Chapter 4

"I'm fine, Martin!"

A rising storm had driven them to this cave for shelter. It was rather violent outside, the weather raging as the sky had turned black with clouds. Veronica was staring in wonder at the wind and rain as her mother cowered in her father's arms. The horses nickered uncomfortably in the back of the cave.

It wasn't a large cave, just barely big enough for the two horses and the three of them. There were also crystals embedded in the walls that seemed to glow - red, blue, yellow and green.

"I just don't like this place."

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I had more than my fill of adventure when I followed you across the Atlantic. I was happy in Ireland! Happy!"

Veronica could barely recall Ireland; she'd been in America for five years now. Just the hazy memories of her three year old self. She remembered lots of green - certainly it had been much greener than the Americas, which were all brown and drab. She liked Ireland, too - but she also liked sailing across the ocean, and then building up a new life out here. The Porters had gone from potato farmers to horse traders.

As suddenly as it had come, the storm let up. It remained dark out. Veronica ran outside to look around. Just like there was no sun in the sky, she saw no moon or stars either.

"Come on, Ronnie," her father said. "Let's go get some firewood. You'll be okay here, Sydney, or do you want to come?"

Her mother peered out at the drenched landscape, and her eyes widened, darting back and forth. It reminded Veronica of a caged animal. "I ... I'll stay here."

"You have your rifle?"

She nodded her head at the horses. "On Meg."

"Good. Now don't shoot us when we're coming back." He laughed. "Don't want to run out of bullets, eh?"

Her mother had a stricken look on her face. "I hadn't even thought about that ... what will we do when we run out?"

"Don't you worry, treacle. Our ancestors made do without guns. I'm sure we can do the same."

"I've changed my mind," she said. "I want to go with you."

Veronica asked, "What about the horses?" She remembered those bird things rending her poor little horse apart. "Someone needs to protect the horses."

Her mother and her father shared one of those looks they thought she didn't notice, and eventually her mother broke down. "Okay, Ronnie. I'll stay and take care of the horses. Just come back soon?"

"Aye, Ma," Veronica assented, bowing her head. "I'll keep Da in line."

They had to walk quite a few miles, following the edge of the bluffs, to find any wood - but when they found it, it was a forest! Trees densely packed. Veronica was tempted to go exploring, but it was dark; her father seemed to understand the look in her eyes. "When it's daylight again, we'll take a look?" Then his face grew dark. "Assuming we get daylight again."

This suddenly made Veronica grow worried. There was no sun ... maybe they'd brought the sunlight in with them? She could scarce imagine a world where there was no day. She shivered. "Do you think it'll be dark forever, Da?"

"Oh, I'm sure not. Have faith, little miss!" He grabbed some branches lying on the ground. "Grab a few more branches, and we'll head back to the cave. Your mother's probably already worried sick."

There was an amazing roar, as if from a dragon, as the trees started shaking. Suddenly, there was a dreadful pounding, and Veronica turned around to see what appeared to be a dragon, a large scaled beast with teeth the size of her hand! It was coming towards them.

She grabbed the branches she was carrying and held them close to her chest. "Run, Da!" And then she took off running.

She dared not look behind her, but she could hear her father yelling at her to keep running, and that he was right behind her. Suddenly, the cave came into view. Veronica was gasping for breath, she was almost ready to collapse, but she knew she had to keep going. Then there was a crack, as if a gun had gone off - and then the roaring behind her changed abruptly, becoming mixed with anger and pain.

Veronica stopped, looking behind her. The beast was standing there, bewildered, one of its eyes gone, blood coming out of the wound. It let loose another cry, then turned and stalked away, still crying in pain. Veronica saw her father coming towards her. He stopped, grinning at her. "Your Ma didn't waste that bullet."

Then, talking Veronica's hand, they carefully picked their way over the mud, back to the cave, where her mother was still standing, her knuckles white as she clutched the rifle.

Soon, her father had a fire started. He and her mother shared one of the saddle blankets, letting Veronica have the other. She shivered, and pulled closer to the fire, listening to the strange sounds of this lost world.