Willow | The Wayfarer Series

Chapter 5

It took some time for us to reach the camp. There was a large hill we needed to cross, followed by an even deeper valley. When the camp did come in sight, I still couldn't tell if I had made the right choice. I could see two women, but there were no children or elders. The main population was male. 

The man that had found me was named Gareth. He told me more about the camp as we approached it. Apparently, they were settlers looking for a new home. They had been living in another town before but were forced to flee because of a mad man. Gareth didn't seem to keen on talking about why they left, so I didn't want to press on any further. 

Life had told me that I would matter here. Maybe I was meant to find this new settlement? I wasn't sure of anything at the moment, it still felt like I was living in a dream.

The people saw us come down the hill. They had previously been seated around three different campfires, seemingly deep into conversation with each other. However when they spotted Gareth, and the unknown stranger that was me, they jumped up to meet us. 

Gareth had told me they had travelled on foot, walking three nights and three days without rest, just to get away. Somehow I hadn't expected them to be able to take livestock with them. There was a cow, a few pigs and even a few sheep. Even they looked up, as though they knew I did not belong here. 

"You found one?" A teenage boy had run forward out of the group and met us before anyone else could. He was maybe a few years younger than me, with brown, curly hair and incredibly clear, blue eyes. 

Gareth did not answer his question but did greet the boy warmly. A few moments later, the entire group was there to judge me. I did not know a lot about the nine hundreds, but what I did know was that odd people weren't welcomed or helped. I couldn't risk them finding out I was from the future.

Gareth stepped away from me and spoke to a different man in hushed whispers. He was tall, much taller than I was, and had blonde hair with a matching blonde beard. There was a power vibe to him, which was only confirmed by Gareth immediately talking to him instead of someone else. 

While they were talking, the rest of the group was openly staring at me. I counted eleven men and two women, with the boy who greeted us as the youngest. But again, I was surprised how no one seemed to be judging me. If anything, I was being pitied yet again.

"What do you know of the surrounding terrain?" The blonde haired man had returned. Now that I could see him head on I saw a small scar underneath his right eye. He was intimidating, to say the least, but I forced myself to answer.

"Not much." I answered truthfully. "There is a house a few...  About half a day walking that way." I pointed to the direction I had come from. "But it's half collapsed and unusable. I did not see anything else besides grass and trees."

The man nodded, his eyes scanning over the group as he thought. "Make sure we have shelter for the night." He said to the man on his right, before walking over to me. "Follow me."

My heart was racing as I followed him away from the other people. Had I made a mistake trusting Gareth? I had given them all the information I had, which wasn't anything important. Was he going to kill me?

Much like Gareth, the man wore a sheathed sword around his waist. His seemed more used that Gareth's had though. The leather sheath it was in had a few dark stains on it, which I doubt could be anything else besides blood. His strides were longer than mine and I hadn't worn a dress, let alone a gown, in ages. I was struggling to keep up, but he did not seem to notice.

We stopped at the shoreline, just before the water would hit our feet. There was about a meter of sand before it turned into dirt and grass. I saw his eyes scanning the horizon. He did not even know what the rest of the world looked like. He would never know about the massive pyramids in Egypt or the Mayans in South America. This was all he knew of.

"What is your name?" Was the first thing he asked me.

"Willow." I answered. "What is yours?"

I could tell I had said something odd. His eyebrow only went up a little bit, but I was hyper-aware of everything I was doing. From the way my hands were fumbling to the way he leaned away from me. 

"Aldred." He answered. He went quiet again. First, he looked at me, eyeing me up and down, before he looked back at the ocean. With every passing second, I could feel my heart accelerating in my throat. I had made a mistake. I should have chosen death.

"Where is your home, Willow?" He asked me. 

"I am not sure I have one." I answered truthfully. My home was about a thousand years into the future, though I could never tell him that.

"Neither do we." He said, finally looking me into my eyes. His eyes were a light blue shade, similar to the sky the day that I had died. The colour calmed me, the person scared me. "We could use another pair of hands, in return, I offer you safety from enemies."

"What enemies might those be?" I asked.

"Not everyone is welcoming to strangers." He just said. Aldred did not strike me as a man of many words, but the ones he said were enough. I was useless in my past life. A wasted life. This was the opportunity I was meant to take.