A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,31
be easier in silence." Dominic turned his head forward, ending further conversation.
Rather than bounce along in frustrating silence, Jake carefully took out his phone and powered it on. He checked the battery and saw that he had about a ninety percent charge. Even though he did not want to drain it, he decided to listen to some music to pass the time. He put in his earbuds, picked a rock playlist and let his mind wander as the terrain blurred past. His thoughts turned randomly to his family, Sean and Matt, Tina and, of course, Sabrina. He was saddened by the thoughts, homesick, but, recalling his father's words, tried to set aside that emotion and remain calm.
As the music seemed to beat in time with Shadow's rhythmic gait, he silently pondered how he would ever see them again. He knew he was no longer on Earth; the past couple of days made that clear. He had no idea how or why he came to be here, wherever here was; as such, he had no idea on how he could return. He mulled that over for awhile, finding no answers. In the end, he decided that he had no choice but to let this play out. On the plus side, he felt safe with Dominic, despite his gruff demeanor. Dominic seemed to have a lot of faith in this friend of his, Jonas. Hopefully, he would be able to help Jake find out the answers to his questions and, more importantly, find a way home.
Without much transition, the trees suddenly fell away and a rolling expanse of grassland opened up, cut only by the road. Jake could see that there were clumps of trees scatted randomly across the plains and shadowed against the horizon. The sun, shining brilliantly in the nearly cloudless bright blue sky, lit up the grasses and plants that covered the ground. He could tell that it was still at mid-morning. He felt Shadow increase his pace, as if the open land triggered a need for more speed. The grasses flowed by, Shadow moving effortlessly, seemingly tireless in his stamina.
After about an hour of travel, they came to a fork in the road. To the east, there was a road that intersected the road they were on. The road ahead split off into two paths, one bending off to the west and the other heading north.
There they encountered the first people other than Matus' group and Dominic that Jake had seen. A wagon being pulled by four horses, its bed covered with a canvas tarp, was coming from the east along the intersecting road, followed by two men on horseback. They reached the crossroads at the same time as Dominic and Jake. Dominic slowed Shadow to a walk, raising his hand in greeting to the wagon's occupants and pulled up next to them, Dominic facing the driver.
The wagon driver was a stout man with a large belly, his round face red from the sun. He was dressed in plain brown leather clothing, along with a shirt of chainmail. He carried a large wooden club over his shoulder. The following riders were dressed in similar garb, armed with swords. They eyed Dominic, clearly a trained and armored warrior, with suspicion and some concern, but made no threatening moves.
It was clear to Jake that they were guards to the other man on the wagon. He was an older man, thin and white haired. He was dressed more finely in well-made, though plain, light colored cotton pants and shirt, with polished brown leather boots that came up about mid-calf. He had several pouches and a long dagger hanging from his thin leather belt. He looked bored, slouching in the wagon's seat.
"Greetings, warrior. How fares the road from the south?" The older man said as Dominic stopped Shadow, sounding as if he did not really care one way or the other. "Any trouble along the way?"
"We had some encounters in the Forest." Dominic replied. "You may need a stronger guard if you travel that way."
"Fortunately, we head west." The man nodded towards the westerly road. "I am heading to Samutia to test the markets there."
"Any news from the capital? I have been away for a period of time." Dominic asked.
"No real news, warrior. Just gossip about who the king will select for young princess and the usual jockeying amongst the nobles." The man said with a shrug of his shoulders.
As he spoke with Dominic, Shadow shifted and the man gave a little