30. Jack
THIRTY
JACK
Like most meals, breakfast was rushed. The mage-powered machines were topped off with spare fuel canisters Christopher had strapped to the sides of the machines.
Soon the four travelers were on the move again.
It was slow going at first. Jack took the lead and maneuvered through the thick forest at a careful speed.
The machine hummed underneath him at a much different rate than he used while traversing the desert floor.
Marcus rode behind him, his posture straight and rigid, searching their new terrain. Soon they found the main road that would lead them to Burrow Den. Both Jack and Sloan pressed down hard on the pedals, urging the machines forward.
Whenever they passed travelers, either walking or on horseback, the looks they received were the same. First, the response was fear and wonder, then distrust and anger. Jack could only guess what they looked like to the passersby.
Magic-fueled machines moving forward under their own power with steam rising in the air behind them wasn’t something that was seen every day, let alone in these parts of the Outland.
Burrow Den was one of the most remote cities in the Outland. This wasn’t only because of its distance from New Hope, but due to the land that had to be traversed to arrive at the town.
Even after passing through the desert, the city was another two to three days’ journey by horse through the forests and the rolling mountains. It was only due to the steam bicycles and Jack and his father’s extensive knowledge of the territory that they made such great time.
A midday meal was eaten while traveling. Jack was able to show off how much he already learned about steering the machine as he rested one hand on the handlebars and casually supported a sandwich in his free hand.
“If your mother could see you now, she’d be so proud, Jack.”
“Thanks, Dad. Sure you don’t want to give it a try?” Jack turned his head slightly and smiled through a mouthful of meat and bread.
“No, I think I’m just fine here.” Marcus looked down on the bumpy dirt lane that led to Burrow Den and the forest and mountains on either side that greeted him if he fell off the path.
“Did you hear that unicorn when it attacked? It didn’t neigh, it shrieked—like a bird, and the hair it was more like—like?—”
“It looked more like feathers than hair, and the hooves…” Marcus took a long pause and Jack imagined what his face looked like. His brow would be furrowed, lips pursed, an expression Jack had grown accustomed to when he misbehaved as a child.
“Jack, it’s important that when we do reach the town, we’re prepared. Remember, our instincts and intuition are the best tools we have. Mage-powered machines and weapons can only do so much. We have to stay on point.”
Jack nodded as he gulped another bite. The going was made easy by the machines. As the sun flirted with the tops of the mountains on its descent, the road sloped up and opened into Burrow Den’s main road.
Burrow Den was a city of only a few hundred inhabitants. Most people there were friendly when Jack and his father passed through before. The main source of work was farming and livestock.
The city couldn’t have been more different than New Hope. Instead of steel structures and iron towers climbing to the heavens, simple one-story houses and buildings made of wood were scattered throughout the city.
Where New Hope was bustling with activity and noises rang out in every corner, Burrow Den was quiet and still.
“Let’s park these machines just outside town, Jack,” his father advised. “There’s no need bringing more attention to us and what we’re doing than we have to. At least until we introduce ourselves.”
Jack knew exactly what his father meant. They had no idea what they were in for. The last thing they needed was to be looked at with fear and distrust.
Jack parked the machine just outside the city in a grove of tall, bright green trees. Sloan pulled up next to him. Aareth jumped off the bike and grimaced as he stretched. “Boy, you’d think after riding a horse for so many years, I’d be used to it, but my butt is as numb as?—”
“Good idea parking the machines outside the city,” Sloan interrupted, giving Aareth an amused roll of her eyes. “We need to gain the town’s trust, not scare them off with inventions they don’t understand. When we get into the city, let me do the talking.”
The three men followed Sloan as she walked out of the grove of trees into the city.
Not much had changed since Jack had last seen Burrow Den.
The houses still looked the same. The one wide road that led to the heart of the small city was still intact and well kept.
The only thing Jack noticed that was different was the lack of people.
Jack’s father caught on to the subtle clue as well.
His staff was already in his hand. No magic coursing over the wood just yet.
To everyone else, it would look like Marcus was just an older man using a staff to assist his stride, but Jack knew better.
He could tell when his father’s hand was a quick second away from drawing magic.
“Well, I guess that answers our question about whether the messenger the Queen sent made it here or not. Not a very warm welcome for people who are sent by the Crown to help,” Aareth mused out loud.
It was eerily quiet as Jack and his three companions made their way through the city.
“If I remember right, the town hall, church, and sheriff station are all down the next block,” Jack instructed the group. “Maybe we’ll find someone there.”
Empty porches were passed, and boarded-up houses with locked doors and barred windows seemed to come every few feet.
Jack was starting to get the feeling that he was being watched. The hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. A wave of goosebumps slowly washed over his entire body.
His eyes were constantly darting back and forth as he walked down the middle of town. He knew someone was watching him, yet there was no one around. A young female voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
“Strangers to the experiment ground? But are they safe or are they like the ones before?”
Jack turned to his left, his right hand already on the hilt of his wand. The voice came from a girl who stood on a porch he had just seen empty a second before. She was slender with bright red hair. A sad smile played across her chapped lips.
“We’re here in the name of Queen Eleanor Eckert. We’re here to help.” Sloan stepped forward.
Sloan must have seen the porch empty only a moment before as well. The captain was tense, ready to pounce like a predator in the wild.
“Oh, no. No, they’re not like the ones before.” The girl cocked her head to the side like she was listening to someone. “No, silly, look at them. How do I know? Shhhhhh… they’ll hear you.”
Jack was about to ask who she was and where all the people of Burrow Den had gone, but he thought better of interrupting the girl. The strange child continued to carry on a conversation with herself.
“They said they’re from New Hope, but the evil men came from New Hope too.”
“Excuse me,” Aareth spoke, unable to hold his tongue any longer. “Who are you? Where is everyone?”
“You’re tall and handsome.” The girl looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. A shy smile crossed her face as she straightened out her dirty grey jacket and shifted in her boots.
“Ummm… thanks.”
“My name’s Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth, where is everyone?” Sloan took another step toward the girl. This time, her hand was off the hilt of her sword.
“They are here. They are there.” Elizabeth tore her eyes away from Aareth. She looked Sloan up and down.
“Elizabeth, that’s not very helpful. Where has everyone gone?”
Jack could tell Sloan wasn’t used to having to exercise patience as her gloved hands crossed over her chest.
“Oh, Captain, my Captain. Be serious, no more fun time. You’re not a very nice soldier lady.” Elizabeth crossed her own arms and stuck out her chest.
Sloan’s eyes widened at the audacity of the girl. Jack thought she might reach for her sword again, so he stepped forward with a smile. “Hi, Elizabeth. I’m Jack, this is Sloan, Aareth, and Marcus. We’re here to help. We need to find where all the people are. Can you please help us?”
“Yes.” Elizabeth turned and fixed Jack with a penetrating stare. “He’s handsome too, but in a different way. In an innocent way. Yes, Jack, we’ll help you. But before you follow me, the captain has to be disciplined for being so rude.”
The girl, who had to be a few years younger than Jack, walked down the wooden steps from her porch and stood directly in front of Sloan with a scornful look. She was shorter than Sloan, but she didn’t let that intimidate her as she addressed the captain. “Give me your hand.”
“What?” Sloan didn’t move her hands from the sides of her body.
“Give me your hand; you have to be disciplined. You’re so rude. Not everyone is out to get you, you know. There are friends everywhere if you would just let them be.”
Jack didn’t see any weapons on the redheaded girl. Regardless, he kept his hand on his wand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father readjust his staff. Sloan was tense, but she slowly extended her left hand.
“Bad Sloan, bad.” Elizabeth gently took it in her right hand and softly slapped the back of Sloan’s wrist with her own left hand.
“You have to be nicer to strangers. Or how are you going to make any friends? I know about your past. How you were raised with nothing. But don’t let that define who you are today. ”
Jack’s eyes widened as he witnessed the toughest soldier he had ever known literally get her wrist slapped.
Aareth stifled a chuckle as Sloan withdrew her hand and turned her head, giving him a murderous stare.
“What?” Aareth shrugged. “She has a point.”
Elizabeth seemed content that Sloan had learned her lesson. She turned and skipped along the dirt road deeper into the town.
“Well, hurry up.” Elizabeth looked over her shoulder as her red hair swung in line behind her. “Before the puppy comes. He’s always so hungry for blood. We can’t wait forever.”