breakfast. Great, I’m starving.”
            Keirn walked over and took the offered bowl. He ignored his sister’s queries until he had finished of the gruel and washed its bland taste away with a healthy mouthful of water.
            “You had me worried sick, where did you wander off?”
            “Well, by my estimation,” Keirn said, leaning back against his crumbled bedroll, “I suspect that the source of all our troubles is not too far from here.”
            “What are you talking about?”
            “That plant… thing that had unceremoniously been incubating in my hand,” Keirn said, his voice biting with bitterness. “I’m fairly certain I’ve located its root system.”
            “I’m sorry… what?”
            “Last night, after you had fallen asleep, I was given the chance to think over everything that had occurred. I’m fairly certain that I had been infected with some bizarre parasitic plant life that imbeds itself into other organic flesh to obtain nutrients and grow. What I had was just a feeler of the damn thing. But, since it is a plant, it must have a root system in order to obtain water. If we destroy the roots, the plant should shrivel and die. Just like plucking a weed.”
            “Wait, so that thing that… you had… there’s more of it?”
            “Yes, and I believe it’s in the farmstead to the south of us.”
            “What makes you say that?”
            “Well, it certainly couldn’t be living in this desolate waste and I contracted the sliver between the farmstead and this village. As we had already encountered animal life in the woods, it had to be the farmstead. Course, I went this morning once dawn broke to check it out.”
            “All by yourself?!”
            “Well, Calos had to tend the fire and you were sleeping.”
            “What if… you got seeded again?!”
            “Psh,” Keirn said dismissively. “Now that I know what I have to keep an eye out for, I’m not worried. Come, finish your breakfast. I hope you liked it; it’s the last of our food stores.”
            Keirn then stood, grabbing his sword and walked out of the inn. Calos shrugged and poured the ashes of the previous fire to douse the current flame before following. Kait ate the remainder of her breakfast and joined Calos outside, stomach still growling.
            Keirn picked up a torch he had left on the stone well and checked to insure it was still burning strong.
            “You aren’t planning on going there, are you?” Kait asked.
            “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”
            “Well, there are the obvious dangers for one.”
            “Come now, I would think you would jump at the chance to help your fellow man.”
            “But you wouldn’t.”
            “I’m wounded!” Keirn mockingly exclaimed, clutching his breast. “Now, if you’ve got your stuff, let’s go. If we’re quick, we can even get a half day’s travel before we have to make camp.”
            He then turned, strolling boldly from the town. Calos hurried after and Kait was left with no choice but to join them.
            They crossed the waste and reached the hill, Keirn never slowing his pace. Kait jogged to keep up with him.
            “Do you even have a plan for killing this thing? You don’t even know what it is?”
            “It’s a plant, what more is there to know? Destroy the roots, kill the organism.”
            “I’m not sure how I feel about going to its center when a simple thorn nearly drove you insane.”
            Keirn stopped and rounded on his sister.
            “I wasn’t insane. I was just concerned about infection. That is all.”
            He resumed his course.
            “Can’t we just continue on our way? This thing is behind us.”
            “Technically, it’s ahead of us,” Keirn replied, waving his torch in the direction of the hill.
            “You know, your pigheadedness is really tiring some days!”
            “You’re welcome to go home!” he called back.
            They continued on, Kait spending most of her time shooting hateful looks towards her sibling. However, anger turned to worry once they climbed the hill and began the treacherous descent down its steep slope. She had forgotten how difficult the thing had been to climb and stumbled multiple times even without the added weight of her pack slowing her down.
            Keirn made a show of wrapping thick cloth around his hands before climbing and the others followed as best they could in the path that he blazed. A couple of times he unsheathed his sword and stabbed furiously at the earth. Those moments, Calos and Kait made sure to give the spot he attacked a wide berth.
            After the treacherous climb, they faced the fence. However, this time around, there was a section that had been collapsed beneath a rather large broken branch.
            “I’m assuming that was you?” Kait asked.
            “I had to cross it again.”
            They climbed over the fence and skirted around the cornfield, sticking to the long grass that separated the field from the woods.
            As they drew closer to the farmstead, Kait noticed that the roof seemed to sway in a manner untouched by the wind. There was still the thin wisp of smoke escaping from the chimney, but it was much smaller now. The green colouration also became defined as they drew close and Kait felt her feet falter.
            The entire building was wrapped with green tubules that poured from every hole and space in the stone. The windows were completely wrapped by the plant and the straw in the roof was mostly gone, replaced by the writhing green tendrils.
            This was a much more mature plant then the one removed from Keirn’s hand. All along the walls, what could have been mistaken as individual climbing ivy was instead great leaves sprouting from the sinewy stalks.
            “I wonder how it seeds,” Kait whispered to herself, half forgetting the dangers that had preoccupied her mind before. Thus, as they circled the farmstead, gauging the best entry point, Kait spent her time looking for buds or cones that the plant could use for reproduction.
            “Here we go,” Keirn muttered. There was a storm cellar entrance that was framed in iron. Tendrils broke through the wood but most of it was gone and the plant seemed reluctant to wrap around the iron frame.
            “Everyone ready for this?” Keirn asked. He frowned slightly. “Kait, if you want, you can stay out here.”
            “No,” Kait said quickly, her curiosity peaked. “I want to go inside.”
            “Very well. I suggest we keep our weapons ready. If the seed’s vigour is any judge, we may have to defend ourselves.”
            With that, Keirn kicked in the remainder of the cellar door. The tendrils snapped back as he pushed his way in, the torch held out in front of him like a ward, his sword held back ready to strike anything that came near.
            They stepped down into the cellar. There was an incredibly earthly and sickly sweet smell. Kait couldn’t identify it, but assumed it was coming from the masses of green vines that stretched along the ground. Most of them ran up the stairs into the main household but a large portion was wrapped about a hump in one corner of the room. Keirn approached cautiously, the torch constantly flicking from side to side as if he expected tendrils to shoot from the shadows at any moment.
            The tendrils forming the hump seemed the most active, slowly wrapping and squeezing together. The sickly smell seemed to rise from that area of the cellar. Slowly Keirn held his sword over the mass. The plant didn’t seem to react, though how it would Kait didn’t know. After a moment’s deliberation, Keirn plunged his weapon into the heap.
            Several vines severed at the thrust. Those cut but still intact recoiled from the blow, snapping into the darkness and retreating through a collapsed portion in the cellar’s wall to the safety of the shadows beyond.
            A peculiar liquid oozed up from the darkened heap, pooling over the remaining vines. The tendrils that hadn’t recoiled continued their steady strangulation. Keirn lifted his sword to the light, the dark ooze revealed to be a sickly red.
            “Blood,” Keirn muttered. He bent down and cut away at more of the vines. Several snapped away while Keirn removed a portion of the plant. He stepped back once he had cut off enough to see beneath the tendrils, a look of revulsion on his face.
            “What is it?” Kait asked. She moved closer but Keirn pulled the torch away so she couldn’t see clearly.
            “Let’s keep going,” he muttered. He stepped carefully towards the hole.
            Kait lingered a little, trying to see through the dark at the heap. But she couldn’t make out anything distinct with the torch’s light vanishing. Also, there was a stomach turning squelching as the vines continued their binding. She took a deep breath and followed the other two.
            The room they entered appeared to be the wine cellar. Most of the casks lay broken and covered in the vines, which continued into rough hewn rock beyond. The trio didn’t linger long sensing that what they sought lay in the unshaped earth.
            The vines didn’t cover this tunnel as much as they did the farmstead. They formed a thick, slowly moving cord in the centre. Keirn stuck close to the dry earthen walls. Calos and Kait followed carefully in his footsteps. The tunnel began to gently slope downwards.
            “Do you think it dug this?” Kait asked.
            “No, I think this was part of the farm,” Keirn muttered.
            The tunnel bent sharply then opened up into a spacious cavern. Water, from an underground river, trickled out of a small mouth in the western wall, forming a short waterfall that splattered ominously.
            The vines coalesced near the center of the room, wrapping about themselves until they formed a large pillar crowned with a single broad white petal flower. A peculiar luminescence emanated from the petals, casting off a ghostly glimmer that lit the cavern on its own. Three enormous stamens emerged from the center, casting off soft golden flakes into the air.
            Unlike the tunnel, the vines spread out to ledges carved into the walls. Water trickled down these smoothed outcroppings that appeared to have been hand carved. Leafy protrusions grew from these elevated pools, each slightly different than the rest displaying a remarkable variability in leaf size, colour and texture.
            “I think that’s it,” Calos whispered.
            A loud scratching echoed behind them and the three all turned around. The long trail of vines was rapidly slithering down the tunnel, a large bulk transported within their grasp. The trio jumped aside as the large mass was yanked into the cavern, pulled towards the flowered pillar in the center. Once it retracted within the folds, the plant began to quiver and shake. The stamens released even more pollen as the pillar’s base expanded until the lump was dragged into the dead center of the plant.
            The vines then constricted into themselves, a ghastly crunch ensuing. The red sanguine poured from the numerous spaces between the vines, rushing down the stalks and painting them deep scarlet. The plant convulsed a few more times before the petals drooped; satiated.
“This is it,” Keirn said, stepping boldly forward, brandishing the torch in his hands.
“No wait!” Kait called.
Her brother paused.
“What?”
“You can’t just kill this creature.”
Confusion painted Keirn’s face.
“What?”
“It’s not evil, don’t you see? It’s just another organism, struggling to survive against the harsh trials of its days?”
“Kait… it kills people.”
“That may be, but there are many plants that abstract required nutrients from insects and the like. Are you to say that we must hunt them and kill them because that is the only way for them to survive.”
Keirn shook his head.
“Are you saying we should let this… thing live from some misguided sense of morality?”
“What makes us different from animals if not the realization that all life is precious and needs protection? This plant could very well be unique, the first amongst its kind. You can’t just set it on fire because of the ways it needs to eat.”
“Yes, I can, just watch.”
“But why?!” Kait cried.
“Because,” Keirn said, with steely determination, “it gave me a sliver.”
And before she could react, he pitched the torch with all his might. The flame flickered as it soared through the air, landing squarely in the stalky center of the creature. Immediately, the green vegetation caught alight. That same, eerie shrill filled the air as the flames engulfed the plant. Tendrils snapped violently in the air as the flames ran up and devoured the plant and its enormous flower.

Keirn watched long enough to feel satisfied the thing was toasted before he turned and beckoned the others to follow. Kait whispered a silent apology before turning and leaving the plant to its fiery funeral.

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The Sliver – Part 5 of 6

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< Return to The Sliver Part 4

“What happened here?” Kait gasped.
            Keirn walked over to the skeleton and picked up the key. He then turned and walked down the stairs, the others following behind. The key fit easily into the lock on the iron door but it took their combined might to push the rusted hinges open. With a hellish screech the door gave way, revealing the host of skeletal bodies within. They were all clearly human, laying atop metallic odds and ends.
            Keirn cautiously entered, taking care to step around the bones as best he could. There were too many though, and the sickening crunch of cartilage filled the room. Kait reluctantly followed, but Calos refused to enter, standing and watching with horror filled eyes.
            Kait noticed that numerous coins littered the ground, along with simple pieces of jewellery.
            “I think many of these were women,” she said, aghast.
            Keirn rummaged around the nightmarish scene for a bit, but abandoned the bodies and instead focussed on the walls. Ledges ran the length of the walls, and after running his hand across them he found they were covered in soot and charcoal. The stone walls were covered in black flakes as if they had been burnt.
            “I think this is some sort of oven,” Keirn muttered.
            “Then… these people were burned alive?!” Kait cried.
            “I don’t think so. The bones aren’t blackened. I think they were just locked in here.”
            “But why?”
            Keirn didn’t answer. Instead, he cocked his head to the side, then pushed the piles of coal and bones aside. He manoeuvred his way to the corner, quizzically looking at some recess in the wall. He held his hand before the opening, feeling the wind blow gently against it. Puzzled, he crouched, peering up the hole.
            “There’s something up here,” he muttered, reaching carelessly inside. His face screwed up in concentration before a look of triumph appeared. With a great heave he yanked his arm free. With a rush of soot a small skeleton tumbled out; the bones cracking against the cold stone.
            Kait shrieked, jumping back.
            Keirn crouched down again and looked up the hole.
            “It seems this one was trying to crawl out,” Keirn muttered. “I think I see an opening. Barred, of course.”
            “This is so disgusting,” Kait whispered. “Can we go?”
            “Yeah, in just a second. We should collect the coins.”
            “Ugh, are you serious?”
            “They aren’t going to use them, but I suppose you could ask permission if you’d like.”
            “You can get them,” Kait whispered. “I think I’m going to wait outside.”
            She turned and quickly left the room, Calos following behind her. The two of them waited quietly for Keirn to finish his scavenging. Kait closed her eyes but, try as she might, she couldn’t forget that scene. Keirn emerged shortly after.
            “We should keep looking for something flammable to build a fire,” Keirn muttered.
            “I don’t know, what if there are more buildings like this,” Kait whispered.
            “I doubt that,” Keirn muttered. “I don’t think the town’s big enough to fill up another.”
            It took a few more hours before they turned up anything useful. The three of them searched together and Keirn usually inspected the buildings first to insure there weren’t any more “surprises” lying around. It wasn’t until the sun began to set that they finally found what they had been searching for. Nestled in the back of a large fireplace, Kait discovered that one of the stones was loose and pried it open to reveal a secret stash within. Though they discovered a small collection of silver jewellery, it was the wooden box and satin lining that were of greater interest to the party. Between the box and the hidden cask of wine they found in a stone cellar, they had enough wood to get a decent fire started.
            It was in the inn that the three of them agreed to spend the night. Kait felt it was far enough away from ‘that place’ that she would be able to sleep soundly. Furthermore, there was a stone fireplace where they could build the fire. There was also a sense of propriety that Kait felt; it just seemed appropriate that they stay in the inn.
            After much fussing with the tinder, Kait was able to get a gentle blaze going. The three of them gathered around the crackling fire. The sun had already begun to set, and with it its departure came the arrival of the cold night air. After a few minutes searching, Kait produced a small pot, some water and enough spices to make a broth for them to eat.
            “I’m going to be really glad when we find a real village so we can get a decent meal,” Keirn grumbled.
            “Yes, well, we’ve tried the fruits and meats but those don’t travel well, if you remember.”
            “It’s good,” Calos said eagerly, digging into the broth.
            “You know,” Kait said cheerfully, “that’s the most I’ve heard you ever say.”
            “What do you mean, he’s said two words before,” Keirn corrected.
            “No, he said ‘It is good.’”
            “Technically, he said ‘it’s good.’ It’s is a contraction.”
            “Well, yes,” Kait said frowning. “But he was communicating three words.”
            “No. He communicated two.”
            “He said three.”
            “He said two.”
            “Look, he meant to say ‘It is good.’ Why do you have to ruin this? It’s a cause for celebration, he’s speaking more.”
            Keirn shook his head.
            “Are you trying to suggest that contractions are three words? What about possession. If I say ‘Keirn’s spoon’ am I communicating three words or two?”
            “Well… two I suppose,” Kait said.
            “So why is the contraction different from the possession?”
            “Well, the contraction is expression three ideas. It’s expressing that the soup is good.”
            “That doesn’t follow at all,” Keirn said.
            “How not?”
            “Well, the possession expresses three ideas. It communicates: the subject, myself; the item, spoon; and the ownership, mine. I’m not saying the spoon is your’s or Calos’ or anybodies. I’m saying this spoon is mine.”
            “Look, the important thing is he’s saying more. I don’t see why you have to ruin this.”
            “Because he’s not saying more,” Keirn sighed. “He’s saying as much as he was before. When he says ‘It is good,’ I may feel the need to celebrate.”
            “Fine then! Calos, can you please say ‘It is good.’”
            Calos only shrugged.
            “Sorry.”
            Keirn laughed.
            “Boys,” Kait grumbled.
            She wiped off her spoon and bowl, having learned before that washing dishes was often a waste of water. She packed her things away, then wrapped herself up with her blanket as she nestled down by the fire again.
            “Is it still bothering you?” Kait asked.
            Keirn looked up from his hand.
            “I hadn’t even noticed I was rubbing it,” he replied. A look of concern crossed his face.
            “Look, it’s probably not going to become infected. Just a few more days and I’m sure we’ll find someone who can remove it. I mean, it is just a sliver after all.”
            “I know. It’s just that…”
            “Yes?”
            “It’s nothing,” he said, retying the cloth around it. “I suppose we should figure out who’s going to take what watch before we all nod off.”
            “What do you mean?”
            Keirn nodded his head towards Calos. The young man, having just finished his broth, had curled up on the cold stone and fallen asleep with neither a pillow nor a blanket.
            “Oh, dear. We need to get that poor boy a bedroll,” Kait said.
            “I think he may like it better that way.”
            “Miser.”
            “I’m serious. There’s something… peaceful about him when he sleeps. I don’t think he minds too much.”
            “How can anyone enjoy falling asleep on hard stone or rough ground?”
            “You could always ask him,” Keirn grinned.
            “Thanks. Want me to take second?”
            “No,” Keirn sighed. “I know how much you hate it. Besides, I can fall asleep easier than you can.”
            “You sure?”
            “Yes.”
            “Alright,” Kait smiled. “Try not to sleep too well.”
            It wasn’t that she was worried, there wasn’t anything out there that they really had to keep watch for. Mostly, they would have to insure the fire remained lit. Kait was just reluctant to fall asleep while her mind was still thinking about that room. All through her watch she kept glancing up at the door, half expecting a skeletal host to be standing there with eyes full of anger because the three of them had done nothing to save them.
            Through the night she kept her bow and arrows by her side. But there was nothing in that small village. There was no howling of distant wolves, buzzing of insects or neighing of nearby horses. It was strange to spend a night in an inn and have nothing but the soft snores of her companions to listen to. She entertained herself by watching the hypnotic flickering of the fires, though while they danced before her she could feel sleep slowly sweeping over her.
            It’s a terrible thing, trying to keep oneself awake when the body attempts every trick to make it rest. She recognized the first warning signs, the steady drop in her breathing and the drooping of the eyes. The cold seemed to penetrate her blanket, though it was really just her body beginning to shut down. She fought as best she could; snapping her head back every dip it took. She tried counting the number of times her chin touched her chest: 1… 2… 3…
            It was the light tapping on her shoulder that brought her crashing back to consciousness. Keirn wordlessly pointed towards his discarded bedroll and she complacently complied. It was so much easier letting the night swallow her up once she was lying down, her head resting on a thin layer of crushed feathers.
            She didn’t know what brought her out of that conscious less abyss. Her eyes seemed to be open long before she, herself, awoke. The first thing she noticed was that the fire had burned down to a dying smoulder, casting deep red shadows as the last few flames burned beneath vanishing embers. She immediately noticed the pile of firewood laying untouched near the untended flames and a part of her recognized the immediate signs of trouble.
            She sat upright, looking around for her brother. She didn’t see anything at first, but she heard something. It was a ragged, almost ravished breathing that pulled her eyes to the dark corners of the common room. There, light by the hellish reflections off the stone walls was a dark form feverishly working with some nightmarish fervour.
            “Keirn?” she whispered, but the form didn’t respond. She pulled the sheets slowly back, her mind shaking the shackles of sleep as best they could. Her eyes seemed driven by another consciousness as they pulled themselves from the form in the half-darkness to the puddles on the floor.
            She gasped.
            Blood gathered in tiny pools leading from the fire side to the corner. She reached for her weapon, her mind conjuring terrible images of carnage and cannibalism. Still heady with the draught of sleep, she shrilly called at the monster in the corner.
            “What do you want?!”
            Its face looked at her; a face framed in crimson frenzy.
            “I have to get it out,” it grunted.
            She noticed then, the sharp knife in its hands. Blood ran in small rivulets down its arm, staining the sleeve and dripping onto the floor. Back to its work it turned, hair matted by sweat and dirt hiding it from her.
            “Keirn?” she whispered.
            Something stirred near her and she took her eyes from the form just long enough to see Calos stirring. He wiped tired eyes with clenched fists before looking at the terror unfolding. Confusion gripped him as he lay motionless witnessing the scene unfold. Kait turned back to the individual, slowly peeling her blanket completely off and getting to her feet.
            “Keirn… please stop,” she pleaded. The form continued its crazed cutting, a fresh squirt of blood shooting out and striking the cold wall. Kait felt her stomach flop.
            She slowly approached, making sure to step around the small puddles on the floor, fearful of touching the scarlet drops. She didn’t want to startle him, fearful of what he may do and unsure of what she should do.
            “Keirn…”
            She reached out, finger tentatively pressing through the air. He continued to ignore her, continued his cutting and slicing. Shaking, she laid her hand on his wet shoulder; damp from perspiration. He stopped, turning to face her again. Her hand recoiled and they both froze, eyes locked between fear and madness.
            He bolted, skirting along the walls away from her.
            “Stop, please!” she called.
            He made for the door, blood splattering against the floor.
            Calos was on his feet, barring the exit and he swerved, ending near the fire. No one moved, all eyes watching each other. Minutes passed with the soft popping of the embers.
            Seemingly satisfied that no one was moving, he returned to his hand.

            Kait cried, running forward as he held the knife aloft, bringing it down with crazed certainty against the offending digit. He howled with pain as the blade cut through flesh and released a new spurt of blood against the floor. Amongst the dark drops clattered something more chitinous. With the foreign object removed, the weapon fell from his shaking hand, the iron clattering against the stone. He slumped against the stone wall with breaths coming in heavy bursts.

Continue to The Sliver Part 6 >

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The Sliver – Part 4 of 6

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< Return to The Sliver Part 3

“What happened here?” Kait gasped.

            Keirn walked over to the skeleton and picked up the key. He then turned and walked down the stairs, the others following behind. The key fit easily into the lock on the iron door but it took their combined might to push the rusted hinges open. With a hellish screech the door gave way, revealing the host of skeletal bodies within. They were all clearly human, laying atop metallic odds and ends.
            Keirn cautiously entered, taking care to step around the bones as best he could. There were too many though, and the sickening crunch of cartilage filled the room. Kait reluctantly followed, but Calos refused to enter, standing and watching with horror filled eyes.
            Kait noticed that numerous coins littered the ground, along with simple pieces of jewellery.
            “I think many of these were women,” she said, aghast.
            Keirn rummaged around the nightmarish scene for a bit, but abandoned the bodies and instead focussed on the walls. Ledges ran the length of the walls, and after running his hand across them he found they were covered in soot and charcoal. The stone walls were covered in black flakes as if they had been burnt.
            “I think this is some sort of oven,” Keirn muttered.
            “Then… these people were burned alive?!” Kait cried.
            “I don’t think so. The bones aren’t blackened. I think they were just locked in here.”
            “But why?”
            Keirn didn’t answer. Instead, he cocked his head to the side, then pushed the piles of coal and bones aside. He manoeuvred his way to the corner, quizzically looking at some recess in the wall. He held his hand before the opening, feeling the wind blow gently against it. Puzzled, he crouched, peering up the hole.
            “There’s something up here,” he muttered, reaching carelessly inside. His face screwed up in concentration before a look of triumph appeared. With a great heave he yanked his arm free. With a rush of soot a small skeleton tumbled out; the bones cracking against the cold stone.
            Kait shrieked, jumping back.
            Keirn crouched down again and looked up the hole.
            “It seems this one was trying to crawl out,” Keirn muttered. “I think I see an opening. Barred, of course.”
            “This is so disgusting,” Kait whispered. “Can we go?”
            “Yeah, in just a second. We should collect the coins.”
            “Ugh, are you serious?”
            “They aren’t going to use them, but I suppose you could ask permission if you’d like.”
            “You can get them,” Kait whispered. “I think I’m going to wait outside.”
            She turned and quickly left the room, Calos following behind her. The two of them waited quietly for Keirn to finish his scavenging. Kait closed her eyes but, try as she might, she couldn’t forget that scene. Keirn emerged shortly after.
            “We should keep looking for something flammable to build a fire,” Keirn muttered.
            “I don’t know, what if there are more buildings like this,” Kait whispered.
            “I doubt that,” Keirn muttered. “I don’t think the town’s big enough to fill up another.”
            It took a few more hours before they turned up anything useful. The three of them searched together and Keirn usually inspected the buildings first to insure there weren’t any more “surprises” lying around. It wasn’t until the sun began to set that they finally found what they had been searching for. Nestled in the back of a large fireplace, Kait discovered that one of the stones was loose and pried it open to reveal a secret stash within. Though they discovered a small collection of silver jewellery, it was the wooden box and satin lining that were of greater interest to the party. Between the box and the hidden cask of wine they found in a stone cellar, they had enough wood to get a decent fire started.
            It was in the inn that the three of them agreed to spend the night. Kait felt it was far enough away from ‘that place’ that she would be able to sleep soundly. Furthermore, there was a stone fireplace where they could build the fire. There was also a sense of propriety that Kait felt; it just seemed appropriate that they stay in the inn.
            After much fussing with the tinder, Kait was able to get a gentle blaze going. The three of them gathered around the crackling fire. The sun had already begun to set, and with it its departure came the arrival of the cold night air. After a few minutes searching, Kait produced a small pot, some water and enough spices to make a broth for them to eat.
            “I’m going to be really glad when we find a real village so we can get a decent meal,” Keirn grumbled.
            “Yes, well, we’ve tried the fruits and meats but those don’t travel well, if you remember.”
            “It’s good,” Calos said eagerly, digging into the broth.
            “You know,” Kait said cheerfully, “that’s the most I’ve heard you ever say.”
            “What do you mean, he’s said two words before,” Keirn corrected.
            “No, he said ‘It is good.’”
            “Technically, he said ‘it’s good.’ It’s is a contraction.”
            “Well, yes,” Kait said frowning. “But he was communicating three words.”
            “No. He communicated two.”
            “He said three.”
            “He said two.”
            “Look, he meant to say ‘It is good.’ Why do you have to ruin this? It’s a cause for celebration, he’s speaking more.”
            Keirn shook his head.
            “Are you trying to suggest that contractions are three words? What about possession. If I say ‘Keirn’s spoon’ am I communicating three words or two?”
            “Well… two I suppose,” Kait said.
            “So why is the contraction different from the possession?”
            “Well, the contraction is expression three ideas. It’s expressing that the soup is good.”
            “That doesn’t follow at all,” Keirn said.
            “How not?”
            “Well, the possession expresses three ideas. It communicates: the subject, myself; the item, spoon; and the ownership, mine. I’m not saying the spoon is your’s or Calos’ or anybodies. I’m saying this spoon is mine.”
            “Look, the important thing is he’s saying more. I don’t see why you have to ruin this.”
            “Because he’s not saying more,” Keirn sighed. “He’s saying as much as he was before. When he says ‘It is good,’ I may feel the need to celebrate.”
            “Fine then! Calos, can you please say ‘It is good.’”
            Calos only shrugged.
            “Sorry.”
            Keirn laughed.
            “Boys,” Kait grumbled.
            She wiped off her spoon and bowl, having learned before that washing dishes was often a waste of water. She packed her things away, then wrapped herself up with her blanket as she nestled down by the fire again.
            “Is it still bothering you?” Kait asked.
            Keirn looked up from his hand.
            “I hadn’t even noticed I was rubbing it,” he replied. A look of concern crossed his face.
            “Look, it’s probably not going to become infected. Just a few more days and I’m sure we’ll find someone who can remove it. I mean, it is just a sliver after all.”
            “I know. It’s just that…”
            “Yes?”
            “It’s nothing,” he said, retying the cloth around it. “I suppose we should figure out who’s going to take what watch before we all nod off.”
            “What do you mean?”
            Keirn nodded his head towards Calos. The young man, having just finished his broth, had curled up on the cold stone and fallen asleep with neither a pillow nor a blanket.
            “Oh, dear. We need to get that poor boy a bedroll,” Kait said.
            “I think he may like it better that way.”
            “Miser.”
            “I’m serious. There’s something… peaceful about him when he sleeps. I don’t think he minds too much.”
            “How can anyone enjoy falling asleep on hard stone or rough ground?”
            “You could always ask him,” Keirn grinned.
            “Thanks. Want me to take second?”
            “No,” Keirn sighed. “I know how much you hate it. Besides, I can fall asleep easier than you can.”
            “You sure?”
            “Yes.”
            “Alright,” Kait smiled. “Try not to sleep too well.”
            It wasn’t that she was worried, there wasn’t anything out there that they really had to keep watch for. Mostly, they would have to insure the fire remained lit. Kait was just reluctant to fall asleep while her mind was still thinking about that room. All through her watch she kept glancing up at the door, half expecting a skeletal host to be standing there with eyes full of anger because the three of them had done nothing to save them.
            Through the night she kept her bow and arrows by her side. But there was nothing in that small village. There was no howling of distant wolves, buzzing of insects or neighing of nearby horses. It was strange to spend a night in an inn and have nothing but the soft snores of her companions to listen to. She entertained herself by watching the hypnotic flickering of the fires, though while they danced before her she could feel sleep slowly sweeping over her.
            It’s a terrible thing, trying to keep oneself awake when the body attempts every trick to make it rest. She recognized the first warning signs, the steady drop in her breathing and the drooping of the eyes. The cold seemed to penetrate her blanket, though it was really just her body beginning to shut down. She fought as best she could; snapping her head back every dip it took. She tried counting the number of times her chin touched her chest: 1… 2… 3…
            It was the light tapping on her shoulder that brought her crashing back to consciousness. Keirn wordlessly pointed towards his discarded bedroll and she complacently complied. It was so much easier letting the night swallow her up once she was lying down, her head resting on a thin layer of crushed feathers.
            She didn’t know what brought her out of that conscious less abyss. Her eyes seemed to be open long before she, herself, awoke. The first thing she noticed was that the fire had burned down to a dying smoulder, casting deep red shadows as the last few flames burned beneath vanishing embers. She immediately noticed the pile of firewood laying untouched near the untended flames and a part of her recognized the immediate signs of trouble.
            She sat upright, looking around for her brother. She didn’t see anything at first, but she heard something. It was a ragged, almost ravished breathing that pulled her eyes to the dark corners of the common room. There, light by the hellish reflections off the stone walls was a dark form feverishly working with some nightmarish fervour.
            “Keirn?” she whispered, but the form didn’t respond. She pulled the sheets slowly back, her mind shaking the shackles of sleep as best they could. Her eyes seemed driven by another consciousness as they pulled themselves from the form in the half-darkness to the puddles on the floor.
            She gasped.
            Blood gathered in tiny pools leading from the fire side to the corner. She reached for her weapon, her mind conjuring terrible images of carnage and cannibalism. Still heady with the draught of sleep, she shrilly called at the monster in the corner.
            “What do you want?!”
            Its face looked at her; a face framed in crimson frenzy.
            “I have to get it out,” it grunted.
            She noticed then, the sharp knife in its hands. Blood ran in small rivulets down its arm, staining the sleeve and dripping onto the floor. Back to its work it turned, hair matted by sweat and dirt hiding it from her.
            “Keirn?” she whispered.
            Something stirred near her and she took her eyes from the form just long enough to see Calos stirring. He wiped tired eyes with clenched fists before looking at the terror unfolding. Confusion gripped him as he lay motionless witnessing the scene unfold. Kait turned back to the individual, slowly peeling her blanket completely off and getting to her feet.
            “Keirn… please stop,” she pleaded. The form continued its crazed cutting, a fresh squirt of blood shooting out and striking the cold wall. Kait felt her stomach flop.
            She slowly approached, making sure to step around the small puddles on the floor, fearful of touching the scarlet drops. She didn’t want to startle him, fearful of what he may do and unsure of what she should do.
            “Keirn…”
            She reached out, finger tentatively pressing through the air. He continued to ignore her, continued his cutting and slicing. Shaking, she laid her hand on his wet shoulder; damp from perspiration. He stopped, turning to face her again. Her hand recoiled and they both froze, eyes locked between fear and madness.
            He bolted, skirting along the walls away from her.
            “Stop, please!” she called.
            He made for the door, blood splattering against the floor.
            Calos was on his feet, barring the exit and he swerved, ending near the fire. No one moved, all eyes watching each other. Minutes passed with the soft popping of the embers.
            Seemingly satisfied that no one was moving, he returned to his hand.

            Kait cried, running forward as he held the knife aloft, bringing it down with crazed certainty against the offending digit. He howled with pain as the blade cut through flesh and released a new spurt of blood against the floor. Amongst the dark drops clattered something more chitinous. With the foreign object removed, the weapon fell from his shaking hand, the iron clattering against the stone. He slumped against the stone wall with breaths coming in heavy bursts.

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The Sliver – Part 3 of 6

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Kait watched the ground as they walked. The cracks were somewhat interesting, reminding her of rock formations she had read about. She could tell that there had been a stream that ran through this area at an earlier time, before whatever draught had dried up the area.

            She paused at a moment, stooping over and poking the earth. The dirt gave before the soft pressure and as she lifted her finger, she noticed a white crystal mixed in with the dried earth. Curious, she tasted a small portion.
            “Are you done?” Keirn asked impatiently.
            “Yes, sorry,” Kait said, standing and hurrying to catch up to the others. It was weird, but she could have sworn the ground tasted salty.
            They continued into the desolate waste, judging their direction by the sun overhead. It seemed that northerly headed straight into the epicentre of the emptiness. Even the forest ended at the edge of the earthy waste. They could see grass swaying hypnotically in the distant, curving around in a great circle about them and vanishing out of sight.
            After an hour the three travelers crested a small ridge and saw below them what looked like a tiny little hamlet. It sat squarely in the middle of the waste, as if the dirt itself had come sweeping out of the tiny stone and brick houses.
            “Finally,” Keirn muttered, picking up his pace as he descended towards the small houses.
            “Wait, I thought we were trying to avoid villages,” Kait called.
            “Whatever, they probably have an apothecary or someone who can fix my hand,” Keirn grumbled.
            Kait cast a concerned look to Calos who only shrugged.
            “Fine, apparently some pitiful little scratch takes importance over our wellbeing,” Kait said, following dejectedly behind her brother. However, there was a growing sense of unease in Kait’s gut. That worry only worsened as they drew closer to the village.
            The houses stood quietly though there was still plenty of daylight remaining. While Kait hadn’t expected farmers to be out ploughing dirt, she had expected some sign of life. There was a distinct lack of smoke from cooking fires and chimneys. No shadows flitted from doorways at their approach. No forms huddled over the stone well. Only the houses stood, petrified sentinels keeping watch over what became increasingly clear was a ghost town. As the three got closer and closer to the buildings, Kait noticed Keirn’s realization slowly sinking in. Though he quickened his strides, his shoulders became more stooped and dejected with each step that brought him towards the empty hamlet.
            It was without welcome or fanfare that they strolled into the village. Instinctively they drew closer to each other, hands drifting down to their respective weapons. Calos said nothing, though he appeared far more alert with green eyes darting from empty windows to barren doorways. Kait reached around for the comfort of the fletched feathered arrows in her quiver as she tried to ignore the sound of the wind whispering through the empty shells of the town.
            Keirn just continued on, his right hand clutching his left as if he were concerned that it would fall off. He marched until he reached the very center where the old well stood. The wooden cross beam was gone, as was all the apparent wood in the village. No doors filled the entries, not a single shutter or window pane covered the empty eyes of the homes. It was all just cold stone. Keirn circled the well, perhaps looking for the bucket, and once he found that there was nothing, he just slumped against the stone.
            “Are… are you okay?” Kait asked.
            Keirn ignored her, closing his eyes and taking many ragged breaths. He clutched his hand tightly to his chest again, his face lined with half-suppressed pain.
            “Here, let me take another look at it,” Kait offered, holding out her hand.
            “I’m fine,” Keirn said.
            “You don’t look…”
            “I said I’m fine!”
            He stood, shoving his hand into his pocket and looking at the empty buildings. Calos emerged from one, shoulders shrugging indicating he had no idea what was going on.
            “I think we should probably look around for anything of value. Stuff we can trade or things we can use as fire wood. We may even stumble upon a few answers while we’re at it.”
            “Do you think we’ll be staying here for the night?” Kait asked.
            “Probably,” Keirn said, looking at the sky. “Safest place at the moment at any rate.”
            Keirn headed towards a nearby two story building. Calos headed off in another direction. Kait looked at the hollow windows lined with dry dirt, all cold and empty. She quickly hurried to her brother’s side.
            “Probably be faster if we split up,” Keirn said.
            “True, but if we aren’t going anywhere then we aren’t really pressed for time,” Kait replied, adjusting her pack so she could feel the straps tighten around her. Keirn shrugged and kept walking.
            They entered the structure. The first room they stepped into was quite spacious, taking up a large portion of the main floor. Judging from its location and the spacing of the rooms, Kait guessed this likely served as the village’s inn. There were no counters, tables or chairs though. Just the rough-hewn walls and the bare stone flagged floors. They poked around the main floor but aside from a thin layer of dust, found little of interest. They discovered a large hole in the ceiling that appeared to be the only access to the second floor, but there were no stairs or anything else that could be used to climb up.
            Likewise, the entrance to the cellar had no means of climbing down. There was just a large hole in the floor nestled near the back of the main room. From what little light that poured in from the empty holes in the walls, they could see that the cellars had been cleared completely out as well.
            An inspection of the kitchen proved different, however. Unlike the other rooms, this one was a complete mess. Stone slabs lay cracked and broken on the ground amid a pile of tin cups and plates. Broken glass was strewn everywhere, as if someone had come through and smashed all the glasses in the building against the floor. They found bent and twisted utensils too, but everything was either battered or broken. They sorted through the rubbish but were unable to find anything of value.
            Dejected, they left and searched the next building.
            This one was smaller, simpler one floor structure quite typical of a small country house. As with the inn, there were no windows, doors or even a roof but there was plenty of junk lying on the floor. They found twisted farming tools, clay pots and tin pans, an assortment of iron rods near the humble fire place and numerous unidentifiable objects made of simple metal or clay.
            Kait was sorting through a pile of twisted metal that may have once been a lantern when her brother began making weird sounds. She looked over towards him. He had been sorting through another pile of garbage but now stood hunched over, hands on his knees and breathing raggedly. A few coins were discarded around his feet.
            “What… what was that?” Keirn gasped. He looked over towards her, a piece of metal held loosely in her hand as she stared at him in concern. “What did you just say?”
            “I… didn’t say anything,” Kait whispered, dropping the metal. “Are you okay?”
            Keirn shook his head, raising his good hand to his forehead. She noticed it was beading with sweat again.
            “I thought… I heard… I think I need some air,” he said, turning and leaving quickly.
            Kait walked over cautiously to the pile he had been looking through. She sorted through the items with her boot but found nothing that looked remotely dangerous. She was surprised her brother just left the coins: it was very uncharacteristic of him. After she felt sure that there was nothing poisonous that could have accidentally been contacted, she left the small house.
            Keirn stood leaning against the stone wall. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing calmly again.
            “Are you sure you’re okay?” Kait asked.
            “I’m fine,” he said. “Let’s keep looking.”
            The rest of the houses yielded similar results. Not that Kait was searching as much as keeping an eye on her brother. She was getting worried over his odd behaviour and he seemed to be more preoccupied with his hand than before.
            After a few hours of fruitless searching, they returned to the well to find Calos standing there looking anxious.
            “What’s wrong?” Kait asked.
            Calos motioned for them to follow him. He led them to a large two story building made completely of brick and stone. Bars were built into the windows and the stairs were hewn bedrock. A metal door stood open, the handle having been bent and a large rock abandoned by the steps.
            Calos pointed at the rock, himself then the door before quietly leading them inside. This building was just as empty as the others, but appeared to have been built without any thought for decorations. A large iron door stood shut at the end of a short hall, but Calos lead the siblings up the narrow stairs to the second floor. There, the Fadens were greeted by a gruesome sight.
            A single skeleton lay upon the floor, a rusted and dinted sword lodged between the lower ribcage and protruding past the spine. A few other items lay within the remains, a few boot clasps, a large belt buckle, a thin metal hoop and a single heavy iron key. Calos then motioned to the rest of the room.

            What this building had been made for was beyond Kait’s understanding but what its final function was all too clear. The floor of the second story was predominantly covered in iron grating. The grating was built over the locked room on the first level and through the grill Kait could see piles of bones beneath.

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The Sliver – Part 2 of 6

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            The trio descended into the long stalks, moving between thick coarse leaves so plentiful that they kept slapping their skin as they passed. The corn grew so tall that it blocked out the horizon. Only by penetrating a few rows into the field and keeping the forest on their left was Keirn able to insure they were heading in the right direction.
            The foreboding silence was even thicker now, punctuated by the group’s footsteps as they crunched on fallen, untended corn. More than once did they happen upon evidence that someone or something had burst quickly into the field only to leave shortly afterwards. Great swathes of the crop were trampled. Whatever had done this must have done it recently as no farmhand had come by to clean up the mess.
            Eventually, the corn field banked to the right, and long grass continued on. Keirn paused, discouragement colouring his face.
            “What’s wrong?” Kait inquired.
            “Fence,” Keirn grumbled. “Who in their right mind puts a fence here?”
            It was a rather primitive contraption; thin rotted pieces of wood dug into the uneven ground with rusted twists of metal looped around to discourage animals from entering. Course, the barrier stood only along the side facing the group. Curiously it ended before the forest began where one would expect it would be needed most.
            “Should be simple enough to climb,” Kait replied, pushing a few stalks aside and surveying the scene. “Looks like hilly terrain from here on out.”
            The three stared up the large slope just beyond the fence. The wind played over the thick grass that covered its entire surface, as if it were some horribly hairy beast kept at bay by the ramshackle fence.
            “I hate climbing fences,” Keirn muttered. “Last one I climbed ripped a huge gash right through a good pair of pants.”
            “Oh, don’t be such a baby.”
            “You want to buy me a new pair of pants?”
            “Look, it’s not even that high,” Kait said. “Just climb one of these posts and you’ll be fine.”
            “I think we should walk along, maybe there’s a break further up.”
            “Or we could go back into the forest, would you prefer that?”
            “I’d prefer looking for a break…”
            A piercing howl ended the two’s bickering. They turned behind them, but could only see the silent corn. They waited, casting concerned looks towards each other.
            “You don’t think…”
            “Guard dogs?”
            “I was thinking giant mosquitoes.”
            “Look,” Keirn grumbled, “you ran just as quickly as I…”
            The howl cut through the air again only much closer this time. As a second hush fell over them, the siblings noticed the corn seeming to part in the distance as the sound of something crashing through the field grew clearer.
            There wasn’t any need for further debate. The pair turned, practically leaping upon the twisted barrier. Keirn attempted following his sister’s advice, taking enough time that his haste would allow to insure he didn’t cut himself on the sharp wire as he tumbled head over ass into the dirt and grass on the other side.
            Kait followed but caught her cloak as she was passing. She gurgled as the cloth caught against her throat, knocking her to the ground and beating the air momentarily from her lungs. Keirn hurried to her side, pulling the cloak roughly as the fabric tore.
            While the siblings freed themselves, Calos took two steps back and breathed a few calming breaths. He closed his eyes in concentration, took a final deep breath, sprinted towards the barrier and leapt with such height that he was able to spin in a single perfect revolution with arms tucked tightly to his sides as he drifted over the fence and landed gently on both feet on the other side.
            The Faden’s stared in awe.
            The rustling had stopped but there was a pitiful sound emanating from the corn. The three looked at the slope standing before them. Somehow it appeared even more steep in the few feet they had covered.
            “Only way is up now,” Keirn muttered, taking the lead. The ground was uneven and dry. He hadn’t climbed very high before he was reduced to grasping great clumps of grass to keep his balance as the soil crumbled beneath his steps.
            Kait, muttering about ruining a fine cloak, followed in Keirn’s footsteps but proceeded much slower as the bulk of her packs weighed her down. Her feet slipped even more as the numerous trinkets and junk pushed upon her.
            Keirn scaled a particularly precipitous edge and turned, holding out his hands to help the others climb up. Kait took his outstretched arms, pulling with all her might. Keirn’s knees dug into the soft earth as he strained to lift her over the lip. Sweat beaded his brow as he gritted his teeth.
            “Couldn’t you get rid of a few pots?” he hissed.
            “Are you calling me fat?!” Kait shot.
            Hands reached down beside Keirn’s and he glanced over to notice Calos assisting. Keirn hadn’t even noticed him climb up and he wondered where the lithe little man learned his athletic skills. Between the two of them, they lifted Kait over the crumbling edge, pulling her close to the hill as all three caught their breaths.
            From their vantage point, they could see over the entire field and to the farmstead in the distance. It was hard to spot from this distance, its green walls and roof almost blending in with the corn. If it weren’t for the thin stream of smoke, they might not have noticed it at all. There was still no activity on its overgrown grounds and when the three scanned the field for whatever they heard earlier, they saw only the gentle sea of swaying corn.
            “Looks like we snuck by,” Kait gasped, slipping her pack off and searching through for her waterskin. Keirn licked his dry lips before standing.
            “I’m going to climb up, see how much higher we have to go and what’s on the other side of this ridiculous hill.”
            “I’ll come, once I catch my breath,” Kait muttered.
            Keirn returned to his scaling.
            As he drew higher, he noticed the grass became less abundant. It now grew in sickly clumps. Tall, spiny weeds grew in its stead with thorns the size of finger nails sticking out from thick stems. The earth was even more dry and crumbly as he climbed so that it took him much longer than he anticipated before he reached the top.
            The hill levelled off in such a manner that it appeared like it had been artificially constructed. It was wide enough that it could have supported a large estate or small fortress. From this height, Keirn had a good glance at the surrounding area. Behind him lay the fields and to the left, the forest seemed to thin out. Stretching out into the distance, however, was not lush grassland but a great plain of dried and cracked mud. No vegetation of any kind could be seen in the blasted landscape. The ground appeared like aged and withered skin. Great parched wounds  peeled back forming small fissures within the earth. It looked like the ground hadn’t seen any water for years.
            “That’s weird,” Keirn muttered. “Hey, Kait, come see this!”
            He waited, letting the dry wind from the mud flats dry the sweat on his skin. His sister arrived, panting and gasping for air.
            “What?”
            “Isn’t that weird? What could have done that?”
            Kait shielded her eyes, taking her first look at the wasteland. Before responding, she unscrewed the lid of her waterskin, took a long sip then turned to her brother and shrugged.
            “No idea.”
            “I thought you studied trees or something.”
            “I read some books on them,” Kait replied, “I didn’t do a scholarly thesis or anything. Ask Derrek when you see him; he would more likely have such random information. Do we have the cross that?”
            “If we want to keep going north,” Keirn replied. He checked to make sure that Calos was still with them, then began to walk down the hill. This side had gently sloped down towards the cracked wasteland and had very little vegetation growing on it.
            But, though it appeared there hadn’t been any rain, Keirn stopped just before a sheer drop created from rain and wind erosion right where the hill connected with the wasteland. It wasn’t a long drop, perhaps twelve feet or so, but more than Keirn was willing to jump.
            “I guess I’ll take point,” Keirn muttered. He grasped a thick clump of dried grass, swung his legs over the edge, landed on an outcropping that immediately gave out and began to fall.
            He gave off a small yelp as he tumbled, his arms splayed and flailed for some handhold. His left hand found purchase, and he stopped his free fall as his fingers wrapped around a thick, green lump. The mossy covering broke and Keirn felt a stabbing pain shoot through his finger. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain until he got his balance and skidded to the bottom of the drop, falling to his knees and landing heavily in the dried dirt.
            A small cloud of dust erupted from his landing as he curled up holding his hand.
            “Are you okay?” Kait called. She and Calos scampered down after him, taking more time to make sure they didn’t drop like he had. They hurried to his side, pulling his left hand from his chest to inspect it.
            “I… think I touched a dead bird,” Keirn muttered. Kait noticed a few tufts of downy feathers stuck to the sweat and blood covering his fingers. She took a cloth from her bag and wiped his hand clean. She immediately found the wound, a small gash on his index finger with a dark thorn protruding from it.
            “Hold still,” she instructed as she pulled him into a sitting position that allowed the sun to shine on the wound. She carefully grasped the thorn with her nails and ripped it from his flesh. He howled, as if she were resetting a bone or performing surgery.
            “Boys,” she muttered. She held the thorn up as Keirn ripped his hand back and began nursing it.
            The thing was rather large for a thorn and appeared to be just the tip of the original. If she had to guess, it would have almost been the size of a person’s thumb. However, it was snapped and, after wrestling his hand back, she noticed that there was still a piece that had broken off beneath his skin.
            “Can… can you get… it out?” Keirn muttered, clearly trying to hold back tears.
            “I can try,” Kait muttered. She looked at his sorrowful face. “It may hurt a little though. We could wait until we get to town and see a temple.”
            “No!… no, I’d rather we get it out now,” Keirn replied.
            “Why the concern? It’s just a sliver.”
            “… I hate the idea of it being left there,” Keirn sheepishly replied. “I don’t want it to get infected or anything.”
            “Alright.”
            Kait reached into her pack and produced a thin needle. She wasn’t sure how clean it was, but it was sharp enough that she could cut the top layers of skin back and try to fish the rest of the sliver out.
            Keirn put on a brave face, but the moment she pressed the needle head against his skin, he howled with pain. Kait sighed, realizing that this was going to be more work than she had anticipated.
            “Can you give him some water?” she asked Calos. He nodded, pulling out his waterskin and attempted to distract Keirn with a drink.
            Kait pushed the needle quickly through the skin, holding his hand tightly as he tried to reflexively pull it back. However, with Calos there, Keirn attempted to bite back the pain. More blood welled up, and Kait tied a piece of cloth around the finger in an attempt to stem the flow. She wasn’t an expert in treating wounds, but it appeared like this small finger wound was bleeding far more than it really should.
            She dug the needle in deeper into Keirn’s finger, his hand convulsing as his body attempted to pull back from the pain while his mind steeled itself in the hopes that the endeavour would be over soon. She managed to get beneath the sliver and tried lifting it, but her fingers weren’t steady enough to get a piece of the sliver to the surface. His hand shook even more violently and blood kept pooling around the wound making holding his hand a sticky and slightly nauseating experience.
            “I can’t get it… not with this,” Kait replied. “But I’ve managed to get it closer to the surface. If we could get to a town or somewhere, I’m sure I could find something that would make this easier.”
            “Town close?” Calos asked in his peculiar, untrained speech.
            “I… I don’t know,” Keirn replied through slow deep breathes. “May… maybe north… of here… for manor…”
            “Manor?” Kait muttered, looking around but not seeing any building. Keirn just shook his head, taking the cloth Kait had tied to the base of his finger and tying it around the wound to apply constant pressure to it.
            “Nevermind, let’s go.”

            He took more of Calos’ water to wash his hand, than picked up his bag and began walking across the mud flats. Kait and Calos followed. Now that Keirn wasn’t in the mood to talk, the group fell into a growing familiar silence.

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The Sliver – Part 1 of 6

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“Just admit it!”

            “No.”
            “Why do you always do this?”
            “Do what?”
            “Why can’t you just admit that you made a mistake.”
            “I will when I have made one.”
            “Arrggg, you are so frustrating!”
            He let the branch snap back.
            She uttered a few expletives as the thin twig cracked in her face, slapping thick green leaves still heavy with the recent rainfall. In annoyance, she ripped the branch from the tree and tossed it carelessly aside. Perhaps not the most befitting behaviour for a Defender of the Wild but right now wasn’t the time to care about posterity.
            “Alright then, if you know so much, where are we headed.”
            “Away from those things.”
            “And out of the woods?”
            “With any luck.”
            “Just say it already, we’re lost.”
            “No. I know exactly where we are.”
            “Oh?”
            “We’re right here.”
            She frowned.
            “Was that your attempt at humour?”
            “I’m a fighter, not a lover.”
            “So why did you run away from those bugs.”
            “Just trying to keep up with you.”
            There were days when she could just kill him. Today was shaping up to be one of those days.
            She sighed, shifting the weight of her quiver on her shoulder. The thin leather container wasn’t that heavy any more, not since most of the arrows had been loosed. She only had six left which her brother was forbidding her from using. He wanted them to have something to go hunting with and he kept saying she’d need all of them just to hit the broad side of a temple.
            Kait looked up to the forest canopy. It wasn’t the densest she’d ever seen, the sun still shone through large breaks in the leafy roof. Judging by it’s passage, they’d been walking for almost three hours. And her legs were starting to feel it.
            “Can we take a break yet?” she called.
            “Just a few more minutes.”
            “That’s what you said half an hour ago.”
            “Well, the longer we walk, the sooner we’ll get out.”
            “I can’t walk if I keel over from hunger and fatigued.”
            “You don’t hear Calos complaining.”
            “I don’t hear Calos say anything.”
            She turned back to make sure the third member of their little party was still keeping up. He was a short man, with curly hair and green eyes that looked like they had been stolen from the scenery around them. He gave her a weak smile once he realized she was watching him, picking up his pace to keep in step.
            “You make that sound like a bad thing,” her brother smiled.
            It is when someone doesn’t shout for help because of some misplaced piety towards a vow of silence, Kait frowned, thinking of the little encounter they just withdrew from.
            The scene had been pretty much the same. The three of them were marching through a trackless forest with each tree and bush looking like the last. She had been bickering with her brother mostly because his pig-headedness demanded that he refuse to acknowledge any mistake he’d made. And this mistake happened to be a detour through some forsaken brush ominously named The Forbidden Woods or Abandoned Forest or whatever Creshnalik was supposed to mean in the local tongue.
            For whatever reason, Keirn was under the impression that she should have been the one leading them: that somehow she was supposed to have some natural affinity for trail blazing foreign landscapes. The only landscape she was use to blazing was the single story, single room school with the tiny dirt path connecting it to the rest of the small hamlet the two of them came from. She had no familiarity with animal trails or a keen eye for identifying one type of scat from another. She was lucky if she could get through her own grammar lessons.
            And Calos wasn’t much of a help to their current circumstances. He had mentioned only a handful of words since he joined up with them. It was easy for Kait to sometimes forget that the young man was even with them. And it was during a particularly heated debate between herself and her brother that Calos decided exert his existence. It took a few seconds for Kait to identify the strange tugging sensation on her clothes and when she turned around, all irate and ready for a confrontation, she saw a looming ten foot insect descending from the branches and leaves towards them.
            With compound eyes brimming with bestial malice, this creature appeared intent on inserting the long, sabre like proboscis protruding from its face into their pale, soft flesh. Face with such a monstrosity, the three of them did what any common, decent individual would do.
            They ran as fast as their legs and packs would allow them.
            So, whatever intuitive path Keirn may have been following earlier had been abandoned in their hasty retreat. But would he stop and let them rest, gather their bearings and perhaps try to find a suitable way out of this endless wood? No, of course not. He was hellbent on getting them inextricably lost till they ran out of food and water and starved to death. Or worse, become some fertile host for these ravenous arthropods’ larvae, destined to be eaten alive in their early stage of maturity. Kait quietly wished Jeremiah or Derrek were still her to help argue some sense in him
            Kait’s stomach growled loudly and she raised a hand to quell it. She looked up at her brother, balancing on a rotted log with some cast off stick in his hands like an explorer’s staff. He looked at the underbrush with a discerning eye, as if he could pierce the foliage to find some hidden path beneath.
            “How about a rest for some food?”
            “I’m not sure, we don’t want to eat everything right away,” he cautioned.
            “Well, that’s all well and good, but I’m starving.”
            “Just think how bad you’ll feel in a few more days without any.”
            “We’re in a forest! Even if we don’t catch a rabbit, there will be some mushrooms or berries or something else we can eat.”
            “Really?” Keirn asked. He straightened, looking about the empty wood. “Aside from those gia-normous bugs, I haven’t seen anything that’s edible. Unless you like the taste of ferns.”
            “You obviously haven’t been paying attention then,” Kait scolded. “It’s a forest, obviously there’s going to be food.”
            “Have you seen any?”
            “Well, I haven’t been looking since I’ve got some perfectly edible food in my pack.”
            “For three people, for however long it takes for us to find civilization again?”
            “Look, there’s going to be something around here.”
            Kait turned, stomping into the undergrowth. She recognized some of these plants but most were useless ferns and grasses. Sure, she could probably do something with a few of the mosses if she had to, but there surely had to be some rabbit tracks or bush berries around here.
            But, after a few minutes, Kait hadn’t found anything.
            “Well?” her brother smugly pressed.
            “I haven’t given up yet!” Kait shot back.
            However, there was a disturbingly lack of edible life that she could see. In fact, as she stood still in the underbrush scanning the endless stretch of trees, she was struck by the unnatural stillness of the forest. She hadn’t noticed before because of the arguing and the enormous insect, but there was a shocking lack of life in these woods. There weren’t any chirping of birds, shaking undergrowth from frightened animals or buzzing of normal sized insects.
            “How peculiar,” Kait muttered.
            “Isn’t it?” Keirn asked, jumping from the log and stepping beside her. “I noticed it a while back and have been keeping an eye out for anything: a deer, boar or bear even. But there’s nothing.”
            “How is that possible? An environment cannot continue without a diverse ecosystem to support it.”
            “I’m sorry… what?”
            “There’s no way this forest could be here without animals.”
            “Ominous… still want your lunch break?”
            “Of course!” Kait exclaimed, making her way back to the rotted log, plopping down and removing some leaf wrapped bread. Calos and a reluctant Keirn joined her, and she broke off some pieces for them. She enjoyed the quiet moment, savouring the crusty and slightly mouldy taste of the bread and the lukewarm water kept in the water skins.
            As she munched away, she let her mind puzzle over the peculiar ecological phenomenon she was sitting squarely within. She may not have been a classically educated scholar, but she did enjoy reading. While she spent her days in the tiny school, filling the vacuous heads of those bratty merchant children with basic arithmetic and spelling, she filled her evenings pouring over the dusty journals and manuscripts she purchased from those same merchant families. These varied from the natural sciences and philosophies to advance algebra and medicine. While most of it she didn’t understand, her favourite books were those on the natural world and the tomes on rocks and animals shared the prestigious place above her hearth with her cherished childhood tales.
            None of the scholarly works, however, ever mentioned a forest or wood existing without any animal life to maintain the natural rot and fertilization of the plants. The only scholars she recalled mentioning anything remotely similar were those espousing the horrors of lumbering upon the inhabitants of the forests. Course, the absence of wildlife in those instances was caused by the clearing of the trees they nested in to build the massive navies kings seemed to crave nowadays.
            “Alright, let’s get going,” Keirn replied, stoppering his water skin and tying it to his belt.
            Kait wrapped the remainder of her bread and tucked it into her pack before following her brother.
            It was another good hour or so of quiet trekking as Kait mused over the strangeness of the forest with Keirn continuing his aimless wandering and Calos walking quietly behind them both. Kait once again turned her thoughts to their absent companions. Surely Derrek would have some strange anecdotal story or obscure fact to make sense of this situation. He was far better at dredging up seemingly useless information from the dark depths of his mind.
            But he, too, was not here to lend his unique abilities.
            Kait was so wrapped in thought that she failed to notice the soft tugging at her shirt at first.
            “What is it?!” she spun around, frantically scanning the trees.
            “Wait,” was the solemn reply.
            The curly haired youth then ducked around her, quietly tugging on her brother’s shirt to get his attention as well. Then all three of them stood, the Faden’s wondering what had caused their companion to stop their progress. Calos simply raised a finger to his lips, signalling for them to be quiet before crouching low to the ground. The others followed suit.
            They stayed as still as possible, not even breathing, straining to hear any telling sign of some danger approaching. Instead, they only heard the rustling of leaves in a gentle breeze.
            “This is stupid,” Keirn muttered, standing suddenly. Calos’ hand quickly reached up and pulled him down again, pointing a small finger into the distance of the woods. Keirn and Kait leaned forward squinting in an attempt to see what was causing so much consternation.
            Calos looked from one sibling to the other. He was greeted with silent looks of confusion. Slightly frustrated, he waved them forward, still keeping low to the ground. They trudged through the forest for a little, until they came over a small mossy mound and Keirn and Kait saw the thinning of trees with a stretching field beyond.
            “Damnations!” Keirn muttered, falling behind the grassy protrusion.
            “Why are you cursing?” Kait whispered, “we’re out of the woods!”
            “And right into Angallan territory,” Keirn whispered. “That’s clearly farmland. I thought we were going to emerge at the Ukalie Plains!”
            “And what’s so wrong with the Angallans?”
            “Other than their xenophobic nature and propensity for arresting foreigners? You think this little trek through the woods was for fun?”
            “We’re not wanted in Angalla, are we?”
            Keirn gave a hurt expression.
            “You make me sound like some irreputable scoundrel.”
            Kait frowned.
            “What did you do?”
            “Nothing, I swear.”
            “Keirn.”
            “It wasn’t my fault! Come on, let’s go,” he said, turning back from the field.
            “I’m not going back into the woods!” Kait declared. “Not with those monstrous things trying to eat us inside.”
            Keirn paused. He looked from Kait’s stern expression to Calos curious look. He nibbled his lower lip in thought, scrunching his face as he realized that there was little chance of persuading his sister.
            “Alright, how about we skirt the farmland? My guess is we just came out a little too east. If we head north, we should be able to follow the forest edge to the Plains. That way, we don’t get eaten and we don’t get captured.”

            Kait thought about it for a second, but failing to come up with a better plan, nodded slightly. Keirn walked around the mossy mound, Kait following closely behind. Only Calos took time to examine the mound with a curious look, noting its odd bulk and reminiscent shape of something completely different then a large pile of earth. However, he abandoned his observations in order to catch up with the others.

Continue to The Sliver Part 2 >

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