Chapter 16

They headed north in silence, toward the deep green forest that bordered her farm. Sergeant sat between them on the seat, alert and studying his surroundings. Each new sound drew his attention. As for Samantha, for twenty-four years she had watched those trees and wondered what lay beyond. Today, she figured, would give her some of the answers.

The tree line seemed to rise in front of them suddenly, a sparse scattering of trees and brush thickening gradually as they continued, until it was a true forest of brush, bushes, evergreens, and deciduous trees. She began to notice signs of wildlife - a deer darting off into the thicket, rabbits bounding away from the edge of the road, and the sound of millions of birds in flight, singing, chirping, and squawking.

For another two miles the road continued, through an ever thickening stand of trees that now crowded the road and blotted the sky and formed a green tunnel overhead. The undergrowth began to thin a bit, opening the woodland and allowing her to see farther into the wood. The air became cooler and filled with exotic scents. Samantha closed her eyes and breathed deep, discovering that she liked the moist, rich, green and brown scent of the forest.

Before today, she had never seen the border crossing and couldn’t recall ever hearing stories about it. Considering what she now faced, she found that surprising. In front of her, to the north, the trees abruptly halted and a solid green boundary rose up from the forest floor. A great wall of stone, at least 20 feet high stretched to the east and the west until it disappeared from sight. A swath of cleared land about eight feet wide separated the forest from the wall. In the center of this ran a narrow dirt track that appeared as well traveled as the main road -- a no man’s land used to patrol the border.

Across the road itself was a pair of large wooden gates with a guardhouse nearby. Two men with weapons stood in the middle of the road.

“John,” she said, her voice a whisper.

A low rumbling issued from Sergeant as one of the guards approached John’s side of the wagon. The animal stayed seated but his body quivered gently and his eyes were riveted to the approaching guard.

“Shush. Wait,” he said in a low voice. He pulled on the reins, halting their wagon. “Sergeant, guard,” Sergeant became still and silent.

“Why are you leaving the province?”

John pulled something from his shirt pocket and handed it to the man. “We’re visiting relatives in the Outland,” he said.

The guard raised his brows. He took the paper, unfolded it, and read in silence. Then, he handed it back, waved to his fellow guard and walked back to the gate. Together, they released the lever that locked the gate and it swung open as easily as a barn door, revealing the road running straight ahead, beneath the green tunnel.

John flicked the reins and the horses moved forward, carrying them past the guards and through the gates. Samantha noted that there was no path running along the wall on this side. Obviously, no man’s land only existed in the civilized world.

She looked behind her at the sound of the gates closing behind her and a heaviness settled in her chest. How many years had it taken to build a 20-foot high wall along the border? And was there similar walls along all the borders to the Outland? There was no matching guard house or guards and there was no way to open the gate from this side. Samantha considered the implications. The question rose in her mind like the mist on the sea. Were Outlanders being kept out or were Provincials being kept in?

Samantha looked at John but he seemed oblivious to anything but the road ahead. Now, she decided, might not be the best time to put the question to him. Something was troubling him and asking questions would only delay his telling her. And there was something here . . . something that made one feel lost and alone. Best not examine it at the moment, she thought.

The forest had thickened even more on this side and the canopy almost completely swallowed the light, to release it only after turning the day green. In places the forest floor was covered with low growing ferns, shrubs, and trailing vines while in others, growth was stifled as the trees were more abundant. The moisture level had also risen and althought it was still cooler here than in the middle of her pasture, there was no breeze she could detect.

Sergeant remained tense but silent, his eyes moving from one side of the road to the other. She followed his gaze, trying to discover what he was watching. She saw only the endless expanse forest shrouded in the eerie, green cast of the canopy, and the straight road ahead of them. An uncanny silence settled around them, undisturbed by anything but the crushing sound of the wheels against the surface of the road.

Samantha wished she has gotten a closer look at the wall. The Outland, as far as she knew, had always been. Yet, it had to have had a beginning. When she got back home she promised herself that a trip to the library was imperative.

“How far from the border does Aunt Isabel live, John.”

He hesitated a moment, frowning as he calculated. “I’d say a day’s ride. We could get across to the other border in half a day but we have to leave the main road soon and head east. She lives near the coast.”

“You’ve been here with Dad.” She was certain and so didn’t bother making it a question.

He didn’t answer.

“Did Mother know?”

“Yes.”

The pain took her by surprise. A part of her family history had been deliberately withheld from her. Information that could have made her understand herself better had been hidden. They had all known but her. Now, it made a wound she couldn’t be sure would heal because some of the people involved in the deceit were in no position to explain themselves. How do you forgive someone who can’t ask forgiveness? People she had loved and trusted had deceived her. She could think of no good reason for that.

“Samantha, I know how you must feel.”

“No,” she clenched her jaw and looked away, into the trees. “You have no idea how I feel in this instance.”

Sergeant began to growl and raised up from the seat. Samantha and John looked at the dog and then at where he was looking. For a moment, nothing was visible, then she saw them, men, standing in the trees a dozen yards from the road, clothed in something that made them nearly invisible among the greenery, their faces streaked with something dark, watching the wagon. She gasped and put her arms around the dog in case he decided to attack. His training would normally prevent him from doing something like that but this was not his usual surroundings and she didn’t know if training would hold in this situation.

She looked around to both sides of the road. They were everywhere. “John,” she whispered.

“I see them. Get the dog to sit down and hang on.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I think they are just watching us. I don’t think they will harm us but I can’t be sure. I’m going to speed up the horses and try and get some distance from here.”

When she looked back at the woods they were still there, not moving, just staring at them. It was more than unnerving, it was terrifying. She pushed Sergeant down on the seat. He resisted but obeyed, never taking his eyes off the wood.

A quick click of the reins and word from John and the horses broke in to a run. She kept her eyes on the men standing among the trees. Suddenly, ahead, someone darted from the left and made a grab for the reins. The horses shied away but continued to run. John smacked the reins against their flanks, spurring them forward. Sam was thrown back against the seat and grabbed for a handhold. Sergeant scrabbled to hook his paws over the edge of the seat.

She could see the sentinels still standing in the trees. No one else moved out. Moments later, a shrill whistle sounded from somewhere behind her and as she watched, the green men melted away. She turned to look back and screamed.