Dwellers of the New World Chapter Seventeen ( Pt 1 ) The Return

A Moon cycle had been and gone, as a heavy fog drifted in off the ocean along the mainland beach. Through the mist came the sound of a single horn, which could be heard by folk who lived along the bays, as the Snags pulled the Flying Fish in towards the shore. The huge snail like creatures bowed their Stag heads, their antlers skimming the tidal waves, as their wailing brought the coastal inhabitants down to the beach to welcome the ship and it's occupants.

Many of the locals hadn't been up long, the fog keeping many of them slumbering well into daylight. Amongst the many that appeared along the beach, were Brad and his son Simon, who were trying to control their dog River. Tawny the owl was perched on Brad's shoulder. It seemed unusual to see an owl down at the coast, but Tawny had got used to flying back and forth from the forest. Brad had been training the bird to interact with the locals, Tawny seemed quite happy, but if folk got too much for him, he'd fly back to the forest for some peace. The owl needed the trees for protection, especially against the sea birds who'd never seen anything like this owl before.

Tawny made his home high up in one of the tall, sturdy trees deep in the forest, now he had his own brood that needed feeding at regular intervals, which meant he had less time to spend around Brad and Simon, in fact this had been the first time in a while that the bird had been back, Brad guessed Tawny had probably found a mate due to his long periods away.

It was always an event when a ship returned. As soon as Brad saw the Flying Fish symbol, he was desperate to see who would return, having had his son pester him with dreams of Cinnamon calling for help. Brad didn't know why, but he had a feeling the girl had stowed away. Only two ships had returned previously, Cinnamon was on neither, but he wouldn't give up hope of her return eventually, trusting she'd be okay.

Simon had enjoyed living with Vidarr and Brenna, and although their daughter Anna was blind, he'd found they had a lot in common, she seemed to understand Simon's dreams and like him had a kind of sixth sense, in fact they'd lately become inseparable. Anna was much more confident around Simon, enjoying trips up to the plantation when Brad took them. Simon was patient with the girl, showing her by touch, which plants were compatible to grow together, he showed her where to dig and left her alone to give her confidence, though he still kept an eye on her, just in case she lost her way. The boy decided working with the earth and growing food, was what made him happiest, telling his father he wished to farm some land when he got older.

Brad had also discovered the whereabouts of his sister Missy and her husband Gerrard. Teela and Daisy were no longer living at home, having found themselves young farmers and set up a new life. Alfie still loved being around his mum, now the girls had left, she was glad of his company, never enjoying the fact her children were moving on.

It had been so fine to see Brad and Simon after so long, they'd spent days talking about the family and the tragedy of them dying. It hit Missy badly knowing Martha was no longer around, even though she never saw her, it was always good to know she was there. She cried a lot for a while, but the distance Missy had put between her and her Mother made it a lot more bearable once she came to terms with the shock of finding out.

Alfie enjoyed helping his father with ploughing the earth up at the plantation, they'd both become pretty good at growing their own food by trial and error. This was how Brad had found his sister, in fact the plantation was a great place to discover long, lost family members.

A great cheer went up as the occupants of the Flying Fish began disembarking, Brad then glanced, noticing the girl walking with some children. “Look! Simon,” he declared with excitement. “It's Cinnamon – you were right when you said she'd stowed away.”

The boy grinned up at his father. “Yes – but now she's returned.” An oddly curious sight then caught their attention, some strangely dressed men carrying a stretcher followed the children and stepped off the ship. “Who are those men father?” Questioned Simon.

“I don't know son. Come on, let's go and meet Cinnamon, she'll be able to tell us.” Simon took his father's hand as they sauntered over.

Cinnamon could see Brad approaching and worried that she was in trouble for running away. Taking young Will's hand, she didn't feel quite so awkward. Brad waved and smiled, which put her more at ease, though she knew there would be a lot of explaining to do.

Reaching the girl, Brad embraced her, then brushed the hair from out of her eyes. “So! You've returned, I'm so glad you're okay Cinnamon, we were all so worried about you. I haven't seen your parents, but I'm sure they'll be glad to have you home.”

Cinnamon squeezed young Will's hand, gazing into Brad's eyes. “I'm sorry I ran off, it's just that I needed to help my friend Varden, you see we just had to save Dawson.”

“Is that the man on the stretcher?” Enquired Brad.

“Yes!” We found him in a pretty bad state down in the Catacombs on Wild Whistling Isle, with all the dead bodies.” She put her hand to her nose and mouth, expressing her disgust at the place. “The stench was awful down there, how Dawson lasted as long as he did, I'll never know.”

“What about those men carrying the stretcher?” He said, pointing.

“Oh yes! That's Addie – It's a long story, but it appears they came from another world and arrived on Wild Whistling Isle. I know they seem strange, but they're friendly and have helped us get Dawson back here.”

Brad remembered ten years ago, when his Mother Martha was telling him about the Chosen Ones coming to their world, and how they were the ancestors from an old earth that died. It was like a second coming, because ten years ago, they'd saved their people from evil doers, like Jonah and Gerth who were bad hunters, turning their minds to do good, now here were these strange people back again. Brad wondered how they might be saved this time around. Changing the subject, he asked; “So who's this young friend of yours?” He looked down at the boy who clung to Cinnamon.

“This is Will, he was taken from his family and is lost and alone, as are all these other children” She pointed to the other youngsters, their once sad faces, now happy to be on the mainland again.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Seventeen ( Pt 2 ) Mixed Feelings | ABCtales