Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker

Author:A. Deborah Baker [Baker, A. Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780765399267
Google: IFDEDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 076539927X
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2020-10-05T23:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

IN THE HOLE

They fell quickly through what felt like a layer of mist or fog, something cool and clammy that chilled the skin and saturated the clothing, leaving all of them damp and somewhat bedraggled. Avery screamed. Zib shrieked, which is not the same thing at all. The Crow Girl laughed and laughed, a sound that was suspiciously like the cawing of a flock of birds, and kept hold of Avery, who might well have found his way to a bad end if permitted to fall without someone holding on to him.

They were in a tunnel, that much was plain, for their fall brought them periodically into contact with one wall or another, bouncing back and forth like balls in a machine. Finally, their backs settled into a groove that seemed to have been carved for that very purpose, for it was smooth and polished, like a playground slide made of ice or chilled granite. Zib’s hair grabbed at the stone, in its usual, uncivilized manner, until several strands were pulled out and left behind, and the rest of her hair retreated to the safer tangles near her head. Avery howled, slapping the Crow Girl several times in his panic, so that she lost her grip on him and fell away. Almost immediately, Zib’s hand found his in the darkness, and they held each other tightly, not letting go.

Down and down and down they fell, until the air thickened into fog around them once more and their fall became a plummet, the slide vanishing from beneath their bodies, replaced by nothing but empty air. The Crow Girl gasped and burst into birds. Zib’s shrieks of delight became a howl of fear. Avery screamed harder.

Two children struck the surface of the freezing water, hard enough to force their bodies some distance below the surface, into the depths. The crows circled above it, cawing panic, even as the fog began to clear, revealing the snowcapped peaks of jagged mountains that jutted from the earth like the claws of some forgotten beast.

A girl stood on the shore, looking at the water with solemn eyes. The crows landed all around her, cawing frantically.

“Well, yes, I can,” said the girl. “But if I do, it will certainly attract attention, and I’ll need you to go and see what comes on the mountain roads. Can you do that?”

The crows cawed assent and rose into the air, dispersing in all directions, until it was as if they had never been there at all. The girl watched them go for a moment. Then she walked into the water, never flinching at the chill. She did not swim; the water offered no resistance. She simply strolled, like the improbable road was somehow rising up to meet her.

Avery and Zib, having crashed together and grabbed hold as they fell, were still holding tight to one another’s hands. This made it difficult for them to swim, and both of them knew, without being able to say anything about it, that they would have been better off letting go.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.