Elijah's Chariot (The Forgotten Children Book 1) (30 page)

The
brisk morning air filled his lungs as Sean rose from his crouched position in
the tall, yellow-colored grass. His hands quickly adjusted the shoulder straps
on his backpack and he shifted his weight as he gazed out across the clearing.
The expansive blue sky held a few stray clouds that danced their way lightly
across the horizon. Sun beams had just crested the tops of the trees, spilling
into the meadow with the hurried excitement of a new day. 

Ryan
McCaney stood by the fire pit, pouring a bucket of water into the chunks of
ash. He kicked dirt into the grayish mud and stamped it down lightly with his
boot. His young hands pulled the pack tighter up on his back and he looked over
at Viktor who was watching him intently, his own largish hands fumbling with
the walking stick by his side. 

“It’s
important to always douse your fire pit before you leave, even if you think
there can’t possibly be any more embers burning. You never know when a wind
could come by and make it flare up again. Can you remember that?”

Viktor
smiled, long strands of dark brown hair swaying in front of his eyes. “I won’t
forget.”

Svyeta
was humming to herself as she stuffed a couple last food packets into her
backpack. She stood, testing its weight then set it back down as she glanced
around the camp area to see if they’d forgotten anything. 

It
was the next day – they’d spent two nights at the crash site. None of them had
experienced any more waking visions, just the usual dreams while they slept
stretched out on the cots left behind by the research team. Sean hadn’t
expected anything more to happen. He had a feeling that if his father had been
able to tell him any more, he would have. And Sean already knew what he had to
do now. His experience in the grove of trees the day before had been as real as
anything he’d ever known. Everything was suddenly very clear to him and he was
anxious to resume their journey. 

Viktor
walked over to Sean, leaning heavily on his walking stick. He was already
breathing heavily – the return hike wasn’t going to be easy for him. The two
boys stood silently as they looked at the large, immovable meteorite. Once
again, they both thought – this thing has changed us. Changed our lives and our
world forever – will we ever understand it?

Ryan
turned away from the meteorite and started walking toward the trail that he’d
picked out the day before. He was sure this one would lead them in a more
direct route back to where they had left their vehicle. 

Svyeta
turned to follow him then called back to Sean and Viktor.

“Are
you two coming or are you going to stand there staring at that rock all day?”  

Viktor
glanced at Sean, a smile on his face. “Time to hit the road?”

Sean
turned away from the meteorite to smile back at his friend. “Yep. We’re on the
road again.”

Viktor
paused before forming the English words carefully. “We better ske… ske…˝

“Skedaddle,”
Ryan called from ahead. 

Viktor
smiled and nodded. “Skedaddle.”

As
they walked slowly through the calm trees and gently swaying wild grass, Sean’s
questions and fears slowly began to fade as his mind turned to the journey
ahead and the thousands of seemingly insurmountable miles that lay between him
and his sister. Imagining Elizabeth reminded him of his mother’s face, its
lines of care delicately etched into each feature. She was always so beautiful,
he thought. His hand calmly gripped the white piece of crystal, and his
father’s calm, reassuring glance came to mind. The sun’s warmth on his back
drove away the chill of the clearing, sending a feeling of warmth and
well-being throughout his body. Sean raised his head and drew in a deep breath
of fresh morning air.

I owe thanks to so many without whom this
book would never have come to be. Thank you all!

Bonnie Fulmer, Karen Parker, the Griffard
clan, Pete Amador, Rob Lee, John Payne, Ken Wzorek, Chris Schoebinger, Golden
Fillmore, Nephi Fillmore, Carol Thompson, James Egan, Katie Lynn Markham and
all my Kickstarter supporters. 

And to Kathy – thanks for joining me on
the journey.

Andrew lives in Seattle and when not
writing is busy doing online marketing, wrangling kids, hiking or making things
out of leather.
Elijah’s Chariot
is his first novel.