"You sure about that?" Alec asks as I approach. Jace smiles at me and nods, and my gut prickles. Madame Dorethea snorts through her nose and glares at the boy.
"My elbow ain't never wrong," she announces, bushy eyebrows bristling. "It only aches when there is a storm coming. Considering it feels as though it's about to fall off, I'd say that there is a big one on the horizon."
The horizon is clear. The sky cloudless and a bright blue. I can see why Alec is sceptical, but Jace studies the sky as if he can see a storm approaching.
"Good," he murmurs, as a sudden gust of wind tosses his golden hair. "its been a few days since we crossed that stream. Water is running low- this will come at a good time."
"Are we going to stop?" I ask. Alec snorts.
"No," Jace replies, ignoring his friend. "Unless it becomes truly dangerous, Valentine will keep us moving through the storm. Walkers are harder to see in bad weather. You can't hear them coming till they're right up on you. It's not safe to stay put."
I remember another storm, a storm from a long time ago. I see myself huddled against the corner of an old room, my arms clutched around my chest and I was deathly cold. And so skinny that I looked as if I would snap in half. I shudder at the memory, now days I dislike thinking about the years I spent on my own.
"If the rain comes down at all," Alec put in, making Dorethea frown. "But I suppose death by lightening is better than death by walkers. At least I won't see it coming."
"Well, if anything, you can finally get a shower," Jace retorted. "No wonder we can't shoot anything- they can smell your stink coming a mile away."
Alec casually flips him the finger. Jace only laughs.
True to Madame Dorethea's predictions, dark clouds soon billow on the horizon, blocking out the sun, and the wind is picking up speed rapidly. Lightning flickers, eerie white strands snaking through the clouds, and thunder booms an answer.
It starts to rain, torrential sheets that whip at our faces and exposed skin, drenching everything. We press forward at a crawl, heads bowed and shoulders hunched against the wind. Huddling together for warmth, we struggle through the ground that has turned to swamp. I watch as Jace and Izzy pull Max from the worst parts of the mud, sometimes hefting him onto their backs when it gets too deep. Everyone was shivering, and max nearly hurt himself when he fell into a puddle that nearly swallowed her whole, but Valentine didn't even slow down.
The rain continues. A few hours before nightfall, a new sound begins to penetrate the constant hiss of falling water. A low roar, faint at first, but growing louder and stronger, until the ground slopes away, and we stand at the banks of a dark rushing river.
Valentine stands at the edge, arms crossed, lips pressed tight as he glares at the river in frustration. Turning, he motions to Jace, and I edge forward, listening to their voices over the roar of the water.
"Get the rope," Valentine orders, gesturing to Jaces pack.
"Sir?"
Valentine frowns and turns away, observing the river again. "get everyone ready to move. We're crossing now."
I edge closer. Jace hesitates, gazing at the water in concern. "you don't think that we should stop for the night?" he asks. "Wait for the water to go down a little? The current is probably to strong for the smaller ones." He glances at me when he says that and I can't help but feel offended because surely I have shown that I am not a liability?
"Then have someone help them." Valentines voice is ruthlessly calm. "We need to be on the other side tonight." I catch his eye when he says this and almost think I can see a glint of fear in those dark holes.
"Sir-"
"Jonathon," Valentine interrupts, turning to stare at him, his face plastered with barely concealed fury. "Do not make me repeat myself." Jace holds his gaze for a moment, and then looks away.
"Make sure everyone is ready soon," Valentine says in a perfectly civil tone that makes me want to punch him in the jaw. "Once we're on the other side of the river, we can rest. But I want us safely across before we relax."
Jace nods reluctantly. "Yes, sir".
He backs away, shrugging of his pack, as Valentine turns and stares out over the water again. His gaze lingers on something I couldn't see, something down by the water's edge, and his thin mouth tightens.
I wait until he walks away until I got to stand where he was, searching for what it was he was looking at. The water rushes by at breaknech speed, dark and angry. I wonder what Valentine is thinking; is he really that stubborn and heartless to push on through that? Especially when there are kids in the group?
Lightening flickers, and the glare reflects the sudden gleam of dead white eyes. Jerking round, I gaze downstream, my hand flying to the handle of my sword. What I thought was a boulder; I can now see to be one of those massive horned creatures that roam the plains in huge herds. This one, bloated and obviously dead, has been lying on its side facing me, but its intestines are pulled out and lie around it in a heap of gore, and its legs are non-existent apart from the odd piece of bone. The wind shifts, and I catch a whiff of the unmistakable stench of death and wrongness that generally haunts walkers.
My gut twists, and I hurry over to help Jordan and Jace, unknotting ropes. So valentine isn't an evil bastard after all. Good to know. Though I wonder why he hasn't told Jace that there could be walkers in the area; surely that would be a good thing for the second in command to know. Maybe he just doesn't want to spread panic and to the rest of the group. Or maybe the prickly bastard just doesn't like to explain his orders to anybody. But at least his reasoning to get to the other side is legit and not simply suicidal.
"Walkers can't travel through deep or fast- moving water," Simon says, taking my hand as he leads me through the deep blue lake. "I don't really know why- they can't drown. Maybe they just don't understand why the ground won't hold them up anymore. Or maybe it's simpler than that- maybe no one ever taught them to swim." he chuckles warmly, and I watch as his chest rises up and down, up and down.
I let Simon lead me through the water, away from the cries of the dead, trusting him with everything in me. He is everything I have I think and smile, holding on tighter to his hand.
I watch Jace, carrying the rope, stride through the mud to a thick tree near the riverbank, and hurry over.
"How are we getting across?" I ask Jace, who is busy winding one end of the rope around the trunk before knotting it tight. His hands skim over his work gracefully, checking his work. Then he looks up and nods his head at me a little, the right corner of his mouth rising in a hint of a smile.
"We hang on for dear life."
"How?" I ask, glancing at the trunk. "The rope is on this side of the river. It won't help us unless it's on the other side of the bank."
"Exactly." Jace winks at me and ties the other end of the rope around his waist. I stare at him, alarmed, and he grins maniacally. "At least I'm already wet this time."
I look at the foaming, rushing water and shake my head. "Isn't that a little⦠dangerous".
"Exactly." Jace looks up, meeting my eyes. "Jordan and Maia can't swim, and I won't ask Alec, Izzy or any of them take the risk. It has to be me."
Before I can answer, he strips off his boots and jacket, placing them neatly at the top of the bank. Then, with everyone watching, he slips down the bank, sliding a bit in the mud, and steps into the river. A brief pause as he gazes up and down the bank, surveying the current, then plunges into the foaming waters.
The undertow catches him immediately and he begins to swim doggedly for the far shore. I watch his golden head, bobbing along the surface, sometimes getting pulled down. Each time he vanishes I bite my cheek and clench my fists until his head breaks the surface once more. He is quite a strong swimmer; I watch his arms as they plough through the water, the muscles in his back visible through his sodden t-shirt. It is several tense, breathless moments before he emerges, dripping and panting, on the other side. As the rest of the cheer, Jace stumbles over to a tree, ties a rope around the trunk, and then sinks down heavily in the mud, apparently exhausted.
He does, however, jump up and help as soon as the rest of the group start over, standing at the water's edge to help those who make it across. I hang back, watching, as Maia crosses first, her face white as she enters the rough waves. After she makes it safely across, Dorethea and Samuel make their slow, painstaking way across, inching forward, their wrinkled fingers gripping on for all their worth.
Then Izzy turns to me.
"Your turn Clary," she says, holding out a hand. I look over to where the three kids, Max, Livvy and Ty, stand on the bank, huddled together in the rain.
"What about them?"
"Jace will be back over to help," Izabelle replies. "He'll take Max across, I'll take Ty and Alec will take Livvy. Don't worry; it's not like this our first crossing. Alec will be right behind you." She smiles again and motions me forward. "Of course, if you need help, I'm sure we can get someone to piggyback you across."
"No thanks." I take her hand and make my way down to the rope. "I think I can handle it myself."
The water shocks me. Not the temperature- the freezing cold rain had already numbed- but the strength of the undertow as it tried sucking me down was impressive. If it wasn't for my strong swimming ability, I might be a lot more panicked right now.
"Whoa whoa, take it easy, don't stress." Simon says, taking both my arms out in front of me and pulling me along. "Just kick and I'll hold on to you, I won't let you go I promise. You'll be swimming like a fish in no time!" I giggled, swallowing pond water in the process.
The water isn't very deep- only coming up to my chest and im short, but the current fights me every step. Somewhere behind me, Alec shouts to keep going, his voice nearly lost over the roar. I look back. Shy little Livvy clings to his back with her arms around his neck, eyes squeezed tightly shut.
As I turn to look at them, something big comes hurtling towards us over the water- a broken tree trunk, bouncing on the waves. I shout to Alec, but the tree is moving too fast, and my warning comes too late. The tree trunk slams into him, tearing him away from the rope, and he vanishes into the waves. Livvy screams once before she is pulled under and lost from sight.
Authors note: sorry for the cliff-hanger guys, stay tuned for the next chapter. Lol i sound annoying. Okay thanks for everything i love you all you're awesome (lol im also putting you in suspense about Simon. Are you not entertained?). Sorry about me im just running off of a hell load of caffeine and 3 hours sleep. i will update next Sunday :)
