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Well-rested and blurry-eyed, I woke up with a shiver. A large white cloud had drifted across the sky and covered the sun. Once again, I let the newness of this place overwhelm my senses. Putting my arms behind my head, I took everything in. The sights would never stop astounding me. Large tree branches stretched out above me and I traced the paths they took with a lazy gaze. A multitude of flowers and blossoms covered them. There were so many colors. Some I remembered from a book I’d had as a child but most I had never seen before. And the smells? They were sweet enough to lull me back to sleep. I took a deep breath, savoring the rich fragrances, and listened to what I could only assume were animals. Everything was appealing, but it was the abundance of water that won me over. It was so clear and sweet. If I ever had to go back through the cave, I probably would die. The man had been right.
My mouth opened in a wide yawn as I peered up into the brilliance of the blue sky. White wisps of clouds raced across the expanse, only to hide behind thick green branches. I had to convince myself to move. I was so happy and content lying here that the thought of moving depressed me. I could lay here for the rest of my life. When I finally climbed back to my feet, I slowly meandered my way back to my clothes. They were disgusting.
“I can’t wear these,” I said as I picked them up and hurried back to the stream.
The water muddied around me as I submerged them in the current. As the water saturated the fabric, they became too heavy for me to cling to. Tossing my shirt back to shore, I grabbed some rocks from the bottom of the stream and placed them on top of my pants, holding them in place. When I was satisfied that they were not going to wash away, I turned my attention to my shirt again. I’d never washed clothes before and didn't know how to properly clean them so I swished them around in the current until the water ran clean. When I was happy, I laid the shirt in the sun then did the same thing with my pants.
“That takes care of that,” I said when I was done.
I dusted off my hands and glanced around. Free time was a luxury I was not used to. Back home, I would have had a list of chores a mile long. There was always something to fix or prepare for. But here, with some downtime while my clothes dried, I wanted to explore. There was a rock on the mountainside above me that would hold a commanding view of the area. That would be the best place to start. Hiking up the incline, I was careful not to step on anything sharp with my bare feet. When I reached the rock, I pulled myself up onto its flat surface and surveyed a vast valley that spread out below me. The view was breathtaking. The slope of the mountain was completely forested but it cleared out as the valley leveled out, revealing a maze of streams, hills, and roadways. Turning around, I looked up the mountain. The peak shot upwards and out of view into a thick nest of clouds and from what I could see, the trees didn’t grow up there. The terrain was steep, rocky, and barren.
Once the excitement of the view wore off, I lay down, enjoying the warmth emanating from the stone on my bare skin. It wasn’t hot enough to burn me, but it made my back tingle in a good way. Sleep tugged at my eyelids again and I laughed. This place made me feel so lazy. Watching the clouds float by, I fought the urge to give in to temptation.
My head shot up when a twig snapped in the distance. Jumping to my feet, I scoured the area, searching for the fastest way back to my clothes. When another twig broke, I slipped off the rock and into the bushes next to it, keeping my head as low as possible. Something was out there and I didn’t want it to see me.
My mind envisioned the worst possible outcomes. There could be any number of wild beasts in this world that would happily eat me. Allowing the darkest and bloodiest scenarios to play out in my mind, I was relieved when I heard the next sound. Giggling. Leaning out from behind my cover, I watched as two girls walked out into the open, emerging from the shade of the trees. They were huddled together, sharing secrets no doubt. Father had told me about girls, though I had only seen a few from afar. They stopped when they saw my clothes.
“Who do you suppose these belong to?” one of them asked.
I stared at her, perplexed. Her clothes were funny looking. They were new but old-fashioned at the same time. They were sewn together in a flowing style that I had never seen before. I remembered seeing something similar to them in the wasteland once. Father called it a dress. The girl’s hair was long, yellow, and twisted into a complicated braid that ran down her back. Her cheeks were full and pink and it looked like she was no stranger to laughing. Unlike the people in the wasteland, he was not just skin and bone, proof that there was enough food to go around.
Her friend, on the other hand, was the opposite. She held a more serious demeanor about her. Her hair was short and dark, hanging only to her shoulders. Her clothes had the same style as the blond girl’s, but she did not wear a dress. They were dark, sleek, and more functional for exploring. Loose pants hugged her hips and a light jacket hung from her shoulders. It was easy to see that each girl wore something that reflected their personality.
The closer they got to my clothes, the more nervous I became. I didn’t know what they were planning, but if they were anything like the people in the wasteland, they were going to steal them. Hesitant to move out from behind the bush, I stretched out as far as I dared. When the girl with blond hair leaned down to touch my pants, she giggled. The thought of them running off with my clothes was more than I could stand. Rushing out into the open, I confronted them.
“Don’t touch those,” I yelled.
Both girls spun on me and screamed. The blond girl blushed as she covered her eyes.
“Ewww, he’s naked,” she shouted.
Looking down, I realized that the branches were no longer hiding my body. In my haste to prevent a theft, I’d stepped out into the open. Both sets of cheeks colored as I dove for cover.
The girl with dark hair smirked as my head popped back up, adding insult to injury. I lost the nerve to do anything about my clothes. These strangers had seen me naked. The only logical thing I could do now was die behind this bush.
“Where did you get clothes like that?” the dark-haired girl asked.
I didn’t answer the question. It was too strange. Father had given them to me. Where else would I get them?
“Where did you get these?” she asked again, though not in an angry way.
“Father found them for me,” I said sheepishly.
“They weren’t made in Arden, that’s for sure. Where are you from?” she asked.
Again, I didn’t know how to answer her question. I must have looked confused because the blond-haired girl whispered something to her friend and giggled. The dark-haired girl laughed and then looked at me again.
“Why are you naked?”
“Because my clothes were dirty,” I said, eliciting a small eruption of laughter from the girls.
“Now you have wet and dirty clothes,” the blond girl said.
The dark-haired girl must have seen my discomfort and embarrassment because she turned on her friend. “You laugh too much.”
Tired of standing around naked while the two girls watched me, I cleared my throat. “Um... Would one of you mind handing me my pants?”
The dark-haired girl picked them up between her finger and thumb and held them out at arm's length as if they were going to attack her. Tossing them on top of the bush, I snatched them up and slipped them on. They were nowhere near dry, but it was better than standing around without them.
‘What’s your name?” the girl with blond hair asked.
“Jaxon. What’s yours?”
She giggled again as if unable to help herself. I was starting to understand the dark-haired girl’s irritation with her.
“My name is Thena,” she said. “This is Kya.”
“Who are you?” Kya, the dark-haired girl asked. She stepped closer to me.
“I told you, my name is Jaxon.”
“I know your name, silly. Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before. Are you from one of the other cities?”
“I don’t think I’m from here,” I said.
“Well, then where did you come from?” Thena asked.
“Most recently, from that cave up there,” I said, pointing up the mountainside.
In a flurry of movement, Kya stumbled away and began whispering with Thena again, throwing cautious glances over her shoulder. I took advantage of the break in the conversation and grabbed my shirt and boots. My shirt was dryer than my pants, but not by much. Deciding to leave it in the sun a bit longer, I slipped on my boots. When I turned around, Kya was staring at me.
“What?” I asked as if I’d been caught stealing bread.
“You’re telling me,” she said in a serious tone. “You came from that cave right there?”
I looked at where she was pointing and nodded. It was the same one I’d come from.
Kya shook her head. “You’re lying. I don’t believe you.”
“Why not?” I asked. “That is where I came from.”
“Because it’s forbidden,” Thena said in a whisper. For once, she was not giggling.
“No one is allowed to go in there. It’s punishable by death,” Kya added.
I laughed but quickly stopped when I saw the expressions on their faces.
“Why?” I asked.
Kya and Thena huddled together, whispering in one another's ears again. They glanced around the forest before answering.
“No one remembers why. Anthony said it’s because of how many people were murdered there,” Kya said.
“What does that blowhard know?” Thena asked. “He’s the dumbest kid in Arden.”
“Why do you think it’s forbidden?” I asked Thena.
“Because of the thieves. That’s where they hide all their treasure and the Chancellor is in on it. That’s why they kill you if you go in there.”
Kya slapped her forehead. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you believe something like that?”
“Jean told me. Her dad knows someone who works at the palace.”
“That girl is a liar. Remember when she blamed me for stealing those cakes when she was the one who took them?
“Maybe it’s haunted?” Thena said.
“Yeah, it’s haunted because of all the people who were murdered there.”
I watched the exchange with interest but wanted to finish telling my side of the story.
“I never went in,” I said. “At least not from this side. So, if I didn’t go in, they can’t kill me, right?”
Kya shifted her gaze to Thena, who shrugged her shoulders.
“Not that I believe you or anything, but how can you come out but not go in? That’s impossible,” Kya said.
Now I shrugged my shoulders. Since I didn’t really know how I got there, I couldn’t answer the question.
“I think it would be best if you came back to Arden with us,” Kya said.
“Maybe you can get some new clothes while you’re there,” Thena added with a giggle.
At least she feels better about all of this. I picked up my shirt and pulled it on. As soon as it was in place, the girls hurried back under the trees. Running to the stream, I took one last drink before I followed. They’d gone on ahead but were not walking fast so it was easy for me to catch up.
The chill was the first thing I noticed when I entered the shade of the forest. It felt good, but I shivered in my wet clothes. Looking up into the canopy, I was surprised to see dozens of colorful little birds hopping from branch to branch. The only birds I had ever seen were big and black and ate dead things. I shuddered to think about what could be happening to Father’s body.
When I caught up with my new friends, I noticed that the path they were taking took us farther from the stream.
“Shouldn’t we be following the water?” I asked.
“Don’t worry. We have plenty of water unless you want to do laundry again. You’d need all the water in Arden to clean those properly,” Thena joked.
“I just thought that was the quickest way to Arden.”
As the words left my mouth, Kya spun on me. “I thought you said you weren’t from here, yet you know the way to the city? Have you been lying to us?”
Her eyes burned with mistrust as she waited for me to answer.
“I’m not from here,” I said, wishing I hadn’t said anything. “That’s just the way the man told me to go.”
“What man?” Kya asked. “I want the truth. Is someone else out here?”
Kya looked only a little older than I was, but she acted at least twice her age. Her maturity scared me. I didn’t want to risk getting left behind so I explained everything.
“Look,” I said. “I really did come from the cave. At the very back, there is a ladder that takes you to the place I come from. That’s how I got here. When Father died, I ran away from home. I didn’t want to live without him. A couple of days later, this man found me, took me to the mountains, and gave me some water that made me fall asleep. When I woke up, I was in the cave. I bet he’s still there, but he told me never to come back. He was the one who told me how to get to Arden.”
Kya and Thena stared at me. I didn’t know if they believed my story or not.
“Is any of that really true?” Kya asked.
I nodded. “Every word. I promise.”
Kya looked at Thena. “We need to get him to Thane. He’ll know what to do.”
“Who’s Thane?” I asked, hope blossoming through my chest.
“He’s sort of a librarian,” Thena said.
I stared at her and shook my head. I had no idea what a librarian was.
“He knows a lot of things and he is much more than just a librarian, Thena,” Kya said with a glare.
I decided it would be better not to say anything else. I was a bit embarrassed by how little I knew. Kya and Thena went back to whispering, periodically looking over at me. I kept my distance because I didn’t want to get yelled at again.
The sound of splashing water was usually within earshot as we walked, which comforted me. As the path meandered through the trees, it would fade away, but never for too long. I wasn't sure when the sound changed, but now it thundered louder and wilder than before. I wanted to glimpse it through the trees, but it was too far. Not paying attention to where I was going, I didn’t notice that Kya and Thena had stopped walking and I nearly knocked Thena over.
“Whoa! Pay more attention,” Thena shouted as she brushed some unseen imperfection from her dress. For the first time since we met, Kya laughed.
“I told you not to wear that up here.”
Thena fired back with a dirty look. “Running into a cave boy was the last thing I expected. My dress might be ruined thanks to him.”
I didn’t know why, but the words stung. “I’m not a cave boy,” I said.
“Well, whatever you are, what were you doing? Running around with your eyes closed?”
“I just wanted to see...” I stopped myself before I could say anything dumb.
“What?” Thena cried. “See what? A thrasher?”
Thena went back to brushing off her dress before I could answer. I stared at the ground, horrified that I had done something unforgivable. Thena grumbled and stomped away.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
Feeling a soft touch on my shoulder, I looked up to see Kya standing next to me. She shook her head, silently apologizing for Thena’s behavior.
“What did you want to see?” she asked gentler than Thena had.
I glanced past her, checking to see how close Thena was.
“Don’t worry about her. She cares more for her clothes than she does other people’s feelings. She’ll forget about it soon enough. She always does. But what were you looking for?”
Ashamed, I told her. “I wanted to see what was making that sound.”
“What sound?” Kya asked as she strained her ears to listen. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Really?” I asked, confused. “It sounds like thunder.”
“Oh,” she said with a laugh. “That’s just the river.”
“River?” I asked.
“You know. A river. Like the stream but a lot bigger.”
I frantically searched through the trees, desperate to see it.
“Come on,” Kya said, grabbing my hand and breaking a new trail through the undergrowth.
We crashed through the bushes, hopped over fallen trees, and stumbled over hidden boulders. There were so many things scratching my face, I had to hunch forward, protecting my head with my free arm as we ran. When the crunching and snapping of leaves and twigs stopped, I looked up. I was standing on the rocky bank of the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my entire life. Enormous amounts of water poured down the mountainside. I stared, transfixed as it rose and fell, crashing down on itself. How many different streams had it taken to make this? If the people in the wasteland had this, no one would ever die of thirst. This would provide enough water for the whole world, revitalizing it. Kya laughed at my expression.
“Haven’t you seen a river before?” she asked.
All I could do was shake my head. I had no words for what I was feeling right now. I looked up and down, taking it all in. It was so wide that I doubted I could throw a stone across it, and I could throw pretty far. Pulling my attention away, I turned to Kya.
“You don’t understand,” I said. “Where I’m from, you have to pay for water, and we never get to see where it comes from. Here, I could sit and drink all day.”
“How could there not be any rivers where you come from?”
“After the bombs fell, my world turned into a wasteland. A huge desert. The sun turned white and burned up most of the plants. Everything is dry, dirty, and depressing. The only place you can find water is underground where the heat can’t dry it up.”
“What’s a bomb?” Kya asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve never seen one. Father told me about them once. They fall from the sky and explode. When they do, they kill everything around them.”
“That’s horrible,” Kya gasped. “I don’t know how anyone could live without water like this. How did you do it?”
“We didn’t have a choice. It was live with it or die.”
“How can you make someone pay for water?” she asked, more to herself as she stared at the river.
“Life is hard in the wasteland. These clothes are the only ones I have. When I first got them, they were huge, but I didn’t have anything else to wear. It was this or walk around naked. I still haven’t grown into my boots,” I said as I kicked a rock into the water.
Kya smiled at me. “You are going to like it in Arden. Things will be different for you there.”
“Kya? Jaxon? Where are you guys?” Thena’s voice echoed through the trees. “Don’t do this to me, okay? I didn’t mean to be so nasty. Come on. Stop playing around.”
“I guess we shouldn’t leave her alone for too long,” I said.
“After the way she treated you, she should walk home alone. That was really mean of her.”
I didn’t care. I had never had real friends before and I was not about to let a few words get in the way of that. Walking back to the trees, I searched for Thena. I was ready to apologize for ruining her dress but never got the chance. Thena came flying out of the forest like a mad woman and crashed into me, sending us both tumbling over the ground. The look in her eyes was one of pure terror. She was so scared she couldn’t talk, but she mouthed one word perfectly clear. Run.
She rolled off me, scrambled to her feet, and ran straight into the waiting arms of Kya. It took her a moment to regain enough composure to say anything. Once she found her voice, she screamed one word loud enough for me to hear over the roaring of the river.
“Thrasher!”
“What? Where?” Kya asked, suddenly as scared as Thena. “Jaxon, get up now and get over here. We need to get in the river.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, slowly getting to my feet.
Kya stomped her foot on the ground. “This isn’t a joke, Jaxon. Get over here.”
When I didn’t respond, she sprinted over to me and pulled me back to the river. I jumped when a monstrous howl shattered the peaceful afternoon. Taking a quick glance over my shoulder, I regretted it immediately. A hideous beast had burst through the underbrush of the forest. The creature, or thrasher, was huge and angry. It ran upright on short hind legs like a man would, but its arms were long enough to brush the ground as it went. Its hairless body was covered in scales, like the lizards Father used to catch for dinner. But what scared me most were its teeth and claws. Each claw was as long as my forearm and its sharp teeth glinted in the sunlight. A long, thick barbed tail trailed behind it. It could kill me without even trying.
Speeding up, I tried to pass Kya, but she was faster. When we made it to the river, Kya and Thena each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me out into the rushing water.
“Don’t worry. They never come close to the water,” Kya yelled.
“But they usually never even come this close,” Thena said.
I didn’t know what was happening, what this creature was, or why it scared the girls so much, but there was one thing I knew for certain. It wanted to kill us.
Never having been in a river before, I felt uncertain about the water pushing my legs, threatening to pull me under. I took a nervous glance at the girls on either side of me then back at the thrasher. It had dropped down to all fours. Scratching deep gouges into the dirt, it paced the riverbank. Each time it turned, it made eye contact with me. It was only a few feet from the water’s edge, but it seemed hesitant to get any closer. Its long claws, which could easily slice me in half, twisted up around its forearms like armor. Even from where I was, I could see large drops of saliva falling from its teeth. It was hungry.
Kya screamed when it charged into the river. The second the water splashed up its body, it howled in pain and retreated to the bank.
“What is it doing?” Thena cried. “This isn’t possible. We’re all going to die.”
“Hush,” Kya said, tightening her grip around my arm.
The thrasher growled at us. Whether by instinct or fear, I didn’t know, but the girls were pulling me deeper into the rushing river.
“Why won’t it leave?” Thena asked, large tears streaming down her face. “Doesn’t it know it can’t get us here? They don’t ever come this close to water.”
Thena was shaking. Knowing I shouldn’t ask the question fighting its way to the front of my mind, I did anyway.
“What happens if it gets us?”
The girls shuddered. “I don’t think right now is the best time to be talking about that,” Kya answered.
The thrasher was starting to get frustrated. It had tried entering the water a few more times, but it always retreated to the safety of the rocks. What was worse was that the force of the river was pressing harder against my legs with each step the girls pulled me. It was already rushing past my upper thighs, which I tried not to think about. All we had to do was wait this thing out.
Without warning, the thrasher stood tall, opened its maw, and screamed. Pain exploded through my head. The longer it persisted the more it felt like my skull was going to explode. At the same time, all three of us clapped our hands over our ears. And that was all the river needed to pull me under. I fought against it, but the slippery stones beneath my feet provided no traction. Falling into its current, I was ripped away from the girls and submerged in the water. A few seconds later my head resurfaced and I vomited out all the water that had invaded my throat. Gasping for breath, I struggled against my own weight when the river pulled me under again. Bubbles circled my head as I fought to stay afloat but the current was too powerful. By the time I could see again, the girls were too far away to do anything to help. The river was sweeping me away. The thing that scared me the most was that the thrasher was now keeping pace with me.
I struggled to keep my head above the water. Every time I saw the blue sky and tried to breathe, water rushed into my mouth, choking me. I didn’t know how I’d survived this long. As I careened around another bend, my body narrowly missed a jagged boulder. Somehow, against all odds, I had managed to stay afloat long enough to get a few breaths into my lungs, but I didn’t know if I had the strength to keep fighting the current.
Then there was the thrasher that, for some reason, was keeping pace with me. Even if I managed to get out of the river, it would be on me in a second. It had attempted to reach me a few more times since I floated away from Kya and Thena, but recoiled in pain, just like before. Why was it so persistent? On the bright side, if it could be considered a bright side, the girls had gotten away. I was happy about that, even if I was most likely going to die, which was embarrassing. My first day in this new world, and I go and get myself killed.
When I sped around another curve in the river, my death came into view. The river came to a sudden end. The rumbling I had been hearing turned into a deafening roar. The river was going to swallow me whole and there would be nothing left of me for my friends to find. I doubted that anyone else would even come looking for me either. Now I had two worlds where no one cared for me. The thought actually made me laugh. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t help myself. However, the laughter shifted to horrified screams when my body was thrown out into the open air. Weightless, I fell to my death as I continued to scream until the falling water engulfed me.