Genesis : Knights of Salvation Series

We climb onto our horses our equipment already secured to our horses. I look around to see what looks like most of the town crowding around us whispering and gossiping about why we are here and where we are heading too. I doubt Greta has told anyone about our mission or why, I would guess most of them assume we are checking up on all the Outposts to make sure they’re still alive.

We aren’t at the front gate like before but at the other end of the outpost. The gate faces towards the two large boulder walls that funnel into what they call the Devil’s Fork Valley. I honestly don’t want to think about why it has the word death in its name. The large mountain of boulders is all an earth red, some the same as the small cliff we passed yesterday. Enyo said that the valley is dangerous because of falling rocks and I try to believe him even though I’m aware he’s probably lying.

The clicking of ten large locks on the gate door begins to click as one latch after another pulls back. Finally the last lock clicks. A good amount of the crowd fall’s further back just in case the gates open to something dangerous. Unlike yesterday we aren’t in any order but all bunched up into a crowd with Enyo in front as always. Before the gate opens I feel a hand on my leg pulling my attention to Greta her eyes focused on me.

“Yes?” I ask confused, we had already said goodbye on the way here. I lean down as she stands on her toes whispering in my ear.

“Be a careful child. Two things you must remember, first, is that this is a tremendous weight for you to bare... it’s okay to be afraid and to share it with them, they are strong. The second is most important..” She pauses looking around for anyone listening. Setting me even more on the edge than before.

“Second is that you must remember that there are much more danger’s in this world than the forsaken, especially in the walls. Only trust the team.” She warns her voice sharp and quick. Like a bucket of cold water hit me a chill falls down my spine.

Before I can ask her what she was talking about the gate opens and Enyo starts trotting out of the gate. I follow looking back quickly her eyes burning into mine. I don’t know why she would say that but something about it made sense. I don’t want to believe her or her words but something about her spoke the truth. I just need to figure out what part of it was true and not her worrying. What’s worse is that something in her tone told me she knows a long-held secret, an important one.

I push the thought’s from my mind as we forge forward on our trip. The grass fields travel a little less than a mile before it dies out to red rock terrain. the area the outpost is in slowly pulls into a bottleneck forcing anyone wanting to go forward into the high red rock valley. I follow them trying my best to focus on our traveling and the surrounding area then on her words running in my head.

“Aspen?” Clare squints at me curiously as she rides next to me. Enyo rides in front and Orion little to the side of him and behind. Talon rides in the back with Foxglove as Harrison rides on my right side. Effectively grouping around me on all angles as Clare rides on my left side.

“Hmm,” I say half-mindedly.

“What did Greta say to you before we left?” She asks her eyes glancing at me and back to in front of her. She said I can trust the team, but only the team. Did she mean Clare too? After a moment I decide not to tell anyone, even Clare. After all, she is here because my father ordered her to be. If he asked her about this would she willingly lie or follow orders, would they all do that? I mean they all work for my father and the government after all? Could she be wrong that I can even trust the team?

“Nothing she just told me to be careful. Especially when we near the Old land’s cities.” I lie straight to her face, to all of their faces because I’m sure they are all listening. I won’t tell anyone until I’m sure, It will be just another secret I have to keep. Soon all I’ll have is secrets.

“That’s a good suggestion, those cities are more like graveyards,” Harrison say joining the conversation, obviously listening just as I thought.

“Those cities were packed when virus X hit them, in a week most of them were filled with corpses or forsaken.” Foxglove joins in as well.

“It’s now their prime feeding ground, easy to hide and then pounce!” He says shouting slightly at the end hoping to scare us. I just shake my head at his failed attempt.

“Orion, I have another question?” I speak up getting his attention and for a moment I’m not sure he hears me when speaks up.

“Yes?” He inquires. I can’t help but a little smile, we are finally getting somewhere.

“Why do they call it Devil’s Fork Valley?” I ask curiously. He is quiet for a moment then speak up. Surprising me.

" I don’t know much of the valley, everything after the Outpost is mostly uncharted.” For probably the first time in his life, he doesn’t know something, it’s oddly comforting.

“Well, that’s concerning, “Harrison speak up, voicing all our thoughts. I’m guessing if Orion doesn’t know something it’s a big deal. Suddenly Enyo speak up for the first time since we got on our horses.

“It’s called Devil’s Fork Valley because halfway through the valley breaks into three different paths, each leading to different areas beyond. One path leads to safety the other two lead to either a slowly crumbling cliff and the other to a small town in the valley crawling with hungry forsaken.” Enyo explains. Each word effectively becomes more terrifying. We grow quiet as we approach the opening of the valley. That is until talon speaks up.

“Well, that sucks and all but... you know which tunnel to take right, Enyo?”

Enyo is quiet for a minute but it’s far too long to convey confidence.

“I’m going to say maybe.” He shrugs and there’s slight comic humor in his voice.

“Hey! Enyo that’s not funny! Tell me the truth?” Talon worries more. I try my best to keep from laughing at talon’s worry. For some reason, I’m not worried, from what little I know about Enyo including his very feminine name that he won’t take a risk of guessing on something like this, not with his team’s lives on the line.

For an hour we ride through the valley, nothing but rock surrounding us, Talon has finally stopped asking Enyo if he was being serious when we get to a patch of the valley that pulls in tightly, just wide enough for two horses to get through the smaller tunnel together, that isn’t the problem but hundreds of rock’s that have fallen over the lip of the valley but are now barely wedged between the smaller valley wall’s any moment they can tumble down on top of us.

“Before we head into this area, I’m telling you now. No talking, take it slow, watch for pedals and listen for rock slipping. I repeat, Talon! No talking.” He order’s out quietly as we stand just outside of the loser valley walls. I hear talon about to say something to defend himself but he doesn’t instead we all remain as quiet as we can.

Enyo moves forward followed by Orion. Harrison goes in front of us as I follow after him, Clare, and the other’s behind me. Our horses walk slowly as we all stay as close to the middle as we can as to not cause any disturbance to the valley walls. Orion’s horse lightly neighs sending a small echo through the small tunnel and I try my best not to jump every time one of the horses makes a noise. My horse kicks a smaller rock in front of us as everyone’s eyes look at me. The tension in the air is so thick that I felt like even breathing out would cause the 10 tons of rocks to fall on top of us. On the ground, there are broken-up pieces of boulders that fell through the top and crashed into a hundred pieces on impact.

Enyo is almost to the end of the bottleneck part of the tunnel as the valley walls begin to open up wide allowing the sun to fall back in. Suddenly I hear sliding and pebbles beginning to drop over us. My head shoots up to see a large boulder from the lip of the tunnel break off tumbling down to the inner valley wall. I look in front of me in time to see Orion’s horse out of the tunnel. Harrison’s picking up speed launching through the end of the tunnel I dig my heel in speeding up as well. The sunlight of the open valley hit’s me just as the boulder crashes down into the already piled up rocks on top of the curve of the valley walls. Clare freezes, as all of us catch our breath waiting for the tumbling of rocks into the small tunnel. For a few seconds, we wait quietly none of us moving. After only a few small fist-sized pebbles fall through I release a breath.

Enyo speaks quietly in a whisper calm and precise. ” Clare climb off your horse slowly and walk your horse the rest of the way.” Clare nods slightly. She slowly climbs on from her horse, calmly pulling its reins until she gets into the open valley. Part of me relaxes knowing Clare is safe, I climb down from my horse grabbing both mine and her reins. She walks further away from the tunnel hunching over to get a breath from what almost happened. My stomach is in knots as I watch Talon and Foxglove do the same as Clare, climbing from their horses and slowly making their way through the tunnel.

Talon makes it out and makes his way to Clare trying to breathe from the anxiety and nervousness they just dealt with. Foxglove is the last, her horse moving far slower than the rest of ours. The horse seemed to be picking up on the nervousness around us because it begin to get skittish. The horse stopped about five feet from the opening and refuses to move in fear. It screams out angrily as she pulls the reins. my eyes constantly move to the lip and the inner walls.

I watch as a large boulder saunter’s on the edge of the lip. Pebbles from underneath it beginning to fall. My eyes trace down the path it will take when the rock underneath it gives out until my eyes land on a massive boulder hanging on by a whim, hovering right over Foxglove. Then my eyes move back to the lip, just as the ground underneath it gives out.

For a few moments, it was as if time moved slow, fear coursing through me as the boulder begins tumbling down. As it begins rolling down the slope, my brain screams out but its not my mouth that moves in warning but my feet....