Tori's Misfits

Chapter five:

Carli’s POV

I calm myself and block out the girls as I sit waiting for my answers. I feel the wind pick up and the ground shaking, dust clouds can be seen heading towards us. I hear the gasps of my companions and open my eyes, seeing the fear in theirs.

“Do not be scared, there is no danger, just the answer to our call for help approaching.” Carli calmly states.

“What do you mean?” Jaccia asks in a low voice.

“Get ready to run and follow me,” I yell as I start running.

The girls look at each other and start running after me, catching up quickly. The shaking of the earth and thundering of hooves surround us, causing the dust to fly around us, making it hard to breathe and see. We continue running with the centaurs until the herd parts, allowing us to enter the tree line, and are quickly gone.

“Wow, did you tell them to do that?’ Tori pants with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.

“No, I asked Mother Nature the way and how to hide. She told me to run, and she would handle the rest.” I just listened.

Carli slowly starts walking with her head tilted to the side as if listening. She looks up and smiles, “Thank you Raven for showing us the way.”

The trees and brush are not as thick here, so we must disturb the forest floor as little as possible. Carli leads us with Jaccia following behind, dragging a long leafy branch along the ground to hide our trail.

“The town is just over the hill we are coming up to” states Carli, glancing up at the sky and waving to the raven.

Tori’s POV:

“Let’s stop at the top and look around and see if we can figure out where we are approaching the town.” Tori says, taking the lead again.

Jaccia groans and looks up at the rocky hillside. For just a second, doubt shows in her face, and then she squares her shoulders and nods. We begin a slow climb up the steep uneven terrain, careful not to slip and fall back down. Carli and I keep Jaccia in the middle in case she needs help. Being the youngest, we still don’t know what if any “special abilities” she has.

Reaching the top, we settle behind a big rock, and each takes a drink to help quench our thirst.

“Jace said the woodshed is behind the stables where the orphanage’s horse and wagon are kept while loading. I am going to try and see it from here.” I tell the girls, standing up and watching the town below.

After watching the people and buildings for a bit, I see the big black horse and wagon from the orphanage tied in front of an older log building. “There that is where we need to head, let's go,” I say.

JACE’S POV:

I am sitting in a tree watching as the town's kids run towards home, tired from their daily activities. Glancing up at the sky to use the sun's position to check how much time I have left; a raven catches my eye. I watch as he circles around, diving at the area, I’m to meet the girls. I hop out of the tree and head to the woodshed, watching the black bird fly overhead. When I get closer, I use my mind link and call out to the raven asking what he knows. He answers that three travelers are coming from the west looking for shelter. I sigh in relief, knowing they are safe, and thank him.

I stand leaning against the corner of the woodshed and watch the girls. Seeing them at the edge of the tree line, I open the door, and they quickly run across the small clearing and into the shed. Making sure to be silent, I pull the door shut and walk to the corner of the room, pulling a vial filled with blood-red liquid from my pocket. I kneel and place a drop into an exposed knothole on the floor. The girls watch wide-eyed as an opening appears with a rope ladder descending into darkness.

I help each to start down the ladder and follow once I am completely through the opening closes.

Tori’s Pov:

Reaching the bottom, I quickly realized that the air is damp with a cool and musty feeling. The darkness is encasing, and I place my hands out to make sure not to walk into something and follow Jace as he leads us into a passage leading to a narrowed tunnel.

We are walking single file, each holding the shirt of the one in front of us, scared to get separated. I notice the tunnel widening into a small opening much like a room with walls of dirt and rocks. Jace stops and walks to a pile of larger rocks and slides them to the side, exposing a large cave.

I walk further in and see that the walls have rough and smooth patches with areas of jagged pieces, almost simmering from the water running down them. There is a loud roaring sound, but before I can investigate, Jace comes to a sudden stop and turns towards us.

“I don’t have long, so listen carefully. The waterfall will hide your voices and movements, but you must always keep the tunnel covered. Keep the food and any items in the tunnel, this allows you to hide if someone enters the cave. I’m sorry but you can’t have a fire. I left some food and supplies. Making sure to ration it out, you can get water from the falls. I will be back in three weeks. Please be safe.”

“Wait, you aren’t staying?” Jaccia cries out.

“No, I must return for now, and watch over the little ones. This will also let me know when you can be moved. I will try to come sooner and bring more supplies.”

I then showed them how to hide proof of them being in the cave and to open and close the tunnel. I place the pack to the side of the tunnel and take off at a jog, heading back. I hear them closing the tunnel as I am climbing up the ladder to the shed. Before leaving the shed, I again place a drop from the vial into the knothole to hide the trapdoor.