"A healing potion? B-but how would we...?"
"I saw some brewing stands at the village. They'll know what to do."
"Nade... I-"
"Vikk. This is your chance. Go with Landon to the village. Get him to take the potion back for Ali. Find Lachlan."
I nod.
"We have horses in a field to the north. They'll be the quickest way of getting there."
"Are you sure you don't want to just... come with us?"
Nade looks at me.
"Vikk, we've made our home here. We can't let Ali die. But you have Lachlan. He needs you, even if he doesn't remember you."
"O-okay. We'll set off at dawn, I guess. Is Landon okay with it?"
"Yes, I've talked to him. Now, get ready. And be quick. Ali's relying on you both."
***
I step out into the night. Landon is sitting by the fire, knife in hand, carving patterns into the wood of his bow.
I fetch my sword from the storage cave and then sit beside him.
"You ready for this?"
He nods, staring into the fire.
"Yes. I'm just worried about Ali, that's all."
"Me too."
We sit in silence for a while, waiting for the sun to come up. Its too dangerous to travel at night, but none of us can sleep.
Ali's condition has gotten worse and worse. Sometimes I wonder if he'll just turn up in the next season, but somehow I don't think that'll be the case. Anyway, I don't want to risk it.
I haven't told anyone else about season three, but Nade thinks I should go and find Lachlan. So I've told them I'm going to stay at the village.
The sun starts to peak its way over the mountains, casting long shadows.
We get up, check that we're ready. The village is only a day's ride from here, but we have to go through the forest to get there. I shiver, remembering the strong zombies from before.
Landon leads me to their paddock, a small grassy field in a valley of the mountain. Three horses wait there, grazing peacefully. We each choose one, and I climb onto my own. I can't actually remember riding a horse, but the movements are familiar. I know where to put my hands and feet, how to signal to the horse where to go.
"Hey, uh, Landon! Do these horses have names?"
He trots over to me on a Light-brown horse.
"Um, yeah. This ones called Frog because he's good at jumping, and I think that one's Dog. I don't know why, though. Weird names, huh?"
I let out a snort of Laughter. Dog and Frog. Wow. Creative.
"Are you ready to go?" I ask him. He nods once, so we set off, back past the camp and into the forest. The sun is well up in the sky by now. But it doesn't really make a difference. The forest is so dark, it may as well be evening.
We ride quickly for about two hours before Landon requests a rest stop. I agree, so we set up a little camp, with the horses tied up nearby.
Landon stretches, and then turns to me.
"So, uh, Vikk. I know I'm kinda young, and all, but... back at the camp... why were you ignoring me? It- It just seemed like you didn't want to talk to me at all."
I gulp.
"Well- um... Its a long story."
He crosses his arms.
"And we've got a long journey ahead of us."
I sigh. "Fine, I'll tell you. But we should get going."
We climb back on our horses and start to ride at a steady pace.
"Landon, You know we all woke up here with no memories?" He nods. "I remember before. And it was not pretty."
I go on to describe season 3. I leave out the parts about Lachlan and where he or Jay, Ali or Nade died, but he seems to sense that something's up.
"So," He has to raise his voice over the wind. "When we died in that world, we came here?"
"Yes."
"So we were the first to die."
"Uh, yeah. Sorry."
"How did we die, Vikk?"
He slows his horse down, and I signal to Dog to slow down too.
"Y-you were killed. In an ambush."
Landon looks at me, and then realisation passes over his face.
"You killed me, right?"
I don't say anything.
"That's why you've been so distant. You feel guilty. I-its okay Vikk. I understand. And hey, I'm alive now, right?"
"Sorry, Landon. But yes, you're right, we're alive now. And its the now that counts."
We don't speak for a while. My heart is racing. Eventually, the trees start to thin out. The forest is no longer so dark.
"Hey, Landon, lets take a break for a bit, okay?"
"sure."
We tie up our horses once more and sit on the ground. Landon reaches into his pack and pulls out a loaf of bread.
"I know it's not much, but we're gonna need all the energy we can get."
he throws me a chunk of bread, and we sit quietly chewing on it.
"Landon, I'm just going to scout for a bit. I won't be long."
I climb to my feet and walk away. I spot a tree with fairly low hanging branches, and clamber up into the leaves. Soon, I reach the top, and find a position in which I can see across the forest. The sun is starting to hang lower in the sky now, but it looks like we're getting near to the plains. To the south, the trees start to thin out.
Pleased with what information I've gotten, I carefully climb down and land softly on the grass.
When I get back to where our horses are tied up, Landon is nowhere to be seen.
"Landon? Hello?"
Where could he have gone?
I stand and turn in circles.
And then I see him. Standing, sword on the floor in front of him, with a figure dressed in black holding a knife to his throat. Landon is staring right at me.
I step forward, about to help him, when I feel my sword ripped from my belt and held at my neck.
A voice hisses in my ear.
"If you want to survive, you'll come with us, okay?"
I feel the metal blade pressing into my throat.
"O-okay."
*A/N: Oooh cliffhangerzzz... who do you think it is?*