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badly_knittedTitle: A Very Long Way
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Willaway, Varian.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 500: Amnesty 50 at
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drabble_zone, using Challenge 468: One Step Closer.Setting: After the series.
Summary: Willaway comes to a rather shocking realisation.
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Fantastic Journey, or the characters. They belong to their creators.
A/N: Quadruple drabble.
There were days when the only thing keeping the travellers going was the knowledge that each step they took towards the east was one step closer to their destination. Willaway shuddered to think how many steps they’d already taken, and even a conservative estimate of distance travelled was… somewhat overwhelming.
If he considered that they’d been walking perhaps twelve miles a day, say five days a week, give or take, for the past four months… that came to a staggering nine hundred and sixty miles, and they’d likely walked further than that. How big was this blessed island?
“Jonathan?” Varian touched his knee as they sat with the others, resting for a little while before continuing their journey. “Are you alright?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Willaway turned to his friend, wide-eyed. “I just ran a rough calculation of the distance we’ve travelled so far, and… I came up with somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand miles!” He rubbed one hand over his face and shook his head. “And we have no idea how much further we have to travel. For all we know, this island could be the size of Australia!”
“That’s…” Varian trailed off, gazing eastwards. “I knew we must have come a long way, but…” He fell silent again.
Willaway felt suddenly guilty; Varian was already weighed down with responsibility for the group’s safety, among other concerns; he didn’t need something else to worry about. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, it’s fine, Jonathan. I did ask, and it’s perhaps best that I should know. I’ve just been trying to avoid thinking about the distances involved, which was short-sighted of me. Ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away.”
“Still, you already have more than enough on your mind.”
“We all do.” Varian sighed. “But there’s nothing we can do about the distance; there aren’t any shortcuts we can take, at least none we’re aware of, and we don’t have any viable form of transportation other than our own feet, which have carried us a considerable distance already.”
“Mm.” Willaway glanced at his friend. “You know, I’m starting to think Fred might’ve been right all those months ago.”
“What about?”
“When he wished for a bus. I was never fond of public transport, but right now I’d happily make an exception.”
Varian chuckled. “Somehow, I doubt we’ll find one. We’ll just have to keep walking.”
The End
If he considered that they’d been walking perhaps twelve miles a day, say five days a week, give or take, for the past four months… that came to a staggering nine hundred and sixty miles, and they’d likely walked further than that. How big was this blessed island?
“Jonathan?” Varian touched his knee as they sat with the others, resting for a little while before continuing their journey. “Are you alright?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Willaway turned to his friend, wide-eyed. “I just ran a rough calculation of the distance we’ve travelled so far, and… I came up with somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand miles!” He rubbed one hand over his face and shook his head. “And we have no idea how much further we have to travel. For all we know, this island could be the size of Australia!”
“That’s…” Varian trailed off, gazing eastwards. “I knew we must have come a long way, but…” He fell silent again.
Willaway felt suddenly guilty; Varian was already weighed down with responsibility for the group’s safety, among other concerns; he didn’t need something else to worry about. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, it’s fine, Jonathan. I did ask, and it’s perhaps best that I should know. I’ve just been trying to avoid thinking about the distances involved, which was short-sighted of me. Ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away.”
“Still, you already have more than enough on your mind.”
“We all do.” Varian sighed. “But there’s nothing we can do about the distance; there aren’t any shortcuts we can take, at least none we’re aware of, and we don’t have any viable form of transportation other than our own feet, which have carried us a considerable distance already.”
“Mm.” Willaway glanced at his friend. “You know, I’m starting to think Fred might’ve been right all those months ago.”
“What about?”
“When he wished for a bus. I was never fond of public transport, but right now I’d happily make an exception.”
Varian chuckled. “Somehow, I doubt we’ll find one. We’ll just have to keep walking.”
The End
