merit a wide place. What it did have was water.
The road took us up a rise, and then down the other side into a small valley. At the bottom of the hill, in the valley, was what was left of Despond. The town, as far as we could tell, had been abandoned long ago, mostly because the town’s dam had broken and flooded the valley. The road we were on dropped down into the town center and disappeared into water. I didn’t hesitate as water met road, but began wading into the darkness.
“Ellie, wait,” Infinity said. “Are you sure about this?”
I turned, but kept walking.
“I’m sure,” I said. “Those things on all fours were tracking us. Nothing, not even a bloodhound can track you over water.”
Infinity was unsure, but she followed me anyway. I pushed through the water, which grew deeper and deeper as we pushed forward. Eventually we were swimming with broad breaststrokes in the darkness. We were about 50 yards out into the water when Infinity hissed behind me. I stopped swimming and tried to be quiet, turning back to look in the direction we had come.
In the darkness, I saw motion on the hillside we had come down. And I heard grunting and a little splashing. Then as we watched, other figures topped the hillside and followed the tracking figures. Then there was the sound of low voices.
“They’re out there. I can smell them.”
“Yeah, young ones. Ew-wee.”
“Pretty girls,” one of them said in a loud voice. “Pretty girls, won’t you come out and play?” The voice was followed by coarse laughter.
“Aw, come on, sweet things,” another one said. “I got something to show you.”
I tried hard to keep from making noise, and I was close enough to see Finn’s face. She wanted badly to scream at the men behind us. But somehow she’d learned how to hold her tongue, especially if it meant saving our lives.
We treaded water silently for a long while, realizing that they couldn’t see us. They knew we were close, but couldn’t tell where we were. And after a few minutes that began to piss them off. One began screaming, and then another. Finally their anger led them to fire their guns.
We watched as flames came from the rifles that were fired into the air. They were a lot closer to us than I’d thought, and I realized that sooner or later, they would begin shooting in our direction. Infinity had the same thought, and she grabbed my sleeve. Together, we swam to the back side of a rooftop that was nearby, our splashes covered by the gunfire.
We climbed onto the rooftop and rested against the wooden shingles, the night air filled with the sound of gunfire. We were both exhausted, but neither one of us could sleep. At least that’s what I thought.
When morning broke, we were still perched on the wooden rooftop. I woke up with the rising sun in my face, my legs still partially in the water. I looked up to see Infinity sitting on the roof a little higher on the incline. She smiled at me and gestured above us. I looked and saw a tower and a large cross on the top.
We had been saved by a church.
“I think it’s time to go,” Infinity whispered to me. “With the sun up, they’ll be able to find us.”
I nodded, sad to leave our sanctuary, but I knew Finn was right. She quietly waded into the water, and I followed her until we were both swimming again. I followed her, keeping the church between us and the men that were looking for us on the shore. I wasn’t even curious about what the men were doing. I just wanted to get as much distance as I could between us and them.
After about another 50 yards or so, Infinity stopped being worried about making noise and swam normally. The valley stretched from north to south, and I saw the road climb out of the water in the west. I gestured toward it, but Infinity shook her head.
“We’ve got to get back to the river,” she said. “That’s where Evangelist said he’d meet us.”
“Evangelist didn’t show last night,” I said. “What makes you
The road took us up a rise, and then down the other side into a small valley. At the bottom of the hill, in the valley, was what was left of Despond. The town, as far as we could tell, had been abandoned long ago, mostly because the town’s dam had broken and flooded the valley. The road we were on dropped down into the town center and disappeared into water. I didn’t hesitate as water met road, but began wading into the darkness.
“Ellie, wait,” Infinity said. “Are you sure about this?”
I turned, but kept walking.
“I’m sure,” I said. “Those things on all fours were tracking us. Nothing, not even a bloodhound can track you over water.”
Infinity was unsure, but she followed me anyway. I pushed through the water, which grew deeper and deeper as we pushed forward. Eventually we were swimming with broad breaststrokes in the darkness. We were about 50 yards out into the water when Infinity hissed behind me. I stopped swimming and tried to be quiet, turning back to look in the direction we had come.
In the darkness, I saw motion on the hillside we had come down. And I heard grunting and a little splashing. Then as we watched, other figures topped the hillside and followed the tracking figures. Then there was the sound of low voices.
“They’re out there. I can smell them.”
“Yeah, young ones. Ew-wee.”
“Pretty girls,” one of them said in a loud voice. “Pretty girls, won’t you come out and play?” The voice was followed by coarse laughter.
“Aw, come on, sweet things,” another one said. “I got something to show you.”
I tried hard to keep from making noise, and I was close enough to see Finn’s face. She wanted badly to scream at the men behind us. But somehow she’d learned how to hold her tongue, especially if it meant saving our lives.
We treaded water silently for a long while, realizing that they couldn’t see us. They knew we were close, but couldn’t tell where we were. And after a few minutes that began to piss them off. One began screaming, and then another. Finally their anger led them to fire their guns.
We watched as flames came from the rifles that were fired into the air. They were a lot closer to us than I’d thought, and I realized that sooner or later, they would begin shooting in our direction. Infinity had the same thought, and she grabbed my sleeve. Together, we swam to the back side of a rooftop that was nearby, our splashes covered by the gunfire.
We climbed onto the rooftop and rested against the wooden shingles, the night air filled with the sound of gunfire. We were both exhausted, but neither one of us could sleep. At least that’s what I thought.
When morning broke, we were still perched on the wooden rooftop. I woke up with the rising sun in my face, my legs still partially in the water. I looked up to see Infinity sitting on the roof a little higher on the incline. She smiled at me and gestured above us. I looked and saw a tower and a large cross on the top.
We had been saved by a church.
“I think it’s time to go,” Infinity whispered to me. “With the sun up, they’ll be able to find us.”
I nodded, sad to leave our sanctuary, but I knew Finn was right. She quietly waded into the water, and I followed her until we were both swimming again. I followed her, keeping the church between us and the men that were looking for us on the shore. I wasn’t even curious about what the men were doing. I just wanted to get as much distance as I could between us and them.
After about another 50 yards or so, Infinity stopped being worried about making noise and swam normally. The valley stretched from north to south, and I saw the road climb out of the water in the west. I gestured toward it, but Infinity shook her head.
“We’ve got to get back to the river,” she said. “That’s where Evangelist said he’d meet us.”
“Evangelist didn’t show last night,” I said. “What makes you
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