Sarah spent nearly a month at Radha's farm, frequently visiting the beach where she awoke, confused and injured. Her memory of the night of the wreck was still muddy, but the airliner parts washing ashore affirmed her belief that an airplane accident had dropped her on the shores.
She also swam with the dolphins frequently. There were three that distinguished themselves, Grayback, Blacktail, and Curvefin. These three seemed to be the leaders of the pod, bringing them closer or drawing them off to hunt. The two under them were Notchtail and Notchfin, twins both with a notch out of his tail and fin, respectively. The youngsters of the pod were always interested in Sarah, and delighted when she brought them gifts of inflated balls she aquired in Prosperine. They would push it out into the waves and let the surf bring it towards them, only to push it back out with their snouts again.
Sarah felt a deep bond developing between her and the dolphins, and, despite not being able to communicate in human words, she felt they understood each other. The day before she had to leave to make the journey to Waterfall City, she entered the water and the dolphins seemed to sense her mood. They were as sad as she was.
"I promise you that I will return after my schooling is complete." Sarah touched Grayback's nose with the palm of her hand. He took a deep breath and rolled over on his side, presenting his fin.
She smiled.
"Breathe deep, seek peace to you, too." Sarah giggled. "Take care of them, Grayback."
Sarah spent a few more hours with the dolphins, then left the water and returned to the farm to collect the few things she had. Radha gave her a map with the major trails outlined.
"Follow the cairns, especially though the country around here. The hills are the eastern escarpments of the Backbone Mountains, and where those mountains meet the desert just to the south. You should be able to make it in one or two days, depending on how the ankle holds out." She explained with the map laid out. "A few hours out is Rocky Marsh, you may be able to get a ride to the head of the Plains Trail, where it widens out and becomes a defined road."
"Thank you so much for your help Radha." Sarah smiled. "If you need anything, just find me."
"It is our way to help others, but I will keep your offer in mind."
Sarah rolled the map up and tucked it into a light pack. Shouldering the pack, she grabbed her walking stick she got in Prosperine and started for the fields to the trail.
She paused and turned.
"Breathe deep."
"Seek peace. May the tails treat you kindly."
"I will send messages of my progress periodically, so you know where to find me."
"We will wait for them."
Sarah turned back towards her path and continued towards her new life.
She indeed reached Rocky Marsh, a small outpost village, in a few hours. The trail was simple and the cairns large enough to not be missed. Most importantly, her ankle was doing fine. She decided to pass up the chance to hire a ride for the rest of the trip and continue on foot.
The trail wove through the valleys and gulleys between rough, windswept and barren hills, a warm wind bringing the smell of the desert and sand northward. Through this bleak land, she kept her eyes down, watching for hazards and snakes. She passed a few tough Ankylosaurs and their human partners on the trail, but for the most part of the journey, she was alone. By nightfall, she climbed to the top of a hill and made camp for the night.
The morning dawned cool and crisp with a large red sun climbing over the horizon and ascending to the heavens. Sarah could tell, just by the weather, that fall was coming to Dintopia soon.
That day brought an end to the harsh landscape and a beginning to the endless grassland that made up the Northern Plains. Here, wild bands of saurians scampered from the sight of the human, and she passed through the small town of North Fork where she refilled her water canteen and obtained some fresh fruit and bread for the trail.
Her path was still on the foothills of the Backbone Mountains, which rose to the south of her like the backs of sleeping giants. Her path was still rather hilly, but nothing too difficult. She, in her younger, Outside World times, had hiked some pretty rough terrain.
The next town of interest was Greenwood, at the head of the Plains Trail. This is where she stopped for her second night and stayed at a small inn in exchange for a few Outside World coins, a collector's item on the island.
The trail widened out, allowing saurian-drawn carts to travel freely from one town to another. She was often passed by said carts laden with the fall harvest being taken from one market to another before returning home for the wintertime. Every morning brought a red sun and ample fog, burned off to a hot mid-day sun fading to cool nights. Frequently, it rained and the trail became a muddy mess.
At the junction of the trail to Dunsmoor on the coast and Deep Lake to the south, lay Evergreen, a British-settled town with slight Chinese and other flavors of those who settled here. There was a blacksmith, a haberdasher, a baker, and other shops essential to a small town, as well as a large market square.
However, a few miles outside of town, a thunderstorm broke over the Plains. Sarah felt one raindrop, then another, and soon the water fell from the sky in sheets that darkened the world and stung as they struck. She ran quickly down the trail and found a lean-to that was constructed for the purpose of keeping the weather off any travelers. Not that the lean to worked totally, nor did it seem sturdy enough to tough out the winds that came with the Plains.
The storm broke around noontime, and was over by nightfall. Sarah was rather muddy, wet, and cold. She pulled out her light blanket, found a dry corner of the lean-to, and attempted to sleep. Her sleep was restless, and wrought with nightmares. Red eyes glowed from the bushes and sharp teeth gnashed at her, one slicing her arm open and she bled, her red blood becoming green grass when it touched the ground. Calling with a muted voice, she wandered. Wherever her feet touched the ground a mass of weeds, brambles, and what looked to be terrible claws grabbed her legs, tearing her pants, causing more blood to pour upon the ground.
Where the blood from her legs touched the ground, horrible flowers grew. Great deep purple and black flowers whose petals were tipped with sharp teeth that threatened to cut her more. She never seemed to run out of blood. The flowers spawned by her arm wound shone with a heavenly light and turned their attention towards the dark flowers. The evil flowers lunged at the heavenly ones, biting their stems in two, which bled deep red blood that brought forth more flowers. The new ones did not shine as bright as the originals, and seemed to be neutral, attacking both the bright and dark flowers. Sarah watched, horrified as her blood brought life and death to the earth and she was unchanged.
She fled in horror as the darkness consumed the light.
In the dark, she was afraid. Her hemorrhaging slowed, and the plants and claws tried to stop her no more. Instead, silver and red eyes glowed in the dark, in the distance. She walked, looking around wildly, paranoid of an attack. Obviously saurian hands reached for her, tore her clothing, and even the ones that looked harmless, left bruises and injuries.
One arm caught her, and then another, their sharp claws leaving red streaks as blood flowed once more. A three-clawed saurian hand reached out and took her throat, choking off her air, cutting down to her carotid artery. The arm was jet black and very powerful. It turned from saurian to human at the elbow. She fought against the arm, tried to push it away, reached for a body, but there was nothing but darkness. She desperately hit at the forearm, but darkness ultimately consumed her and her body went limp. She saw herself released by the arm, and collapse on the ground. Strangely shaped creatures moved in and drank deeply of her blood. Those moved away and allowed even stranger creatures consume her flesh and bone.
All the while, Sarah�s body stared wide-eyed, and her mouth was open in a silent scream.
Her bones were black and crumbled like ash.
There�s something about seeing yourself be consumed by the darkness that disturbs someone enough to wake them. The sky above the lean-to was clear, the storm had moved on, out to sea. Sarah could just barely see it far along the waters. Sarah looked around nervously, and then went back to the corner of the lean to. She didn�t sleep for the rest of the night.
The morning dawned dull, wisps of clouds lingering overhead. Despite the nightmare, the air smelled fresh and clean, as if the sins of the world were washed away. Along with the sins, the trail was a washout as well. The mud was thick and sticky, and human shoes didn�t work well. She almost lost one. The grasses were too high next to the trail for her to see the trail clearly and not get lost. The morning was getting warm, and there was little promise for the trail to dry out enough to travel it.
Logic told her that she should sit and wait for someone to come and help her out. In fact, it was a short while until someone on the back of a large Gallimimus. He was tall in the saddle, with short-cropped black hair and a darker complexion. Sarah came out of the lean-to and waved him down. He pulled the Gallimimus up and swung off. He towered over her at a good six feet, versus her five feet, four inches. He approached her with an extended hand, Sarah repeated the gesture, being used to it from Radha�s farm. The Gallimimus coughed, and extended his hand. After the night before, she shied away from the dinosaur.
�Breathe deep,� The newcomer said.
�Seek peace.� Sarah answered. �Can you help me?�
�Of course. Where do you need to go?� He smiled and leaned on the wall of the lean-to.
�The next town, I think it�s called Evergreen.� Sarah packed up her things.
�Perfect, that�s where I�m headed, anyway. I�ll tie your pack to my partner Greensleeves, here and you can go ahead and hop on. I�ll take you to Evergreen.� Ethan headed back to his Gallimimus, Greensleeves. Sarah picked up her pack and followed him.
She shied away from the dinosaur, whose forearms were a deep green while the rest of his body was a dusky-brown, with red eye stripes. His saddle was of bright cloth with multi-colored tassels everywhere. There were bells on the halter, which surprised Sarah because she didn�t hear him coming at all. Ethan strode over and picked up Sarah�s pack and lashed it to the side of Greensleeves. He then picked her up and placed her on the saddle.
�Up you go, shorty.� He joked.
�Thanks. Is this safe?� Sarah asked nervously, settling herself of Greensleeves�s back like a horse.
�Of course, Greensleeves is a big baby.� Ethan swung up behind her and tapped Greensleeves�s side. He took off at a fast clip, following the trail westward towards Evergreen.
Evergreen was quaint to Sarah. The roads were wide enough for two of the larger saurians to walk two abreast, but cobbled to keep the dust down, and allow for drainage. There were a variety of shops displaying their wares in wide shop windows. The signs proclaimed what types of shops they were in pictures, Footprint, English, and several other languages. Most of the buildings were built of stone or brick with a wood frame beneath, three stories was the average. Patterned brick sidewalks gave pedestrians a path to follow other than the road.
Greensleeves let himself into a communal barn on one block. Ethan got off and helped Sarah down.
�Shake out your legs, I know riding is uncomfortable when you start.� Ethan advised while taking the bags off, and undoing Greensleeves halter and saddle. He let him into a stall and tossed some fresh hay into the stall.
�Come on, we still have a walk for a few blocks.� Ethan smiled, picking up his gear. Sarah shook out her legs and picked up her pack.
�Are we going to your house?� Sarah asked.
�Apartment, actually, and yes, you�ll get to meet my dad. We live above the blacksmith shop.�
Ethan led the way to a separate house. A large chimney on the back end belched smoke and a foul smell surrounded it. Coming from inside, she could hear the sounds of metal striking metal. Ethan grunted and shoved a small door open to reveal a set of stairs.
"The shop is owned by three different families, so we each have our own apartment above and use the shop together. I know my dad doesn't have much to do, so it must be one of the other men." Ethan explained, ascending the stairs and pushing open a plain door with a large footprint alphabet 'A' in the center. Sarah closed the door behind her and looked for a lock but never found one.
"Do you not lock your door?" Sarah asked, surprised.
"No, is that bad?" Ethan replied just as surprised.
"Aren't you afraid of someone breaking in and stealing your stuff?" Sarah asked, dropping her bag on the floor of the small room. She leaned her walking stick against the wall in a corner.
"Why would anyone feel the need to steal?" Ethan mused.
"Well, I just figured that since we have theft in the rest of the world this place would as well." Sarah sighed.
Ethan turned to face Sarah and put a hand on her head. "Hon, this place is not like the rest of the world." He slid his hand off and patted her shoulder.
"Right." Sarah quirked her brow at him.
"Hey, I'm sure you need to wash the mud out of your clothes, and grab a bath while you're at it. I should take one, too." Ethan sniffed his arm to test his scent. "We can go to the bath house and get a good soak in. I'll loan you some clothes until we can get to the wash house and wash them out later on."
"Sound good to me." Sarah shrugged.
"Okay, let me get some things and see if dad is in." Ethan smiled and went through one of the two doors leading from the room. Sarah walked over to a small table, pulled out a chair and sat down. She sighed and put her head down on the table. The nightmare had exhausted her, and the idea of a bath sounded really good to her right about now. Everything seemed to be covered in mud, including her memory. She once again tried to remember her arrival, but it was still unclear.
"Alright, shorty, lets go." Ethan said. Sarah lifted her head up and Ethan tossed her a change of clothes in a towel. He carried two sets of soaps and wash cloths.
"We're short of women's clothing here, and you are just about my brother's height, so I borrowed some of his clothes for you. I also took his bath items for you to use, or you can use mine, whichever you prefer." Ethan smiled.
Sarah pushed herself up and followed Ethan out. He led her down a few blocks into the center of town and to a large Roman-style building that stood out in the middle of town. A few humans and dinosaurs lingered, but few were at the bath house in the morning. Above the great arch that served as the entry and exit was a sign that read "bath house" in Dinotopian, English, Arabic, and Chinese. Below that was a sign that seperated the men and women out.
"It's simple in there, I will meet you at the fountain across the street when you are done." Ethan smiled and handed her the soap and washcloth.
They entered the building and went their seperate ways. Sarah followed the signs to the "basket room," where you can remove your clothes and put them in a holding basket and prepare to go to the bath house. She stripped, tossed her clothes into the basket and put the borrowed clothes on top. She wrote her name on a chalkboard on the wall and put down the basket number she took. She set it on the wall, wrapped the towel around her body and proceeded to the bath.
The bath was two seperate operations. There was one shower area where you could wash your hair, and another, larger heated bath where you can wash your body. Sarah hung her towel on the hook and started the warm water. She was surprised they had running water. The Island seemed to backwards sometimes. She used a sweet-smelling shampoo that was provided and rinsed. She grabbed her towel, washcloth and bar of soap and moved onto the bath. She enjoyed the heated bath enough that she lounged for a long time, letting the pain of the nightmare and the fear of a new world wash away.
She eventually got out, dried off, and followed the signs back into the basket room where she changed into the fresh clothes and wrapped her dirty ones in the towel. She combed her hair through with a brush that was provided, erased her name off the board and left. She walked barefoot, carrying her shoes since they were very muddy and needed to be washed, or replaced.
The clothes that she was loaned were very comfortable. Loose, light pants, and a long-sleeve shirt with a vest that went over it. Both vest and pants were tan in color, and rather plain. The shirt was a plain white, but Sarah liked it. She looked around for the fountain and found it across the street and saw Ethan standing there, waiting.
"Feel better?" He asked with a smile.
"Much." Sarah nodded.
"Hungry?"
"Yes."
Ethan took Sarah to a small diner and got her a light meal and a little something for himself. He showed her around the town and they finally arrived back at the apartment at dusk.
"I had fun, thanks Ethan." Sarah smiled, sitting on his round bed.
"No problem, I know how sad it is to travel alone." He sat next to her and nudged her with his shoulder. "I can show you around more tomorrow, if you want."
"That would be nifty." Sarah thought for a moment. "Have you heard anything about another dolphinback that should have arrived the same time as me?"
"No, why?" Ethan asked.
"I lost my friend. I know she lived through the crash, I just don't know where she ended up." Sarah looked down.
"If you know she lived, then I'm sure she's alight. She might even be in Waterfall City right now, wondering the same thing you are."
Sarah smiled, "Thanks."
Sarah spent the next few weeks with Ethan and his family and Evergreen, quite fine with staying there.
Yet, after two weeks, she asked Ethan to accompany her the rest of the way to Waterfall City.
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