Ghastly lifted the spoon to his lips, grateful for the warmth. There were chunks of a kind of meat and Ghastly let his stomach win over his mind's question. A man covered in fur, in his seventies, sat across from him, eating the same soup. When he spoke, his English was rough and broken.
"We found you tied, asleep," He said as Ghastly listened intently. He nodded for the man to go on. "We took you, untied and wrapped you in blanket. You were… uh… colour of sky?" He said.
"Blue?" Ghastly offered. The old man nodded vigorously.
"You will stay, be warmed, be feed, be sleep. Then you must leave. Before she find you." Ghastly's stomach fell.
"Before who finds me?" He asked, but the man shook his head.
"Shila and Nuka will take you." He said instead. The man's eyes lingered on Ghastly and he began to feel uncomfortable with the silence and stare. He raised an eyebrow in question.
"Are you magic man?" The old man asked. Ghastly inhaled, his head shooting up to look at him. He didn't know what to do… what would happen if he said yes? What would happen if they found out he was lying? Ghastly looked at the floor and said in a small voice
"Yes."
The old man smiled, smug with himself. "I knew it," He said, then continued to eat his soup in silence. Ghastly followed suit.
He was given a bundle of blankets, all made from fur that had been softened from use. He balled one up and used it as a makeshift pillow, then laid the other two on top of him. He had been given clothes to wear, his cotton jammies hardly suitable for the climate he found himself in. The man said they would set off at dawn, and travel down to the ocean where there would be a boat. Shila and Nuka would take him to another island where there would be a plane, from there he would go where ever he needed to. Back to Ireland. The journey would take three weeks, and Ghastly was all too aware of how much time was ticking, of how he had no way to know if the others were alive. He tried to shut off his mind, but another question lingered in his mind… Who was the she that man referred to so fearfully? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay still and turn off.
When dawn arrived, Ghastly was woken by a dog licking his face. He groaned, gently swatting the creature away, only for another one to crawl onto his stomach, another licking his leg. He opened his eyes and sat up, the beautiful husky falling onto his lap. There were six in the room, all white with black or brown or grey patches. He laughed as they mewled over each other, begging for his attention. He clasped them, wondering who let them in. The question was answer as two figures dressed head to toe in fur and leather stepped in, a boy and a girl. The girl was smiling, the boy looked bored. They both had tan skin and long black hair. The girl threw Ghastly a bundle of things, consisting of a bag filled with rations, water, a map and a compass, thick furry boots, and a leather jacket with fur trims. They were very well made.
"Thank you." He said as the dogs averted their attention to the two people, who Ghastly was presuming was Nuka and Shila. Once the last dog was off, he threw the covers off of himself and laced the boots on, grateful he was one of the rare people who wore socks to bed. He laced them up, then put the jacket on. It was too big, but he didn't mind. The dogs, Nuka and Shila were gone as he put the bag on his back. He walked out of the small room after folding the blankets. The man was outside, hold a bow, arrow and quiver. He wordlessly passed them over to Ghastly, then went into the next room.
"Thank you!" Ghastly said loudly, hoping the man heard him and understood him. He went outside and Nuka and Shila had just finished strapping the dogs to the sleigh.
"Whoa." Ghastly said. There were twelve dogs in total, and the sleigh was made of wood, the straps leather. Snow was falling, and was everywhere as far as they eye could see. It was beautiful, watching the sun rise so close.
"Come now, we must go." Said the boy.
"That's Nuka. He is kind but stern." Said Shila. Ghastly nodded his understanding. He stepped into the sleigh, on the end, Nuka taking the reigns and Shila holding tight to the bar in the front. Ghastly put the quiver of arrows on his back, the string crossing his chest. The bow followed. Nuka let out a loud cry and the dogs moved as one. It was a pretty fast pace, if Ghastly was honest and he found himself gripping the bar along with Shila. The snow moved, like knife through butter. The surroundings were breath taking, isolate and white. They passed very few people who would wave or shout in a language that Ghastly didn't know. As a whole, Nuka and Shila were very quiet travel companions, the complete opposite of the Dead Men.
At night they would stop and sleep, letting the dogs rest and eat. Then they were off again in the morning. A routine began very quickly, and the three strangers followed it easily and happily.
Until the 16th day. They were a day away from the ocean, nearly at the boat. They had taken a full day and night off for the dogs to rest a while back, and they could see the ocean from where they were.
And then she appeared. Out of nowhere, it seemed.
