The Forgotten Land

Chapter Seven

As soon as Nite felt the cold steel of the pistol barrel touch her forehead, her stomach dropped. Her heart began racing, beating louder and louder, harder and harder, every second. Breaths weren't coming easy to her and suddenly she wanted to vomit.

But she did her best to remain calm. "How may I help you?" When she spoke, she tried to keep her voice low and even.

The woman holding the gun wore a smug smile on her lips. Behind her were the rest of the strangers from earlier. "From what I hear, this is the home of the river boat captain, yes?"

"Nite, what is going on?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Nite saw Bickum start to get out of bed. "Bickum..." she choked out in a panic, "stay-!"

She was cut off by the woman raising another weapon- where she got it from was a mystery- and pointing it at him. "I suggest you stay right there if you don't want things to get nasty. It would be a shame to have to kill you."

Bickum stopped in his tracks. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

A tall man with chiseled features, who appeared to be in his late forties, stepped past the woman. "We're your newest customers." His voice was calm and cool.

Nite struggled to choke out her words. "What?"

"Customers." The woman gestured with her hand, still holding the gun, to the group behind her. Although she was younger than most of the others in the group, she had the same aura of confidence as the first man. She was clearly at least partially in charge. The scars on her face also served to establish dominance.

Nite tried to step back so the pistol wouldn't be pressed against her head, but the woman took another step with her.

She gulped. "What are you doing here?"

The woman looked straight at her. In the dark lighting, her brown eyes appeared almost black. "We're your newest customers and we want a ride down the river."

"I have never had a customer hold a gun to my head."

Nite could feel the cold steel press harder against her skull as the woman sneered. "My, my, my. You sure are a witty girl. Well, witty girl, let me tell you this: we are soldiers of the Dahlarian army and we are on a mission from the king. You and the old man will be taking us on your boat and, in exchange, we won't kill you. Our mission is time sensitive, so of course we will be leaving tonight. Right now, if you don't mind."

The teenager felt her mouth drop open. "Are you serious? You want us to take you on the boat in the dead of night?"

"Yes." The man stepped forward and placed a hand on the shoulder of the woman wielding the guns. "Put up your weapons."

The woman grumbled, but listened. That confirmed who was the true leader of the group. She holstered her guns, but kept her cloak pushed back so that Nite could see the weapons.

All of the fear drained out of Nite, only to be replaced by anger. Her stubborn side was beginning to rear its ugly head and she was at the point of not caring if it got her shot. "I understand that you think you are very important, but you, like everyone else that we will be taking to Cantan, will have to wait two more days to leave."

The woman never lost her calm and cool demeanor. "You see, that's where you're wrong. You won't be taking us to Cantan. In fact, you won't be taking us north at all. We'll be going west."

"We won't be taking you anywhere."

Nite wanted to scream. She wanted to cry and run away. The strangers- especially the woman- were terrifying her to the point where it was a struggle for her to not pass out. Although the words that came from her mouth were defiant, inside she was a cowering, quivering mess that wanted to hide in a corner. Even then she refused to give the woman the satisfaction of seeing her fear.