Amity and Enmity

Chapter 1

Henry Best clutched with desperation onto his coat, doing all he could to prevent the torrential wind from blowing it off. Fortunately, the relentless rain that poured from the sky caused his wet coat to stick to his body, though the heavy pullets of water bombarded him felt as though they would bruise his skin.

"Just a bit further..." Henry whimpered to himself, forcing his exhausted feet to inch further forwards.

He finally reached it: the Roaring Gorge. Dwarfing everything nearby were twin mountains that stretched almost up to the ceiling of the world, a halo of cloud and rain circling their summits that masked their true height. As it was so named, in between these two mountains was a gorge with a roaring stream gushing through the gap.

On the other side of the Roaring Gorge was where Henry had to be. One of the ways was through it and the other around, which could take several weeks on foot compared to a couple of hours by passing through the gorge.

Steeling himself, Henry continued trudging forwards, gripping onto the rocky mountainsides to haul himself along. On either side of the flowing stream was a narrow ledge, just wide enough for Henry to walk on.

After climbing onto the ledge, Henry hugged the wall, his back brushing against it as he cautiously stepped sideways along the narrow ridge. The spray of the billowing stream splattered his face, and he quickly wished he had faced the other direction instead.

For a split second, the world was lit up in blinding light, followed by a rancorous crash of thunder. The sudden sound startled Henry as he almost fell into the stream below, but he managed to grip a hold of the rock wall, his nails bleeding as they dug into the crumbling earth. He glanced up and saw a bolt of lightning strike the summit of one of the twin mountains, another reason why this place had been tilted 'The Roaring Gorge'.

Henry's senses were overloaded from everything around him; the blinding lightning flashes; the ear-splitting shrieks of thunder strikes; the cold and relentless rain that chilled and bruised his exhausted body; the bitter taste of the spray from the stream; but Henry persisted. He blocked everything out, the rain, the stream, the wind, the lightning, and thunder until there was just peace in his mind. So his feet continued to slide carefully along the narrow ledge, slowly travelling through the Roaring Gorge.

However, his body would not let him forget how exhausted he was. He could almost feel himself wanting just to let his body go and fall, allowing the stream to take him and decide his fate. But he quickly shook that thought of giving up away and continued to shuffle across the ledge.

It was like Henry had become a machine with the way he moved so precisely with exact timing, his body shuffling along the ledge with no thought needed whilst his mind fought against stopping and giving up.

He almost cried out in happiness and relief, though perhaps he did as no one would be able to hear him over the roaring rain, billowing stream and thunder, as there in the distance, he spotted an alcove formed naturally into the mountain's rock. Using up the rest of his strength, Henry slid across the ledge, almost toppling over from his eagerness, then collapsed onto the ground once he made it under the safety of the alcove, away from the rain and the wind. 

Resting on the floor, Henry slowed his breathing, his body now thankful after hours of trekking across the wasteland through the perpetual and heavy storm. Though he remembered that he had to stay vigilant if any monsters were nearby, Henry just wanted a moment of peace, his eyes slowly closing from exhaustion.

"Just a few minutes," Henry mumbled and promised to himself. "Just a few-" As he stretched his hand out, he felt something on the ground nearby. No longer falling asleep and jolted with fear and curiosity, Henry glanced around the alcove. Once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, Henry could make out a couple of blankets and old clothes folded neatly next to the wall. Then, as a flash of lightning illuminated the alcove for an instant, Henry saw more objects occupying the alcove.