Lauren--Part Forty-Eight

Splog # 173

Forty-Eight

 For the first time, Lauren looked around at the plateau she had reached after so much effort. Where she was standing, not far from the edge, there wasn't much to see. A long fence of flat, rectangular boards stretched in both directions, as though walling off the edge from the rest of the area. The fence was about twice as high as she was and, although she could see mountains rising in the distance, she could get no impression of what was directly on the other side. On this side the ground was mostly bare rock, though not black like the level below. And the chair with the large wheel was the only object out here on the cliff. Although there was lots of space between the wall and the edge where she'd been pulled up, she could see that, as the fence extended away from her, that space became narrower and narrower in both directions. Austin gave another bark and started moving off slowly to the left, looking back every few steps to make sure he was being followed. Lauren took a look at Mae who gave a shrug and they both started walking at the same time. Sounds of movement closer to the fence told Lauren that the horse was also accompanying them. As they converged on the line of the fence, Lauren could see large knotholes and places where the boards had warped, leaving spaces that gave a view onto the rest of the plateau. But without stopping to put an eye to them, she could get no idea of what the other side was like. Lauren was glad the storm was over and the air was feeling warm. Having no reason to continue wearing the damp cloak,  she took it off and folded it over her arm. Again noticing how dirty it was, she figured she'd better clean it when she cleaned herself. She wondered how she would ever return it to the tower. Would she be traveling this way when she returned? Then, she saw Austin standing by a spot where there was a break in the fence. There was no gate or anything to signify an entrance or exit, just a break of three or four feet with no fence. The last board before the gap was broken in half on an angle and Lauren wondered if the fence had once been complete...