The Boys of Lionshire (Part Eight)

Ian and Shane continue on their journey to rescue Sara.

Shane and I moved more deliberately on the path after our encounter with the Two-Step Snake.  I was worried about Alexander and didn’t know if he would still be alive when we got back to the camp, but I had to stay focused on the task at hand.  Sara had already been tied to the tree for far too long and I wanted nothing more than to see her face and know that she was okay.

Alexander must have been on Shane’s mind too.  “Do you think he’ll make it?”, he asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know.”

            “But you said your father was a doctor.”

            “He was.  A very successful one in fact.  But that doesn’t mean I know anything about practicing medicine.”

            Shane shook his head indicating he understood.  He kicked a small granite rock off the path and kept walking towards our destination.

            I was still surprised that Shane had come to my rescue at the Lionshire counsel.  I wasn’t sure why he had a sudden change of heart after all the years I lived in exile after he persuaded the other boys.  What had I done to make him change his mind so suddenly?  Maybe it wasn’t me after all.  Maybe it was Sara.  Maybe having a female in group of all rough and tough boys had softened him a little.

            “I want to thank you”, I started, “For what you did at the counsel…”

            “Don’t mention it”, he replied, his focus completely on the path ahead of us.

            “But why did you do it?  I mean, help me out like that.  Protect me from Bastion.  You didn’t have to, but you did.”

            “I know I didn’t have to, but I have been getting a little tired of Bastion and his mindless minions running things around here.  It’s bad enough the Gatekeepers brought us here without having to deal with someone like Bastion.”

            I stopped on the path and thought about what he said for a second.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was having issues with the leadership in Lionshire.  I was surprised for the second time today.  I wondered how many of the other boys felt the same way and had never been brave enough to stand up and say so.  Probably at least half I figured.

            Shane stopped on the path and pointed out ahead of us.  “There’s the tree.  I can see it from here.”

            My heart skipped a beat, either in fear or excitement, or maybe both.

            “Come on”, I said as I took off running for it, “We have to get Sara back to the camp.”

            Shane took off running behind me but passed me with ease.  Just when I was about to lose sight of him, he slowed down to a walk and then stopped altogether.  I felt the panic surge through my body as all of the bad things that could have happened to her came to mind.

            “Sara!”, I yelled out.  “Is she okay, Shane!”

            I rounded the corner before he had the opportunity to answer me and found myself face first with the large, sycamore tree.  It loomed over us, threatening us to come closer to it and claim our prize.  There at its rotten base sat Sara, bound to the tree with vines.  She was completely motionless with her head hanging down in front of her and her hair covering her face.

            “Sara”, I called out to her again.  No response.

            “Come on, Ian”, Shane said soothingly as he grabbed my arm, “If Bastion hurt her in any way, he’ll pay.”

            I followed behind Shane as he led me by the arm up to the tree.  The sunlight filtered through the trees like a kaleidoscope and I could smell the cool, gentle water from the river as it flowed by us.  I could feel the sand from the river beach squishing between my bare toes, the wetness from it cooling the hot soles of my feet.  

            When we got to the base of the tree, I could see the expertly tied knots that held Sara in place.  Her hands and feet were tied together by a short length of vine and a longer vine was wrapped under her arms and around the circumference of the tree.  I didn’t have a knife to cut the knots loose so I would have to improvise.

            “Stay here with her”, I told Shane, “I have to find something to cut these vines off.”

            I ran down to the river desperate to find anything with a sharp edge.  I picked up a few rocks but they were all worn smooth by the current of the river.  I was looking for something metallic like an old coke can or tin lid.  As luck would have it, there was nothing to be found.  I continued to forage in the river in hopes that something would turn up when I remembered the granite rock Shane had kicked off of the trail earlier.

            Granite was plentiful in Lionshire and it was the main object used to make many of our tools out of.  No one had mastered the rock yet but the boys would get lucky from time to time and find a rock that resembled a knife with a sharp cutting edge.  I knew I would have to get lucky find such a rock to cut Sara loose.

            I went down the shore a short way to a small cave made out of the hard rock.  I looked in it, on it, around it, and all the way back out to the river without finding a piece suitable to cut the vines.  In utter frustration, I picked up a river rock and threw it as hard as I could at the opening of the granite cave.  To my surprise, the river rock broke a chunk of the granite free and it fell in to the lit opening of the cave revealing itself to me.

            The rock was perfect.  It was black and shiny with a long smooth handle and a serrated edge.   I didn’t have time to celebrate the rock right then, but I would remember the technique in hopes of making more blades and tools later on.

            I quickly grabbed the rock up and ran back to the tree where I found Shane holding Sara’s head in his lap.

            “How is she doing?” I asked out of breath from the run.  “Did she wake up yet?”

            “Not yet.  Did you find something to cut the vines with?”

            I held up the shiny black rock so he could observe my new prize.  He looked at it with approval and held out the first vine for me to try the rock on.

            “That’s an awesome knife, Ian”, he said holding the vine tightly.  “Let’s see if it’s worth its weight in gold.”

            I placed the serrated edge along the woody length of vine and began working the rock back and forth in a sawing motion.  It worked much better than I could have imagined and cut through the girth of the vine within seconds.

            In no time at all, I had cut Sara completely free from the spiderweb of vines that held her in place.  She lay on the ground in front of us with sand and sticks entangled in her long, brunette hair.  Even unconscious and filthy, I found her to be a sight to behold.

            “I’ll go get some water from the river to splash in her face to see if I can wake her”, I told Shane. 

            I ran to the river and formed a cup with my hands, trying urgently to fill it with the cool, clean water.  When I was satisfied I had enough to make the trip back to the sycamore tree, I ran back to Shane and Sara.  She was still out as I knelt in front of her and forcefully splashed the water across her silky-smooth skin.

            She coughed several times as the water struck her and slowly came to.  She sat up hesitantly and studied her surroundings, unaware that she was safe now.  She looked at Shane first, then at me.  When she saw me, her eyes lit up and she smiled slightly.

            “Ian”, she said in a sleepy tone, “Where am I?  What happened to your face?”

            I ignored her question about my face and scooched up next to her and placed my arm around her shaking shoulders to comfort her.  “You’re down by the river”, I said, glad that she was awake and well.  “Shane and I just cut you loose from the sycamore tree.”

            Anger flashed across her face and I knew her memory had found her.  “Bastion”, she finally muttered.

            “Bastion won’t be bothering you anymore”, Shane said, “We’ll make sure of it.”

            “Are you hungry”, I asked her tenderly.

            “Starving.”

            “Me too”, Shane said, “Let’s get her a drink of water and head back to check on Alexander.”

            We helped Sara to her feet and walked with her down to the river.  She plunged her face in to the cool water and drank like she hadn’t had water in weeks.  When she had her fill, she grabbed my hand and pulled herself up.

            “Alexander?” she asked, “What happened to him?”

            “A lot has happened since you’ve been down here”, I replied, “We’ll fill you in on the details while we walk back to camp.”

            Sara nodded with approval as she placed her arms over Shane and my shoulders.

            “I’m feeling a little weak still so I’ll need your help to make it back.”

            “No problem”, Shane said as he smiled at her, “That’s what friends are for.”