The Dark Ages: Convergence (Prequel to the P.O.E. Chronicles)

Chapter 27 Victoria

"This has been a good day," I comment offhandedly as Katerina skips the road that leads to Vienna and head straight towards Hungary. We drove all night and took a break only after we've reached Austria, the road blessedly clear from all blockage courtesy to the tank that we saw. It's now late afternoon and Austria is proving to be quieter.

"Don't jinx it," Katerina chides and I shrug. I don't think our luck can be changed by just saying some words. My heart becomes increasingly lighter as we near our destination, whatever we might find.

"We do need to start looking for some water. The food will last, but we'll die of dehydration," I say and Katerina sighs. This girl sighs a lot. I search the map for any sign of a river, but nothing so far.

"Who else do you see?" I ask. The question has been brewing inside me since her little revelation, and I can't help but be curious. Especially the girl who she thought was Anastasia; how?

"It's all in glimpses, but I think some of the others are in the east." Katerina seems relief to be able to talk about it. "I mean, I didn't know it was you until everything falls into place.

"I keep seeing this blonde girl, and she's always with these guys and I thought it's Anastasia with all of you back there. But then it turns out the guy who I saw running around some cobblestone street is you." She laughs and I suddenly remember she must have seen me, too. I hope it's nothing weird. "But the closer we get, the more I see; she always wears these pretty dresses and the city she's in doesn't look like Paris, but it definitely looks European. I don't know," she adds in the end, looking frustrated.

I give her pat on the shoulder and she sighs some more. "I just wish I can control my visions more," she confesses.

"It is pretty amazing you can see in the future already," I attempt to comfort her. This really isn't my forte. "You have got to let the rest of us live by not being able to tell every detail of what's to come."

That earns me a smile. I turn my attention back to the map. There's the famous Danube River, but that would require a slight detour. But we hold on for another day, which shouldn't be that difficult, we would intersect it just outside of Budapest.

I relate the information to Katerina and she nods. "It's better if we avoid going off road," she agrees. So we ration off the remaining water and keep on driving.

Not for the first time, I ask myself what do I think we'll find at the end of the journey. The castle would be there, that much is clear, but what would we do? Would the other people in Katerina's vision show up all by themselves? I doubt life would be that easy.

By the time we reach Hungary, all but one bottle of our water is gone and Katerina looks frazzled and tired from all the driving. If time permitted, it would be best if either I learned to drive or we found someone who could to come with. But this is how it is right now.

I look out at the road, a little nervous about where we would be in relation to the river when we come upon it. It would definitely be on a bridge given that it crosses the river, and that would mean that I have to do some mental lifting to get the water. That isn't impossible, I'd just rather not have to be so distracted. Katerina isn't exactly the best person to stand guard.

However, both of us isn't expecting the bridge to be broken.

"We can still cross," I say soothingly at Katerina, who looks close to having a nervous breakdown. Even though the situation isn't catastrophic, it would mean that we have to abandon the car. This would multiply the time needed for the rest of the trip, not to mention the dangers. We can't run if we are caught and walking on the main road would surely guarantee being spotted at some point.