Ch.2 - The return to nameless
Chapter 2
Artemis slid the book she had found into the leather satchel she wore across her body. She had wanted to put the book back, but the tree was filled with debris, and she couldn’t find the door. Everything looked much different than it had before the storm tore through the creek bed; to put the book back at this point would be like leaving it by a creek for anything to happen to it. Artemis thought it would most definitely be better for her to keep it and bring it back once the mess was cleaned up.
She looked out over what used to be a peaceful stretch of valley woodlands and flowing grasses, but was now unrecognizable and foreign-looking to her. She noticed Ambros looking around with a confused look on his face, like he was also having a difficult time grasping the enormity of the situation. Most of the trees had fallen except for the "mother trees" that stood sturdy every hundred meters or so; they had lost their leaves but still stood proud and upright. Artemis looked back toward the old lady’s house, and she could see nothing but the large tree in her backyard standing unharmed. I hope the lady and her house survived the storm, she said to herself.
The pink lines had left the valley with no sign that they had ever existed. She wished she could have had more time with the old lady so she could ask all the questions about that pink thread that had been streaking across the valley, bright with its warm glow.
Artemis worried about what their village might look like the closer they got on their journey back home. The copper pot was still acting as a guide; it meandered down the creek, keeping in the deeper sections of water like it was a master sailor navigating a dangerous strait. Ambros did not seem to be as troubled by the devastation and changes made to the valley by the storm. He broke the silence—one of the things Artemis appreciated about Ambros was his ability to break an odd silence.
“Let’s see what we see and get to seeing,” said Ambros, walking with a slight limp from his twisted ankle.
“Of course we are going to see and get seeing, but are you not worried about your mom and sister at all?” asked Artemis, a little astounded by her friend's attitude towards life in general.
“Yeah, of course I’m worried, but I’m not going to worry too much until I know this storm actually hit the village. What about you—are—” Ambros said, catching himself before he mentioned Artemis’s lack of family members.
“I do worry. I worry about Orange Cat, my favorite chickens, and I guess my step-aunt,” said Artemis, knowing what Ambros was hinting at. She didn’t like the feeling of people making a big deal about her not knowing her parents; she didn’t like attention when she wasn’t trying to get it.
“If we hurry up a little, we should make it before it’s pitch black. I doubt we can get back by sunset,” said Ambros, who picked up his cadence in a joking manner, then broke into a hobbling jog with his elbows pointed out wide.
Artemis went over to the copper pot, picked it up, and polished it with her shirt. She gave it a good look and smiled at its shining finish. Artemis put it on her head and knocked on it a few times with her knuckles.
“I will call you Bloodhound,” said Artemis, looking up towards its handle that reached out a little from her short brown hair. “We don’t need a guide going back to our house, but if another storm comes, I’ll throw you up into the wind like Grannie did a ways back,” she said to the copper pot resting surprisingly comfortably on her head.
Thanks for taking an early look at the story! Just a quick reminder that this is an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) and not the final finished draft. Because the story is still evolving, please don't copy, redistribute, or share this text anywhere else. Enjoy the sneak peek!