Free The New Guard (Crossroads Book 1) by Matthew M. Johns Page A

his comfort.
    “All that
was, is gone. Those things are behind us now, only found in the memories of our
past. We have to. . .”
    David did
not get to finish as Ruth ran crying from the hallway. He took a step forward,
but Esther’s soft hand upon his chest stopped him. She silently shook her head,
shedding some of the tears slowly rolling down her face. Then, still mute, she
followed after her sister.
    “Dad,
I’ll be the first to say I don’t mind leaving school and most things behind,
but home. . .” Silas was trying to sound nonchalant, though some emotion was
slipping into his voice.
    David
simply shook his head. “We left behind a house and personal belongings, not
home. Look around you; think. You all spent more time in those woods than in
the house. Your home is with each other. As long as we have one another, we
have home. This is why it is important now, more than ever, that we put aside
our disagreements and work together.”
    Silas
held David’s gaze. Then from off to the side Eve asked, “What about when we’ve
done what needs to be done here; can we go back then?”
    “Please,”
David implored. “Understand this one fact; we will never be going back to
Earth. The truth is that whatever we’ve been brought here to do, it will be
permanent. I wish I could say that once we were done, we could go back, but I
can’t.”
    With a
quick glance at the sword still hanging on David’s belt, both Eve and Nic stalked
off. Silas, however, still had a longing in his eyes. David sighed yet again.
“We need to get some rest. We have to get moving at first light. I’m sorry I
couldn’t better prepare you all for being here. Get some rest and perhaps
things will look different to you tomorrow.”
    Doubtful
of David’s words, the rest of the Koen children found beds. With varying
degrees of success, they all tried to calm their minds and make peace with
their situation. However, it would be a long time before any of them truly was
able to cope with all that they faced in this new world. The coming day would
indeed change their perspective, but it would not alleviate their fears, their
longings, or the disappointment of unrealized dreams.
    David
paced the halls alone and did not seek a bed for himself until most of them
were already asleep. He prayed ceaselessly for each of his children and his
missing wife. He asked God passionately for a quick reunion. All the while, he
tried to suppress his understanding of why his family had been called to the
Crossroads.

Chapter
6
    Caliban
woke when the last rays of the sun disappeared out of the sky. The other Dark
Riders rose likewise. They all went to see to their horses, knowing the hounds
would only venture out of their lair when full darkness was assured.
    Caliban
stood watching the progress of the other Riders and the darkness. He wore his
cloak, though his hood was down. Even so, his dark skin and the black clothes
he wore helped him to blend in with the twilight. Barely visible in the waning
light, his hairless head and face showed signs of burns, mostly around the back
of his head and up his right side. He was plainly missing part of his right
ear. The top half was shriveled by the burn pattern; however, the lower section
missing all together, clearly cut off as it matched up with a scar that
extended from that spot to just below his right eye. Several other smaller
scars mapped his bald head and the left side of his face. As he put together
the rest of his plan for what was to happen next, he traced intersecting scars
on his chin.
    Once the
horses were fed and watered, Caliban began organizing his band. “I am
determined to find out what went wrong and why our backup never came through to
help us with the children. These new twelve are also in the Way World, and this
is not acceptable to the plan of the Void. We will break up into three teams.”
    Caliban
turned to a rail thin Void Rider covered in a tattered cloak. The Rider’s face
was a map of deep gouges