Stumbling over a dry creekbed, the third that morning, the young man pulled to a standstill and sighed painfully. How he was going to survive for another say of dry creekbeds, he wasn't sure. But he had to persevere. Steadying himself before crossing the bed, he laid a hand against his travelling companion, a big chestnut stallion called Rustai. The horse was slowing dramatically, too, as the days wore on. The big chestnut wasn't as solid on his feet as he had been a week ago, and the husky draped across the horse's back was unconscious due to dehydration. The young man had given his last mouthful of water to his pet, but it hadn't been enough to sustain the animal.

Slowly, he made his way across the dry bed, scooping down when spotting a puddle to see how stagnant the water was. Midges and mosquitos swept up around his face as he disturbed the surface of the puddle, and that was enough to tell him that the water was beyond drinkable. Nevertheless, he splashed a bit on his chest and back, trying to ward off the heat from the searing sun. If anyone had been there to witness the sight of the man, the horse and the unconscious dog, it would have almost appeared comical. Six padding feet, dropping onto the dry, parched ground, in rhythm, out of rhythm, in rhythm, out of rhythm. When the blisters on his heels cracked and started to ooze out a clear pus, the man decided the day had been walked enough. With the sun slowly setting against a mountainous horizon, the man squinted to try and estimate the distance to the base of the closest mountain. It was still so far. If he could just jump on Rustai and gallop over there, he might be able to make it before the next morning. He might..... he looked over at the horse, its sides heaving and its head dropped. To ask Rustai to run like that would be impossible now. A few months ago he and the stallion would have welcomed the challenge. Not any more.

He slowly reached up to pull the husky dog off the horse’s back. Rustai shuddered in response to the loss of the live weight, though waited until the man had removed his travel packs before trotting over to an appealing ditch and flopping to the ground, rolling over from side to side. When he had finished, the horse lay still, stirring the dust up with each breath out.

The man watched, smiling to himself. At least he could still smile, after all this. All this. The back of his hand wiped across his eyes as the familiar sting swelled up between them, the sting that accompanied tears. The sting he’d felt so often in the last two months that he could almost anticipate it, something would rush over him and corrupt his thinking again. Taking him back to those months ago, when he had walked away from everything he knew, loved and trusted.

In the end it had been his choice, of course. He had officially turned and left. Not that the beatings his family had been made to suffer had anything to do with his decision. Not that the rape and murder of his younger sister had made him open his eyes to the cruel life surrounding him and threatening to take over his future. Narvolio of the Adamunlei had disowned his people. His whole world for 19 years had been the Adamunlei earthlodge and land, and he had given it all up to escape the hard future that stared him in the face.

Instead, the young man seemed to have chosen a harder life. For two months he had travelled with only the horse and dog as company, not stopping at any camps or greeting any people for fear they would hear of his disowning the Adamunlei. Any that he happened across who asked where he was headed, would hear that he was making his Journey. They would have to be satisfied with that answer, as the young, dark-haired man would have his back to them within a few seconds of answering. He did not care for manners, he only cared for freedom.

But two months of walking, talking curtly, speaking mainly to himself and to his animals, sleeping under the open sky no matter the weather, and eating whatever he could lay his hands on had tired the man out. Running was one thing, but when would he stop? And where?

As he laid his sleeping fur out over the dry ground but under a sporadically located tree, Narvolio of No People subconsciously hummed a traditional Adamunlei song. His natural rhythm caused him to tap his hand against his thigh in time to the song. Once he caught himself, his brow tightened and he remembered how his little sister would sway to that beat, smiling and laughing happily when she harmonised with their father. Those days, the family would gather around their hearth with two or three other families, and together they would sing and laugh, making music and conversation. How quickly had those times changed. And how quickly again for Narvolio, who saw the change too late. If only. Those were words he commonly muttered, while dredging over bushland and flat lowlands. They gave him the power to continue, the anger that rose inside him fuelled his climbs, his struggles, and kept him going when stamina couldn’t.

If only.

Narvolio lay stretched out on his furs, staring up at the stars. A night full of rain would be welcome, even though it would mean he would get wet, and his small fire would be extinguished. Oh well, it was better than walking through the next day, still searing hot.

A quietened thundering noise made him sit up. It certainly wasn't thunder, but he couldn't quite place it. The horse came cantering over close to where he sat, but the noise continued. He couldn't see well through the darkness, but it seemed as though a cloud of dust was coming towards his small camp. He leapt up and stood behind the fire, watching the dustball arrive. He began to make out figures in the swirling cloud, and stood defensively next to Rustai, hoping the horse could offer some protection if the passers-by were a little hostile. He counted a group of seven as they slowed and stood on the opposite side of Narvolio's small fire.

One man stood in front of the others... man? He looked young, perhaps 13 or 14. No younger than the others, but no older either. What were they doing out in the middle of nowhere? Unless Narvolio had come close to an earthlodge or camp of some sort.. but he would have seen some sign, like smoke from a hearth fire, surely? The lone man scanned the horizon, looking for a sign he may have missed. Nothing.

"Do you run?"

The question came from the group's young male leader. His voice was lower than Narvolio had been expecting. He took a closer look at the person, while trying not to appear as though he was staring. Looking again, he could see a sign of facial hair. Maybe the man was just short...

"Do you RUN?"

"Uh, sorry?"

"Run? You know, with legs?"

Narvolio stared at the group, a little confused. He couldn't run presently, he was too exhausted. But why were they asking, anyway?

"I suppose so, I mean I can. You know, run."

The group beamed back bright white toothy smiles through their dusty faces. The leader approached the stranger and extended his hands in a sign of greeting.

"Well then, run with us!"

"I don't understand."

"We are the Runners. Will you not run with us?"

"What, run now? Run where? I can't run, I've been walking for days and days..."

"Well then sit. Eat. Get ready to run, at least!"

The young leader made himself comfortable in front of Narvolio's fire. He motioned for his small band to sit as well, then he looked up at Narvolio, still standing and in a fair amount of shock.

"Sit!"

The stranger dropped to sit with the tribe of people he'd never before met in his life, and he felt as though he had already been accepted. He looked around at the smiling faces, finishing with the leader.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Narvolio of the Ada... of no people. May I know

your name, and the names of your companions?"

The leader beamed, and rested a hand on Narvolio's shoulder. With his other hand, he gestured to each person in turn, saying their names.

"Dar... Mai... Tish... Foa... Nui... Phei... and I am Ru'Bei. We are the Runners."

Narvolio ate slowly, feeling all seven pairs of eyes on him. He offered them some of his dried meat, caught the day before. An abundance of snakes had been around, and he was currently chewing on one that had almost bitten him. Heheh, he'd shown [b]that[/b] reptile. However, the Runners had refused his offer. They had, however, supplied him with water. All seven of them wore small water-carriers on their waist-thongs. Each also wore a leather thong tied around their head, knotted at the back with a larger chunk in the leather.. could they be slings? They wore simple travelling garments - light tunics and long leggings, and bare feet. Closer in the firelight, Narvolio took his chance to study their faces. They [b]were[/b] young, adolescent faces, all excepting Ru'Bei, who looked similar in age to himself.The water had refreshed him, and Dakani had woken as well, with some nursing from Foa, a slight blonde girl. That was another thing about the Runners - they were all thin and lanky. They must have been more powerful before this though. He could see where shapely muscles had once been. Big eyes stared out of their long faces as they watched him chew through his last piece of meat."Will you run now?"Ru'Bei addressed him, and he looked back in surprise. In the night? Where he had no idea of where he was going? Well, he didn't know where he was going anyway... He looked over at Dakani, panting happily and leaning up against Foa. The dog trotted over to Narvolio and pushed his nose into the palm of the young man’s hand. Pleased to see his pet up and active, Narvolio grabbed Dakani by the scruff of the neck, and shook it. The dog grunted back, and licked the man’s cheek.

"Ergh, dog kisses!"

The Runners laughed, and Dakani loped back to Foa, who giggled and then hugged the big husky. Narvolio stood up and walked over to where Rustai stood, dozing. He patted the horse’s withers, and his eyes opened, his head turning to butt the young man in the stomach. The horse had perked up as well, after the Runners had spared some liquid for him as well. There was enough grain still stored in his travel packs that he had managed to spare a handful for his mount. He lifted the horse’s hooves to check how well they were maintaining, picking a few small stones out before running his hands up Rustai’s near foreleg and along his back. He thumped the horse on the rump., then turned back to the group of young adults."Yes. I will run with you. Though I can't promise to run too fast!"

The Runners burst out with cheers. Ru’Bei leapt to his feet, followed by the others. Dakani paced around everyone, sniffing hands and looking around expectantly. Now that he was awake, Narvolio expected the dog could take on the world again. The horse also stirred at the sudden movement of the people, and looked on as all eight people dismantled the small camp. Narvolio rolled up his furs and shoved them to the bottom of one of his travel packs, throwing his small collection of keepsakes and travelling items in the top of the pack. He then threw the packs over the horse’s back. For the first time in a week, Rustai let out an expectant whinny. The young man smiled. Maybe it was the excess human company, the horse had sensed a change of pace, a change of mood. Dakani, too, paced, waiting for something to happen.

Ru’Bei approached the man standing with his horse.

"Narvolio? Would you mind if we called you Narv? Short names work better."

Narvolio was slightly confused. Work better where? Or how? He shrugged, deciding it probably didn’t mean much. He wasn’t sure how long he’d stay with these Runners. They were odd characters, very forwards in manner, but still easily likeable.

"I have no problem with that."

"You may call me Bei, if you wish. The others only call me Ru’Bei because I am their leader. It is out of respect only. You are not a Runner, you have no reason to have to address me as leader."

The younger man smiled, lightening the slight tension he had been feeling.

"Besides, I am under the impression that you further me in age... I am 17 full years old, but I believe you are older."

Narvolio threw back his head and laughed loudly.

"Do I look so old? I am only two years older than you, but I do feel the age sometimes. Especially lately!"

The two men smiled, and walked back to the fire where the six others stood patiently. Ru’Bei turned to Narvolio, a flash of excitement in his eyes. He looked over his six companions, then back at Narvolio, heightening the excitement that ran through them all.

"NOW... we run!"

Narvolio of no people ran for all he had, he ran alongside seven people because they had asked him. It hadn’t been an order, he was not required to do it, and he had not been forced into agreeing. Narvolio ran because he could.

The horse at his side was cantering slowly, easily keeping up with the small pack of humans. The husky ran at the front, not faltering, but occasionally turning around to make sure everyone was still coming behind him. Laughing faces surrounded him, occasionally running close and touching his arm, looking into his eyes to see how he was holding up. He had crossed paths with the small group while setting up camp for the night, one of many he thought he would be alone again for. They had come flying up to his fire, and immediately decided he was friend over foe. Narvolio didn’t mind the attention – after all, with the Runners came water, and a hint at food and more to drink further along.

So he ran through the darkness, close behind Mai, a man of 16. All the Runners seemed to have much better eyesight than he – they ran easily and without hesitation, jumping over logs, dodging trees and ditches, ducking from overhanging branches. It had only been ten minutes when Narvolio had to stop, out of breath. He had travelled for two months at a slow and steady pace, but his body couldn’t handle the amount of energy needed all at once all through his body. The group noticed as soon as he faltered, and they watched as he fell to his knees. A waterbag was thrown in his direction and he took large mouthfuls until realising he had emptied it. A stitch formed in his side, and the pain crept across his face. Ru’Bei, the leader, hunkered down next to him.

"Can you still run, Narv?"

Narvolio looked up grimly. "I don’t think so."

The leader’s face showed Narvolio all the answer he needed. He had let them down. He looked at the faces, the strange faces that he had not even known an hour ago, and felt guilty. Then he noticed Rustai from the corner of his eye, standing with Dakani and tossing his head. He smiled and caught Ru’Bei’s eye, nodding over at Rustai. The young man seemed confused and so Narvolio got to his feet and walked towards the horse.

"I’ll just ride."

Smiles broke out, those brilliant white smiles, as the Runners watched Narv mount his horse awkwardly behind his travel packs. Dakani wove around Rustai’s feet and the horse threw his head, prancing nervously but knowing it was only his dog friend. Narvolio leaned over and patted the horse’s neck, then kneaded Rustai’s withers. Ru’Bei waited for a nod from Narv, then turned and began to run again. The dog sped out from under Rustai’s feet and raced up to Ru’Bei and Dar, who led the others through the darkness. The girl running nearest Narv on the horse kept putting her arm up to keep a gap between herself and the horse. Narv noted her watching the horse’s hooves pounding into the dust, and he gathered she was afraid of the big stallion. She looked up once, Narv could see her head turn in the moonlight, but it was not strong enough to light her face. He looked ahead, trying to see through the darkness to what lay ahead – but it was impossible.

He woke tucked under a light fur, with sunlight in his eyes. Sitting up with a shock, Narv saw Phei sitting a few metres away and smiling in his direction, maybe holding back a laugh. Last he remembered, he was on Rustai, and it was dark...

"You fell asleep riding," Phei said, finally giggling. "You managed to stay on somehow because when we stopped to camp, you were still there! Lucky, otherwise we would have lost you in the darkness!"

Narvolio couldn’t help but smile as he imagined the scene. Phei’s smile convinced him that he hadn’t been an inconvenience, however he stood up and looked around for Ru’Bei, just to clarify Phei’s story. As he stood, he gazed around subconsciously, but stumbled backwards when he noticed an enormous rock that he estimated was about a kilometre away. He had never seen anything like it, and was sure it had not been on the horizon when he had looked the day before. Phei wandered over and placed her hand on his forearm.

"They call it Uluru," she whispered. "It is magic."

"But it wasn’t on the horizon yesterday!"

"I told you, it is magic. Uluru is a chameleon. Also, you would not have seen it yesterday for the direction you were heading in. We took a different route during the night."

Narvolio nodded, accepting the second half of the explanation. But that something could appear and disappear like ‘magic’, he was not ready to believe. He turned to the young girl.

"Phei – am I right?" She nodded. "Phei, can you point me in the direction of Ru’Bei?"

She smiled, and nodded towards the giant rock, Uluru. He stared at her, unbelieving for a second.

"He is at Uluru?" He asked her incredulously. He went to point towards the rock, but Phei caught his hand as he lifted it.

"You must not point at it!" She shouted, startled. Narvolio recoiled his hand and stared at her as though she was playing a joke on him, with this big ‘magical’ rock that mustn’t be pointed at. He saw the sincerity in her eyes and stopped before saying anything she might find offensive.

"Uh, when is he coming back?" He asked hesitantly.

"He is not. You will go to him, that is why I am still here. The others went with Ru’Bei."

Narvolio looked over to the immense rock formation and then back to Phei.

"Well we had better go, if they’re waiting."

She nodded in response, then reached down and collected the furs that he had slept on. Phei handed Narvolio a waterbag, and he realised how dry his mouth was. He took a large swig and handed it back. Rustai walked up and butted Narvolio in the back, and he turned around to rub his hand up the horse’s face. He turned back to Phei.

"Is Dakani..."

"... with Ru’Bei and the others. He likes to run," She noted, smiling. Narvolio rolled his eyes and nodded at the girl, then grabbed his travel packs that lay on the ground, adjusting them over Rustai’s withers. He leapt up on the horse with a grunt. Phei began to move off in the direction of Uluru.

"Wouldn’t you prefer to ride? I mean, we can get over there faster on Rustai’s back."

Phei looked up at the horse and its rider, apprehension in her eyes. Narvolio reached out a hand, and Phei took it. He pulled her up behind him and she swung her leg around so that she rode astride behind him. The feeling of her body against his caused some long-ignored feelings to shudder up inside him as he took a sharp breath in. Phei leaned against his shoulder to see his face.

"Are you alright, Narv?"

"Fine." He swallowed, then took a deep breath in. "So, point me in the right direction," he half joked, directing Rustai towards Uluru using the muscles in his legs. The horse picked up from a walk to a trot, and then began to canter once he found his weight.

Ru’Bei looked up from his crouching position to the to people astride the horse.

"That can’t be comfortable, Narv."

The horseman laughed, swinging his right leg over the horse’s neck and bouncing off before assisting Phei down. Her hands were shaking and her face was a paler shade than usual, but her wide grin proved contagious. Narvolio and Ru’Bei beamed back at her.

"Maybe I was wrong in my judgement!"

The leader laughed, standing and extending his hands as Narvolio approached. The tall stranger grasped the hands of his new comrade, and smiled warmly. He then turned back to his horse, removing the heavy travel packs and attempting to wipe some of the sweat off the horse’s neck and chest. Rustai dropped where he stood, rolling over in the dirt in an attempt to remove the sweat himself.

Narvolio was still dubious of the large ‘magic’ rock that the girl Phei had spoken of that morning, and as he stood only 200 metres from it, he couldn’t reason how something so large could be found in the middle of a dry desert. The nearest mountains seemed hundreds of kilometres away. He then noticed the five people who had been at Uluru since early morning; they were all drinking from full waterbags, still dripping from being filled. Narvolio had spent three days earlier searching for water, he was curious to know where they got their source. He motioned to the waterbags, then looked at Ru’Bei with a questioning expression. The young leader smiled, motioning Narv to follow as he walked away. Narvolio turned to Phei, confused, as she smiled at him and pushed him in Ru’Bei’s direction. He jogged to catch up, then had to run as Ru’Bei took off towards the large red formation at a lope. When he had finally caught up, the young leader was slowing. He stuck his arm out to stop Narvolio only thirty metres from the rock’s wall.

"We must be quiet. Follow."

Narvolio shook his head, looking around at the sparse vegetation surrounding the rock, wondering how a water source could be found anywhere nearby. Ru’Bei walked right up to the red rock wall, then alongside it for a few metres before kicking away a shrub that blocked the distance to a small black hole near the base of the structure. Narvolio strained his eyes and tried to see through the darkness in the hole, but his attempts were futile. He watched as Ru’Bei crouched down, then slid his legs into the hole. Narvolio anxiously moved forwards to try and prevent the other man from continuing. Ru’Bei looked up at Narvolio and smiled at the stranger’s caring thoughts.

"No, it’s alright. Follow me."

Crawling into the darkness, Narvolio shivered and let himself be guided by Ru’Bei’s voice. He jumped when he felt something slide against his arm, only to feel the warmth of the leader’s hand press against his.

"Step lightly…"

The wary man lifted his feet high, placing them down gently. Once he had some assurance of his footing, he walked with a bit more confidence, but the darkness still unnerved him. He felt his hand being tugged to a stop. He was pulled to the ground. Ru'Bei's voice whispered out to him.

"Do you hear it?"

Narvolio stared into the blackness, as though staring would help him to hear. He sighed and shook his head.

"No, what am I listening for?"

He heard the leader sigh in frustration, and so tried harder to focus on a sound. Finally he heard a quiet trickling, coming from further ahead in the cave...

"Wait! I hear something! That couldn't be.."

Ru'Bei's soft chuckle made Narvolio pay more attention to the low noise. He stood slowly and made his way towards the sound, stepping carefully, almost silently. He could hear the footsteps of Ru'Bei behind him, but he did not wait for the leader to catch him up. As he moved toward the sound it got louder and louder, encouraging him. Finally he was on top of it, right beside it, there was no doubt that he was standing beside a small underground creek! He knelt down and plunged his hand into the rippling water. It was so cold! He splashed his face and threw a handful of water down his throat, sighing as the coolness hit the back of his throat. Ru'Bei stood beside him, laughing at the gargling sounds he was hearing.

"Do I need to explain any more?"

"I am curious to know how - "

Ru'Bei cut him off quickly.

"Do not question Uluru. We are honoured by her gifts, we need no questions, as she has already given answers."

He felt his hand being grasped once again as he was pulled away from the water.

"Come, we have to get back to the others. Now that you know you need not question any more."

*********************************************************************************

Narvolio returned from Uluru's belly to see the group of Runners staring at him, waiting too see his reaction to the mystery of the rock. His awestruck face was enough for them, as they burst into peals of laughter. He snapped out of his trancelike state to sit down next to Phei, a bewildered expression on his face mixed with a sheepish grin. Phei nudged him in the ribs."Good, isn't it?""Good? It's brilliant! It's amazing! It's magnificent!"Phei giggled, rolling her eyes. "It's our gift from the Mother. Uluru is special, just for us."Narvolio looked around at the small band. "So you are the only ones who use it? The only people?"Ru’Bei puffed out his chest proudly. "We are the only people who use this land! Others can not because they have no water.. we have water, so land is ours."

Narvolio stood up, walking over to his travel packs. He got out his empty water carrier walked towards Uluru with the intention of filling his sack. Just as he was crawling into the cave entrance, he heard a shifting of dirt behind him. He quickly slid into the cave, then turned to see what had approached him. Carefully, a small figure lowered itself into the cave as he watched. Phei grasped his hand, moving ahead of him and making her way towards the creek. Narvolio let himself be led, only breaking hold from Phei when they reached the water.

He hunkered down on one knee, dropping the open end of the carrier into the cool water, keeping a firm grasp on the flask with one hand. With his other hand, he reached down for a mouthful of water, letting the cool liquid slide its way down his drying throat. A quick movement found Phei lying underneath him, her face inches away from his. Instinctively, Narvolio leant down so his mouth was on hers, and spare hand coming up behind Phei’s head to gently hold her near him. He felt her arms wrapping around his back, and responded with a shudder.

It had been a long time since Narvolio had felt this way. He pulled away from Phei and looked at her face, smiling up at his. Giving in to his feelings again, Narvolio leant down once again. Accidentally throwing himself off balance, Narvolio tripped up into the water, bringing Phei with him. The cold shock to his body made him scream out, and he heard Phei’s squeal beside him as she threw herself on top of him, searching for some warm escape from the cold water. He wrapped his arms around her and struggled back out of the water, lying on the bank with her on top of him, intertwined. They lay for a long time, eyes closed, breathing deeply, shivering from the cold water. Narvolio felt a small warm spot on his chest, and opened his eyes to see Phei, lightly kissing a trail from his stomach to his neck. Further and further up she moved, teasing, until he could not take it any longer. Her grabbed her head in his hands and brought it to his, kissing her firmly.

A loud noise from the cave entrance caused the pair to jump, alarmed. A whoop echoed through the dark cavern, and suddenly a loud cheer broke out as the whole group moved down into the belly of the rock, finding the intertwined and very embarrassed pair by the side of the stream.