Chapter 14 - Lost in the Dark

Chapter 14

“Shut up, binoculars!” Raul lay on his front, covered by wet bushes of broom. “Something’s up.”

Sami crawled over to lie down beside him. “What happened?” he whispered, watching the narrow clearing behind the large main hut.

“Riku watched two of them return injured this morning.” Raul whispered back almost inaudibly. “The one with the raven on his head seems to have died, at least he didn’t move, when the tall one took him off his horse. And now there is some sort of gathering going on. Maybe there’ll be a funeral or something alike soon and Samu gets a chance to escape.”

“What about Elida?” Riku wiped some raindrops from his face. With a low snort Raul looked up at him.

“He fucked her on the roof, you think he’s gonna leave her here or what?”

Without saying another word, Riku got up and backed off to retire inside the tiny den they had occupied the day before. Even though they had found shelter and even some eatable food – thanks to him – Raul was in a bad mood. He seemed scared, angry and somehow Riku felt that he had given up already. Well, they all had no idea about the future. About the “what happens next”. 

Maybe Samu had not found the message, it was possible. But it had been worth a try, hadn’t it? 

Staring over to the big hut, Riku tightened his scarf. Inside he was praying for a reaction.

All of a sudden four armoured men left the house. They carried shields, axes on their backs or speers in their hands. Automatically Riku ducked his head, realizing in surprise that one of the warriors was actually Samu. What was he up to?

Quickly he made his way over to Raul again, gesturing towards the group.

“I will follow them in a safe distance and return to you.” He whispered, covering his hair with the hood of his dark jacket.

Without waiting for his friends’ response, he started walking after the small group very carefully, never taking his eyes off the four Vikings – pardon, three Vikings and one look-alike that had adapted perfectly. Riku heard them talk to each other in a joking tone; they even nudged Samu from time to time, engaging him in a conversation the other man obviously didn’t quite follow. The mood seemed quite relaxed. All of a sudden Riku stopped short. Samu had been looking around again and again during the last minutes of their hike. Only seconds ago he had waited to let the group pass by, pretending to close one of the clasps of his shoe. When he got up again, he threw another intent look around, suddenly staring to sing.

There's a hundred love boats
All around me
And they all make the waves too high
There's a heavy burden
On my shoulders
And it slowly pulls me down

I just have no one to sail with me
I just have no one to sail with me

His eyes travelled through the woodlands and over the rain soaked rocks nearby where Riku was hiding with his heart pounding in his ears and a huge smile on his lips.

Samu had gotten the message! And he was up to something. Still smiling broadly, Riku threw a quick look over the moss-grown stone. Samu walked on, his deep voice picking up the next lines of the song.

Would you sail away with me
Could you leave it all behind and float away
And to lie beside me
When the sun goes down
Would you take me as I am
I would hold you all the way I'd understand
We will break the strongest waves to see the land

There's some in the water
Close to drowning
And I'm always a stroke behind
The taken sailors
Don't realize
How they'd need to respect their wives

I just have no one to sail with me
I just have no one ...

Would you sail away with me
Could you leave it all behind and float away
And to lie beside me
When the sun goes down
Would you take me as I am
I would hold you all the way I'd understand
We will break the strongest waves to see the land

(sail away with me von Sunrise Avenue)

One of the Vikings yelled something at him and waved with a roar of laughter, pointing ahead at a huge ash tree. Samu approached and nodded slowly, walking around the tree. He put his hand on the stem, looking up into the green canopy of leaves. With an attentive look on his face he circumambulated the tree once more, before he kneeled down in the wet grass by its roots.

The other men stayed close by, scanning the surroundings and simply talking to each other. Samu didn’t move for what felt like an eternity. Riku couldn’t quite see his face, but his friend’s head was bowed and his hands placed on the ground.

It was a surreal scene and Riku had no clue what his friend was up to. His feet were cold and after a while they even fell asleep and Riku sat down with a low grumble, rubbing his prickling toes through the fabric of his hiking shoes.

What on earth was his mate doing?

At least an hour later, Samu suddenly waved at one of the other men that by now sat together over a game played with sticks and stones of different sizes. The man got up right away, handing a linen sack over to Samu. Riku watched his friend opening the sack before placing it at the roots of the tree. Then he whipped out a large knife and Riku sucked in a breath when he saw Samu cutting his own arm and waiting for a few drops of blood to disperse around the roots.

Again Samu nodded and the man handed him a small lifeless bundle of fur. Without hesitating Samu took his knife again, cutting the dead animal in half before lifting it up and placing next to the linen sack.

Then he got up with apparently stiff limbs, waiting for one of the others to wrap a bandage around his still bleeding arm. To his surprise, Riku saw all of them patting Samu’s shoulder. A huge red-head even pulled him in for a hug and laughed.

They disappeared into the fog and their mood had even improved. Riku waited for a few minutes before he left his watching post, carefully examining the place of the ritual he had just witnessed.

He found blood and the dead body of a rabbit. Gingerly he picked up the heavy linen sack. To his surprise it was filled with hard bread, bundles of dried meat, carrots and cabbage. Provisions for at least a week if they rationed wisely.

Riku’s spirits lifted even more when he removed a small piece of cloth from one of the meat portions. ‘Setting up a plan, need to get away within a week, stay put’ the letters were written with charcoal and blurred but visible.

Maybe everything would turn out to be alright again …