Chapter XIX

The day was beginning to wear into the afternoon, and yet Alex found himself making no progress finding his way out of the mountains. He had followed the irregular ridge as far as he could, but when the terrain became too rugged and steep for him to continue, he was forced to turn away. Now his aimless path had led him deeper and lower into the mountain ranges. He was exhausted and quickly dehydrating. He was certain that as long as kept heading in one direction, he would eventually come to the end of the mountains, or at least to some sort of civilization. Still, no matter which way he went, he could be miles away from anything, and there was no guarantee that the terrain would even be traversable. How did this happen, Alex wondered. How, in the course of one day, did he manage to get himself into a situation like this? Nothing about it made sense.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, the soothing heat of spring shrouded the woods. Even in such a serious predicament, Alex could not help but feel mesmerized, captivated even, by the aura of this place. There was just something about it that was so tranquilizing, like all of his fears and worries could be swept away. However, it certainly did not relieve him of his exhaustion.

Throughout the morning and well into the afternoon, Alex continued hiking straight as he could, zigzagging through the trees and brush. The terrain soon began sloping uphill again. Alex groaned as he tried to catch his breath. How many times was he going to have to climb these God-forsaken mountains before some sign of intelligent life showed itself? Now he was practically praying that this hike would be his last and he could finally start working his way back home.

With every bit of effort he could muster, Alex made his way through the trees and up the hill. It was a very tiresome trip, as it had been all night and all morning. Higher and higher he climbed, and the trees slowly began to recede. The woods became less dense and Alex almost found it easier to breathe and relax. The atmosphere was soothing and fresh and was filled with the scent of the moist forest air. Alex inhaled it all deeply, and he could almost say he was rather enjoying himself. At least until he finally reached the top of the hill and saw what lied ahead of him.

Alex took in a deep breath, but then his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he scoped his surroundings. From where he stood, the hilltop was green and sparsely populated with the same trees that dotted the mountains and the valleys belows. As he looked around, however, there was nothing but a great series of mountain ranges surrounding him in all directions. As far as his eyes could see, the hills of the Adirondacks stood high and low for miles. Feeling weak in the legs, Alex dropped himself down against a tree and closed his eyes.

The past night had been the worst of his life and everything was just getting worse. He was completely lost in the wilderness now. As far as he knew, nobody was even looking for him and he had no food or water at all. The only things he had with him were the clothes on his back. Even the LED light that Hetrick had given him before would have been a godsend last night if he hadn't dropped it in the mine.

Alex was constantly enduring the pain in his stomach due to the lack of food and his mouth was dry from dehydration. He pulled himself to his feet and walked out to reexamine his surroundings. Surely, there must have been a stream or a river somewhere. The sun was cresting into noon and it was getting warmer, and this was only antagonizing Alex’s thirst even more.

Sure enough, just a few miles south, Alex could make out what appeared to be a small lake settled in a trough between the mountains. The terrain between him and the lake sloped downhill, meaning there was a good chance of a stream pouring forth from the hills and feeding into it. Alex shook his head as he could not believe how fast he had been reduced to this single instinct of survival, but he could belly-ache over that later. A source of water miles away was better than nothing, and for all he knew, it might take him closer to some sort of sanctuary. One step further to getting out of this mess. He still had a bit of a hike ahead of him, but Alex was just glad he at least had somewhere to go. So he mustered what strength he still had and began his long walk down the hillside and toward the lake.

Meanwhile, Alex had no idea that he was being watched. The mysterious wanderer called Ranger had been following him stealthily through the mountains, for no purpose other than to keep an eye on him.

Ever since Ranger found himself wandering the mountains of this region, he went wherever his instincts told him to go; and by instincts, he meant the hulk of magic metal he carried on his back. Whatever power was concealed within this sword, Ranger did his best not to question it, as it helped him to survive in the wild all these years and kept him hidden from the prying eyes of his enemies. And just that night, it told him of a young boy entering the northern borders of the Dark Zone. So Ranger hiked all night through the mountains, following wherever his will directed him, and by the first rays of morning, he spotted the boy struggling to navigate his way through the wilderness.

At the moment, Ranger had quietly perched himself in a high tree to observe the boy’s movements as he came to the top of the hill. Upon seeing his fear and distress, Ranger’s heart was filled with pity. He knew that he deserved to be isolated out in the wilderness in such a manner, but not this boy, whoever he was. He could see that he was desperate for water at this point, and he figured that was what he was looking for. It would have been easy for Ranger to simply reveal himself and offer his help, but something was holding him back. Something told him that, for the time being, he still had to restrain himself from making contact with anybody he came across, especially the boy.

Ranger leaned himself against the tree and allowed his legs to dangle off the limb on which he sat. Long days were still ahead of him, and now he had this boy to keep an eye on, for reasons that were unknown to him.

“What am I supposed to be doing?” Ranger groaned, putting his hands over his face. “I feel like I’m losing my mind, and things are starting to make less and less sense.” He casually reached behind him and placed a hand on the cool, hard surface of the sword’s hilt. It almost felt as though it was vibrating “I admit I’m becoming impatient and tired of waiting for some sign of fate to show itself.”

… …

“I still don’t understand. What makes the boy so significant?”

… …

“What does he have that I need?”

… …

“An outlet? What are you talking about? An outlet for what? I don’t understand!”

… …

Ranger was growing increasingly frustrated. He leaned his head against the tree and grasped his head as if it were in pain. “I’m hearing your voice inside my head, but I still don’t know what you mean. I’m trying to solve your riddles and it’s driving me insane!”

… …

“The boy is an outlet? You keep saying that, but what does it mean?”

… …

“The awakening of-” Ranger’s eyes suddenly shot open before he could finish his thought. He held his breath for a moment, but then shook his head in disbelief. “No.” he muttered to himself. “No, that’s not possible. I don’t know what kind of power lies within you, but if what you’re telling me is true, then we’re talking about infinite power; raw energy that could change the world forever. That’s exactly what my enemies are after, and why we’re hiding here in the first place.”

… …

“The boy? No, I just can’t believe it. My wife and I alone could hardly withstand this power, let alone more than twice the amount. Why should the boy be any different? Unless…” A sudden, chilling thought coursed through Ranger’s head. He froze and his body went cold as he stared down at the distant figure of the lost boy heading down the mountainside. “My God,” he breathed. “It can’t be!”

… …

Ranger brought himself back to his senses. “You’re right.” For the first time in years, a long lost feeling came over him. It was an intense sensation of hope. Goosebumps came over him as a wide smile stretched across his face. Unfortunately, that smile was quickly extinguished by another sudden realization: For many years, he had wandered aimlessly, but now things were truly about to change, he could feel it. How that change would show itself, he did not know, and there was nothing he feared more than a clouded future.

Nevertheless, Ranger set his mind to it. He knew what he had to do. Regaining his poise, he grabbed hold of the tree limb and prepared to make his descent to the ground. “I can’t let him out of my sight!”