Read Online Seeds of Discovery by Breeana Puttroff - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Breeana Puttroff
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trees.
* * *
Quinn gasped. The broken end of the half-missing structure was no longer broken, and it no longer ended. Instead of the disintegrating, broken concrete-and-stone edge, a wide stone walkway arced across the entire river. Cautiously, she put her other foot forward. The stone and mortar that should not have been there held firm. She spun around, ready to run back down the stone steps, but the sight stopped her cold.
The sun that should have been directly in front of her had moved, and now dipped below the tree line far to her left, casting strangely long shadows that cut obtrusively across the landscape. Even in the fading light of the irregular dusk, she could see that everything was different. Where the rocky riverbank should have sloped up to the highway, there was now a vast expanse of trees and open fields. Lights from unfamiliar buildings glimmered and sparked to life in the distance.
Slowly, Quinn let her eyes scan the area around her. The river was no longer a rocky, mountain creek underneath the bridge. Now, a wide expanse of water flowed lazily between the bush-covered banks on either side. Downstream, the river continued uninterrupted to the southwest but seemed to widen significantly just past a break in the tree line. The view upstream was the most shocking. Instead of sloping up into the familiar peaks of the mountains she had seen all her life, a long valley spread out before her, sparsely populated by stands of trees and varieties of grass and wildflowers. In the distance where the horizon began to merge with the night sky, Quinn could just make out the outline of a thick forest.
“Now you’ve done it.” The sound of the voice below her jolted her like an electric shock. In the same instant that she registered the frowning face of William Rose, Quinn stumbled and fell down the steps at the end of the bridge, right into the bushes.
“Fabulous,” William muttered, bending down toward her to assess the damage.
Her mind reeled as she tried to reason with herself. The rational part of her that had decided that she was dreaming was at war with the side that could see the strange landscape, hear the unfamiliar calls of strange birds and feel the blood seeping into her jeans from the gash on the inside of her right leg. She let William help her out of the shrubbery. He sat her down at the end of the bridge, and she leaned back against the steps as he pulled up the leg of her jeans to examine the source of the bleeding.
“It doesn’t look too bad; a little deep, but I’m going try to patch it up without stitches, at least out here,” William told her, removing a small pouch from his bag. He worked quickly and methodically, cleaning the wound with a bit of clear fluid from a glass vial, and spreading on some kind of thick, yellow goo.
Quinn stared, watching his steady, practiced movements and trying to clear her head. Suddenly, a stinging sensation brought everything sharply into focus.
“Ow!” She jerked her leg out of his grasp.
“Sorry. That will be the gauna root; it stings at first but accelerates healing. Don’t rub it.”
She scowled, pulling her hand back. Gauna root ? “Where are we?” she demanded.
William looked down at her calmly, his eyes meeting hers for the first time. Gray eyes, deep gray, nearly the same color as her own. He studied her face, looking as if he were trying to decide something as he wrapped her leg in a long bandage, and then began re-packing his supplies into the compartments of his leather pouch. A look of determination crossed his face, and he finally spoke. “Can you stand? It will be dark soon and we still have a fair distance to walk.”
Quinn coughed. The shock and strangeness of the situation combined were becoming too much for her. Her mind screamed for something – anything familiar. Part of her began to sincerely hope that this was a dream and she would awaken in a few moments in the safety of
* * *
Quinn gasped. The broken end of the half-missing structure was no longer broken, and it no longer ended. Instead of the disintegrating, broken concrete-and-stone edge, a wide stone walkway arced across the entire river. Cautiously, she put her other foot forward. The stone and mortar that should not have been there held firm. She spun around, ready to run back down the stone steps, but the sight stopped her cold.
The sun that should have been directly in front of her had moved, and now dipped below the tree line far to her left, casting strangely long shadows that cut obtrusively across the landscape. Even in the fading light of the irregular dusk, she could see that everything was different. Where the rocky riverbank should have sloped up to the highway, there was now a vast expanse of trees and open fields. Lights from unfamiliar buildings glimmered and sparked to life in the distance.
Slowly, Quinn let her eyes scan the area around her. The river was no longer a rocky, mountain creek underneath the bridge. Now, a wide expanse of water flowed lazily between the bush-covered banks on either side. Downstream, the river continued uninterrupted to the southwest but seemed to widen significantly just past a break in the tree line. The view upstream was the most shocking. Instead of sloping up into the familiar peaks of the mountains she had seen all her life, a long valley spread out before her, sparsely populated by stands of trees and varieties of grass and wildflowers. In the distance where the horizon began to merge with the night sky, Quinn could just make out the outline of a thick forest.
“Now you’ve done it.” The sound of the voice below her jolted her like an electric shock. In the same instant that she registered the frowning face of William Rose, Quinn stumbled and fell down the steps at the end of the bridge, right into the bushes.
“Fabulous,” William muttered, bending down toward her to assess the damage.
Her mind reeled as she tried to reason with herself. The rational part of her that had decided that she was dreaming was at war with the side that could see the strange landscape, hear the unfamiliar calls of strange birds and feel the blood seeping into her jeans from the gash on the inside of her right leg. She let William help her out of the shrubbery. He sat her down at the end of the bridge, and she leaned back against the steps as he pulled up the leg of her jeans to examine the source of the bleeding.
“It doesn’t look too bad; a little deep, but I’m going try to patch it up without stitches, at least out here,” William told her, removing a small pouch from his bag. He worked quickly and methodically, cleaning the wound with a bit of clear fluid from a glass vial, and spreading on some kind of thick, yellow goo.
Quinn stared, watching his steady, practiced movements and trying to clear her head. Suddenly, a stinging sensation brought everything sharply into focus.
“Ow!” She jerked her leg out of his grasp.
“Sorry. That will be the gauna root; it stings at first but accelerates healing. Don’t rub it.”
She scowled, pulling her hand back. Gauna root ? “Where are we?” she demanded.
William looked down at her calmly, his eyes meeting hers for the first time. Gray eyes, deep gray, nearly the same color as her own. He studied her face, looking as if he were trying to decide something as he wrapped her leg in a long bandage, and then began re-packing his supplies into the compartments of his leather pouch. A look of determination crossed his face, and he finally spoke. “Can you stand? It will be dark soon and we still have a fair distance to walk.”
Quinn coughed. The shock and strangeness of the situation combined were becoming too much for her. Her mind screamed for something – anything familiar. Part of her began to sincerely hope that this was a dream and she would awaken in a few moments in the safety of
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