Revolt of Blood and Stone: A Stone War Chronicles Novella

Chapter 9 - Run

"Ready?" called Jarod.

"Ready," Sebastian shouted back, nervously keeping an eye on the ground.

"Start clobbering, everyone," he heard Jarod yell, after which the thumping sounds of branches hitting the sand and stones hitting the rock under their feet began on the far side of their little refuge island.

Sebastian counted to ten, then twenty, scanning the ground for any reaction. When he reached thirty, two small tracks started to move, making their way around the rock formation. He counted to thirty again, but did not see anything else move. He swallowed, inched toward the edge and extended his foot. With a soft exhale, he put his foot on the sand as softly as possible. The tiny grains of sand crunched under his weight. He stopped and held his breath until he could not hold it any longer. Another five breaths he waited, then he took another step, each time nervously looking around to see if anything rushed his way.

Behind him, Svetka watched him closely. Sebastian froze as someone screamed. One of the creatures had ventured close to the rock's edge, forcing a few of the volunteers to stop. Immediately, Jarod spread them along the edge and told the others to double their efforts and make up for the ones forced to pause when one of the sand devils came close.

Sebastian's heart pounded, but nothing happened. He inhaled deeply through his nose, trying not to make too much noise, and forced himself to relax. Then he took another step. And another, softly and carefully. After what felt like half the morning, he finally reached the first safe point—a half-buried boulder twice his length.

He waved back to Svetka to let her know he was safe. Straight away, he looked for his next safe haven and pushed on, knowing full well he should not waste too much time looking for a way out. The rock formation disappeared from sight behind the trunks of several giant trees. Sebastian still heard the distant beating of sticks and rocks, but wondered if any of the creatures this far out would be drawn toward it still.

He spotted his next destination as he moved around the next big tree. One of the forest giants lay flat on the ground, toppled over by means never to be known. Along its trunk, saplings of different ages had sprung to life, reaching for the sky as they bathed in the sunlight shining through the canopy where the toppled tree had left a giant hole.

With one stop in between, Sebastian reached the uprooted tree and climbed on top of it. Most of it was still solid wood, but here and there the giant trunk was riddled with holes like a giant honeycomb. Ignoring his curious surroundings, Sebastian quickly walked the length of the trunk. When he reached the end, his face brightened at the gift the world laid before him. A long cliff ran beneath, solid stone that ran for as far as he could see, slowly descending as it snaked between the trees. It looked like it could go on for miles, and with solid rock beneath their feet there was no way these burrowing creatures could follow them. This was it—this was their way out!

He made his way back as quickly as possible, using signals to time his walks as people took turns hitting the sand. When he reached the rock formation with sweat on his back and told of his findings, the group quickly went from stifled enthusiasm to laughter and cheers.

"Alright, alright," said Jarod loudly. "We're not out of the woods yet. We can't afford to make mistakes here. We didn't break out of those mines to get eaten or starve in this forest. Let's get everyone ready and do this."

This time, Sebastian was part of the diversion. After explaining his successfully discovered route to several of the men, they started their risky trip toward the fallen tree. There, they would regroup before leaving this blasted forest. Led in small groups, men, women and the occasional youngster stepped off the rock. They walked softly, hand in hand, in groups of five. None of them spoke as those on the other side put all their effort into banging on the ground.