Patrick Carman - Atherton 01 by The House of Power

Author:The House of Power
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-11-27T15:24:47+00:00

CHAPTER18THE SOUND OF

BREAKING BONES

The sun had moved off to the other side of Atherton, casting a cold shadow over the cliff, where Edgar sat gazing down at the Flatlands. The rocks were darker and smoother here, with long winding curves that were nearly impossible to grab. With his great agility and climbing skills, Edgar was able to slide through the seams of these enormous formations and move quickly.

But there was a problem he’d realized early on as he made his way down. It would be impossible —even for him —to climb back up again. Every inch he moved down was an inch to which he could never return, and he began to understand that the mysterious wasteland below would soon be his new home.

There would be no escaping it once he arrived. It was a thought that haunted him in his descent to shadowy and unknown places.

He would miss the grove and the Village of Rabbits, but not as much as the people he’d come to know —Isabel, Samuel, Briney, and Maude. Edgar hadn’t thought it would be so hard to leave them, and he wondered if making friends had been a mistake after all.

Edgar was just coming to a ledge where he could rest when he shifted in a way that crushed the cooked rabbit in his pocket for what seemed like the hundredth time. He was trying to save the food for when he really needed it, but it was becoming wet and greasy against his skin, and the smell was starting to make him hungry. After carefully situating himself —legs dangling out over the edge —he pulled the roasted rabbit out of his shirt pocket.

“Better to put this in my stomach where it can be of some use,”

Edgar said out loud. He ate the three remaining legs first and flicked each of the bones into the open air as he gnawed them clean of every last bit of meat. He couldn’t help leaning forward and watching as the bones slowly disappeared, well before they hit the Flatlands.

“I hope I’m not dropping these on someone’s head.” He chuckled to himself, but suddenly realized he didn’t know who or what threat might be below him. He strained to see people moving or smoke rising from below, but there was nothing —only a barren swath of rocky ground beneath him. After that he stopped throwing the bones, placing the rest in a small crack in the rocks.

His hand was beginning to feel better. By now all of the blisters had burst and scabs were forming, and he could see out of his eye without forcing it open. Looking up, he was once again reminded of the almost immeasurable distance down to the Flatlands. He estimated that he’d come only about a third of the way in the same amount of time it had taken him to make a complete trip down from the Highlands, even with the speed of his descent.

Edgar was an impulsive boy of unusual determination, and he

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