Vanish (ONC Finalist)

15. The Outcrop

Aled stopped short at the edge of the granite outcrop, Marius hard on his heels.

"This is the place," said Aled. "I came out in the middle somewhere." He kept walking, but slowly, looking all around him as he went, searching for the portal. Marius followed, careful to stay behind and out of his way.

"What did it look like?" he asked suddenly, as if he was finally starting to believe Aled.

"Like a large black spot. I couldn't tell it was a hole until I put my hand inside and it disappeared up to the wrist." He thought he heard Marius gulp and smiled faintly.

Aled found his own footprints, where he had emerged into this world but there was no sign of the portal. He kept looking, searching around every boulder and into crevice, but there was no patch of inky black. After watching Aled search for ten minutes, Marius took the opportunity to clamber up to the highest point of the outcrop and scan their surroundings, searching for landmarks to work out where they were. Growing up at Skyber Hold far to the east, he was unfamiliar with the landscape around Angarth.

"Can you tell where we are?" Aled called up.

"Not yet," growled Marius, frustrated. Now he had his vision again, he wanted to get back to Angarth as soon as possible.

Aled scrambled up beside him and handed him a pair of binoculars. "Try these," he said. "They will make everything seem closer."

Marius stared at the binoculars in bewilderment and Aled took them back. He put them to his own eyes, made a quick adjustment and handed them back to Marius. "Look at the landscape again through these."

Marius spun slowly around in a circle, the binoculars glued to his face, marvelling at how near everything seemed, how clear. He stopped. "There! To the north and slightly east. I think I can see a glimpse of white. It must be the top of Angarth castle."

He handed the glasses to Aled. "Can you see it?"

Aled searched for a minute until he found the flash of white. He couldn't tell if was the top of a castle or not, but it certainly looked like a man-made structure.

"How far away is it, do you think?"

"If there was a road... maybe two or three days brisk march? It's hard to tell. But fighting our way through scrub..." Marius let his voice trail away.

"What are your plans?" asked Aled. "Are you going to go back and find Dax, and what will you do when you find him?"

Marius looked worried but determined. "I haven't decided exactly yet, but I can't let him get away with what he did." He rolled his shoulders. "I don't know how long I was underground. What day is it now?"

Aled shrugged. "Sorry, I can't help you with that one. It was Thursday when I left Earth."

Marius pulled a face. "'Thursday'? You're right, that doesn't help. Another difference between us. It was Mercday when Dax and I... fell out... That was ten days before the wedding date on Solisday." He grimaced. "I have to get back to Angarth before the wedding and stop it if I can. Once Dax is High Lord, he will be beyond my reach."

"Beyond your reach? Are there no laws here? No rules?" protested Aled. "He tried to kill you. He should be charged with attempted murder!"

"Of course we have rules, but they don't all apply to the High Lord. He has a different set entirely, mainly concerning succession and inheritance. Are you telling me you have the same rules for everyone on your world?" Marius raised his eyebrows.

Aled was going to say "yes, of course" before he caught himself. "Well we are supposed to," he said wryly. "But some people manage to evade them."

"Perhaps our worlds are not so different after all," said Marius with a faint smile. The smile faded as he looked searchingly at Aled. "What will you do now, Aled? Do you intend to stay here and wait for your portal? Or will you come with me to Angarth?"

The smile blossomed suddenly into a wide grin as he thought of the possible consequences. "And wouldn't that set the fox amongst the ducks! If only you could grow your hair, no-one would know which of you was the real Dax, at least until you opened your mouth."

Aled gave a token smile, but his mind was busy elsewhere.

"'What are you going to do?'"

He was hesitating, feeling torn. Did he actually have a choice? Surely the only real option was to wait here until the portal reappeared. As interesting as this place was, he couldn't stay here, he had to get home. Though he had no idea how long he would have to wait for that to happen. What if it was weeks or months?

True, he knew where he could find water now easily enough, but his food rations would not last long and he didn't know enough about this world to know what was edible and what wasn't. He could end up stuck here alone and starving to death.

Perhaps the more sensible choice after all, would be to go with Marius. He could always come back here later to check on the portal. Couldn't he?

He bit his lip.

Marius looked away politely, giving him time to consider the options. "You know," he said idly, "I'm half tempted to go back underground and try and retrace my steps to Angarth through the caves and tunnels. After all, I've done it once, there must be a way through."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. At least you'd be certain of a water source. The country around here looks dry and there's no sign of a river."

Marius gave Aled a strange look. "Still no food though, and no light to see by, once I got past that cave. I'm not sure I want to go back down and have to feel my way in the dark again."

It took a second for his words to register with Aled. "No food? You mean you haven't eaten for several days? Why on earth didn't you say something?" he queried, pulling out a packet from his utility belt with "Meal, Ready to Eat," printed on the front.

"It's Beef Casserole, I hope you're not vegetarian," said Aled, tearing open the packet. "I could heat it up for you if you want to wait a bit, but it's not too bad to eat cold."

He offered the packet and spoon to Marius who was standing with his mouth hanging open, staring. "This is real food?" he asked.

"I hope so," answered Aled, suddenly wondering if in fact it would be safe for Marius to eat, given the issue that they were from different worlds. "I guess we won't know until you try, but it's quite safe for humans on my world. Start with one spoonful and see how you feel."

Marius poked the tip of the spoon into the contents and sniffed it. "Smells like murse meat stew," he said. He licked the end of the spoon cautiously and swallowed. "Not bad! A bit strange but...hmm," an odd look crossed his face and the next moment he was bent over, retching. Not that there was anything much in his stomach except for water to bring up.

Distressed, Aled took the packet from him quickly. "I'm sorry," he said. "It doesn't look as if this is going to work out, though maybe the meat is too rich for you on a half-starved stomach. There are some plain crackers here, would you like to try one of them?"

Gamely, Marius stretched one hand out for a cracker and nibbled a corner. This time, the food stayed down. Aled smiled. "Well that's something. You have the rest and I'll finish off the beef now it's open."

It wasn't too hard for Aled to see that Marius would have a much better chance of navigating the underground cave system if he, Aled, went with him. Apart from his personal collection of food packages, rope and other useful equipment, two men could travel faster than one, able to give one another a helping hand with the physical obstacles on their journey.

He cast one final look around but could see no sign that the portal was about to reappear.

"I'll come with you, Marius, if you'll have me. Just let me take a reading of our target goal," he added, taking out his military issue compass. "That will help us make sure we're heading in the right direction when we're underground."

Marius was staring wide-eyed. "You really are from another world, aren't you, Aled? All these wonderful tools... your Earth must be a marvellous place."

Aled grimaced. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? But too often we use them to kill each other, instead of helping. It seems there's always a war somewhere or other. One country, race, or religion trying to annihilate another."

Marius was silent.