“Attacked? What makes you think that?” Ashton questioned Drake, but he paid close attention to what was happening.

“Why else would they be running around like that?” Drake said, pointing out the people running around as if Ashton couldn’t see them, “Also, I can catch pieces of what they are saying. I wish it wasn’t raining right now, so I would be able to hear more clearly!”

Ashton and Drake listened carefully and observed what was happening. Soldiers were gathering into groups and then marching off to the left of the caravan in companies. The officers, or what Drake called officers, coordinated the groups and were the ones yelling loudly. Soldiers on horses were riding back and forth in a crazed fury, intent on whatever mission they were on. It was difficult to see in the rain, however, even with the lanterns lit.

“Do you think we are in danger?” Ashton asked nervously.

“We are trapped inside a cage. I think it’s part of the deal that nothing gets in.” Ashton gave him a look. “It looks like they are sending a lot of troops over there,” he said seriously. “It must be a large force to threaten this group. They are emptying the whole caravan. Can you see them?” Drake pointed toward the embarking columns of soldiers. “I can hardly see anything in the rain.”

“No, I cannot see anything either.” Ashton moaned, gripping the cage bars. “The most interesting thing that ever happened here is being covered up by the rain. And it’s only raining harder!”

Ashton was right,. Eventually a downpour had started, and the two captives couldn’t see ten feet past their wagon. They gave up straining to see with a sigh, and instead pondered the possibilities. Eventually there wasn’t a soldier to see within the camp.

“You know,” Drake said thoughtfully after a bit, “This could be our chance to escape.”

There was a pause before Ashton responded. “I’ve thought of that too, but, as you said, we are still trapped in this wagon despite what is happening out there. Even if the soldiers never come back, there still isn’t anything we can do.”

“True, but what if something big happened? What if this caravan started to get overrun and defeated or something? The spell could break!” Drake ended, snapping his fingers.

Ashton considered it, “it is unlikely that this attack, or whatever it is, is a rescue attempt. There are no tribes around that could match this army in strength, or even pose a threat.”

“Well sorry for being optimistic,” Drake said with a pout. “Let’s just sit here, instead, like we’ve been doing for the last who knows how long.”

“No, you are right, something could happen.” Ashton continued ignoring what Drake said, “Depending on what it is, it could help us or not. The new force could win and just as easily come here and slaughter all of us. We cannot tell from here. And first of all, we can’t do anything until the sorcery is defeated. Maybe if the people who are creating these spells fall, the cage will become unlocked. Or maybe it won’t. We don’t know how these spells work. It seems like we can only wait and see.”

“But we should be prepared in case it does happen.” Drake said and he took hold of their piece of iron and considered its strength. Would they need a weapon if they did break out? he thought. “I feel that it’s going to happen; I doubt anything like this will occur again soon.”

“We will see,” Ashton said simply. They waited expectantly, but it only rained harder and louder. Water found its way into the wagon and soaked the occupants. The space became wet and cold for them and with the discomfort also came a loss of their hope. Time passed and Drake became increasing frustrated and miserable. Suddenly, he cursed loudly and threw his weapon across the wagon. It clanged upon the bars and hit the spell’s barrier with a loud unnatural sound. the iron shackles fell to the floor harmlessly. Ashton didn’t react; he had gotten used to Drake’s temper by then.

“There should have been some news by now, either good or bad.” Drake commented, as if trying to explain why he threw the iron across the cage.

“It seems to me that everything here happens in bigger proportions then what we are used to.” Ashton replied, “This caravan is bigger than I could have imagined, the soldiers are more numerous than I could have imagined. Maybe the fight will also last longer than we could have imagined.”

Drake didn’t respond, and instead repositioned himself out of the way of a new flow of water. How come that water could get in and out but they couldn’t? It didn’t seem right.

“What would we do, if we did get free?” Ashton asked. Actually, this question had been on his mind for a while. He wondered what Drake would say; he doubted Drake had even given it thought. “Successfully that is. We get food and water here; what will we do outside of the care of these people?”

Drake looked up at Ashton and said stubbornly, “I’m sure we'll figure it out.” The water especially had put him in a bad mood.

“Okay then,” Ashton said sarcastically, “I’m glad that issue is resolved. But what about our destination? I do not know these lands, and I am sure you do not either. There might be a village of people nearby, but if we did find them, there would be no way to know if they are friendly to strangers. Of course, we could try to travel back to my village. It should be simple enough to follow the tracks and find Carothos. That would be what I would like to do. It will take a long time though, much longer than it took to get here. Plus, finding food and water along the trail of burnt ashes this thing left behind would only increase the time. But what about you, you would want to go to your home, wouldn’t you? In what direction does that lay?” Drake didn’t respond to his question so Ashton tried again, “Drake?”

Drake burst out, “Look, I don’t have all the answers; I’ve just been trying to get out of here. Who knows where they are taking us or what plans they have for us? Isn’t escape our top priority? Don’t you want to get out of here? Getting out of here will be hard enough; we can worry about the other details later!”

Ashton had suspected that Drake was sometimes reckless and stupid, but finally he had proof of it. “Well, it is a good thing you have me here with you. In any case, while you might not have given any thought to survival after escape, I have. It seemed important to me, for some reason.” Drake merely huffed. Ashton continued, “Actually, while I do not know these particular lands, I have recognized the plants and animals we have come across. That probably means that there are the same wilderness features here as at my home. If that is the case, I’m confident we could at least survive if we managed to escape; I at least know how to live in the wilderness. Anybody who grew up here would be able to do the same, I’m sure.” He paused and then asked, “But where are you from not to know these things?”

Drake didn’t answer and Ashton felt a sudden annoyance that Drake wouldn’t share. It had been bothering him for a while, and Ashton vowed to get it out of him someday, even if he died while trying. “Not talking today, huh, Drake?” he said, “Well, this isn’t the end-.” Ashton’s word were cut short by a loud crashing sound.

Ashton was thrown to the floor. “By the horn of the goat!” he yelled, “the roof has caved in!” Apparently, whatever wood was still in place was weakened by the rain and it collapsed on top of him in soggy mess. Drake jumped up and helped him quickly, but was laughing while doing so.

“Are you okay, Ashton!” he called, pulling pieces of wood off him.

“Yeah. I think I soiled my trousers, though.” He responded dolefully, pushing the wood off himself.

“That will quickly wash off in the rain, don’t worry.” Drake said happily. His earlier moodiness had vanished already. Ashton wondered about the man’s emotional stability. “At least you are not hurt. Nothing like a cave-in to stir the spirits, aye? What will the soldiers do when they see this, I wonder?” Drake asked. “Maybe they will give us a new wagon to sit in.” he joked.

“Wait Drake,” Ashton said suddenly, “if the roof has fallen in that means…” he checked his hand and feet, he was able to move them freely. “The spell has been broken! It must have been the only thing that was holding up the roof at this point.”

Drake stood still, stunned for a second. Then in one swift movement he snatched the iron and smashed his shackles that no longer were spellbound closed. They came apart in a quick flash and heavy sound. He struggled out of them desperately, and when he was free of them, he jumped up and looked around wildly. “This is our chance! Let’s get out of here!” He kicked the soggy and weaken wall, and it came down as well and fell to the ground in a splash of mud and water.

“Look,” Ashton said, standing up slowly and pointing out, “The whole Caravan has stopped moving. It must have happened when the roof fell in for us not to notice. What could have happened? Even the fire trail has been extinguished.”

“I don’t know and I don’t care!” Drake said excitedly. He tried to jump down, but merely flopped to the side and rolled over upon impact. He stood up shakily, wet and muddy. “I guess I will have to get used to walking again.”

“Curses, my legs are like jelly. Be careful, Ashton, I can hardly stand.” He gestured for Ashton to come down as well, but he hadn’t moved, “What are you waiting for!” he called frantically.

“What about the rest of the people here?” Ashton called.

“What other people?” Drake asked incredulously.

Ashton pointed toward the other occupants of their wagon and Drake looked at them. The roof and the wall had collapsed upon them half burying them. They did not struggle to remove the wood and metal off them and as always they seemed dead to the world with blank faces and personality. They frightened Drake terribly, and the idea of becoming like them haunted his dreams. He tried to ignore them the best as could, and hadn’t given them much thought lately. “What about them?” he yelled over the sound of the rain. He knew what Ashton was about to say and he didn’t like it. “There is nothing we can do for them. We can’t take them with us, it’s impractical! Just leave them, they can’t be saved.”

Still, Ashton didn’t move. “Ashton!” Drake yelled angrily now, “We don’t have time for this! Get down now! We have to go while we have the chance, while the guards are away!”

“We can’t just leave them!” Ashton yelled back.

“What can you possibly do for them?” Drake retorted, “They are already dead, in spirit if not body. There is nothing you can do for them! You think that there can be a good ending for everything, but you are just being naive. This will be our only chance to escape; don’t blow it up on some juvenile fantasy!”

Ashton’s countenance darkened, and he spoke out angrily to Drake, “Don’t lecture me on the naivety of optimism. I know full well the decrepidness of life. Hasn’t my village always lived in darkness and fear? Haven’t I lost my everything to the dangers of the wild? Hasn’t my village existed in the hardships beyond our strength to endure? Haven’t despair and death followed me closely throughout my life? I have no fantasies about this life, make no mistake! But it is you that has fallen under the delusions of this place. My experience with struggle has let me not lose sight of what is right and good, while you have lost sight of both. I understand our situation, but we must do what we can to help people around us, now during times of stress especially as well as during times of peace. Come up here, we can’t do much for them, but we can at least make sure they do not drown and suffocate under this fallen roof!”

Drake was astonished to hear such a violent outburst from the usually calm Ashton. After a moment, he climbed up again, but said bitterly, “This is a huge waste of time. The soldiers could come back any second but here we are, helping dead men.” Ashton didn’t respond, and Drake soon lost his real anger. The two worked together and cleared away the rubbish in the wagon, unburying the residents therein. None of them had actually died, and Drake and Ashton were able to thatch together some spare planks to create a temporary roof for them.

“A pity they have no will left.” Ashton said sadly. “If they did they could escape with us in the confusion. I wish I could help them more.”

“We have helped them enough, perhaps too much already. Let’s go now!” Drake said. He jumped down from the wagon once again, this time more steadily. He helped Ashton down as well, into the mud and tracks on the ground. They had given up trying to remain dry. Both were soaked to the marrow. The caravan had stopped in the middle of a wide and grassy plain with tall plants all around them. Although neither of them could see far in any direction, they knew that behind them was the wide trail of ashes that led toward Ashton’s home, Carothers. They agreed for the time being that would be where they would head.

“But first we must grab some something.” Ashton said shortly, and he quickly darted away toward a different carriage.

“What could you possibly want now?!” hissed Drake speeding after him, “we’ve spent too much time already.”

“How about you start thinking before acting so rashly?” Ashton called back, “You will get yourself killed at this rate.” Ashton threw a look over his shoulder. “I’m getting a water skin from the wagon that I see our captors use. It should prove useful, no?”

They arrived at the wagon and Ashton started inspecting it for an opening. “Well Mr. know everything,” Drake said, although understanding that the subtleties of the language didn’t translate well, “Since all the spells in the camp have stopped functioning, while having a container with an unlimited supply of water would be nice to possess, it is unlikely that will actually happen.”

“Still,” Ashton said, unperturbed by Drake’s remark, probably not understanding the sarcasm, “having a container we can at least fill up with water would still be valuable to have on the trip.” He had found the opening to the wagon and was crawling in.

“I suppose so,” Drake said grudgingly. He turned around to keep a lookout for any soldiers. But all was quiet except for the rain. Quiet and unnerving. It looked strange to him that there could be so much light while yet there was lots of rain. In Drake’s homeland, the rain clouds would have blotted out the sun, but here, the lanterns were still brightly lit. He wondered what was happening in the battle. It must be far off for no noise to reach them. And now that he was taking time to think, questions plagued him. Why had the spells come off anyway? Were the spell casters simply distracted, or had something else happened? If the opponents were winning the fight and had defeated the sorcerers, why wasn’t there a sign of them? Drake felt uneasy about the situation and wanted to get away quickly. Ashton appeared to be taking his time, though.

“Ashton!” he called out again, “What in the blazes is taking you so long? If you can’t find it, then just get out of there!” Ashton didn’t respond so Drake stuck his head into the carriage. “Oi! What are you doing?”

Ashton was simply standing there, not moving a muscle. He was as straight as a board and his arms were held closely to his sides. “Ashton?”

“I can’t move, Drake.” Ashton said plainly.

Drake hauled himself into the wagon, “what do you mean you can’t move? Just because you can’t find the water skin doesn’t mean that-.“

Ashton cut him off, “no, Drake, listen. I can’t move anything, not a muscle.”

Drake paused for a second. “What?” he asked, not comprehending what was said.

Ashton continued, “It’s not just me either, all the prisoners are similar. It is like a lock.”

Drake looked around at the other people in the wagons the wagons around them. “They look the same to me.” He said simply.

“No, Drake, listen to me! Another spell has been placed on us. All of us, I can feel it. I don’t think that the spells on the cage came off without a purpose; they had something else planned all along. I knew something was wrong.”

Drake was having trouble believing what Ashton said. He acted calm but inside of him a terrible feeling was rooting itself in, like a tall tree scraping up his insides. “Come on,” he said calmly but shakily. He reached for Ashton and grabbed him by the arm. He couldn’t move it an inch. He tried harder but the spell refused to budge. He cursed.

“Drake…” Ashton said weakly.

“Shut up!” Drake snarled, suddenly furious, “Don’t mess with me! We are almost free; I won’t let this end now! Not when we are so close! I’ll pick you up and carry you out of range of the spell if I have to!” He tried to carry Ashton but he remained planted in his spot. No force could move him.

“Shit, shit, shit, Shit!” Drake was now saying, desperate now and panicking. Ashton tried to speak, but Drake kept interrupting him, “SILENCE! I will get us out of here, just be quiet. I don’t want to hear it.” In desperation, he grabbed the invisible ring and tried to press it against Ashton to break the spell.

“You know that won’t work,” Ashton murmured.

“God Damn it!” Drake said, giving up for a moment and breathing heavily and staring down upon Ashton. He studied Ashton, thinking hard.

Without warning Ashton started moving, like a sudden gust of wind blowing leaves around. “Stop! What are you doing?” Drake cried out, startled.

Ashton didn’t answer but instead, climbed down the wagon in a fluid motion and started walking away fast. Drake jumped down after him, wondering what on earth was going on. Then Ashton turned his head to look at Drake. His eyes were wide and full of fear and he said softly as someone begging pitifully for hope, “Drake!”

Drake felt horror cascade upon him like an avalanche, and he realized what was happening. He saw the other prisoners, all of them, moving as well. They beat down the weak walls of the cages and walked out, like an army, grim and silent. And other than the banging of the walls, there was no sound other than the quiet sloshing of men in the rain. It was a quiet march of the dead, through the mud and the grit, to whatever end the unholy pilgrimage would lead to. Drake was frozen at the sight of it. People who had not walked in months were striding along at a fast pace, an unstoppable will moved them toward its dark end. A sudden impulse clutched at Drake to flee from the horror he was witnessing, but he fought it off, barely.

He had lost sight of Ashton momentarily, but caught up to him swiftly. “Don’t worry friend,” he said shakily, “don’t worry, I will get us out of this. You’ll see. I’m not going to let them take you.”

“But what can you do, Drake?” Ashton asked. He had regained some of his composure but his face was still a sheet of white. “Your ring can’t break the spell, we both know that.”

“I know, I know. Be quiet, I’ll think of something. God damn it!” he yelled, shoving a man who had come close to them, “Don’t come close to me!” he screamed unreasonably. The man stumbled a bit, but was otherwise unconcerned with what Drake did to him. Drake was deeply unnerved, however, and he shook, either from fear or cold.

They walked some more together. Neither said anything. Drake’s mind worked furiously, but nothing of promise presented itself to him. Wherever they were going, it appeared to be some distance away, at least. The group showed no sign of slacking its pace and the group continued on without hesitation. Finally, Ashton spoke, “Drake, run away!”

“What?” He responded incredulously.

“Go, there’s nothing you can do here. Run back to the camp and get the water skin. I did see one and almost grabbed it before the spell came over me. Then escape! There is nothing for you here!”

“Don’t say that!” Drake snapped, “I’m not leaving you here alone. You want to turn into a ghoul like them, Huh? You want to turn into a lifeless creature without hope or will? We can still get out of here. Don’t give up yet!”

“Drake,” Ashton said desperately, “There was never any chance of escape for me, not when the enemy is this powerful. Look at what they are doing; they are controlling thousands of men like this at once! Do you think they will let even one man out of their grasp? They are too strong! Only you can resist them, you and that ring! This is the chance you were waiting for! Run back home, to your wonderful home I never got to hear about. Go! Get out of here! Leave me and go!”

“No, I can’t do that! I can’t abandon you!”

“DRAKE!” Ashton screamed, “Shut up! There is nothing you can do! You accused me before of blinding optimism, but now it is my turn. There is no way this can turn out well; there is no happy ending here. Wake up and look around you! This is not something we can oppose; we are all just powerless against this foe. It has always been like this and always will! Only you can get away. So do it, do what you can!”

Something stirred inside Drake, a powerful mixture of hate, stubbornness, fear and pride. The two parts of Drake collided and blended in an incompatible mess. He shook and clenched his hands, drawing blood from the pressure and he breathed irregularly. What he said next was not screamed at Ashton, yet it still had the force to startle him. Ashton wondered at the strange transformation that took place in the man. He looked like a man beyond his mortality in the night and the rain.

Drake said darkly, yet queerly calm, “No, I will not. Do you think you can tell me what to do? Do you think they can force my hand? I am a Noble of the house of Foendell, I will do as I see fit. I will not leave you here to die. Who are these people to control us so? What controls this army and moves it to do such things? How can such power exist here to plunder and steal and kill and rape? Is that what power means? Curse it! It is not right; it is not how it is supposed to be. Where is the justice of this land?”

Drake was silent for a moment and Ashton wondered if he was going to turn and leave him. Truth be told, the Drake beside him frightened Ashton a little. But when Drake spoke again it was much more normal, “I’m not leaving Ashton. Even if there is no other chance for me to escape, I will not go. I already escaped once from death, all of my companions were left to die. I can’t do that again! I do not know how to survive here anyway; I would most likely die before anything good could happen. You are right, though, I do not see a good ending here for both us, I will stop looking for one. We have made it through so far together as well as could be we will have to trust that together we can still overcome obstacles. Besides, in the end I still don’t know how to get back to my home. It is different from your home; it is not something that can be walked to. I do not even think it is possible anymore. You said you wanted to hear about my home, but I didn’t want to talk about for fear of what it means, for me and for you. I will tell you now though, but perhaps you will despise me afterwards. I do not know! But you are right, you do deserve to know.”

It was getting darker, substantially darker as the group continued to move away from the lit up camp. Drake had pulled up right next to Ashton, and the two were walking together now, as if Drake was caught up in the spell as well. They were moving at a fast pace and although Ashton was very wet, he was getting hot under the strain of the march. He wondered that the spell could make these men march so strongly on muscles that surely deteriorated significantly over the months in the cages. Every so often one would stumble and fall, but he would pick himself back up again and continue on undeterred.

“The world I come from is separate from this world,” Drake began. “It like the shore on the other side of a large river, I had been taught. It is very similar to this world, though. There are plants and animals and ground and trees and people that inhabit it. In that respect, it’s practically the same. But it is so different as well! The sun, the sun! I wish I could see it again! I wish I would be able to see its light before I die here, to feel its warmth in the day! The sun is an entity that exists in the sky above us. It rises in the east and sets in the west giving the inhabitants of the land day and night, darkness and light, on a similar schedule to the lanterns here. If I didn’t know better, I would say that they are based on our sun. We call the land Learoth, and there is so much land there that you couldn’t see everything unless you spent your whole life trying. And there is more water than land! Oceans with fish and whales in it, countless living organisms. But I lived in a place called Seamond the great capital of our country. There I was a son of an Noble Lord, a pox upon that old fool!” he added savagely, “My biggest worry was my status among my brothers and other nobles sons. How silly, how trifling. I see it now! We didn’t think about death and prison, and I never wondered where my next meal was going to come from. That is the sort of place I came from, a place without worries. It is strange to think of it now, though. If I could, I would like to take you there sometime.”

“How did I end up here though? I was told it was pure, unfortunate chance! We were digging up a newly discovered ruin, but it wasn’t what we had thought it would be in our camp. It was an entrance to an ancient prison and its guardians massacred out our men, soldiers and magicians alike! I remember seeing our Captain die, and even young Growan too, cut in half by the powerful golems that guarded the prison. I was prepared to die as well for my folly, you see, it was I who choose to open the doors in the end, despite the warnings of my Captain. It was all my fault, I let the magicians words get to me. I would curse him now, but he too is dead. But I fell. Literally. Pulled into the very presence of a god, called out of that dark room before the sharp edges of the guardians weapons could skew me. Do you know, Ashton, this place we are in now has a name? It’s called Feresuil, not the wilderness, although everybody calls it that. And there are many other territories besides it, each with their own names and lands. It’s like a village with many houses. Right now, we are in but one single house. I believe these soldiers to be from another. Do you understand what I mean? And each territory has a god that formed it and rules over it. Even my home territory had its god and my father rules under his influence. You said before that things exist simply because they exist, but you are wrong. Things exist because they are created by something! This wilderness, Feresuil, has a god as well. You do not know him, but his name is Drfuil and he cares greatly about the well-being of his land and people!”

Ashton listened carefully to Drake, not saying a word. Drake continued, “Long ago, before the memories of your elders, and even beyond the memories of your songs, Drfuil lived and worked within this territory and there was peace and happiness. But then he waged war against the other countless territories, and as punishment, he was sealed away forever from his territory to watch it in torment for eternity. And so it has been since. That is the legacy of your people; it is the meaning of your existence. You only serve as punishment for a god you do not even know anymore. The other territories come and take what they please. You are right. They have the power to do so; there is no power here to stop them.”

“So I fell into the presence of Drfuil, by accident of probabilities, it seemed, during the chaos of our unintentional intrusion. Drfuil he called it fate. He told me his misfortune and took my ring that my father had given me. He then asked me to save his people, to save this land in his stead. This is where you must hate me, Ashton. I said no. But how could I say yes, when the price was so terrible? He asked for my life, but more than that he asked for my soul. How could I give that up, especially after understanding the loss of identity that was the cost? This ring here, you cannot see it you say, but I see it clearly, and it is a constant reminder about the horror of the god. You see, this is his instrument of choice, his weapon of doom for m. It is my own family crest, but he imprinted his divinity on for me to accept when I choose to. If I put on this ring I will gain his power as god, but I will cease to exist and instead will become Drfuil, or at least an extension of him. I don’t want that. I don’t want to die. So I said no to his command, I said I wouldn’t be the savior for his land. I wanted to go back home, to my own people! There was so little probability of success anyway. As punishment, he banished me here and in my confusion, I was caught up in this caravan and made a prisoner. That is how I got here. Do you understand? This is why I didn’t tell you before. If nothing else, that magician was right when he called me a coward. I was afraid you might see who i really was too, a coward. But is it wrong for me to not offer my life for Drfuil? A holy sacrifice for the greater good? I do not know. I only know that I cannot, not willingly. I’m sorry Ashton, but I can’t do what he asked me to do. I cannot save these people. I am so sorry.”

Drake let the last words fall from his mouth and linger on in the silence that followed. The only sounds then were the heavy breathing of all the men, the heavy rain, and the heavy footfalls of feet marching to their end. After a while Ashton answered him, sounding grieved, “My life is not my own, it belongs to the people I care about. I would give my life for my family. I would even give my life for my village if they needed me to. That is the bond that holds us all together, the trust and need and fellowship of my tribe. But would I give my life for a different tribe, for people of strangers and foreign thoughts and feelings? I do not know; I doubt it. I cannot blame you for your choice, Drake. Who would sacrifice himself for strangers? Do not worry. I do not hate you. And do not degrade yourself either. You are a good person whether you believe it or not. You have given me much to think about, though. Stories of god’s and territories; mortals and tragedies. Now there are new ways to know sorrow, but also new ways to know joy, no? This song has new meaning for me now. Let me sing part of it and ponder its meaning. We have lots of time, no?” He sang a song; one he had sung once earlier, but hadn’t sung it in its entirety.

The world was new and grey and bright

all was beautiful in his sight

He walked the land and life arose

The plants and trees and all that grows

He built the lands between his hands

and formed the sky where birds could fly

Time was still and life was bliss

Before the world became amiss

He called on men with him to dwell

To create a world where all was well

God and man, hand in hand

Bliss and sight within his light

There was a river in the land

On which a city had its stand

The gates there were large and strong

And pain there was all but gone

The city rose upon new heights

And beheld a world within new sights

The god sat upon his wondrous throne

And the glory of it was world renown

What strength and power!

And grace and wisdom

The men all worshipped

Him in the kingdom

Holy, holy, grace and mighty

Words and peace, and work and feasts

But all is gone and turned to waste

For none can come and take his place.

Ashton spoke again after the song reached its conclusion, “Perhaps the song has new meaning for me now. I will ponder it some more. We will have time for that soon, no? Unless they have taken us out here simply to dispose of us, I have no idea. Either way, I am glad you are still with me, Drake. I do not think I could have taken the horror of this much longer without your company. You may live to regret that you didn’t escape while you had the chance, though.”

“Maybe,” Drake said, “But I choose not to regret this decision whatever the outcome. Regret can be a choice, can it not?”

“We are likely to die of a sickness, simply standing out here in the rain, though,” Ashton said sadly.

But Drake hadn’t heard what Ashton said. Something else had caught his attention. “Shh!” he said suddenly, “Someone is coming!”