On the Other Side of the Tunnel

Chapter 13 — Beyond the Tunnel

In the leader’s house, after the brief ring of broken dishes that had carried from somewhere far away, the conversations grew quieter. A few voices still spoke among themselves, but without the earlier sharpness — carefully, in low tones, as if everyone was weighing what they said.

— Now I understand, — Michael set his mug on the table, stood, stepped out onto the balcony, and stopped beside Mira, leaning on the railing. — Even at the entrance to the settlement, I caught the sharp smell of coal, noticed the columns of smoke, and understood that your forges were working without pause. I thought you were preparing for winter. And I saw the warriors in the rocks above the entrance to the stone cave. Well hidden. I didn’t even realize at once that we were being watched. But when we stopped before the tunnel… that convinced me completely.

Reyn raised his head in surprise.

— Wait… So you didn’t stop back then because you were tired?

— Of course not, — Michael answered calmly. — I was waiting. I wanted to understand who was watching us and whether the passage into the cave was safe. If no one appeared and nothing changed, that would mean something had happened to the settlement. But after we stood there for a few minutes, a shadow moved in the rocks, and I recognized the Wolves’ patch. Then I understood — we were already being led in.

Reyn looked distrustfully first at Michael, then at Mira.

— Wait… They really saw us all that time? I grew up here… I didn’t notice anyone.

Mira laughed quietly.

— Because that is their job. Scouts must go unnoticed not only by strangers, but by their own as well.

She went to one of the cabinets and took out an old metal pipe almost as long as an arm.

— The ancient people left us more than this tunnel, — Mira said. — Quite recently, our hunters discovered old passages inside the mountain and a system of pipes like these. At first, no one understood what they were for. But after we saw a similar system in the Creek settlement, we quickly figured out how it could be used.

She ran her palm along the darkened metal.

— After what happened to Green Grass, we placed permanent scouts at the tunnel. Now they send signals straight into the settlement. While you were only just approaching the entrance, I already knew how many of you there were, whether you had a wagon, and who was leading the group.

Mira looked at Michael with a slight smile.

— I admit, I did not expect you to notice our hunters. It seems they still have something to work on.

— Don’t worry. I didn’t see exactly where they were sitting, and I wouldn’t have been able to count how many there were. I simply felt we were being watched. So I decided to stop and make sure.

— And that is already enough, — Mira nodded. — It is good that the Ravens are our allies. Otherwise, for such attentiveness, we would have had to kill you. An experienced hunter is easy to recognize.

She returned to the table.

— Now tell me why you came. And don’t say it was only for a couple of sacks of grain or ordinary goods. And if you truly brought glass, then that was far too reckless a risk — bringing it through the mountains with such a small group after what happened to Green Grass.

Michael unrolled the list Sarah had given him before the journey.

— That is exactly why I’m here. Our people have become almost three times as many. For now, the supplies are enough, but by winter we will need much more food. Sarah has already increased the sowing, and if the year proves fruitful, another problem will arise — where to store all of it.

He looked at the list.

— We need saplings of fruit trees, vegetable seeds, and anything that can still be planted this spring. And we also need to prepare for autumn in advance. Your underground storages can hold far more harvest than ours, but carrying supplies through the mountains in winter is too dangerous. So most of the stores will have to be moved to you before the first snow.

He thought for a moment.

— While I am here, our leader Caleb and Neira are looking for a way to expand our own storages, so that in the future the Ravens will depend less on yours. But something like that cannot be built in one season.

Mira nodded silently and began listing what the Wolves could allocate from their stores right now.

By that time, Sam, Luka, Pavel, and Olivia had long since disappeared among the trading rows, curiously examining every unusual thing they could find in the market.

While Luka and Sam looked at clothing, Pavel and Olivia headed toward the weapons section of the market. Finally left almost alone with Olivia, even if among the crowd, Pavel felt relief. Reyn’s gesture had caught at him. He also wanted to give Oli a sign of attention, only something more valuable and personal. The Lagerents Neira had handed him before they left could not have been more timely.

— Crossbows, special arrows, the kind you’ve definitely never seen before, quivers, mounts, straps! — the trader’s voice cut at the ears, but the selection, metal alloys, and patterns on the weapons immediately caught Olivia’s attention.

The counter was covered with curiosities for shooting: slingshots, crossbows, bows, quivers, and various small devices. Oli’s gaze almost immediately stopped on a soft quiver with a wooden and metal frame.

— And how much does such a beauty cost? — she asked.

The trader immediately switched his attention to Olivia and Pavel, quickly judging them by their clothes and weapons. He took out a list of goods, pretended to search for the price, thought for a bit, and only then answered:

— Ten blue. Excellent item. New model. Holds many arrows, comfortable, strong.

— Oh no, too expensive. For that price, in our settlement you could buy three like it.

Oli clearly liked the quiver, but she turned around and pretended she had lost interest in it.

— Nine, I can’t sell it cheaper. And no one else has a new thing like this, that’s for sure. It’s a unique quiver, — the trader took it in his hands and began demonstrating it. — You can wear it on your back or on your belt. Very convenient for quick shooting and hunting: it doesn’t catch on branches, and from cover it’s almost invisible.

— But it’ll drag nicely along the ground, — Oli threw back.

Understanding that she did not have such Lagerents anyway, she turned and went to look farther, while Pavel stayed by the counter.

— Young man, buy your girl such a wonderful quiver. She definitely liked it. As a man who has been married three times, I know what I am talking about.

Pavel was already ready to agree, but then a set for a crossbow caught his eye. The trader immediately noticed his look.

— Oh, I see you have a trained eye. This is a modification for a crossbow. It increases accuracy and range, allows you to use two types of projectile: arrows and bolts. With such a thing, you’ll immediately become far more dangerous on a hunt and be able to bring down larger game. And if you buy from us, the master will install everything at a discount. Only fifteen blue together with the work. And they’ll do it quickly, in a day.

Pavel’s eyes lit up. That was exactly the amount he had with him. But he did not want to wait a whole day and buy nothing for Olivia.

— And without the master’s work, how much will you give it for?

— Well… I suppose I could do nine, — the trader answered unhappily, wrinkling his nose and putting the set back on the shelf.

— And together with the quiver?

— Eighteen. What, can’t you count?

Pavel took out his coins and began ostentatiously counting them in his palm. Then he frowned, counted again, rummaged in his pocket, and sighed heavily.

— Ah, not enough. I’ll go look somewhere else. Maybe I’ll find it cheaper.

He was already about to leave and catch up with Olivia, but the trader, seeing that he was losing a buyer with money, began muttering under his breath. Then he sighed loudly and waved a hand.

— Fine, what am I supposed to do with you youngsters. Just for you, so be it, I’ll yield. This time I’ll sell almost without profit. Maybe with a purchase like this you’ll earn more on hunts. But there will be no discount from the master! And just try telling anyone you bought from me so cheaply.

The trader took out the crossbow set, placed the quiver beside it, and held out his hand, waiting for the Lagerents.

Thinking he had caught luck by the tail, Pavel quickly handed over the coins, grabbed the purchase with both hands, and happily hurried to Olivia.

— Will you help me hold this? — he asked when he came up to her.

Pavel blushed so hard it was as if he were about to confess to something terrible, but he tried with all his might to pretend nothing special was happening.

Olivia looked at the things in his hands and decided he had bought something for himself.

— Mm-hm, — she answered quietly and took part of the purchase, waiting for Pavel to put the set into his backpack.

— And this is for you, — he said quickly, turning away from embarrassment and trying to sling the backpack over his shoulder. — Well… if you want.

Olivia froze.

For several moments, she simply looked at the quiver, not knowing what to say. It was the first gift this expensive in her life. She did not understand whether she could accept it, whether she needed to refuse, or at least pretend it was not so important.

— Pavel… — she said quietly, but the words seemed to stick in her throat.

Then, almost at a loss, Oli stepped toward him, hugged him from behind, and whispered:

— Thank you.

Pavel froze in place.

And when Olivia quickly kissed him on the cheek, she herself turned red. Without waiting for him to answer anything, she pressed the quiver to herself and ran to the railing that enclosed the lake.

Pavel stood in place for several more minutes, rubbing his cheek. He was afraid to turn around — as if, if he looked at Olivia, it would turn out that he had only imagined all of it. The backpack hung from his shoulder and slowly slipped down his arm, but now it seemed unimportant, just like the things inside it.

— Hey, Pavel. Pavel!

Luka and Sam came up to him.

— Look what I bought for myself, — Luka, with a satisfied look, showed the red wrapping already tied at the base of his spearhead. A small pendant swayed on a thin cord.

— Only one blue. See? It looks better right away. And did you find anything?

Luka looked at Pavel, waiting for a lively reaction, but Pavel continued standing motionless.

— Pavel, hey, what’s wrong with you? — Luka frowned. — And where is Olivia?

At Olivia’s name alone, Pavel turned even redder.

— Are you feeling bad? — Luka grew worried. — It’s probably because we’re in the cave. Or are your wounds bothering you? Hey, Pash…

Then Sam interrupted the conversation. He came closer and, noticing that Pavel was all red and not answering, first pressed his palm to Pavel’s forehead, then tried to check for fever with his lips.

— Hey, what are you doing! Are you out of your mind? — Pavel finally came to himself and pushed Sam away.

— What did I do? You’re the one acting strange, — Sam said in sincere surprise. — I wanted to find out if you had a fever. We’re shouting here, and you’re standing there not answering. And you’re all red. Maybe you’re hungry? Do you want meat on a stick? We saw some over there, it smelled so-o-o good.

— What about Oli? I don’t know… She was behind me!

— What Olivia? Are you going to eat or not? — Sam was still looking at Pavel suspiciously. — Are you sure everything is all right?

— Ah… yes, I’ll eat. If you’re treating.

Pavel adjusted the backpack and turned around, but Oli was no longer behind him. Still as if in a fog, he followed Luka and Sam, trying to understand what had just happened.

After buying four portions and spotting Oli by the water, the boys headed toward her. Sam, as always in his cheerful mood, held out meat on a skewer to Olivia.

— Help yourself.

After that, he climbed onto the railing and began devouring his own portion with both cheeks.

The lake in the middle of the cave was so beautiful that while they ate and looked at the water, the noise of the market behind them seemed to gradually fade. Pavel and Olivia exchanged only one glance, blushed again, and immediately turned away, continuing to look at the lake.

— Oh, I see you managed well enough without me. You even started lunch already.

Michael came up to them and, without asking, bit off a little meat from Sam’s stick.

— Nuh-uh, I won’t give you more, — Sam pressed the stick to himself, but without anger, more jokingly. — Better let’s go buy me another one.

— I see you liked the wolf delicacy made from frogs.

Olivia almost choked, but after looking at Pavel, she still said nothing.

— Yes, I haven’t been here in a long time, — Michael smirked. — But the taste is the same. Though you have to get used to it.

— Are we already going back? — Luka asked as if nothing had happened, holding out his spear so Michael would notice the red ribbon near the tip.

— If you bought everything and didn’t forget Catherine’s gift, then yes. They’re just loading everything into the wagon for us.

Luka immediately lowered his head.

— There was such a big selection… Sam and I still couldn’t decide what would be best to buy for Catherine.

— Yes, I see your ribbon. It’s pretty, — Michael said. — We’ll choose something now. They’ll have time to load the wagon, and Reyn will be free. Are you coming, or will you wait by the wagon?

Olivia stayed silent. Pavel too. But Luka immediately agreed to go with Michael.

— Oh no, better wait, — Michael looked at Luka. — Otherwise you’ll start chattering again.

Laughter ran through the small group.

Michael placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder and led him toward the stalls.

— And what did you pick out for yourself?

Sam could not answer right away: he was still chewing. Instead, he waved his hand toward the clothing stall. It was hard to understand anything from his gestures, but with the help of the trader, Michael still figured out that Sam had liked a black cloak.

It was a little too large, but Michael bought it without even thinking.

For a little while longer, the two of them walked through the market — almost like father and son. Sam examined the stalls with curiosity, while Michael walked calmly beside him, stopping from time to time at traders and choosing everything he had promised to bring Catherine.

When the purchases were made, they came out to the wagon, where the others were already waiting for them. Reyn was sitting on the loaded sacks in the wagon and loudly laughing at Pavel, who, it seemed, had just tried to boast about his successful purchase.

— Michael, can you imagine? These Wolf traders are shameless swindlers! — Pavel complained, clearly unhappy. — I gave my last Lagerents, thought I’d made a good bargain. And they!

The fact that Pavel had raised his voice only made Reyn laugh harder.

— Some trader you are! — he shouted, swinging his legs from the wagon. — Bought for fifteen what isn’t worth even ten!

— Why are you tormenting him like that? — Michael glanced at Reyn. Not long ago, the boy had been ready to sink into the ground before Mira, and now he was sitting cheerful again, as if nothing had happened. — Pavel, do you like what you bought?

— Well… yes.

— Then the rest is not so important. The price of a thing is not always measured in Lagerents. Sometimes what matters more is how it serves you.

— So what did you buy? — Michael asked more calmly.

— A set for the crossbow and this… well, you know… — Pavel looked at Olivia and blushed again.

— A quiver for arrows.

Michael understood everything at once and smiled almost imperceptibly.

— Then it’s clear why you two are so quiet. That is a valuable gift. For something like that, even a hundred would not be a pity.

Olivia grew embarrassed and lowered her gaze, pressing the quiver to herself.

— And you, stop cackling, — Michael patted Reyn on the leg. — Get down. We still need to pass through the tunnel before sunset and reach the pass.

Reyn snorted, but obediently jumped down from the wagon. Michael took the reins, and the wagon slowly moved from its place.

The road through the tunnel no longer seemed so gloomy. The darkness helped hide Pavel and Olivia’s embarrassment and gave them a chance to speak a little.

— It didn’t mean anything. Clear? The gift is very sweet, — Olivia whispered in embarrassment as she walked beside Pavel.

— Clear… I’m glad you really liked it.

Pavel wanted to add something else, but his embarrassment would not let him squeeze out even a word. And Reyn immediately shoved himself into the conversation.

— Uh-huh, sweet. Aww, how cute.

— Reyn, stop it! Or you’ll go back, — Michael could not stand it.

His voice rolled through the tunnel in an echo.

— Flowers are sweet, — Reyn muttered. — And all of you fall for expensive things.

In his sarcasm, it was hard to tell what exactly hid behind it: anger, a bad character, or the fact that Olivia’s reaction had hurt him more than he wanted to show. Maybe he really had liked her. It was difficult to understand.

Reyn’s face wrinkled with displeasure. He stepped out of the circle of torchlight Luka was holding in front of himself and walked behind the others.

After that, they stayed silent only for a short while, but gradually the conversations became cheerful again. All the way to the end of the tunnel, everyone discussed what they had seen in the market and their purchases, as if for a time they had forgotten both the purpose of the visit and the fact that the road awaited them again ahead.

When they came out of the tunnel, a cold wind blew from the direction of the river. In the distance, the great shadow of the mountain behind them was already stretching across the land. Evening was drawing near.

— We need to pick up the pace, — Michael said, looking over the road. — It’s still three Shouts to the place where we spent the last night. I don’t want to stop here.

The safe land of the settlement and the tunnel were left behind. Ahead, the dangerous road awaited them again, and now, unlike the last time, everyone walked with weapons ready.

— Phew, finally we made it, — Luka breathed out.

Ahead by the roadside, the familiar turn onto the dirt road leading into the forest appeared. Michael was already about to turn and set up a temporary rest at the old place when farther along the highway came someone’s screams and a sharp screech of metal.

Everyone grew alert and froze, listening to make sure they had not imagined it.

— Ǎǎǎa! Zǎmo a̗air̗per̗eles!

A-a-ah! Damned bird!

Hearing the strange speech, Michael at first grew even more cautious, but another screech of metal did not allow him to stay out of it.

— Sam, Reyn, Luka — stay here. Make a fire from branches. Olivia, Pavel — ready your arrows and follow me.

Fear was written on Luka’s and Reyn’s faces. Surprisingly, Sam remained calm.

— If it becomes too dangerous, leave the wagon and run to the tunnel.

Michael dropped his backpack onto the wagon and ran toward the screams.

A little more than half a Shout ahead stood a large rusty bus. Dark silhouettes darted around it, and in the evening silence, the strikes of metal, the beating of wings, and someone’s desperate cry became clearer and clearer.

A human figure flashed among the circling creatures.

A swing.

Another swing.

Semi-transparent short duals whistled through the air, trying to reach the small Oxis birds flying past. A girl in a black cloak with short gray hair, looking about nineteen or twenty, retreated step by step, fighting to survive with the last of her strength. Every movement echoed with burning pain. Blood from numerous shallow torn wounds broke from her arms and flew in scarlet drops after the blades, while her ragged breathing grew heavier and heavier.

— Du̗ur! Shǔdat dǔsav du̗ur!

Get up!.. I told you, get up!

But around her there was only the beating of wings and the piercing cries of predators. Near the girl lay five of her companions in the same black cloaks, motionless. Their backs had been torn open by claws, and strange semi-transparent blades, as if poured from glass, were still frozen in their hands.

Another desperate swing. One of the duals finally sank into the chest of a passing Oxis, but stuck fast. The heavy carcass flew on by inertia, ripping the blade from her hand and nearly knocking the girl off her feet. She staggered, held on, and immediately raised her gaze upward.

Above the road circled the last large Oxis. In its powerful talons, it gripped an enormous stone. After making one more circle, the beast opened its claws. The stone crashed down behind the girl, crushing part of the old metal bus. The earth trembled from the impact.

Without losing a moment, the Oxis folded its wings and dropped like a stone. Sharp claws whistled over the very top of her head, miraculously missing her, and with a vile screech, tore through the rusted metal of the bus.

The girl fell to her knees, rolled aside, and, noticing an old metal crossbow with an arrow already set in it by the open door, seized it with both hands and rushed inside the bus.

Outside, another heavy blow sounded. Sharp wings sliced across the roof, trying to overturn the rusted vehicle. The bus creaked and rocked. The girl could not keep her balance, struck her head against a metal seat, and warm blood immediately ran down her temple, filling one eye. Everything swam before her vision, but the piercing cry of the Oxis and the surge of adrenaline did not let her lose consciousness.

The predator hooked its claws into the emergency hatch and, trying to squeeze its huge body inside, struck with its beak, then reached with its legs, screaming and twisting furiously. With every jerk, it came closer.

When only a Castremained between them, the girl raised the crossbow with the last of her strength and pulled the trigger. The arrow pierced the Oxis’s leg with a dull crack and pinned it to the metal. The beast howled and thrashed madly, shaking the bus.

Frr!.. Frrr!..

Outside, the whistle of arrows rang out one after another. Several arrows struck the frozen Oxis almost at the same time. It jerked once more, wheezed, and hung limp, its beak pointing downward. Thick cold saliva slowly dripped from its beak and fell in heavy drops to the ground right beside the girl’s face.

She slowly lowered the crossbow. The tension that had been keeping her conscious vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The world swam before her eyes. She tried to stand, but her legs buckled. Before she could take even a step, the girl lost consciousness.

— Is she alive? — came from right beside the bus.

End of the Chapter.