Chapter 57: The Journey Begins

The first light of dawn had barely crested over the horizon when Robert and Aiden saddled their horses and made their way toward the gates of the community. The air was crisp, carrying with it the promise of a long journey ahead. The grass shimmered with dew, and the sky above was still tinted with the soft, pink hues of early morning. It was a quiet moment, one that carried the weight of farewell and uncertainty.

Gabriella had stood by the gates, watching them prepare for departure. She had offered Robert a final nod of encouragement, her eyes filled with the hope that he would return, and not just alone. He had promised her, and Robert was not a man to break promises.

Now, as they rode side by side, Robert felt the steady rhythm of his horse beneath him, the familiar feel of the saddle beneath his hands. He was no stranger to long rides, but this one felt different. There was an unspoken tension in the air, a sense that the journey ahead would be one of the most important—and dangerous—of his life.

Aiden, riding just ahead of him, seemed focused, his sharp eyes scanning the horizon as they made their way down the well-worn trail that led out of the community. His posture was relaxed, but Robert could tell that the man was constantly assessing their surroundings, mentally preparing for the unknown.

It wasn’t long before Aiden broke the silence, his voice cutting through the soft sounds of their horses’ hooves against the dirt path. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us, Robert,” Aiden began, his tone measured. “I need to know everything about what happened. If we’re going to find your daughter, I need to understand where she disappeared, who she was with, what the circumstances were. Anything you can tell me will help.”
Robert nodded, his jaw tightening slightly. This was the conversation he had known was coming, but it still wasn’t easy. Talking about it, reliving those moments—it was painful. But if it meant finding his daughter, he’d face that pain head-on.
He took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. “It started a few years back,” Robert began, his voice rough from both the early hour and the memories. “We were living in a small settlement on the outskirts of what used to be a larger city. There weren’t many of us—maybe thirty or so—but we had a system. We traded with nearby groups, kept our heads down, stayed out of trouble.”

Aiden listened intently, not interrupting, allowing Robert to set the stage.

“My daughter, Lily, she was… she was only twelve when things went bad,” Robert continued, his voice softening at the mention of her name. “We’d always been close, just the two of us after her mother passed. I tried to protect her, teach her how to survive in this world. But no matter how careful you are, sometimes it’s not enough.”

He paused, swallowing hard, and Aiden gave him the space he needed.

“One day, a group showed up—said they were traders, that they had goods to sell. They seemed harmless enough, at first. We’d dealt with traders before, and we always kept our guard up. But these people… they were different. They weren’t there to trade. They were there to take.”
Robert’s grip on the reins tightened as he remembered the chaos that had followed. “They waited until nightfall. We didn’t see it coming. They attacked the settlement, killed anyone who resisted, and took the rest of us captive. I fought, but there were too many of them. They… they took Lily.”

His voice cracked slightly, and he stopped for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the terror of that night. Aiden watched him, his expression unreadable, but his silence spoke of understanding.

“They took her and disappeared into the night. I tried to follow them, but they were faster, better prepared. I tracked them for days, weeks, but every time I got close, they slipped away. Eventually, I lost the trail. I’ve been searching ever since.”
Aiden nodded thoughtfully, processing everything Robert had said. “Do you know who they were?” he asked, his voice calm but direct. “Any names, any symbols, anything that could help identify them?”
Robert shook his head. “No names, but they had a mark. Some kind of symbol they painted on their horses—like a serpent coiled around a blade. I’ve seen it a few times since, but never got close enough to learn more.”
Aiden’s brow furrowed. “That’s something, at least. A symbol like that stands out. It might give us a clue as to where they operate.”
Robert nodded, though his expression remained grim. “The last time I heard of them was months ago, near an old mining town a few days' ride from here. I was too late when I got there—no sign of Lily, no sign of them. But that’s the direction I’m headed. It’s the only lead I have.”
Aiden was silent for a moment, his mind clearly working through the information. “Alright,” he said finally. “We’ll start there. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to go back to where it all began—your settlement. If we can find anything you might’ve missed, maybe we can pick up a trail that’s gone cold.”
Robert looked at him, surprised. “That was years ago. There’s nothing left there.”
“There’s always something,” Aiden replied. “Footprints, traces of movement, signs of people passing through. I’ve tracked people through less. If we go back, we might find something you didn’t see before. Something that could give us a better direction.”

Robert hesitated, his mind flashing back to the ruins of his old settlement. The idea of going back there, of seeing the place where his life had been torn apart, filled him with dread. But he knew Aiden was right. If there was even the slightest chance that they could find a new lead, it was worth it.

“Alright,” Robert said after a long pause. “We’ll go back.”
Aiden gave a curt nod. “Good. It’s a few days' ride from here, right?”
“Three, maybe four depending on the weather,” Robert confirmed. “It’s to the north, through the old forests. The place is abandoned now. After the attack, no one wanted to stay.”
“Then that’s where we’ll start,” Aiden said decisively. “We’ll retrace your steps, look for anything that might help us pick up their trail. And if we don’t find anything there, we move on to that mining town you mentioned.”

Robert nodded again, though the weight of the journey ahead felt heavy on his shoulders. He glanced at Aiden, grateful for the man’s calm focus. It was clear that Aiden knew what he was doing. Gabriella had chosen well.

As they continued to ride, the sun began to rise higher into the sky, casting warm golden light across the landscape. The forest ahead stretched out like a dense, dark blanket, the trees towering overhead as they made their way deeper into the wilderness.

Aiden rode in silence for a while, occasionally glancing at Robert, as though gauging his readiness for what lay ahead. After a few hours of riding, he spoke again, his voice low and measured.

“Robert, this isn’t going to be easy,” Aiden said, breaking the quiet. “We’re going to be chasing shadows, looking for clues that may not even be there. But I need you to stay focused. If we find anything—anything at all—you need to be ready.”
Robert’s gaze hardened, his jaw set in determination. “I’ve been ready for years.”
Aiden nodded, his eyes narrowing as they approached the edge of the forest. “Good. Because once we start down this road, there’s no turning back.”

The forest seemed to swallow them as they ventured deeper, the thick canopy above blocking out most of the sunlight. The air grew cooler, and the sounds of the world outside the trees faded, replaced by the rustle of leaves and the occasional bird call.

For hours, they rode in near silence, the path ahead winding through dense underbrush and narrow trails that had been long forgotten by most travelers. Robert felt the familiar pull of the place, the memories of his life before flashing through his mind as they drew closer to the ruins of his old home.

As the day wore on, the terrain became more rugged, the path more difficult to follow. But Aiden seemed unfazed, his sharp eyes scanning their surroundings with practiced precision. He had the look of a man who had spent much of his life in the wild, a man who knew how to read the land like a map.

Finally, as the sun began to dip toward the horizon once more, they reached the edge of a clearing. Robert slowed his horse, his heart pounding in his chest as he looked ahead.

There, in the distance, lay the remains of the settlement. What had once been a small, thriving community was now little more than a scattering of crumbling buildings and overgrown fields. The sight of it hit Robert like a punch to the gut, the memories of that terrible night rushing back in vivid detail.

Aiden brought his horse to a halt beside him, his expression unreadable as he took in the scene. “This is it?”
Robert nodded, his throat tight. “This is it.”
Aiden dismounted, tying his horse to a nearby tree. “Let’s take a look around,” he said, his voice calm and steady. “We’ll start here and see if we can find anything that might help us.”

Robert dismounted as well, his legs feeling heavy as he approached the ruins of what had once been his home. The past was here, waiting for him. But so was the future—his daughter’s future. And he would do whatever it took to bring her back.

As they began to search the remnants of the settlement, Robert felt a flicker of hope stir within him. It was faint, but it was there.

Maybe, just maybe, this was the beginning of the end of his long, painful search.