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Chapter 506
MOVING ON
Climbing the steep ridge above the destroyed bridge and pushing my way through the thick underbrush is slow and exhausting work. The foliage high above me is so dense that I can only see tiny patches of blue sky. I could easily get lost in these woods, but by keeping the chasm I’m trying to skirt to my left and continuing to move upward, it’s not too difficult to keep to the proper direction.
I’ve ascended only two or three hundred feet in twenty minutes or so when I come across a narrow game path. I hope it’s been formed by deer or something equally harmless.
The trail heads up the slope in the general direction I’ve been going, so this is indeed a nice break. The path is barely wide enough for a person, which is just fine with me, because that means it’s not used by monsters like the giant reptile thing I barely escaped. I suppose vampires or werewolves could use it, but I’m not sure what tho
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 507
Suddenly, I realize what’s been bothering me about his appearance—it’s his age. He looks like he’s in his early twenties, but that’s impossible, of course. As far as I know, there’s no one in their early twenties in this world. I glance down at my machete through the corners of my eyes and draw my knees up in front of me.“Uh, Kai?” I ask softly, “where are you from?”He hesitates for just a moment. “I think you have probably guessed that by now,” he says.“You’re from There?” I ask, wanting to hear him say it. “From the other world?”He nods. “Yes. We saw you were in some trouble, so I was sent to help you.”My head feels like it’s spinning. The spit and the rabbit drop to my lap, but I scarcely notice. Kai’s simple statement has raised so many questions that I can’t wrap my brain around them all. Beings in the other
Leesa's Advent Chapter 508
Less than an hour later, Kai slips down off the log he’s been sitting on.“Your friends have arrived,” he tells me.I climb down from the same log, where I’d been sitting next to him. My descent is slightly less graceful. We can’t see the bridge from this far back in the trees, and I haven’t heard anything. I guess Kai did, though.“Really?” I say, as excited as I’ve been in a long time. “Awesome!”I hurry down out of the woods with Kai close behind me. Sure enough, when I step out of the trees, I see six Marines on the highway, maybe a hundred yards from the beginning of the bridge. I recognize Lieutenant Gregerson immediatelyI wave both my arms over my head. I didn’t really need to draw their attention, because at least one of the soldiers has already spotted me, but I’m so happy to see them I don’t care. The squad is now trotting toward me.Kai and I move out onto our section of the bridge. The Marines stop a few feet from their end of the broken span.“Leah, thank God you’re okay
Leesa's Advent Chapter 509
We settle in to wait back among the trees, just to be safe. Lieutenant Gregerson tells me about the runner he sent back to inform my dad that they had discovered the remains of my fire. He thinks the main group of Marines with the Miracles might reach us by the end of the day. If not, he’s certain they’ll be here sometime tomorrow morning, unless something delayed them. I hope nothing has, but in this wild place, there are plenty of things that could slow them down, or even stop them. I don’t let my thoughts go down that road, though.The Marines keep busy constructing crude barriers around our hiding place out of small saplings and branches hacked from trees. While they work, I sit with Kai. There’s something I’ve been wondering about, so I decide to ask him.“When my dad gets here with the rest of the soldiers, will you still stay with us?”Kai looks at me with a puzzled expression. “Where else would I go?”“I don’t know. I thought that maybe once I had plenty of protection around m
Leesa's Advent Chapter 510
I awaken in gray twilight, which tells me it can’t be long past dawn. I don’t remember any dreams, so I guess I slept peacefully. Kai is still sitting on the log where he was last night. Maybe they don’t sleep over There where he’s from. When he hears me stir, he swings his legs over the log so he’s facing me. “Good morning,” he says. I stretch my arms out to the side and yawn. “Same to you. Did you sleep at all?” “For a little while, yes. The lieutenant spelled me for a bit.” I’m glad to hear he at least sleeps some. Glancing around, I see that all the Marines are already awake. Most of them are tending to their weapons; two are keeping watch. “Now that you’re awake, I’ll go fetch breakfast,” Kai says. “I hope you don’t mind leftover deer meat.” I smile. “Not at all.” I want to offer to go with him, but I doubt Lieutenant Gregerson would let me. Besides, I’m sure Kai can travel through the woods much faster on his own.
Leesa's Advent Chapter 511
I’m still watching Kai across the way. A couple of the Marines, not knowing exactly what’s going on, have their guns raised toward him. I guess I don’t blame them. Protecting the Miracles is their primary job, and after watching that spectacular leap, it’s not hard to see why the soldiers might be unsure about Kai’s intentions.“I will, Dad. But first, tell your guys to rest easy. Kai’s there to carry the Miracles across on the rope, so they don’t have to go all the way around.”“Stand down, men,” my dad calls across. “He’s on our side.”The Marines lower their weapons and Dad turns back to me, looking at me expectantly.“I don’t know all the details,” I begin, “but Kai was sent from There to help me. He saved me from a two-headed cyclops right over there on the other side where everyone is standing. He shot arrows into both eyes, a split-second apa
Leesa's Advent Chapter 512
It's still well before noon — Kai’s help has saved us half a day or more by not having to wait for the company to hike around the ravine. Dad gathers the Miracles, Lieutenant Gregerson and his three remaining sergeants alongside the roadway for a meeting. The rest of the soldiers form a wide circle around us, keeping watch for any sign of danger.Kai moves off the road with us, staying by my side. Even though I’m now protected by a company of Marines, I’m happy he’s staying near me. Dad doesn’t say anything about Kai’s presence, but Radar flashes me another wink.“Our mission is still a go,” Dad tells us. “I’m guessing we’ve got somewhere around two hundred miles to San Francisco. It’s a long walk, but we’ve got almost three weeks to get there.” He focuses his attention on us Miracles. “I think you kids can make it.”We all nod. Two hundred miles does seem like
Leesa's Advent Chapter 513
The next morning , I’m awakened by something dripping onto my cheek. I open my eyes to a world shrouded by thick, gray mist. Overnight, a dense fog bank has rolled in off the Pacific. I’ve seen plenty of morning fogs back in San Diego, but nothing to match this one. The damp curtain has reduced my world to a circle of fifteen to twenty feet. On one side of me, I can see Plush and Lights sleeping close beside each other, on the other I can make out Radar and Doc. The rest of my friends, a bit farther away, are just dark forms, almost unrecognizable. The nearest trees are shadowy columns whose upper reaches have been swallowed by the fog. I know we’re surrounded by Marines, but I can’t see any of them. Kai is nowhere in sight, either.Another drop hits my face, splattering against my forehead this time. It’s condensation, dripping from an invisible leaf or branch above me. I wipe it off with the back of my hand and sit up.It’s not dar
Leesa's Advent Chapter 514
Heavy fog greets us again the next morning. No water drips onto my face today, so I’m able to sleep a little later. After that, the drill is pretty much the same: wait quietly for the fog to burn off, which it does a bit earlier today. Then it’s back on our way north.Today brings us a couple of changes in the landscape through which we’ve been travelling. The highway has curved inland a bit, so for the first time since I was beached, the ocean is out of sight and sound. Also, the woods have begun to thin out, until I can no longer really call them woods. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve moved away from the sea or because we’re getting further north, but the land is now rolling hillsides dotted with trees and shrubs. Most of the soil is covered by foot-high grasses rather than forest. At the crest of some of the hills, the ocean is visible as a thin strip of blue-gray off in the distance. Also visible now and then in the dista
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