If anything, the encounter with Eros and Quentin only draws up more questions for me. How is Blayke doing this? Why is he doing this? And how much validity did Eryl's evaluation of Blayke have? Quentin had called him the All Mighty. And even if he was joking, what would make him make a joke like that?
Eros is quiet, seemingly pretty pissed off about almost everything. I'm not sure what it is, but I have a feeling it has something to do with me. I've never met the man before in my life, so I don't have a clue how he could have a problem with me, but I'm not about to ask, either.
Something is off about Quentin, too, though. Nothing bad, exactly. He's just... interesting. With as sharp and angular as all his features were, I'd expect him to be colder. But he's warm, his voice and his laugh and, while some of his words should have sounded bitter, none of them ever did.
"You figured me out yet?" Quentin asks Eryl, whose hands had long since been cut free. Eryl glares.
"Almost." Quentin smirks.
"Let me know when you do," he replies to Eryl. To me, he says; "Does it always take him this long?"
"To do what?"
"Find out what type of Extra people are. I mean, most of us have a sort of sixth sense for this thing. This guy's just hopeless." Eryl picks up his pace to walk closer to Eros, and both of them look equally irritated.
"He has a better sixth sense than you'd think," is all I say back to him.
The land turns from dirt streets and run down wooden buildings to fields of wheat and corn. We walk for hours. Everything feels cold and heavy and wet, and I honestly have no clue where we are. Every tiny shack we pass is made of wooden boards, without a hint of white plastic in sight. It's hard to believe the Dominion had ever ruled this place.
"Where is Blayke?" I ask.
"Not anywhere near here. Way too dangerous," Quentin says around a mouthful of yellow bread.
"Are there lands over the Eastern Seas? Is that where he is?"
"If she's really as important to him as he said, if this is really the right girl, why wouldn't he tell her where he'd be when this all went down?" Eros snaps, without looking back at us. I try not to let my face show how hard his question hit me.
"Yes, he's always this bitter." Quentin whispers. "But it's not his fault, really. The Dominion burned him pretty bad,"
"How?" I ask. Quentin shakes his head.
"Not my story to tell, princess. But you'll see. It'll all click together," I look at him oddly. None of this seems real, to be honest. Nothing has seemed real since I returned from my mission in Brazil, actually. Or maybe that's just the feeling that comes with not being in the loop. Eryl knows something, Net knows something, Quentin and Eros know something, everybody knows something that I don't. Normally something like that wouldn't bother me, but somehow this time all of these things I didn't know seem to directly affect me and everything going on in my life. In fact, it pretty much is my life.
We walk farther into the wheat and corn, and eventually Quentin quickens his pace to walk with Eros, and Eryl slows his pace to walk with me. Nobody speaks, not because there's nothing to say, but because there is nothing to be said to me. Quentin seems like he wants to tell me what he knows, but Eros is obviously dead-set against it.
I wish Net were here.
I suddenly find myself missing him, almost as much as I miss Blayke. The feeling comes with a pang in my chest and I have a sudden sinking feeling that I won't never see Nethanyel again. Part of me knows that isn't true; it couldn't be. Net is my brother and the day I wouldn't see him again would be the day one of us died.
"Evaline, have we met before?" I turn to Eryl, whose words snap me from my reverie.
"What?" I frown at him.
"Have we met? Before yesterday," he looks ahead, down at the ground, but not at me. My frown only deepens.
"No," I say slowly, drawing out the word. "Was that really only yesterday?" I suddenly can't believe that I only met Eryl yesterday. It seems like weeks ago, ages. Somehow it feels like I've always known him, even though I know that isn't true. At least, I don't think it is. Certainly I would remember him, if not because of him himself then because of his resemblance to Blayke. In his demeanor, at least.
I decide that no, there is no way I've known Eryl longer than a day.
But I also decide that the first time I met him was not yesterday.
"Keep up," Quentin suddenly calls back to us. "It'll be nightfall soon, and we have to make it to the treeline before then." he points out beyond the wheat field we're in, to a large expanse of grass and clover and a lush green forest beyond that.
"No way in hell," I blurt. Eros looks back at me, his eyebrow cocked.
"She's right; nightfall is less than two hours. We'd have to turn to cover that amount of distance before then," Eryl speaks his agreement.
"We'll make it." is all Quentin says in reply. I huff out a breath and Eryl and I walk faster.
~ ~ ~ ~
By the time night falls upon the Outer Fields, we're only just breaching the wheatfield. Out of the tall grain, I suddenly feel exposed.
"Not really safe," I whisper to myself. Eryl moves closer to me, his hand tightening over his gun. I pull mine from the side pocket of my bag, even though I'm pretty sure it's out of ammunition from my firing at Eros and Quentin - both of which had removed their guns from their holsters.
"I haven't seen any people out here," I say quietly. "What exactly are we on guard for?"
"You'll see." Eryl replies. Now I really wish Net was here.
"We should have gotten here earlier. There's no telling how many of them are going to be out here," Eros says irritably.
"How many of what?"
"We'll be fine," Quentin says to Eros, ignoring my question entirely. "As long as we move quick."
"And entirely without noise," Eros snaps.
"Well with that attitude how do you expect to get anything done?" Quentin raises his gun with both hands and steps cautiously out into the dying grass. It crunches under his feet, and Eros immediately drops his head.
"What is he-"
"Run." Eryl pushes me forward, but before we could make a beeline for the trees, Eros spins around and aims his gun directly at our heads.
I freeze, my heart pounding.
I shouldn't have trusted these guys. I can't believe I did! My need to find Blayke has driven me this whole time, not logic. Everything I've done has been because of Blayke, because of his messages, because of the possibility he might still be alive.
And look where that's gotten me.
I close my eyes, braced for the impact of the shot.
I hear the gunshot.
And then I hear a terrible whimper, and I whirl around to see what Eros had just shot. It's massive - easily four times the size of any dog I've seen before. The gray, hairless animal writhes on the ground, its skin rotting and falling away from the bone. Eryl moved to block my view, but it was too late. I could hear the animal's screeching, still see the blood as it seeped from the bullet wound. Even as a turner, I've never actually seen something die before. And I've certainly never watched anything rot and decay.
"What... was that?" I whisper.
"Evaline, don't think about it. Just... come on, we have to go." he gently pushed me toward the forest, where apparently things were safer.
"It's too late. Its screams probably alerted every guard dog in an eighty mile radius,"
"Guard dog?" I look to Eros, who had made the comment. He looks back at me, his jaw set.
"Yes, princess, guard dogs. They're meant to keep the unwanteds out of Ward One.
"Un... what?" I ask hopelessly.
"We really don't have time for a damn history lesson. If you want to live long enough to see your precious Blayke, shut the hell up and move." Quentin snaps. I'm momentarily shocked by his harshness, but then I hear the barking, and I know we have to move.
"How do we get away from them? They'll just find us in the forest,"
"Trust us," ironically, it's Eros who says this. Eryl gives me another shove forward, and I hold my tongue as we begin our flight into the woods. The farther we go into the thick underbrush, the louder the barking and growling seems to become. The darkness brings with it a terrible storm, and the harsh winds reach us even in the trees. I'm in an unfamiliar territory and the shadows cast from the moonlight make me virtually blind. I can feel Eryl running beside me as the torrential rain starts to dump from the sky. I'm not normally the type of person who would freak out in a situation like this - my training and innumerable turns have given me a very level head.
But right now, right now I'm panicking.
The barking is getting maddeningly louder, and the rain not only makes it harder to see but harder to hear whether or not we're heading in the right direction away from the dogs.
I suddenly find myself falling.
I twist and land on my side in the mud, my shoulder hitting the thick root of a tree with a sickening snap. I cry out, struggling to push myself up. Where's Eryl!? He was right beside me only a second ago. I can hear the pounding of humongous paws and the barks of a hundred guard dogs. Ignoring the pain as much as I can, I roll farther into the thick bank of trees and hoist myself over a root. I hold my gun as best I can in my left hand - moving any part of my right arm causes unbearable pain - and force myself into a sitting position. I'm in a small alcove, covered on my left and right by tree roots and on my back by the tree itself. Through the rain I can hear the dogs. Their barking has stopped, but their paws still strike the earth like horses' hooves. I try to keep my breathing even, to convince myself that there's no way Eryl would leave me out here to die. I don't even think Quentin would - not because he knows me or owes me anything, but he must be getting something for bringing me to Blayke. Eros might leave me, but I think Quentin could make him come back if he really tried.
Maybe.
The rain has completely soaked through my pants, and even the thick jacket is starting to feel damp against my skin. The sound of the dogs is getting closer and closer, and I'm not sure my heart will be able to keep up. I close my eyes, smelling the rain, the wet grass and the damp soil. I can just faintly make out the scent of wet dog on the wind. They're close. At this point I'm not sure if it would be more beneficial for me to stay where I am, or run to catch up with the boys. Net would tell me to run, that I could make it. Blayke would tell me to stay where I am, to stay quiet and wait for the more experienced ones to come back and find me. And I can't say I'd argue it either way. I probably could make it to the boys before the dogs found me. But what if I slipped, or ended up getting lost? Both of those were pretty likely.
Run. A. Trust. I'm waiting.
Three minutes later and I am so glad I stayed put. The smell of wet dog overwhelms me, and behind the tree I can hear the heavy breathing of a pack on the run.