GODS OF TIME by DG SIDNA

Author:DG SIDNA [SIDNA, DG]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: debut, Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, novel
Published: 2021-06-10T22:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

The following morning a greyness takes to the skies and it doesn't let go. A light drizzle sets in, making our trek all the more unpleasant. We pass through canyons and dried river beds, occasionally forced to skirt around large boulders that have fallen from their perches ages ago.

By midday we reach a sweeping valley nestled between two tracts of mountains. The valley floor is flat like a meadow and not without its beauty; I could almost imagine a small moon like a bowling ball having rolled across the mountains eons ago, creating this wide and open place. I'm happy to see something, anything, other than more narrow ravines and outcroppings of rock.

"The Valley of Flowers," Hagen tells us.

Dinah lights up. "Really? Everyone talks about them, but I've never seen the flowers before!"

As we enter the valley, I see no flowers, only leafy balls, not unlike heads of lettuce. They're everywhere, each spaced a foot or two from their neighbor. They fill the length and breadth of the valley.

"We have to cross to the other side," Hagen says. "From there it's only a short hike through those hills opposite, and then we're at the foot of the swamp."

I'm pleased to hear our journey is almost complete.

We're halfway across the valley when the horizon to our north flashes brightly. Strangely colored lightning jumps and bounds between the clouds, never touching the earth. The clouds darken, bringing with them crashes of thunder. A storm is barreling toward us with astonishing speed. Already the wind is picking up as the hairs on my arm rise.

"We need to hurry," Hagen tells us stoically.

We push on as quickly as we can, knowing that we're exposed, hoping to reach the cover of the foothills ahead, but they're half a mile away. We don't make it. Those ominous clouds roll overhead and blot out the sun, turning the world to night. They bring with them such heavy rains that I can barely see Careena a foot or two ahead of me.

We don't stop; we march on, hunching our shoulders in a vain attempt to protect ourselves from the heavy droplets that beat on our backs like stones. With each bolt of lighting hurled from one cloud to the next, the world is lit up in reds and purples and yellows. It's a thunderous battle being waged by warring gods in the heavens. I can't say that it doesn't fill some part of me with awe.

Despite the danger, I feel so very alive in this moment. Perhaps I should feel insignificant in the face of nature's raw power as she tries to pound us out of existence—but the harsh rain beating on my face, the claps of thunder sending shudders down my spine, my legs fighting against the mud trying to foil our escape, I love every second of it. To test my mettle, to brush up against my limits, to know who I am and what I can accomplish—I was born for this.

Dinah slips in the mud and I help her up.

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