“There are four days and nights of good weather in every week, excluding winter, of course,” he said, somewhat apologetically. “If you don’t get caught by nightfall, you can make it to Silverwood safely.”
“Thank you,” she said, her mind obviously elsewhere.
“I’m sure you’ll make it,” he added. “You look like you’re in pretty good shape.”
She gave him a small smile in return.
“All right,” he said, holding his hands up again. “I’m not going to do this anymore.”
She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, this again, is it?” she said, a cold edge to her voice. “Okay, remind me again why I should be afraid of you!”
“I’m not going to stop this,” he reassured her. “I’ll just say this once and then I’m gone. You want a nice, easy ride? Follow me without talking to me. If you talk to me, I will make you regret it.”
“I don’t think you can keep that promise,” she said, with a small half smile.
“I’ll see you at sunset,” he said, and then walked away.
All the other browns had disappeared into the underbrush and now it was just her and Ranger and the endless trees.
A dull terror welled up inside of her. She had nothing but the clothes on her back, no weapons, and no idea where they were going. She had spent three days hiding in the woods, pushing the Brownfs as far as she dared to find out what had happened to her friends. And here she was, trying to avoid them by running straight into the arms of the enemy.
She wasn’t sure what to do, and wasn’t sure if the option she thought of would even work. She sat down by a tree and closed her eyes. The ground was damp and mossy under her.
It had taken her all day to walk to the place she thought Ranger had gone. She had crossed the high forested peaks in the north that, despite being tall and thick, were not very tall or thick.
In some places, the forest was so thick that she had to climb over trees and saw her way through it with her hands. But she had managed. She had managed because she was so determined not to give up.
It had taken her two hours of walking, pushing herself forward, wheezing, her muscles screaming, her heart thumping, and she had been just up that he had gone about an hour ago. She realised that she had walked so far that for the last four days she had never seen any other Brownfs. But she was determined to find Ranger. Her comrades weren’t behind her anymore. They were lost somewhere in the forest. She had no idea if they were dead or alive, or if they were even alive at all. She had no idea if they were still alive.
But she had to know. She had to see what was going on. And if they were dead, she wanted some answers.
She opened her eyes and looked around her.
The sun was out. There were no clouds in the sky.
There were no giant, flying shadow-beasts overhead.
There were no Brownfs in the distance.
But there were no Brownfs anywhere. Not far and not near.
She took a deep breath. She widened her eyes and took another one.
She took a deep breath. A deep breath.
She took another one.
She walked toward where he had gone.
She walked through the trees. The bark and moss scratched into her skin and dirt got into her ears. The sun was still up and scorching the air. She couldn’t have been walking for long, but she felt a deep weariness that somehow grew as she went.
The sun faded, and there was a slight chill in the air. She shivered in the chill. The soil under her feet turned to mud and tried to drag her down with it. She kicked and struggled and tried to move forward.
She stumbled through the trees until she found herself in open grassland.
And then she saw him, a lone figure standing by a tree stump. She walked across the grass toward him, her foot splashing in the mud.
He stepped toward her. She stopped when she was some distance away from him, letting him come closer and then turn and walk away.
“Your hair,” he said, putting the question out there before she could say anything.
“It hasn’t changed,” she said, furrowing her brows. “It’s still past my shoulders.”
“No, before that. It’s shorter than it used to be. What happened?”
She walked toward him until they were almost touching now. “You cut it.”
“I didn’t think it would matter that much.”
She looked him in the eyes, trying to read what was going on in there. “What, no answer?” she asked.
He paused. “No,” he said finally. “But I get the feeling you aren’t happy.”
“You got me out of the camp,” she said, in a low voice, her tone crooking. “I’m not going to forget that.
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