The Lost Soul

Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The more they walked, the further away the mountains seemed to get. 

"It's been days and we don't seem to be getting any closer. It's weird," said Jack as they planted their belongings down on a couple of large rocks and approached the river to drink some of the refreshing water. 

"Do you think it's safe to bathe in the river?" asked Zalea, who was getting increasingly hotter. 

"If you stay by the water's edge and are quick about it. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out for Dacius's sister," said Jack with a wink as Zalea walked slowly and carefully into the cool water, dipping her head back so her hair was soaked through. After a couple of minutes, she walked out, feeling much better. 

"Is it me, or has it been getting warmer the past day or so?" she asked the two men, who both nodded. 

Oprah squawked behind them and Zalea jumped. 

"It's okay, she just wants a drink, that's all," said Nick, leading her to the water where she lapped at it until she was satisfied. 

"I was wondering, Nick, how come you never tried to get home?" 

"Why did I never try to go back into those caves full of deadly Nephilim waiting to pounce? Plus, where there are loads of dead bodies?" 

"Okay, I get your point." 

"But honestly though, I've thought about it for years. I've come pretty close but I can just never bring myself to go back there. It's almost like there's something keeping me away." 

Zalea smiled, "I wish you'd have come to Moharth. We would have made you very welcome, Nick." 

"I wish I had done too, Zalea, thank you." 

"Tell us about your home, Nick" she asked, sitting down by the side of the river, her fingers trailing in the water beside her. 

"There's not an awful lot to say, really. I lived in a trailer in Tucson, Arizona." 

"What about your family?" 

"I didn't have a family." 

"What did you do for a living?" asked Jack. 

Nick laughed, "I guess you could call me a survivalist." 

"No, I mean before you ended up here." 

Nick laughed again and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm being serious. I was a survivalist when I lived in Tucson. I used to travel all over North America teaching people how to survive in certain circumstances... in the mountains, forests, and so on." 

"So basically people paid you to do what you've been doing here for the past 15 years?" asked Jack, intrigued. 

Nick nodded, "If it wasn't so tragic, it would be funny." 

"Amazing, absolutely amazing. Had it been anybody else, they probably wouldn't have survived. Perhaps that's what's pulling you back, preventing you from trying to get home?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Nick, clearly you are in your element in this place. Perhaps deep down you feel more at home here?" 

With a smile, Nick stood up, "You're probably right, but 15 years is a long time to spend without the company of other humans. Meeting you has strengthened my resolve to get home. I want to go back, I know that now." 

"Good," said Jack, smiling, "then let's get moving." 

The three of them grabbed their bags, hoisted them onto their backs, Zalea with caution so she didn't do any damage to her delicate wings, and they began walking towards the mountains, all the while keeping the river to their left. 

Oprah walked behind them, occasionally nuzzling their necks between short flights when she would disappear to find something to eat before returning to walk behind them again. 

As they wandered through the large dry valley with huge cliff faces at either side of them and the river continued to flow towards the mountains, they came across what looked like a mass of giant mushrooms. 

Nick took his rope and lassoed it around the top, tugging it to make sure it was strong enough to hold his weight. 

"What are you doing?" shouted Zalea as she and Jack stood, astounded by Nick's sudden bout of energy and enthusiasm. 

"An excellent source of protein can be found on top of these things. It'll be great for dinner!" he hollered from the top. 

"Can't we just cut a bit from the bottom?" shouted Jack in response. 

Nick poked his head out from the mushroom's top and shook his head. "No... the rest of it is kind of poisonous. You can only eat the top," he said, descending down the side, even faster than he'd climbed up it in the first place. 

"How do you know?" asked Zalea, taking the little mushrooms handed to her and placing them carefully in Jack's bag as he turned around. 

"Trial and error. I tried it once... and once was enough." 

The trio continued walking until Jack spotted a small cave in the canyon. 

"That might be a good spot to spend the night," he suggested as they headed over to have a look but before they got there, Oprah began squawking loudly. 

"Wait," said Nick and he pulled his friends behind him. "We're not alone. Stay here while I go and take a look." 

Oprah followed behind as they stood and waited for him to check out the caves. 

A few minutes later, there was a loud whistle and Oprah was off like a shot towards the cave, to her master. 

"Okay, it's safe for you to come in now," yelled Nick as he threw something with a lot of legs out of the entrance. Oprah pounced on it and began ripping it to shreds, eating every last bit of the creature. 

"What was that?" asked Jack. 

"Giant spider... Oprah loves them but they're not so good if they bite you," he said, lifting his leg and revealing a nasty red scar on his ankle. "This one got me shortly after my arrival here. I thought I was going to die. The pain was excruciating." 

Zalea shuddered, "Are you sure there aren't any-more in the cave?" 

"Don't worry, I'm sure. If there were, Oprah would be able to smell them and she'd let us know. So you can rest easy tonight."