Dwellers of the New World Chapter Eight ( Pt 10 ) The Weather Changes

Varden felt a chill, as he walked slowly towards the entrance to the cave. Noticing the fog had lifted, a cold wind had taken its place.

Leaving the safety of Si's surroundings, the boy felt exposed and vulnerable, he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering, goosebumps appeared on his arms.

With teeth chattering, he looked out to sea, storm clouds were gathering, giving the boy shivers of what was to come.

Making his way back up the beach, he noticed there were no sea birds feeding, a sure sign of bad weather on the way, giving him an uncertain feeling.

Though he was cold, the boy couldn't help feeling euphoric, as if he had a new lease of life. Climbing back up the cliff face, he definitely felt different.

Once at the top, he brushed himself down, thinking to himself, that finding somewhere to sleep the night would be the first thing on the agenda, once he had spoken to Cinnamon.

He wondered how she'd got on that day, and couldn't wait to tell her what he knew, without talking of his friend Si.

Heading back across the moor, he found a place to relieve himself. The wind was picking up, it became hard work walking, as the ground was so uneven and there were dips everywhere. The boy kept his ears and eyes open, not wanting to risk being heard or seen, now the fog had lifted, but all he heard was the wind.

It was late afternoon by the time he finally reached the edge of the forest. The river no longer seemed inviting, but Cinnamon would be waiting for him, so finding a sturdy tree, that had a good vantage point
for seeing anyone coming, he began to climb.

Locating a stout couple of branches to perch in, a chill went through him, as he thought of spending a night in a tree. Varden knew it would be dangerous and made a decision to head back to the beach, even though he was reluctant to make the journey, but he thought, 'maybe Si
would let him spend the night there in the cave.

Time passed as Varden waited, he wondered how Jay and Ben were getting on, trying to find their family, though he'd forgotten the name of the couple they were looking for, in all the excitement of the day.

Just at that moment, he heard the sound of children coming down the path towards the river, their squeals of laughter, being carried on the wind. Then he caught sight of them as they were blown along.

The trees had all but lost their leaves, leaving Varden feeling exposed, even though he was quite high up, so he kept very still. He smiled as some of the boys began rolling down the muddy bank, landing with a splash into the cold water. Some girls were playing chase, running around amongst the fringes of the trees.

'These are the lucky children!' he thought to himself. They had been born to parents who worked for the master. They were taught by their parents, that life here was better than anywhere else in the land.

Varden wished he could join them in their games, but the boy knew he was an outcast, only ever being able to watch their fun.

Pretty soon the youngsters tired of their games, so started to make their way home. Varden wished that Cinnamon would hurry up, it was getting late, he was bitterly cold just sitting there, also he didn't fancy the idea of walking across the moor in the dark.

As daylight started to drift away, the storm clouds he had seen earlier out to sea, came upon him quite quickly. It was not long before the heavens seemed to open up. The boy had enough, so climbed down out of the wavering tree, with a feeling of deflation, especially now that he hadn't seen Cinnamon and he would have to make his way back across the rough moor in the rain and wind.

Setting off with a sense of determination, he fought against the gusts,
being driven on by the idea of a nice warm cave to stay the night in
and the healing water that so invigorated him.