The old men walked slowly, but it was not annoying Roderick. He even thought of taking them to another direction but remembered what their sacrifice could do to the kingdom.
The cannibals were following them. Roderick could hear them stepping on twigs, but the old ears had no ability to hear the stalkers. Those steps came closer and closer.
At last, those old eardrums got wind of steps. And the cannibals got three of the warriors in their clutches. Roderick ran after the cannibals, leaving the warriors vulnerable in the forest.
He was finding it hard to catch up with them. In the end of his chase, he found them opening the stomach of warriors on the shore of a river.
They didn’t like to eat the insides.
“Now tell me where I can make them young.” Roderick said.
“In North there’s a small waterfall. It is origin of this river. Drink water from there when there is no shadow under your feet. You will get young.” Cannibal answered him.
“No shadow under my feet? What does it mean?”
“It means hurry up because sun will be above you soon.” They laughed and began cleaning the body in the running river.
Roderick ran towards the warriors. Warriors were trembling there when he arrived.
“I just saw blood floating in river.” They said.
Dead warriors….
“Don’t get scared of anything which comes floating from river. We have to follow the river.” Roderick consolidated them and made them walk faster.
They didn’t disappoint them and proved why they were warriors. No one of them stopped for rest, even when their knee bones were making noise. Bone rubbing on bone was hard to hear. Cartilages had given up on them, but they hadn’t given up on walking.
Roderick carried two of them who could not take a step further.
His eyes always were on his shadow. He could see them shrink. But the old men were watching the shrinking width of the river.
“We are close.” Old man said and everyone kept on walking.
After half an hour of walk, shadows disappeared underneath them. Roderick could see the small waterfall, but it was going to take the old men long time to reach there.
Roderick knew shadow would appear within a minute. There was no way those old men could make it there in a minute.
Roderick lifted the warrior whom he was carrying and threw him towards the waterfall. The man flew hundred meters in air and landed on water with a splash. He threw everyone to the waterfall.
The last throw was tight. He wasn’t sure if the last man had reached in the waterfall before shadow had arrived or not.
He rushed towards the waterfall and found a dead old man floating on waves.
He couldn’t make it. Roderick was saddened. I killed him.
“Warriors! Where are you?” Roderick swam in water to search for them. As he dived deep in water, he saw some children floating up with bubbles leaking out of their mouths.
Roderick shot up and held the floating corpse of the old man for support.
He was now in the river with laughing babies.
S***! They drank too much water. Roderick began to lament. He collected them one by one and put them on the river bank. They crawled on sand. Some of them even started eating it.
“Don’t eat sand. NO!” Roderick yelled at them after getting on shore.
He prayed for deceased because he had no time to bury him.
I am sorry, old man. I can’t even give you a burial. He said, carried all of them at once and walked. This time he followed road rather than following the river.
