Talisman of El (16 page)

As the others helped them out of the water, another tortured cry reached their ears, and they looked back. They saw no sign of either of the creatures. Wasting no time, they headed up the rocky path towards the light.

It took the gang over thirty minutes to make it to the top of the path. They headed across a stone bridge with a body of water beneath it. Immersed in a bright, warm light that streamed through the arched doorway ahead of them, they emerged out of the cave.

The four of them stared in silent awe at the sight before them. They were standing at the edge of a forest with giant trees surrounding them. Crisp, clean air filled their lungs. Majestic mountains in the far distance glistened like crystals, but even more magnificent was the brilliant sun that hovered high in the sky.

Land of No Horizon 

THREE HOURS HAD PASSED, and the gang had trekked many miles, travelling chiefly through forests. Suspended at the centre, the inner sun was always overhead wherever they went, giving off a softer and gentler light than the surface sun. There appeared to be no horizon in Arcadia. The farther something was, the higher it appeared to be, until it finally vanished in the affinity of the atmosphere.

As they journeyed through a thick pine forest, using the now normal functioning compass to guide them, Charlie looked behind him and saw Derkein walking with his head down, his shoulders slumped. A mixture of gratification and remorse welled up inside him, the latter being the result of the former. Had it been Derkein’s choice, the trio would not be in Arcadia, but for Charlie, the outcome could not have worked out any better. He had to be here. He had to find the tree that could grant him his deepest wish. Perhaps, he thought, it had been his mother’s intentions all along, for him to find the Garden of Eden and get the one thing he had wished for on every birthday for the last four years.

Having not eaten in hours and travelling in a place where the temperature was above twenty degrees Celsius, fatigue and hunger was wearing them down. Still, they pressed on for they had five days – Arcadian time – to get to Eden, find the garden, and get back to the gateway before it closed for another three months.

Having studied the map, they knew Arcadia consisted of five continents: Ardenen, Sedona, Agorah, Ethidor and Koura. They knew Eden was in Koura; they just didn’t know how they were going to get there or where in Arcadia they were.

‘I think we’re safe now,’ said Richmond. ‘Can we stop?

We’ve been walking for ages.’

‘We should rest for a bit,’ Derkein said.

Richmond plopped himself down on a rock, Alex sitting beside him.

Charlie turned to Derkein and saw him gazing up at the sky.

Derkein was the only one without a coat, having left it back at the gateway entrance as a marker. ‘You okay?’ Charlie asked him.

‘I feel’ – Derkein paused for a moment – ‘young.’ ‘You are young,’ Alex pointed out.

‘Yes, but I haven’t felt this way in weeks. I almost feel like my old self. We’ve been walking for miles, and I’m in no pain.’

Derkein’s gaze drifted around the surroundings. ‘I wish I had believed my father when he told me about this place.’ ‘Remember how we reacted when you first told us?’ Alex said. ‘Imagine going back and telling people where we’ve been.

No one would believe us. They’d have us locked up.’ ‘But then we’d be famous,’ Richmond said.

Charlie snickered. ‘Yeah, we’d be the real life Looney Tunes.’ The others laughed.

‘We have to be careful who we trust,’ Derkein said after a pause. ‘We don’t want something as big as this falling into the wrong hands. Who knows what these Arcadians would do if we tried to expose them.’

‘So we say nothing?’ Richmond asked. Derkein raised his eyebrows at him. ‘Fine, I won’t say anything.’ He crossed his arms and stuck his bottom lip out.

Charlie took his bag off his shoulder and pulled out the map. ‘Okay, so we’re definitely, maybe in Ardenen –’ ‘Or Agorah,’ Alex cut in, ‘since there are a lot of forests there, too.’

‘Okay, so we’re either in the north or west of Arcadia,’

Charlie noted. ‘Do we keep heading south?’

‘If we go off course now, we’ll only end up confusing ourselves even more,’ Derkein said. He stepped towards Charlie and glanced down at the map. ‘Since it’s the most wooded area on the map, let’s just assume for a moment that we are in Ardenen. At some point, we’re bound to hit one of these cities, which I hope will give us some indication of our whereabouts.’

‘What if we don’t come across any cities?’ Charlie enquired. ‘Then we’ll have to divide our time. The longest we’ll spend on this route is two days, leaving us with three days to get back to the gateway.’

‘If we get to the sea within two days,’ Alex asked, ‘then do we still turn back?’

‘It depends,’ Derkein replied. ‘Eden is in the heart of Koura.

That could be another long journey in itself. We’ll have to all come to an agreement if we get that far.’ He started digging a hole in the ground with the toe of his shoe. ‘We need to mark this spot.’ His eyes flitted between the three of them. ‘Who’s going to hand over their coat?’

‘Use mine,’ Alex offered. She stood up and untied her coat from around her waist, handing it to Derkein.

‘I don’t want to go back to the cave,’ Richmond said. ‘Those things could still be there.’

‘Let’s just worry about one thing at a time,’ Derkein suggested, as he folded Alex’s coat into a ball. Crouching down, he stuffed the coat into the hole, concealing it with dirt, leaving only a small part of the fabric exposed. He stood up and sat on the boulder next to Alex, Charlie joining him. ‘I’m starving,’ Richmond complained. ‘Do you think they have McDonald’s here?’

The others burst out in laughter.

Richmond frowned. ‘What?’

‘I don’t think this world is like ours, Rich,’ Charlie said. ‘That sucks. I’m gonna die of starvation.’

‘No one is going to die,’ Derkein said. ‘We’re going to get through this.’

Charlie glanced sideways at him, the doubt evident on Derkein’s face. He seemed to deliberate for a moment, and, as if realising Charlie was watching him, Derkein looked at him, his expression twisting from anxiety to something else. ‘You think maybe you can kick start that intuition of yours and point us in the right direction?’ Derkein half smiled, though it was not devoid of worry.

All eyes fixed on Charlie, and at that point, he realised with some chagrin that they were all looking to him for answers he did not have.

Derkein placed an arm around Charlie’s shoulder. ‘You don’t need to look so worried, I’m only playing. You’ve been more than helpful.’ He glanced away from Charlie and took a deep breath. ‘Luck is on our side, I feel.’

Ten minutes later, they took off again.

Charlie and Alex were trailing Richmond and Derkein. ‘Sorry about before,’ Alex said to Charlie. ‘You know, about the whole stalker thing.’

‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘Does this mean you forgive me?’ ‘I’m still mad at you.’

‘Oh, come on.’ Charlie nudged her with his elbow. ‘I wanted to tell you, I just … I didn’t want to scare you.’

Alex rolled her eyes, her cheeks lifting slightly as she tried to hold back a smile. ‘Fine. You’re forgiven.’

Charlie smiled. ‘That was easy. Is it because your mum said I was a keeper?’

Alex’s jaw dropped.

Charlie held his hands up in defence. ‘You already forgave me, remember.’

Alex pushed him aside. ‘I take it back.’

‘You can’t. It’s too late.’

Alex crossed her arms. She lowered her voice when she said, ‘“I don’t speak Spanish,” you said.’

‘I don’t.’

Alex narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Whatever. You’re still an idiot.’ Despite her obvious annoyance, Charlie saw her eyes twinkle with amusement.

They walked on in silence. After a minute, Charlie said,

‘Carla Shu.’ He gave Alex a raised eyebrow look. ‘Really?’ ‘You know she would. She’s been following you around ever since you ditched her party. Apparently, she was going to ask you out.’

Charlie looked away. ‘Whatever.’

‘I swear. I overheard Gabrielle and Jessie talking about it in geography.’ After a short pause, Alex asked, ‘So, do you like her?’

Charlie glanced sideways at her, trying to read her expression, but it was hard for she was looking at the ground.

They followed a trail up a small peak. ‘What’s not to like? She’s nice.’

Alex looked at him. ‘That’s not what I meant –’

‘Hey, guys,’ Derkein called to them. He and Richmond were standing at the top of the peak. Charlie and Alex made haste towards them. When they reached the top, they saw a gleaming creek below. The four of them hurried down the hill.

Charlie dropped his bag on the bank, and he and the others knelt down, using their hands as a scoop.

The water was clear and refreshing. As Charlie lowered his hands for a refill, he saw the shimmering form of a man with crystal grey eyes gazing at him and jumped back, landing with a hard thud on the ground.

‘Charlie!’ Alex cried.

‘There’s someone in the water,’ Charlie said.

The others glanced at the water then back at Charlie, their expressions uncertain.

‘I’m not imagining it. I saw him …’ Charlie paused. The man had been wearing a talisman around his neck. He drew in a short breath. ‘It’s the same guy I saw when I touched the talisman.’

‘You mean there’s a dead guy in the water?’ Alex asked, alarmed.

‘No,’ he replied. ‘I think it was just a mirage.’

‘You never mentioned anything about a guy,’ Derkein said.

He and Charlie locked eyes. ‘What else did you see?’ Charlie thought he saw a suspicious glare in his eyes.

‘Nothing,’ he replied.

‘You think this guy is connected to the talisman?’ Charlie nodded. ‘He was wearing it. I think it belonged to him.’

‘You know, you’re really starting to scare me.’

That makes two of us,
Charlie thought.

Derkein was silent for a moment, and then he said, ‘We should get going.’ He helped Charlie up, and it was at that point that Charlie realised something was missing.

‘Where’s my bag?’ he asked. He spun in a circle, his eyes sweeping the forest, but there was no bag in sight.

‘Let’s not panic,’ Derkein said. ‘It has to be here. We’re the only ones … here.’ He shot a tentative glance around the forest. Looking back at the trio, he placed a finger to his lips and motioned with his head towards the nearest tree, which they made their way towards. Derkein lowered his voice. ‘I don’t think we’re alone.’

At the sound of something snapping, they jumped. Derkein pulled out his pocketknife. The gang watched and waited, but nothing appeared.

‘We need to keep moving,’ Derkein said.

‘But we need the map and the compass,’ said Charlie. ‘We can’t stay here. We’ll be all right as long as we keep moving.’ Derkein gave them an encouraging smile, but Charlie saw the pained look in his eyes. Derkein reminded him then of the terrified young man that had appeared in his dream. He had the face of a man, but the heart of a boy.

They walked off in the direction they had been heading before they stopped by the creek. Alex and Richmond were ahead, Charlie and Derkein behind. It was nearing four in the afternoon, and they had been walking for twenty minutes. Charlie regarded Derkein, whose expression was distant.

He hadn’t said a single word since they left the creek. ‘Are you mad at me?’

Derkein looked at him. ‘Why would I be mad at you?’ ‘I lost the compass.’

‘I’m not mad at you, Charlie. You didn’t do anything wrong.’ ‘But we have no idea which direction we’re heading in, and now we won’t be able to find our way back, which means we’re stuck in this place for who knows how long –’ ‘Hey, hey, calm down.’ Derkein rested a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. ‘You’re going to have a nervous breakdown if you keep panicking like this.’

‘But I’m just so mad.’

‘I know you are.’

‘Why aren’t you angry?’ Charlie asked. ‘You might be stuck this way forever, and you don’t even seem upset.’

‘Trust me, I may appear calm, but I am far from it. I mean, look at me. I look like my grandfather, for crying out loud.

Yeah, sure, I may never get the chance to change back, but I don’t know that. I like to think about right now and not what if. Right now, I’m alive. If I spend my time worrying about something I can’t foretell, I don’t know what I’ll do. This isn’t just about me. I dragged you three into this mess, so I need to stay focused. Hope is all I have. I can’t lose the one thing that’s giving me the strength to go on. Just have a little faith.’

He ruffled Charlie’s hair. ‘You know, there was something my father used to say to me whenever I was worried. “Just don’t”.’ Charlie wrinkled his brow.

‘I know. It used to drive me crazy.’ Derkein’s mind seemed to drift, and after a pause, he said, ‘You didn’t do this to me.

If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am now. You’re the last person I would be angry with.’

They had just caught up to Alex and Richmond when they heard it: the mighty roar of something inhuman that made the hairs on their skin stand erect.

They stopped.

Alex grabbed Charlie’s arm. ‘What was that?’