Cataclysm

Chapter 2

As Pan disappeared into the blades of grass, she felt a small thilkin climb up her leg. She slowed and scooped it up in her hands. It was small, smaller than a mouse, and its fur was softer. It rubbed it’s face and ears quickly, then ran across her leg and leapt back into the grass. At least animals liked her, even if people didn’t.

She laid down and looked up at the sky. She stretched out her arms and legs and slowed her breathing. She could feel the earth growing around her. She felt the slow, quiet hum of earthworms crawling through the soil, and the soft whisper of grass and leaves bending in the wind. It was a rich warmth.

The thilkin came crawling back over the top of her. She glanced at it, but this time, something caught her eye. It was faint, and very very thin. There was a sliver of a gold line, like a fragile piece of string, stretching from the creature’s chest and across the field to a place Pan couldn’t see.

She sat up, squinting, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. The creature jumped away and the gold line disappeared.

As she followed the creature with her eyes, looking for more of the gold line, she saw Candrin running toward her.

Candrin. The only one who ever talked to her besides Edgar. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. He came in quiet friendship, often just sitting and listening to the world with her. They didn’t talk much, they didn’t need to. There was a quiet understanding between them.

She thought about the first time they’d kissed. They’d just been sitting, not far from where she was now, looking out across the meadow, their backs to the village and Forest. They were breathing slowly, quietly, listening to the birds and the chittering of small, furry animals running around near their feet. Without looking, he’d reached out and held her hand. He didn’t need to say anything, the hallmark of their relationship was often in the unspoken moments. She knew. She loved him, too.

She turned toward him, hesitated briefly, then leaned up to kiss him, tasting the warm sweat on his lips and smiling with her lips pressed into his. Then leaned back against his shoulder, taking in a deep breath. They sat in silence a little longer before heading home.

Sometimes she would walk down to the fields where his family kept sheep. He often volunteered to herd them; they were quiet and unobtrusive, like him. They enjoyed his company, as he quietly walked beside them. She would quietly step in sync with him and they’d walk the fields all day talking, or not.

His hands were rough, calloused, and he’d smile when she held them.

At night, they’d lay together, touching each other. Her hands running across his arms, his stomach, his legs. His hands cupping her breasts, running along her thighs. He knew her intimately, intuitively.

He came over now, rushed, panting. There was a worried look in his face.

Pan stood. “What is it?” she asked.

Candrin heaved, catching his breath. “Niko went into Forest. He—he was following something. It was bright and blue, but behind, it was like the Vanishing Mist.” He swallowed and took another breath. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it. I tried to call to him to get him to come back. Then I followed him, but he went around a bend and I lost him. Where’s Edgar?”

His voice was panicked. Pan had never seen him like this, but Niko was his sister’s only child and she had lost three babies before him to different illnesses. Candrin was always so quiet and gentle, slow to speak, thoughtful. He lived inside himself and just took in the world around him calmly. It was easy to be around him, easy to love him.

“He went to see Mr. Bishop with a poultice.”

Candrin clenched his fist and swore. “That’s four and a half miles away. He’ll never get there in time.”

“Did you see him go into Forest?” Pan asked.

Candrin shook his head. “But he was going in that direction and that—that thing. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Candrin put his hands on his head and ran them through his curled, sweaty hair. “I have to do something. I can’t let Renna lose another one.”

Pan reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I can do it. I can find him.” Edgar had found her in Forest, after all. Why couldn’t she go in? She turned toward Forest.

Candrin reached out and took her hand. “Not by yourself.”

Pan reached out and touched Candrin’s face. “I can’t go with you. I would be lost if something happened to you. Please, stay here.”

“Pan—”

“Edgar found me in there. I’ll be fine.” She turned and ran toward Forest before Candrin could say anything else.