Where Fires Dare to Burn

Chapter 20 - Meet the Family

For the second time in one night Luke found himself blindfolded and carted off somewhere. This time, however, he felt a lot less abject terror and a lot more curiosity. He'd fully expected to be tossed into the back of another vehicle for the journey, but that didn't happen. Instead, he found himself trekking precariously through the woods with Oaklynn guiding him along. He could just about keep his footing by peering through he slit at the bottom of the blindfold, but otherwise he could have been anywhere south of Lasquette for all he knew.

He had no real idea how long they'd been out here, but his legs started to get tired, the incline of the woods increasing as they moved uphill. Oaklynn's grip on his hand tightened and she made sure he stayed close, whispering hushed instructions as they traversed more difficult terrain. There didn't seem to be any paths out here; no human foot trails.

Luke guessed the Karkadda must've covered their tracks pretty vigilantly if no-one else even knew they were out here. Did they even need paths? Oaklynn had spoke of a connection with nature – for all he knew they could find their way anywhere in these woods without any kind of assistance.

It must have been more than an hour later when Luke finally picked out a low hubbub of voices in the forest. Despite shivering in the cold he tried to listen. He couldn't discern any individuals, but the sound was definite. There were people out here. Or more likely, a lot of Karkadda. He wondered how many of them called the woods their home? Did they even have homes?

But they had to. Kasper was a student at ELU just like Oaklynn; Mercy as well. They lived normal human lives at least some of the time. In that case, though, why was he being dragged out into the middle of nowhere?

He restrained himself from asking, knowing it wouldn't do much good. They clearly didn't want him to be able to find their destination again. Instead he just listened, trying his best to keep from falling over. Any time he stumbled Oaklynn was right there to catch him and pull him upright, the only meaningful anchor he had left in what had turned out to be a very, very strange night.

The voices grew louder, even raucous as they neared their destination. Luke could feel his anxiety climbing up his throat all over again no matter how many times he told himself that they weren't going to hurt him.

"It's okay," Oaklynn whispered, giving his fingers a reassuring squeeze as though she could sense his mood. "We're almost there."

"Almost where?" he asked at last.

"Home," he heard Kasper grunt from further ahead.

The ground levelled out not long after that. Luke found his feet stepped on something flat; an actual path at long last. He straightened up, loosening his grip on Oaklynn's hand and letting her guide him forwards. He could pick out individual speakers now, though not anyone that he recognised. People shouted encouragement. Whoops and cries filled the air. He heard a couple of strange, thumping crashes.

"Alright, you can take it off now," Mercy said, her voice coming from a few yards behind him.

He hesitated for a brief instant as Oaklynn pulled her hand gently from his. Then his curiosity (and no small amount of fear) came roaring back to the fore and he ripped the blindfold from his face.

A clearing in the forest greeted him. He didn't have the slightest notion where they were in relation to the bay itself, as thick, looming walls of trees enclosed them, cutting off any outside light. The path was a flat trail of dirt, pounded out by uncounted footsteps and cutting its way through the centre of the glade until it reached a large, low structure.

Luke stared, drinking it all in. The dwelling was a lot more normal than he had been expecting. A long, sprawling, slant-roofed bungalow, it was constructed of the same dark wood of the surrounding pines. It almost blended into the landscape, spilling soft light from its windows that bled away into the shadows of the trees.