Beating (Book 1: Acts of the Hearth)

Chapter 17

With her vision blurred, Vivian wakes up to a sight of the long tunnel and the many depths flying by her. Higher and higher she goes when she starts to look around. Up above, she looks at Travis's chin that is near her. “You’re…flying.” she says to him.

     Vivian looks down at the long slit down the length of her clothes. She pulls them closer to hide any exposed skin. Looking back at her chest, she notices a long scar that reaches down pass her navel.

     “What happened to me? Where'd this scar come from and where’s your mom…?” she ask this while looking up at Travis who continues flying higher with her in his arms. “We both played our part and now…she’s gone.” he states with a quick sigh.

     “She said there wasn’t any other way…but I still don’t believe her.” Vivian adds.

     “The Zae are forced to live a life of consuming their own if they want to maintain control of themselves. Otherwise the soul of Zae will fight to dominate all that it sees… I shouldn’t ever…have to do this again.”

     “At least that’s what my mother told me…” Travis voices as he keeps his face aimed to the light of the opening above.

     Travis staggers mid-flight. The two fall a bit down the dark hole. He regains his baring’s then kicks against the jagged stone and dirt wall. As they continue their ascension, neither one talks through the rest of the flight.

     Travis and Vivian finally reach the top after some hours. “It took such a short time to get down there, but it felt like it took forever to get up here!” Vivian comments jokingly to him. Travis doesn’t respond. Instead, he puts her gently down on the floor.

     She steps down and looks back at Travis. His eyes showed the obvious sign of previous crying. The young man walks to Logan and touches the older man’s shoulder. “Where are the people—?”

     Logan fearfully snaps his arm away from Travis as he talks. “My apologies…! I am still quite shaken by all of this.” he says motioning with his burnt arm to the changes caused by the transformation.

     “If you’re asking about the people. They all started prepping to skip town right after you dived into that hole there.” Grantham answers the question for him. “So that’s all of them, huh…? First from the rumors and now from the truth…” Travis says under his breath. “Wait! What about Damen?! Has anyone heard from him?”

     Grantham and Logan both shake their head. “I’ll go find him! I know where he is…!” Travis offers as Ode blocks his way. “No, no, no! That would be a terrifically…bad idea! The people may confuse your searching as you scavenging for lively food.” the burly man states honestly.

     “Just tell us where to find him this time. We’ll go get him.” Vivian adds as Travis turns to her and turns back to Ode. “You’re right, Ode…that would be a bad idea. I’ll map it out as best I can.” he responds back.

     “For now, just find a nice pile to rest on. And lucky you, you get first pick!” Logan declares in his usual jester-like manner. The young man nods solemnly and looks around himself.

     Destruction stretches far pass the edges of the kingdom. Debris and rubble, as far as his eyes can see. Travis sighs deeply as he falls on his butt with his face in his hands, mourning the tragic day.

Learning by teaching another…

 

     After the group goes searching for Damen. Travis drifts to sleep a lot easier than he expects. In his dream, the young man walks through a hallway of many doors with kid-like drawings on the walls around.