Nabra’s Journey by C.L. Chick
Read time: ~8-minutes

Moonlight glistened off the waters of the wide and tumultuous mountain river as Nabra stood with her bare feet gripping a log in its center. Her best friend, Moggie, a tiny jungle cat, weaved through her legs, then scampered across the remaining logs. He disappeared into the shadows until he turned and peered at her with the full moon’s light reflecting in his eyes.

She looked at him sitting on the riverbank and hesitated, her father’s warning ringing in her ears. “You must never venture outside the perimeter, Nabra. The Others are dangerous.” 

No one knew who the Others were, but there were rumors of white giants outside the village, and the few tribe members who’d left never returned. But who knew why? Who even knew if the white giants were real? Maybe the Others were nothing more than a story to keep young ones like her from leaving the village because, well, who wanted to stay in this stupid village anyway? There must be something more than the same old boring routine each day, with her brother constantly chasing her, her mother nagging her, and her father’s useless and never-ending lessons. Ugh. She’d wanted to get away and explore beyond the village for all twelve seasons of her life, or at least as long as she could remember.

Moggie drew her from her thoughts with a series of soft chirps that resembled those of a monkey’s. He could do that, mimic the small monkeys he preyed upon. It was one of the things she liked about him, one of the things that made him unique among wildcats. He could climb in the treetops, too, nimbly jumping from branch to branch even better than she could. 

Yet, at the moment, he remained still, his eyes fixed on her. 

“All right. All right. I’m coming.” She’d only venture a short distance, just far enough to say she did. There was nothing but more jungle on the other side of the river anyway. It looked no different than it did on her side during the day. What harm could there be in a few steps? No one would know.

Suppressing a squeal, she skipped across the log toward Moggie, her movements rustling the grasses of her skirt, brushing its soft fibers against her dark skin. Her feet touched the other side, and she spread her arms in victory. “I did it!” she said with excitement, though she kept her volume low. No need to risk waking the elders—or anything else that might be out there. 

She advanced into the eerie darkness hoping her eyes would further adjust and wishing she had Moggie’s night vision. But the darkness grew, its shadowy tendrils enveloping her with every step. Her excitement tempered, she turned and glanced at the river. The water still glistened in the moonlight, giving her some solace. But when she turned back, the jungle’s interior seemed even gloomier than before. 

Ignoring the sweat beading on her brow, she walked a bit further. Despite the denseness of the jungle, the path was surprisingly wide, as though large creatures traveled it often. But she’d never noticed anything that big in the vicinity. Still, the trail felt too expansive. Goosebumps formed on her arms, and she wiped the palms of her clammy hands on her skirt.

A few uneasy steps further, and she turned to see the river again. But the path had bent, and she could barely make out the moonlight now. She bit her lip and contemplated returning to the village. 

A high-pitched screech pierced the air above. 

She put her hands over her head and jumped back, catching her foot on a raised root and toppling into something warm and furry—and enormous. With great care, she attempted to move away without stirring the creature. But the massive ball of fur groaned and stretched, then unfurled and stood. Frozen, she peered up at its towering frame as he thumped his fists against his chest and released a deep roar. With a chill running up her spine, she turned and fled before he finished.

The gorilla gave chase. 

She made it to the river and leaped onto the log with the beast’s heavy strides drawing nearer. As she reached the log’s center, the great ape’s foot came down upon its end. The log creaked under his weight, then slid off the rock that held it in place. The gorilla’s foot slipped with it, sinking into the water’s edge, ending his pursuit. But the damage had been done. The current swept the timber away - and Nabra with it. 

She fell forward, wrapping her arms around the log and digging her nails in.. When she lifted her head, Moggie’s eyes met hers from the log’s opposite end. The river’s incline grew and they tumbled down the mountain’s waters, gaining speed. With the sound of her heart in her ears as loud as the roaring rapids around her, she searched frantically for anything that could stop their momentum. They passed dark shadows of rocks and boulders in a blur. Should she try to grab one?

The log caught on something, shifted, and rolled. She managed only a single gasp before water engulfed her, rushing over her face, some sliding down her throat. She held on as fiercely as her small arms would allow while they flew down the mountain. It wasn’t long before her fingers, bloody and raw from gripping the wet bark, screamed for a reprieve. 

She craned, lifted her head, and drew a breath.

The force of the frenzied waters pulled her under once again. Something hard and sharp tore into her flesh and acute pain shot up her arm. Her muscles ached and her lungs burned as she fought against the current.

She tried to haul herself out, then tried again. It took three attempts before she mounted the log, gasping and choking. She collapsed, thankful for the timber, then labored to lift her head to peer at Moggie. He remained on the log’s end, his fur wet in spots but not soaked. While getting her breath and strength back, she scanned their surroundings. Water raged past, the blackness of the forest too far to reach on either side.

What were they going to do?

There were no boulders within reach, and jumping in to get to one would probably - the log shifted. Oh, no. It lurched forward, then came loose. In seconds, they were careening even faster than before. Water splashed in a constant, unforgiving stream, filling her mouth and trying to pull her under. During a brief reprieve, her vision cleared, but only to reveal an abrupt end to the river in the distance. 

No, that couldn’t be. Rivers didn’t just end, didn’t just disappear. 

Moments later, she squeezed her eyes shut as she and Moggie plummeted over the falls and plunged into the stygian waters far below. 

#

She woke, dry and with blinding light assaulting her eyes. She blinked several times before they adjusted. Then she gazed upon the whitest walls she’d ever seen lit by a disc above her that emitted light nearly as bright as the sun. She lay on something soft covered in a material of the same inconceivable white. Next to her, a box made a sound she’d never heard before, an unnatural but steady beep, beep, beep. 

In an attempt to brush her hair from her eyes, she found her arm, all except her fingers, encased in something as hard as a rock almost to her elbow. Pulling at it, she tried to remove it, but to no avail. She lowered the material that blanketed her, revealing little white circles affixed to her skin with odd thin ropes dangling from each. 

What were these things? And where was she? She had to get out of here. She pulled at the white circles and found they came off easily. But when they did, the beep, beep, beep from the box transformed into a long, steady beeeeeep. 

Then they came. 

Several white giants rushed in, speaking words she didn’t understand. The Others were real! She rolled off the soft surface, then weaved between the legs of the white giants. She almost made it to the door before one grabbed her. 

But she couldn’t allow herself to be captured. She must escape!

She swung the stone-like encasement on her arm toward the knee of the white giant that held her. He yelped and released his grip. Then she weaved through a few more legs before another ensnared her in his impossibly strong hands. He held her while a female white giant approached with something long and thin and tried to jab it into her arm. But she twisted and slammed her heel down on the foot of the giant holding her, then elbowed him between the legs. Releasing her, he bent and cupped himself as she fled out the door. 

She ran through a long, brightly lit green room with shiny silver wheeled platforms on either side. Pushing them behind her as she went, she did her best to block the giants in pursuit. Hands came at her, trying to seize her, but she ducked under them until she escaped out a large door. The jungle’s trees rose from the mountain in the distance. 

But there were strange things between her and the trees, huge, unnatural contraptions. Which way should she go? 

A chirp caught her attention and she looked to her right. Moggie! Pivoting, she followed the cat while the white giants made chase. But they were slow and couldn’t weave, twist, and turn through the obstacles like she and Moggie could. 

Once they reached the jungle, she ducked into a broad-leafed elephant ear plant and remained out of sight until they passed. Then, with some difficulty due to the encasement on her arm, she followed Moggie into the trees. They climbed across the canopy until the voices of the white giants faded into the distance. 

It took two weeks to get back to her village with Moggie leading the way, and she’d never been so grateful for her mother’s insistence that she memorize which berries and fruits were edible and which weren’t, lessons she’d thought boring at the time. She remembered making a fuss when her father made her learn how to build a shelter too, thinking it useless since they lived in treehouses. Now, she couldn’t be more thankful for his instruction. She even benefited from her brother always chasing her through the jungle canopy. Traveling through the canopy was much faster than traveling on the forest floor, after all. 

Though it was late, light still emanated from the windows in her parent’s treehouse the night she arrived. Creaking the door open, she peered inside, drawing her father’s attention. He looked up and his eyes grew bright. The dagger he was sharpening fell to the floor with a clunk as he rushed to her, enveloping her in his arms. Her mother raced to her next, and the three of them squeezed each other in a tight embrace. Tears fell from her mother’s eyes as she spoke about how afraid she’d been that she’d never see Nabra again and how happy she was to have her home. And Nabra had never been happier to see them. She even hugged her annoying brother when he appeared a moment later. 

And she swore she’d never leave the village again. 

If you enjoyed this story, don’t hesitate to share it using the buttons on the right.

“Loved it! It had me hooked the whole time.” - L.J.

“Awesome keep up the great work! 💗” - Alexia3angel

“Great story! Glad she was able to make it back to her parents. 💗” divanthesimmer

“I love it; the story of a world familiar to us seen through the eyes of an "other". I enjoyed that twist. Your descriptions created vivid imagery all through. You do have a writing talent. Good luck with your writing adventures ahead.” - Minraed

“What an exiting story! I only wished it was longer because I wanted to keep on reading :D” - simsimseree