The Portals ( book 1 )

∞12∞ Survival Instinct

Zach dreamt that he was back on the edge of the Redstone cliffs, looking out at Dakka and the surrounding desert. He leapt off the cliff and spread his wings, he was a Falkan. He flew long and hard, the warm wind rippling lightly under his wings. He flew farther than he had ever been, till he reached a land with emerald trees and mossy earth and rippling streams. He didn't stop. He flew on until he reached the bustling city crowded with tall skyscrapers Keira had described as where she lived. He didn't stop there either. He flew till he reached sand, golden not red, and before him stretched water as far as the eye could see. He'd never seen it before but his mind seemed to know what the ocean looked like. He flew higher and higher, till suddenly he felt himself getting heavier and changing. His wings morphed into arms and his claws grew into legs. His beak became his face and the sharp eyes of the Falkan became his own ordinary ones. He began to plummet and as he fell, the glittering blue water morphed back into the red sand he was used to. The sand he could never escape. Zach closed his eyes.

And he opened them.

He raised himself up on one elbow, blinking a few times and recalling where he was. The walls of the tent had a gentle morning glow cast over them. He pulled himself upright and rubbed his eyes with his palms. A soft snore came from his right.

Keira was still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling gently and the blanket twisted over her legs. Wisps of her dark brown hair fell over her face and stood up in places.

Zach reached into his bag and pulled out his pocket-watch. It had belonged to his father. It was a heavy brass instrument about 5 inches long with a transparent window on the front. Every hour a metal bead from the top of the tube began its journey down the window, moving one space every minute with a soft 'clack'. The minutes were numbered down the edge of the tube in Kattan numbers. You could see what hour of the day it was by seeing the number of beads at the bottom and the number left at the top. There were a total of twelve beads, so after twelve hours, the mechanism reversed and the beads started moving in the opposite direction. This particular piece had been gifted to his father by his mother and had A.R. engraved on the back.

It was nearly eight-'o'-clock. He put on his boots, opened the tent and stepped into the warm light. The Sun was up but still gentle and the air was still. Taro was awake and was pacing as much as his tether allowed him to move. Zach reached over and patted the animal's muzzle and the Lakhtun responded by snorting affectionately. Once he had fed him some nuts and checked that their bags were still present and secure, he walked back to the tent. Keira had shifted a little but was still asleep, light streamed in from the small opening, illuminating patches of the twisted and wrinkled sheet. Her legs were sprawled and her left foot was rudely infiltrating Zach's side of the tent.

"Keira?" he said. "Keira?" he crouched down and said a little louder. When she didn't respond, he crawled into the tent and sat down beside her, folding his legs in an attempt to fit into the small space she had left. He bumped into her foot in the process and she twitched. "Keira. Hey. Wake up." He didn't want to shake her awake but he didn't seem to have much of a choice. He prodded her first. "Keira. We have to leave. Wake up." She turned to his side and wildly swatted at him with her eyes still closed. "Stop interrupting The Morning Game!" Zach didn't know what that was and currently, he didn't want to."Stop attacking me and get up!" She let out a groan-sigh and mumbled something he couldn't decipher. She finally pulled herself up and he let out a sigh of relief. "What time," * yawn *, "is it?"

"Slightly past eight."

Keira yawned again, not bothering to cover her mouth. "Ew!" she said, contorting her face into a disgusted expression.