In the side compartment was what he was hoping for. Folded neatly inside was a soldier’s uniform—clean, dry clothing to replace his torn, wet and blackened Callibrian garments. He quickly changed into it, leaving the jacket aside, keeping only the black undershirt and the dark green trousers, which he had to roll up around his ankles. The uniform appeared to be for one of the smaller soldiers of the Alliance, but it still seemed big on Jaden.
He checked through the last compartments, finding a flask of water and some rations of dried meat. He drank as much as he could, then put the flask down and sat back as he chewed on the dried meat. The spices burnt his tongue and throat, but the flavour was not unpleasant. It was the first time he had eaten anything since the attack.
He took another drink of water to cool the burning and then looked toward the shoreline. He could hear a hum in the distance. Something was behind the trees. He began to edge forward to take cover behind a rock, unsure what could be out here. Whatever it was, it could not have been friendly. Seconds passed, but still there was no sign of anything. Jaden held his breath, as if to wait for it to make the first move.
Suddenly he saw it, a black helicopter rising into the air but keeping low. Patrols, he thought, searching for him, to take him prisoner or even kill him. He had to run, to find a better place of cover. He had gotten up but stopped as he turned to see the helicopter was travelling eastward. It stayed low the entire way, until it disappeared from sight on the horizon, leaving Jaden confused.
Where was it going?
He didn’t want to stay to find out when it returned. Putting what he needed into the backpack, the rations, water flask, ammunition and his old clothes, he readied to leave. A light breeze traced over his cheeks, whispering what almost sounded like words to him. He remained still for a moment, listening to the strange voice, as if somehow able to understand it. Realising he could not, he began his way down the steep, rocky slope, trying to think as little as possible about the attack and the patrolling helicopter along the way.
He felt drained of energy, sick from the emotion that had tormented him over the past days. He had never felt so much hate, so much anger or so much grief before, and now it seemed he had no more tears to cry.
He travelled most of the day at a leisurely pace, changing the position of the rifle several times along the way so that it did not seem so heavy. The cloud cover kept him cool as he went, but he stopped at any stream or waterhole that he came across, splashing water onto his weary eyes and refilling the flask. He reached his first destination point several hours after nightfall. He had not wished to risk losing direction by resting for the night, and using what little moon and ring light there was, he had managed to navigate through the remaining forest. The clearing was great in size, being almost one hundred yards in length, with the large rock at the opposite end slanting to the left, as if it had been pushed over by some divine force but defiantly fell no further.
To Jaden’s right, there was a stream gently trickling down from the rock, seeming like glistening sapphires rolling over the earth as it made its way into the forest. He walked to it over the many small stones and knelt down on the pebbled beds to refill his flask, then scooped up some water to drink and splash over himself with his hand. His thirst satisfied, he stood and walked along the stream to the rock. It was too dark to see the way to the two highest peaks this night, and his body ached from the distance he had travelled already. He would climb it in the morning, he thought, but for now, he would rest, if he could find a place of comfort.
Circling the rock, he found his way to where it slanted above ground, creating an open cave-like area. He threw the backpack and rifle against one of the smooth white and gray ledges and then hopped up onto it, lying back and using the backpack as a headrest. From here, he was able to stare back to where he had entered the clearing, thinking of how far he had come. He had never been so far from his home before. He had never seen what was outside of the valley. Under different circumstances, he may have been able to take solace in the beauty, but in this moment, it meant nothing to him. He was content simply to be able to lie down and close his eyes, forgetting that anything else existed, and drift into a deep sleep.
* * *
Abruptly, Jaden sat up straight. He was ready to run, his eyes searching for anything near. He had felt something, something close … something alien. It was sharp, almost to the point of inflicting pain. It almost felt like a spear such as there had been at the waterfall in Callibra.
His eyes darted right. He had seen a flicker. They darted left, this time he had felt something move. He stood up and backed away from the rock, trying to keep his eyes focused on everything before him.