A Chase to the Oak

Fin's feet thumped heavily on the damp soil beneath his feet. Billows of condensation poured from his nose as the temperature around him plummeted. He had run so far away from the shadowy man, gaining a good lead on him, but turning over his right shoulder he saw the man had not let up. Fin chuckled and stomped his feet in excitement forging ahead into the dark, icy evening.

The cave opened like a spire above his head, starting with the hard grey marble at his feet, rising higher and higher until all above-ground life folded away. He hoped the man’s eyesight would sharpen under the darkness of the bats so he could maintain pursuit. He jumped off the last ledge on the track and disappeared into the depths, pleased when he heard the man follow.

He continued on the track he knew intimately for a few minutes until he slid behind a cave wall to await his pursuer. He heard the thud of the man’s boots on the floor of the cave, and the slow crunch as he tried to navigate forward. The man stopped. The break in their chase did not last long however—a bright beam of light tore the darkness in half and Fin only just ducked out of sight. ‘Dammit!’ he thought. Spells were not in the plan. 

Sliding away close to the cave floor Fin forged ahead, as did the man. Following the tunnels deeper towards the Oak, Fin lightened his steps to allow the screeching of bats to overwhelm the space. But moments later a powerful wave of bright red light pummelled the cave wall—the man was continuing to blast incantations in his direction. Fin flung his hand back, returning an incantation of his own. He turned quickly on the spot and decided that the best way to solve this problem was to head to the Oak.

With each passing step the cave began to grow, widening further and further away from him on each side. The ground beneath him was speckled with patches of dirt, so he knew he was close. His legs motored forward with an endless energy, one the man also possessed. His tall figure was never far away and his incantations were growing stronger and stronger.

At last Fin reached the grand cavern opening, where his comrades stood on guard. The giant Oak tree, greater than any seen above ground, broke the stony bareness before them both. It towered toward one small opening in the rock that allowed only a slither of light to fall to the soil at its base. His comrades stood on guard, turning suddenly when the commotion of their arrival broke the silence of the cave.

‘Fin! Duck!’ yelled one of the boys. Fin did as instructed, as incantations were flung from high up in the Oak's branches. It only took a few seconds of spells for the man to be bound. He floated a few metres above the ground as Fin and the other comrades wandered toward him. Oliver finally climbed down from the tallest branch post. He was the tallest among them, and held his authority firmly behind his freckled ginger cheeks.

‘Take him away,’ Oliver commanded the surrounding children, waving toward the dungeon passageway.

‘Please don't hurt him,’ said Fin earnestly, trying to catch his breath after the chase.

‘Why Fin? He was attacking you.’

Fin faltered for a minute, then very calmly answered: ‘he's my father. I must keep him alive.’

‘As you wish. Take him to the dungeons.’ The children did as commanded.

Fin took a moment to breathe, leaning against the base of the Oak. He wiped the cold sweat from under his nose, breathing deep into his nostrils with the earth air surrounding him. He’d done it. He wandered around to the watering station to have a drink. Leaning down to drink from the fountain a stern voice spoke to him from across the cavern, making it echo and boom. Fin, however, was unperturbed.

‘Fin! You did it again, didn't you?! How many times do I have to tell you to stay in the Oak City? That means you should stay in the Oak City! Not leave the Oak City and lead some giant man back to our headquarters!’ 

Fin smiled as he wiped water droplets from the side of his mouth.

‘Robyn I found him, my father! That’s my father!’ Fin replied, a huge grin on his face. Robyn halted.

‘Wait…what? That’s him?’ she asked, her inflection hinting that despite his joy, this did not create cause for celebration. Fin nodded furiously.

‘And you deliberately led him here?’ she asked. Fin nodded once more, infinitely proud.

‘You FOOL! Why would you show him our location? Fin for all the brains and skill you have you have entirely lost your marbles! I’ve had it with you!’

With that she stormed away, Fin’s cheeks filled with pride. He finally followed the others toward the dungeon, letting Robyn huff and heave until she too, had left the Oak behind.

The cavern descended to a multitude of passageways that burrowed and curved, silvery walls coated in cold underground waters. Children and teenagers bustled, knocking each other, helping each other, calling out for one another to come this way and that. They swapped shifts on the Oak postings, shovelling snacks in their pockets as they went. Fin made sure to grab a few for himself, although technically he wasn't on duty and these snacks were thus not technically his. But his fingers were quiet and quick, and not one soul saw the candy treats disappear into his pockets.

He continued down the stairs leading to the dungeons, preparing himself to be face-to-face with his father, a spark lighting inside him. He had so many questions. But thoughts of which one to ask first were broken by the tiniest of voices, Bella's.

‘Is Daddy really here?’ she asked gently. Fin turned to see her, standing in a nearby doorway, fiddling with a rock and looking back at him through her long eyelashes. She looked just like the picture of their mother, so much so that Fin's throat caught on the words he was about to say. Clearing his vocal folds he adjusted himself and passed her a candy. She ate it quietly.

‘Yes. Would you like to come and talk to him with me?’ Fin asked. She remained silent, but gave him an innocent look before her eyes returned to the ground. She pondered the idea visibly for several minutes. Fin shifted his weight between his feet, impatient for her reply.

‘Not today. Maybe later,’ she concluded.

‘Well, now is your chance. Oliver will lock him up after I talk with him.’

Bella thought for a few more minutes.

‘No, that's OK. You go.’

With that, she turned on her heel and wandered off toward the common hall. Fin opened another candy and made his way toward the cell where his father would be kept.

The dungeon masters had moved quickly, his father was well-secured and shackled in the shadows against the dark walls of his cell. Fin felt something like compassion run through his veins, but mostly he was excited for the answers coming his way, if his father obliged. Fin gave the dungeon masters a quiet nod and they stepped away to let them talk.

‘Hello,’ he said gently. His father, slightly startled by the greeting, lifted his head.

‘You're fast, like your mother,’ he said.

‘Glad to hear someone is like her,’ Finn replied coolly.

‘Why am I here, Fin?’ asked his father impatiently.

Fin paced left and right, thrilled to be the one holding the power this time. He drew a line in the dirt of the cell with his foot, then stepped back.

‘Because I'm offering you a chance to redeem yourself,’ he finally said.

‘Redeem myself from what?’ asked his father.

‘For murdering mother’, Fin replied.

His father suddenly froze.

‘Fin, that was not me, I swear,’ his father stated firmly. Fin did not believe a word.

‘Of course you did! You blasted her with a spell, everybody knows,’ he said.

His father continued to look back, his deep and honest eyes pleading for Fin to take him seriously.

‘No, Fin. It wasn't me,’ he said again. Fin scoffed.

‘Alright then, liar, if it wasn't you, then who was it?’ he asked, a jolly tone in his voice.

‘It was me,’ said a sweet voice from behind him. His father looked past him toward the door. Fin spun around and was paralysed by shock. There in the doorway, twiddling a rock between her fingers, was his sister, Bella