Forging A Path

Chapter 10: Change of Scenery

"That was... strange," I commented, out of breath, as the three of us reached the other side of the portal.

The pain from the arrow in my arm was greatly diminished, nearly gone. The frigid cold of the oil rig felt like a distant memory.

"You can say that again. I feel refreshed, almost? Safe," Armen leaned down to rest his hands on his knees a few feet away.

"Hey guys?" Drake spoke up, looking around in concern.

"Whats wrong?" I looked around as well, taking in the foresty surroundings and stepping in front of the boys.

"Where is Grayson?" Panic started to leak into Drake's voice.

"Thats... a good question. Maybe he just went ahead?" I spit balled.

He seemed like a fearless guy, it didn't seem like much of a stretch for him to go ahead and check the area for threats. It did hurt a bit that he wouldn't wait for us, though.

"Let's follow the path, maybe he just took that," Armen nodded to the gravel path ahead of us.

I shrugged and took the lead, keeping alert for any danger in the surrounding trees as I took in our new scenery. It was definitely warmer, the temperate air making the blizzard we just came from feel like a distant memory. And their were strange new plants in the grasses surrounding us. The boys didn't fail to comment on those as we trudged forward, their observations keeping me from falling down the rabbit hole of deep thought.

"Where do you think this leads? It's obviously man made," Armen questioned.

"If we are lucky, it leads to people. Maybe there is a village of some sort nearby," I sighed.

We came upon a split in the road, both seemingly heading further into the forest. We ended up just continuing on the branch that was going straight, Armen mentioning that we could come back to the other branch if we remembered. 

In a surprisingly short amount of time, the path hit a dead end at a cobble stone wall, and Dake tried to see to the other side while me and Armen repeatedly asked what he could see. 

"It looks like some crops, maybe? A building, I think. Maybe an old farm?" he tried to jump against the wall to see better, but to no avail. 

 Armen groaned in defeat, wishing like the rest of us that the path head lead to somewhere more fruitful. Not that we knew exactly what we were looking for besides Grayson. 

"Let's head back and take the other path, guys. One of them has to lead somewhere," I gave them both a reassuring smile and took the lead back. 

Drake struck up conversation as we walked, "It is so quiet here."

"Maybe He isn't here," Armen commented. 

We turned down the other path and quickly got results, spotting the ruins of buildings ahead. 

"Oh- oh my god," I cringed back. 

I averted my eyes from the path, turning back to the boys.

"What? What is it, Lyd?" Armen asked in concern. 

I saw Drake's eyes widen, and he made a sour face as Armen also noticed the blood and bones on the ground beside the crumbling stone wall. 

Armen decided to take the lead through the ruins, making sure Drake and I were behind him every now and then as the boys discussed the ruins. 

We found a semi-standing house near the bank of a clear river, ruins littering both sides from what we could see. It seemed to have been burnt down, and I walked outside towards the bank of the river, observing our depressing surroundings. It was then that I spotted a light across the river and up the bank a ways.