Morgan Rice - A Land of Fire

“I hope it took out more Empire than us,” one of the boys called out.

They all leaned on their axes, and if nothing else, Darius thought, at least this would give them a break. After all, the taskmasters would not return for several hours, given how far away those mountain ridges were.

“I don’t know about you,” came a deep voice, “but I think those are two fine-looking zertas.”

Darius recognized his friend Raj’s voice, and he turned and followed his glance and saw what he was looking at: there sat two Empire zertas, large, proud, beautiful animals, all white, twice the size of horses, looking much like horses, but taller, wider, with thick skin, almost like armor, and instead of a mane, having long, sloping yellow horns that began behind their ears. They were glorious animals, and these two, tied up beneath a tree in the shade, chewing on the grass, were the most beautiful Darius had ever seen.

Darius could see mischief in Raj’s eyes as he examined them.

“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Raj added, “but I don’t intend to stand here all day and wait for their return. I want a break—and I think those zertas can use a ride.”

“Are you crazy?” one of the other boys said. “Those belong to the Empire. They catch you leaving here, they’ll kill you. They catch you on their zertas, they’ll probably torture your entire family, after they torture you first.”

Raj shrugged, leaned back, and wiped his palms on his pants.

“They might,” he said, then grinned, “but then again, they might not. And like you said, they have to catch me.”

Raj turned and studied the horizon.

“I doubt they’ll beat me back. They’ll never even know their precious animals were gone. Any of you want to come?”

Darius was hardly surprised; Raj had always been the daredevil of the bunch, fearless, proud, boastful, and the first to incite others. All qualities Darius admired, except Raj was reckless, too, and lacked good judgment.

But Darius shared his restlessness, and he could hardly blame him. Indeed, at Raj’s words, there welled up within Darius a fierce desire to go, to let loose, to stop being so cautious as he had always been. He, too, wanted to stop laboring, wanted to get out of this place. He would love to go on a ride, to take an adventure on that zerta, and see where it took him. To have fun for one day in his life. To have just a small taste of freedom.

“Is there not one of you who has the courage to join me?” Raj asked. He was taller than the other boys, older, with broader shoulders, and he slowly scanned the crowd, looking at all of them with disdain. All the boys turned away, shook their heads, looked down to the ground.

“It’s not worth it,” one boy said. “I have a family. I have a life.”

“Maybe this moment is your life,” Raj countered.

But all the boys looked away, not saying a word.

“I’ll join you,” Darius heard himself say, his voice deep, distinct, powerful beyond his fifteen years, reverberating in his chest.

All the boys in the group turned and looked at Darius in shock, and Raj stared at him too, clearly surprised. Slowly, a smile crossed his face, along with a look of admiration. His smile broadened to one of mischief.

“I knew there was something about you that I liked,” Raj said.

Darius and Raj rode side by side on the zertas, laughing aloud as the beasts galloped through the winding paths of the Alluvian Forest, the wind in Darius’s hair, blowing back his ponytail, taking the heat off his neck, cooling down the hot day and making him feel free for the first time in years. This was reckless, he knew, and might even get him killed—but a part of him no longer cared. At least for now, in this moment, he was free.

Darius hadn’t ventured into the Alluvian Forest in years, yet he had never forgotten it. A broad dirt path cut down its center, and above them a canopy of trees arched low overhead, so low that sometimes they had to duck. The forest was famous for its light green leaves, so light they were nearly translucent, glistening and shimmering in the sun above and casting a beautiful light down on the path. It was a sight that Darius had never forgotten, and even seeing it again now took his breath away. The trees, too, were unique, their bark nearly translucent, expanding and contracting all the time, as if they were breathing, and the forest had a unique sound, a soft rustling sound as the leaves swayed, almost like a grove of bamboo.

It was a magical place, Darius felt, a place of true beauty in the midst of this arid landscape. As he raced, he felt the sweat perpetually caked on his brow beginning to dissipate.

“Not as fast as your elders, are you?” Raj called out, teasing, and suddenly took the lead, heading out several feet in front of Darius.

Darius kicked his zerta, catching up to him. Then Darius took the lead and leapt boldly over a felled trunk of an ancient tree. Now it was his turn to laugh.

Soon enough the two were back to riding side-by-side, and as they galloped deeper into the forest, Darius had never felt so free, so liberated. It was unlike him, he who had been so cautious his whole life, who had always planned everything perfectly; for once, he let himself go. For once, he gave into the recklessness, not knowing where they were going, and not caring. As long as they were out from under the taskmasters’ eyes, and as long as they were choosing their own path.

“You know if we get caught we’ll get flogged for this, don’t you?” Darius called out.

Raj smiled back.

“And what is life without a good flogging every now and again?” he called back.

Darius grinned as Raj galloped out front and took the lead. Darius then caught up and took the lead himself.

“I’ll race you!” Raj called out.

“Race me to where!?” Darius replied.

Raj laughed. “Who cares! Nowhere! As long as I am first!”

Raj laughed and took the lead, but then Darius caught up to him. The two raced, each alternately taking the lead, back and forth, competing with each other, each gaining the edge then losing it. They stood on the saddles as they rode, wearing broad smiles, the wind blowing in their faces. Darius relished the feel of the shade; if nothing else, it felt so good be out of the sun, and it felt ten degrees cooler here in the forest.

They turned a bend, and Darius spotted, at the end of the path, a wall of dangling red vines. It demarcated the forbidden zone.

Darius suddenly got nervous, knowing they had reached the limit to where they could go. No one crossed the vines—that was Empire territory. The only slaves allowed outside were the women, and only in their labor. If they crossed as men, they’d be killed on the spot.

“The vines!” Darius called to Raj. “We must turn back!”

Raj shook his head.

“Let us ride. As boys. As warriors. As men,” he called out.

Raj turned to him, and added: “Unless, of course, you are afraid.”

Raj did not wait for a response, but screamed, kicked his beast, and rode faster, heading right for the red wall of vines. Darius, his heart pounding, his face flush from the indignity, felt that Raj was going too far. Yet at the same time, he could not turn around. Not after being challenged.

Darius kicked his horse and caught up to Raj, and Raj grinned to see him at his side.

“You are growing on me,” Raj said. “I see you are as stupid as I!”

They both ducked their heads and, together, they rode through the wall of vines.

As they burst through to the other side, Darius looked around, shocked. It was his first time on this side of the Alluvian Forest, and here everything was different. The trees changed color, from green to red, and he saw that the path, in the distance, led out to a clearing demarcated by a thick canopy of red trees. He looked up and saw swinging vines overhead, and saw strange animals swinging from branches; their exotic shrieks pierced the air.