Ever Shade by Alexia Purdy

Author:Alexia Purdy [Purdy, Alexia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
Published: 2012-02-26T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

They headed up around the base of one of the mountains, which were the top of the caverns they had called home for a few days. The trail winded around lazily, through a canyon, made from a dry dead river. The path was packed with flakey clay, and crunched underfoot. There were also rocks that were smoothed by centuries of water, and littered the ground in different sizes. There were signs of drought as they walked along the bed of the river and spied dead bushes and wilted desert sage. In the air was the occasional scent of sage bushes and wildflowers; but there was also a slight odor of old rot mixed in with the sand.

The sand got into everything, it clung to her pants and shoes and gritted against her skin inside her sneakers and socks. She had to stop and empty the dust and gravel out of her shoes quite often, while sitting on the smooth boulders that jumped into their way throughout the path. The advantage of the canyon was that there were a lot of shady areas blocking off the blaring sun and the heat that built with day wearing on. The occasional desert lizard or jackrabbit darted across their paths. They shimmied their bodies into the cracks of earth beneath the stones or bushes. How anything could survive out here for any period of time was mind-boggling. Water was scarce and Shade was giving thanks, she was grateful she had some to enjoy.

The group stopped for a rest under a large overhang of striped red, white, and orange stone. It hovered over them like a massive giant, threatening to fall at any moment. Ewan assured her it would not fall, that it was well anchored in the ground and was more under the ground than above. Shade sat at the edge of its shadow; she wanted to be ready in case she had to bolt and avoid being crushed alive. She opened her pack and pulled out her canteen. She drank quickly, the cool water felt refreshing as it tumbled down her throat. She would have to thank Jack for her canteen, and she was amazed that it refilled itself with the magical water.

She also pulled out a bag of rations and started munching on the nuts, dried jerky meat and flat bread included in the bag. She immediately felt more alert and not so tired. She glanced around them and noticed how the desert seemed to be blending into a more grassy and bushy area. Off in the distance she noticed greenery weaving itself into the barren desert. It grew thicker and thicker the farther away from them. Great pines and coniferous trees shone small but bright in color, speckling the mountainsides. She wondered if they would be heading into that forest before nightfall.

Dylan parked himself at the edge of the shadows too, but not too close to be considered sitting with her. He had his head down and was also stuffing bits of food into his mouth.

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