Tremor: If your world was falling apart, how far would you go to save it? (The Tremor Cycle) (17 page)

William flexed his almost-frozen fingers, shoving them under his armpits for warmth. When he focused back on the path, he noticed a hulking silhouette in the distance, blurred by the spinning whiteness.

When they reached it, he grabbed for the rusted tractor’s handle, pink-white hands shaking. But he quickly pulled away, pushing his fist over his mouth instead, hacking cough blasting away a few snowy flecks in front of his face.

‘Come on, let’s keep moving.’ It might’ve protected them for a while, but they needed to keep moving. If they stopped and rested in the tractor they’d freeze to death eventually. There was no warmth to be had there so he continued on, leaving the metal carcass to be buried by snow.

‘Here, take this,’ said Althea from behind him. ‘You need to keep up your fluids. I didn’t like the sound of that cough.’

William accepted the bottle and sipped, the water calming the angry sting in his throat and chest. Igraine caught up with them, Ori pulled tightly into her side.

‘Can I check we’re on course?’ she asked, coming in next to William.

William complied and handed her the map.

‘There’s a large town coming up, it’s called Gravenshard,’ Igraine said, adjusting the trilby she wore, a flurry of snowflakes tumbling from its rim. ‘It has a railway that runs, or used to run, straight to Stone Cross. We can follow that, and then we won’t get lost in this weather.’

‘It might be a good idea not to go too far into that place,’ said Althea, taking the bottle back off William and having a long drink. ‘It’s too big. We won’t know if we’re being watched.’

‘I don’t think I like the idea of going through a big place anyway,’ said Ori. ‘There’ll probably be lots of bodies.’

No one replied. William didn’t disagree; he’d seen enough skeletons for one lifetime. The places people used to call home were usually the biggest graves now. When so many lives were concentrated to one area, when something terrible happened, it hit everyone who lived in that place. William trembled; trying to push out the image of the crater he’d seen when they’d first travelled to Haven’s Hollow.

Igraine distracted him when she passed back the map, which he was grateful for. He looked at it carefully, studying the snaky lines. ‘By the looks of this, the railway runs by Gravenshard, so we’ll be able to find the tracks without walking through the town,’ he offered, hoping this would offer some comfort to the situation.

The others agreed and they walked on through the snow.

‘Does anyone know the date?’ asked William, after hiking silently for twenty minutes through the snow.

‘November,’ said Igraine, panting slightly. ‘The exact date alludes me, though.’

‘Even though it’s only been a few days, it feels like we’ve been out here for weeks,’ said Althea, pulling Ori towards her to try to keep him warm.

‘It feels like ages since we left home,’ said Ori, cuddling his sister. ‘I’m glad I’m here with you all. I didn’t want to stay by myself after everything that’s happened. After Grandad and… Mum and Dad.’

‘Think about nice things, and try to block out the bad,’ Althea told him.

‘Oh, I always try to block out the bad stuff.’ Ori kicked up a pile of muddy slush. ‘It’s hard to think about nice things though… don’t want to get my hopes up, you know?’

‘He’s right there. I mean, what’s the point in wishing for something that could never be? Yeah, you can dream, but be realistic,’ said William, ruffling Ori’s hair. ‘Stay as positive as you can.’

‘I’ll try,’ whispered Ori, eyes on the ground.

They’d been walking for ages, and it was Ori who spotted it first. William didn’t believe him to begin with, but when he saw it he had to pinch his arm to check he wasn’t dreaming. In the distance, hidden in the mountains on their western side, was a faint patch of green.

It would take them off course, but the weather was unrelenting, and Igraine said it was worth investigating in case it was another Haven’s Hollow, where they could take shelter for a while.

They walked towards it. As they did, the air had changed. It seemed warmer.

‘It’s like something from a fairy tale,’ William said, blue eyes scanning everything in sight.

A mile later and they were surrounded by a dense, green forest. The place wasn’t as big as the Hollow, but like it, it made the destruction beyond its boundaries seem so far away. William let the green pull him further in.

‘Maybe it’s enchanted,’ whispered Ori, stroking a leaf, its vibrant green boasting health and vitality. ‘If it does exist, do you think magic has survived?’

‘Maybe,’ whispered William. ‘I think this place was probably just missed by the fire bombs though, like Haven’s Hollow.’

‘It’s a nice thought anyway,’ Igraine told Ori.

‘There’s a lake over here,’ shouted Ori, pointing. ‘And it’s bubbling!’

William followed his gaze. The water was crystal-like, fed by an underground source, bubbling around the centre. He knelt down and felt the enticingly warm water. ‘It’s actually hot,’ he declared, already stepping out of his shoes.

‘Last one in’s the loser!’ Ori called, ripping off his jacket.

‘Wait!’ Igraine shouted quickly, kneeling down and cautiously tasting the water. ‘Seems fine,’ she said after a minute or so. ‘Probably created by a tremor breaching an underground hot spring, like the ones the Romans used to tap into.’

William and Ori dived in. Igraine and Althea followed, but stayed close to the bank, relishing the warm bath. It was almost too hot, but William could bear it. He smiled as a wave splashed over him, his sore forehead forgotten as he indulged in the refreshing treat.

‘Got ya!’ screeched Ori, smacking his hands on the surface.

William smiled again. Ori was like a stick figure, and boy, was he pale, like a ghost. He looked down at his own body, and it wasn’t much better. Another gush of water shot over his head.

‘I’ll get you!’ William shouted, retaliating by creating a huge wave.

They stayed in the water for the remainder of the day, hoping to build up energy to go on to Stone Cross. But as time passed, heavy rain began to cut through the forest canopy, pounding William’s sore head. He resisted looking up, ducking under the water.

‘We should find some shelter,’ he said, resurfacing, but quickly diving under again as a heavier volley struck the surface. ‘It’s getting heavier. The water won’t protect us for much longer.’

Igraine frowned. ‘It came on quickly, so I think it’s going to be a Wrecker Storm. Damn those Fossil War scientists, they had no right to play with natural forces,’ she shouted over the hard impacts of the drops. ‘All those wretched devices have turned the weather into a killing machine!’

‘Igraine’s right, it’s definitely going to be a Wrecker.’ Althea held out her hand, but pulled back quickly. ‘Ouch! We need proper cover, and fast!’ she said, pulling Ori out of the water and shielding him under a tree.

They dressed quickly and began hunting for a solution as the rain turned into heavy pellets. Ori raced out of Althea’s arms and off towards the rocky cliff that hung over them. ‘Here! A cave! We can stay here until it stops!’ he shouted.

William followed his voice and sure enough, a cave appeared in the rock face, almost covered by dead vines. He looked to the ground, where the remains of a footpath led into the cave. He couldn’t be sure if it’d been used recently, but what other choice did they have? Slowly, he slipped inside, darkness surrounding him until Althea used her lighter.

‘We need to make a fire,’ Igraine advised, silhouetted against the cave entrance.

William raced back outside, tore off some of the withered vines and roots and dumped them on the cave floor. Althea added to the pile by bringing in some dried twigs and forest debris. She knelt down, lit the lighter and blew into the bundle. A weak flame rose, sending out a feeble light.

There wasn’t much to the cave, just jagged ceiling and rough walls: a grey hole carved into the earth. William ran his hand down the chilly rock. ‘Should we eat something?’ he asked, feeling his stomach lurch at the prospect of food.

‘Yes, that’s a good idea. We can have one of the cans we found in Shoe,’ said Igraine, slipping off her sack. ‘Tinned peaches or sweetcorn?’

William looked at Ori. ‘You choose mate.’

‘I’d say both, but I won’t be greedy; I choose peaches.’

Igraine nodded, pulled out her small penknife and cut into the can. She took a quick sip then passed it to Ori.

‘I know Terrafall controls most of the land that’s left, but how much does the HD control?’ William asked, taking one of the peaches out of the can. He bit into it. It had to be the most delicious thing he’d tasted in weeks, even better than the noodles. He closed his eyes for a second, but was brought back to life by Igraine’s reply.

‘Two factions control this country: the HD and Terrafall. In the north some small clans and self-declared kingdoms still exist, but only until Terrafall decides otherwise.’ She used her penknife to draw a rough map in the dirt, pointing to each area. ‘As you can see, Terrafall controls most of it, but the HD controls this small part of the Northwest.’

‘They don’t like it when people don’t obey them, do they?’ said Althea, wiping syrup from her mouth. ‘It’s as if they don’t like freedom.’

‘Terrafall has been trying to wipe out the communities that oppose it since the war ended. The leaders of Terrafall despise freedom, because freedom means they’ll lose control.’

‘Terrafall might try to claim the whole world,’ said Althea. ‘What then?’

‘It would probably achieve it. From our intelligence, we’ve found that America and Asia are lands torn apart by T-bombs, with a few small areas covered in radiation, and what remains on mainland Europe is lawless, with no clear leadership.’ Igraine sighed. ‘Terrafall could end up everywhere… unless we do something about it now.’

‘I’ll drink to that,’ said William, taking out the water bottle and holding it in the air. ‘Something has to be done.’

They sat for hours in the gloominess of the cave, huddled close to the fire. The peaches were long finished and William looked into the empty tin and sighed. At least they still had some sweetcorn. That was a feast to look forward to.

He shrugged away thoughts of food and looked out of the cave mouth. The thundering raindrops were slowly easing. He got up and walked forward, holding his hand out hesitantly. The rain splashed onto his skin, leaving no bruises.

‘I think it’s safe to go outside now,’ he called.

‘I feel safe here,’ said Ori. ‘Can’t we stay?’

Althea kicked out the fire and followed William out of the cave. ‘We have to go Ori, come on.’

William took the rear as they exited the hidden glade and headed back into the charred valley. He observed from his position how dishevelled they’d all become. Their clothes were worn and covered in filth, and their skin was patched with sore, purple bruises. Anyone would mistake them for bandits now. He guessed this wasn’t such a bad thing, because it might actually give them an advantage.

‘Look, I think there might be a shortcut.’ Igraine pointed, indicating a narrow pass through the dense terrain in front of them. ‘We were going to follow the road around these hills, but that looks like our way through!’

‘Someone up there is looking down on us,’ Althea observed, as they headed towards the mountain pass.

‘Do you think that pond was like heaven?’ said Ori, looking back as the glade’s entrance disappeared from view.

‘Heaven might be even better,’ Igraine told him. ‘Who knows?’

‘Don’t really hear that word much anymore,’ William remarked. But could heaven really exist? He remembered stories about it, but visualising such a place was hard. He looked up and breathed in. If it was real then he hoped his father was there, looking down on him.

‘What’s that over there?’ Althea said.

William followed her outstretched arm. ‘Looks like smoke.’ It was very faint, but a definite trail coiled into the sky.

‘Get down,’ whispered Igraine, beckoning them to be quiet.

‘What is it?’ Ori said in a small voice.

‘Either a camp, or the remains of one,’ she replied.

‘Bandits, it might be bandits.’ Ori’s eyes whizzed from Althea to William.

‘We have to go that way, though, we can’t go around now, it’ll take too long,’ William told Igraine.

‘Then we must turn into shadows.’ Igraine pressed a finger to her lips.

They crept along, carefully crawling across the undulating landscape, moving through prickly hedges and around tumbled dry stone walls.

‘Typical that we come to the only pass through the mountains for miles and there’s a camp in it,’ whispered William, rolling his eyes. Then again, this was the only way through the mountains for miles, so they should have expected some sort of presence, because if you were a bandit on the hunt this would be the perfect place to bump into someone.

William sniffed the air. They were getting closer to the fire. There was a definite meaty smell drifting into his nostrils, and even though he was starving he couldn’t help but feel put off by it. He gulped. Was it human or animal? He hoped the latter.

A hobbled lump of trees camouflaged them as they walked next to a worn away footpath. Did he hear a whisper? William craned his neck but couldn’t see anything.

Then the campsite came into view. William examined everything he could see from his concealed position. A few of the spidery trees rustled and a plume of ash dusted through the jagged pass, but there was nothing else, no people present.

‘There’s no one there. I think we’re safe to look,’ whispered William, nodding at Igraine’s suggestion to fan out.

The camp was indeed empty; only a wisp of smoke rose from a makeshift fire in the centre of the clearing. William knelt by the leftovers of the fire and held his hand above it. He didn’t want to look down, though. He didn’t feel as though his stomach could confront whatever the flames had been cooking.

The heat was weak, but had not long gone out. He turned and looked through a small pile of rubbish nearby, poking bits away with a stick. Something glistened from within the waste.

‘A badge,’ he said, wiping away the grime. ‘A Peace Force one, I think.’