[2014] Wildwood Shadows by Scott McElhaney

Author:Scott McElhaney [McElhaney, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Goodreads: 22372232
Publisher: Superluminal
Published: 2014-05-25T06:00:00+00:00

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Our lunch would consist of wild turnips which we washed off in a creek. We supplemented our meal with a side of ripe blackberries. I’d never eaten a turnip before, or if I had, I was sure it had never been a raw one, so I watched her to see how it was done. She held it by the greens and bit into it like an apple. It seemed easy enough and to my surprise, it was rather tasteless. It reminded me a little of eating a raw potato.

We sat next to the blackberry bush while we ate, gorging ourselves on the sweet berries. If the berries hadn’t been so tender, I would have requested we take some with us as we continued onward.

“How much further until we reach these cliffs?” I asked.

“We’re actually pretty close,” she said, “But we’re on the opposite side of where we need to be to find the White Papa.”

We finished up our lunch and then continued on our trek through the woods. I was already getting pretty exhausted by the time we found ourselves near the top of a steep cliff. Far beneath us at the bottom of the rocky gorge was a river that had probably carved its way through the bedrock over the course of a million years. We had quite a breathtaking view that wasn’t for the faint of heart.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked as we both towered over this untamed world.

“Definitely,” I replied, “But how do we get across?”

“We’ve got to go down to the river,” she replied, pointing off to my left, “There’s actually a deer path over there that leads to a spot where we can climb down.”

I started in that direction and then was halted by a hand clamped on my wrist. I turned to see a reprimand perched on her tongue.

“I told you that this was a haunt for wolves and snakes. Let me take the lead so I can keep an eye out,” she said, “Nevertheless, keep your eyes on the ground as well.”

I stepped aside and allowed her to take the lead again. She slipped past me and just a few minutes later, we were walking down a steep path that led us downward along the cliff face. The path stopped suddenly at an area where a trickling creek had cut through the rocky cliffs and headed down toward the river.

I mimicked her actions by leaping the small creek and crawling up the angled boulder on the other side. We were still probably fifty feet above the river, but at least now we faced a series of boulders and fallen trees the led downward at a more reasonable angle. She lay down on her belly and slid down the side of the boulder feet first. I did the same, wondering for a moment how we would climb back up on the return journey.

“Shouldn’t White Owl have caught up to us by now?” I asked.

“He’s probably not coming,” she said, “Knowing him, he would have never approved of this journey anyway.

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