Dwellers of the New World Chapter Fifteen ( Pt 14 ) Sad Goodbyes

It was late afternoon and freezing snow lay all about, the wind causing it to drift up against the banks, making it hard to distinguish the ground levels. By the time Liora and Jay had finished saying their blessings to the dead, hardly anyone had turned out, which wasn't unexpected considering the way Bracus had been in life.

The children stood impatiently, they were becoming fidgety and desperate to get on board the ship. Liora had told them of the plan to sleep on the Flying Fish that night, they were so excited with the anticipation, they couldn't help whispering amongst themselves; knowing they'd be going home, now it was all they could think of.

Jay had wrapped some meat up for each of them in some skins, he'd also collected some fresh water from the river and filled a barrel, the ice had been frozen solid which made collecting the water more difficult, after knocking through the ice it was natural, clean and untouched, coming from underground streams which flowed down from the mountains.

It was getting dark when they reached the jetty, everyone seemed to be there. Evelyne and Nathen, Ben and Liora's friends – Usha and Udi, who stood with Kalina, Tariq, Fallow and baby Tegan.

Varg positioned himself ready to welcome the children on board, his patience lacking somewhat, he had no wish to converse with them, as far as he was concerned they were too much of a hindrance to be of any use.

Addie and his men were already down below with Dawson, they'd made him as comfortable as possible, though Varden had hardly left the sick man's side, worried that if he died after his ordeal, it would be a tragedy after following the man this far. Cinnamon held young Will's hand, as the three of them went back up on deck to say their goodbyes.

Liora climbed on board and made her way down below to speak to Varden, not understanding why the boy would want to leave his homeland, having made so much effort to get to the Island in the first place.

“Hello Varden,” she said casually. “So how come you've decided to go back to the mainland? I thought you were eager to see your family and be home.”

Varden still in his rags lowered his head. “I gotta go back lady, me friends are prisoners in this place called the Doom Chamber, I have to get them out, we also have to get Dawson and his friends back to their ship.” The boy paused before continuing. “But once this is all over...well who knows, maybe I'll come back. Cinnamon says she will help me now she knows the truth about the children being snatched from their families; It's gotta stop lady, and we're determined to put an end to all this kidnapping, especially now we have Addie and his men on our side.”

Liora smiled. “Well Varden, I wish you luck. You have a safe journey and I hope to see you again soon.” The woman kissed the boy on the cheek and wished Dawson well before returning to the others.

Addie had been going through his backpack, when he found a shard of crystal broken from a larger section, but had no idea how it got there, he studied the fragment, trying to remember where it came from, having no memory of taking it from Liora's world, it was a mystery and his mind was blank; the only possible case of action! He thought, was that when he got back to Obsidian, he would get the crystal examined, to find out if it held any living organisms. For now there wasn't anything he could do, so putting it back in his backpack, he did a spot check of his supplies, making sure that his men checked their provisions too. Their expedition had taken them longer than they'd anticipated and much further than expected, but how they'd got to this world was a mystery; entering the cave tunnels being the only memory they had.

There never seemed to be a time that Jay had so many mixed feelings, of sadness and excitement all at the same time. He'd done so much travelling during his short life, being a healer was about helping others; which meant never stopping in one place long, but always journeying where he was needed most. Whenever he returned to his sister Fern, there was always a welcome, but now he didn't know when he'd see his sister and Netty again, this notion depressed him greatly, yet here he was beginning a new life with a woman he loved, who shared his ideas. The concept that he would now be close to his parents gave him a warmth inside, if anything should happen to them, at least he'd be around to look after them. The strangest feeling of all, was that everyone else seemed to be moving on but him, almost like the roles were reversing. It did go through his mind that just maybe Fern would be persuaded to come and live here on the Island too, that would be perfect, but he knew her love for the forest went deep, she didn't adapt to change and would have no intention of leaving her friends who she grew up with.

Jay stared over at Ben who was busy chatting with Nathen and Evelyne, he considered how far their journey had brought them and about the people they'd met, particularly the young Varden, who he thought was very brave, then there was the courage of Cinnamon, who had stowed away on the Flying Fish in order to help her friend Varden. It seemed crazy to Jay that the boy hadn't attempted to make contact with his own family, Varden seemed so intent on taking care of Dawson.

At that moment Liora stepped off the ship and came to join him. “So! How are you feeling Jay? There's much sadness in goodbyes, isn't there?” She held his hand and smiled.

“Yes there is!” Replied Jay, “but I wouldn't change anything – my future's here with you now.” He gave her a kiss, then after saying their farewells, the couple made their way back to their lodge alone.

It wasn't long after the Islanders left, that the children settled down for the night below, along with Ben, Varden, Cinnamon, young Will and Addie and his men. Dawson was already asleep and breathing deeply, when Addie opened his backpack to get some of the diabetic tablets for Dawson when he awoke. Soon after he too retired, Addie dozed along with the others, all he could think about was the long voyage to the mainland next day, and wondered how they were ever going to get back to his ship.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Sixteen ( Pt 1 ) The Awakening | ABCtales