The Alkonost's Egg: Varangian Descendants Book III by K. Panikian

Author:K. Panikian [Panikian, K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

At the top of the grassy slope, we surveyed our belongings. Cato started pulling food out of the grocery store bags, making piles. When he finished, he pointed to which ones he wanted each of us to carry. I noticed that Julian got the biggest pile and turned questioning eyes to him. Was he okay with that much extra weight in his backpack? Smiling, Julian made a muscle pose for me and I remembered he had super strength.

Laughing, Astrid patted his bulging bicep. “Put it away, sweetie.”

I slipped my portion of the apples, peanut butter, and beef jerky into my own backpack and then hefted it onto my shoulders, staggering a little.

Julian and Bard split the two duffel bags of weapons between them and Cato crumpled all of the leftover paper bags into a small brown pile. “We can burn it tonight,” he said to me with a wink and I got excited.

I was looking forward to camping out; it wasn’t something my family ever did when I was a child, since we were always on the water. And it was hard, though not impossible, to camp in Florida. The mosquitoes would eat you alive if you weren’t careful.

We had three different tents between the five of us, and everyone had their own sleeping bag too.

I wondered how long it would take to find the citadel. It lay near the Earth city of Chelyabinsk, almost 1,500 miles away, according to the map Bard now carried in his pack. If we hiked for ten hours a day, every day, it would take us over a month and a half to get there. Plus, we probably wouldn’t make it ten hours a day, if we hunted and gathered as we walked.

Sighing at the daunting prospect, I fell in beside Astrid in the middle of the group. Bard led the way and Julian walked in the rear. I said, “I feel like Lewis and Clark, or Kit Carson.”

Julian chimed from the back, “Neil Armstrong.”

I laughed. “Nice one.”

At Astrid’s questioning look, I explained, “Like an explorer, going where no person has gone before.”

She nodded, “Yes, I see. It’s an adventure.” Then she cautioned, “Just be sure you don’t explore away from the group. We’re on Terra Novum now and there are demons here that would love to gobble you up.”

I swallowed hard. “Yes, good reminder,” I whispered, looking nervously at the grassy landscape that surrounded us.

Astrid smiled at me. “It’ll be okay. We’re all experienced at this. We’ll teach you.”

I grinned back at her gratefully. “Can you tell me more about the journey you took in Alaska? Did you really cross a land bridge?”

“Oh yes,” Astrid answered. She told me the story of the Iliamna Lake monster and the trip through the portal into the marsh, then their long trek across the steppe to the mountains to find the dragon. She described fording rivers, camping in the forest, and hunting, fishing, and foraging for their food.

I listened closely as we walked, trying to pick up any tips to apply to our own long journey.

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