Free Everwinter: The Forerunner Archives by J. Rock

and turns his head slightly in our direction. Then he turns back after a time and continues on his way, never slowing his mount. We watch him until he's no more than a speck on the horizon.
    "Come on," Altair finally says, ushering us onto the road proper. It feels good to have solid, hard packed earth beneath my sandaled toes again. We start walking immediately.
    "Do you know who that was?" I ask Altair, trying to make my footsteps as light as possible. Altair's feet seem to make no sound at all.
    Altair looks back at me and nods. "He’s a tracker,” he says. “Likely in the employ of the Children of Mutanity. Only a tracker watches his horse's ears like that."
    I nod, eyes wide. "You almost gave us away, you know."
    Altair shakes his head. "He already knew we were nearby."
    I hear Traylor ga sp from behind me. "How?" he asks in astonishment.
    Altair shrugs, still movin g purposefully down the road. "The same way I knew he was." He says no more.
    "Um, that doesn't explain anything," I interject, but Altair remains silent. We continue on this way for a time, the mountains slowl y growing larger on the horizon like the bottom jaw of a saw-toothed fish. "How long 'til we reach the canyon?" I ask, simply trying to fill the void with idle talk.
    "Another day," Altair says, adding nothing more.
    "Ugh," I complain, but carry on nonetheless. "You know," I continue, "you cut me off earlier before answering my question."
    Altair sighs audibly in front of me. "What question?" he asks.  
    "Do you think Jude could have cut and run south before the Final Judgment? I only ask 'cause you see m to be in the know about a lot of stuff."
    "I don't know," Altair states simply, and I get the feeling that he is being honest.
    "I just wish I could've at least looked for him more before leaving Krakelyn. I feel like I've abandoned him, you know?" 
    I love you, Juno Quinn ...
    Jude's last words to me echo in my mind. 
    And I never said it back.
    At the time, I hadn't known what to say.
    Altair and Traylor say nothing.  
    The rest of the day's walk I spend in reflective silence. I'm sure Altair would have liked to do the same, but Traylor keeps him busy with incessant question asking. Stupid stuff, mostly. I get the feeling Altair doesn't mind though. He even smiles when Traylor makes a joke. It looks good on him, almost making up for the horrible, puss filled rash on his face. I helped put that rash there , I have to remind myself, the memory of the cursed Box on the beach flashing through my head.
    When it becomes clear to him that we're more than just a little fatigued, Altair calls a halt. It's the middle of the night, technically, but again, the sun doesn't ever set in Eversummer. He leads us off the road at a small, babbling brook, adamant that we walk directly through the water so as to not leave a trail as we go. By the time we reach a small copse of trees a few hundred feet inland, my feet are drenched. I hang up my sandals on a nearby bush and collapse into the small pile of leaves beneath it, falling asleep instantly.
    As I close my eyes, I see Altair standing watch at the edge of the copse, staring back toward the road.
    Doesn't that man ever sleep?
    I'm out before I can come up with an answer.
     
     

 
     
    10.
     
    Altair wakes us an interminable time later.
    "Wake up! Now!"
    I bolt upright like a stepped on rake, my heart hammering, a million terrible scenarios blasting through my mind at once. 
    Have the Children found us?
    Did something happen to Traylor?  
    "What's wrong?" I ask, breathless.
    Altair simply shrugs. "Nothing. It's time to go." A hint of a smile curls onto his lips.
    "Th at's not cool," I grumble, scowling when I see a similarly mischievous look on Traylor's already woken face. 
    Are these two conspiring against me now?
    We munch quickly on the very last of our rations, and Altair mentions something about hunting and foraging. 
    "Hunting's all on you," I say to him, "but foraging I can manage. I've worked