The Borderlands: Journey

Chapter 10

Dale woke early, her neck and back sore from sleeping upright. The wall of the cave had proved an uncomfortable bed. She stood up and stretched to remove the kinks in her spine. Then she ambled out onto the shore. The waves were calm. There was no breeze as yet but the sun had only just risen, its rosy light reflected on the water.

Scanning the sky, she remembered the hawk. Had it been a dream too? And was the sprite real or not? Dale looked all around, but there was no sign of her.

She stepped into the sea. Gooseflesh ran up her legs at the touch of the cold, but she bent and threw some water on her face.

Hunger growled in her stomach.

Back at her little camp she was comforted to see that Joy remained safely moored, still protected by the outcrop. She suddenly realised her risk if anything happened to Joy; she would be truly alone, isolated. Would it be any different from the isolation I've always felt? But she could starve – even die – if she lost the boat.

Cat was still curled up in a tight ball on the make-do mattress. He stirred when she approached and did his typical, lazy stretch – one paw, then the other, before mewing loudly for his breakfast.

"Just a minute." Dale knelt to rummage through her pack for the cat food. She found it and poured her feline friend a meal on a corner of the sail.

Cat purred as he ate, making Dale smile.

"Cat, did you see a sprite last night?"

He stood up from his meal to look at Dale as he crunched on a mouthful.

"A little thing, dressed in purple, about this high?" Dale put her hand to the top of her knee. "Spiky hair?"

Cat gulped his mouthful and returned to his breakfast.

"Guess that's a 'no'."

The winds that day were kinder and more efficient for sailing. Dale covered a lot of ground and managed to get as far as Macharioch. She set up camp just outside the village, in a small wooded area, and hoped she would go unnoticed.

At the village she bought instant noodles and more cat food. The old woman behind the counter took her money and asked no questions. Dale appreciated her evident lack of interest in strangers.

The sky was darkening when she noticed a cafe on the main street. A warm light came from within and the tables had red and white checked tablecloths. Apart from the sign on the window that read, 'Internet Cafe', it reminded her of some old movies she liked to watch. Her stomach growled. It'd been a while since she'd had a nourishing meal. I could kill two birds with one stone, she thought.

She ordered the lasagne with a side of salad. It was nowhere near as good as her mother's cooking, but it was a marked improvement on anything she'd eaten over the last few days.

She thought about her mother then. Would she be missing her? Dale doubted it.

A television in the front corner of the cafe showed the news. Dale watched it absently as she ate. She wondered why cafes and restaurants had tellies in them. She thought it was strange, going out to eat only to watch the telly anyway. But Dale was glad for the distraction. She watched the news, half expecting her face to be blazoned across the screen with the headline 'Strange girl, who claims to see auras: missing!'

But there was no such item. She wanted to keep it that way too.

After she ate she ordered a cup of tea and some Internet time.

She logged on to the sole computer in the cafe, and sipped her tea, waiting for the machine to boot. It sat in a back corner on a dusty and, Dale guessed, largely unused table. The computer probably belonged in a museum. It was a relic, but it worked.

She logged into her email account and typed.

Hi Mum,

I'm here at Dad's. I'm feeling much better. I need to think a few things through so I won't be contacting you for the rest of the summer.

Take care of Benny.

Dale.

It was short and curt, but it would do.

The email had taken her ten minutes to write, delete, rewrite and send. She still had fifty minutes left. She had a look at Google Earth, and located the place where she thought Ness lived. It was still a long way off. She took her sketch pad from her bag and noted down landmarks to help her navigation. She probably had two more days of sailing yet.

Next, she looked at the weather forecast. The winds were predicted to hover between southwest to northwester-lies. No surprises there. But some rain was likely, which could slow her down, if she got cold.

She still had thirty-five minutes left of Internet time.

She couldn't help herself. She went to YouTube and searched for Prudence's username – 'FeatherGal', and for the video. She found it but when she clicked, it read, 'This video has been removed'.

At least they made her delete it.

Dale remembered that night.

Why had Rhys done it? He'd seemed so much better than that! She shook her head and logged off the machine.

The following day was her hardest yet.

The morning was fine, even though there was a strong headwind. But by noon, grey clouds arrived, and by mid afternoon it was raining. The day grew darker and, with every minute, the winds whipped at her cropped hair. Dale furled the jib, and let the main go slack. By the time she banked Joy, in some obscure location, the rain was teeming.

She tried to make a camp amongst a grove of gorse but it was difficult. The winds tore the canvas from her hand as she attempted to tie it to a tree, and the rain pierced her skin like cold needles.

Even Cat looked perturbed. He sat under a fern, watching the sea and the sky with an expression that read, 'not happy'.

The sail and canvas she used as her mattress were wet, but they'd have to do. She made her bed under the lean-to and climbed in to look in her pack for something to eat. A brown banana and some crumpled bread rested at the bottom of the backpack. She munched on a stale, squishy banana sandwich as she watched fat drops of rain run down the canvas and splatter on the ground. Fine spray sprinkled her skin. Wishing for a fire, she drew the canvas up around her. Cat jumped on her lap and pawed at the canvas. Then he set to cleaning himself, and his routine grooming calmed her.

When he'd finished, he gave her a look of satisfaction with eyes half shut that told her he was ready for sleep now. Dale felt his warmth through the canvas. His sleepy eyes made her feel tired too.

Dale woke with an odd feeling she was being watched. When her eyes focused she saw a gull standing inches from her head. Its dark blue eyes stared at her through the rain. She sat up and the abrupt movement seemed to startle the bird. It jumped back.

Dale held out her hands. "I don't have any food."

The bird cocked its head.

"You better go before Cat gets back." Although, on second thoughts, the bird looked bigger than Cat. Maybe it was an albatross. I hope not, they're meant to be bad luck. She remembered asking Gareth about them once, but he just laughed. "No such thing as bad luck, lass. It's just another word for disappointment," he'd said. Dale wasn't sure she agreed.

"Are you an albatross?" she asked the gull. It cocked its head again.

She sighed. "I seem to be a bird-magnet. Owls and black hawks – now you!"

The bird squawked and Dale jumped. It had a loud call. Then it took flight and headed in a north-easterly direction through the grey twilight.

"That's the way I'm to go," she muttered.