by K. Lew
Chapter 4: Lost and Found
A soft hum drifted into the boy’s ears. Instinctively he reached for his maple bow and his arrows lying next to him. He opened his eyes to the rays of light shining through the layers of branches and leaves. He relaxed his grip. The soft humming stopped. It was probably a songbird singing outside, trying his luck to find a mate. Hope some of that luck is on our side today because where we are going, we going to need a lot of it.
He glanced over to his sister who was sleeping under a gray, furry blanket. A devious thought crept his mind. He tiptoed his way to a bowl of cold water that he boiled yesterday night and kept to cool overnight. He picked it up as quietly as possible. He carefully balanced the bowl of water in his hands, tiptoeing silently like a cat stalking its prey to his sleeping, unsuspecting sister.
He had second thoughts as he looked down at his sister who was sleeping peacefully. But before he could change his mind, he poured the water down onto her. She woke up with a shriek as she opened her eyes. She spoke sheepishly. “What was that for? That wasn’t funny.” She got up slowly and glared at her brother. He looked at her and spoke. “Don’t give me that look. I had to get you up somehow.” She continued frowning at him. He spoke. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, Deary.” He reached out for his pack to begin putting a thick coil of rope into his pack for the long journey ahead. He spoke. “Go wash up and I will serve you your breakfast, Deary. Today our exciting adventure begins.”
She spoke eagerly. “Just like father and mother.” She went over to the oak polished basin. She splashed the cool water onto her face. As the ripples of water in the basin stopped, she looked down at her reflection. Strands of her black, silky hair covered her forehead. She moved her strands of black hair away from her face. She ran her fingers through her smooth hair. Her brother would always bring her some ariherbs from his foraging trips that she would crush up later to soften her hair during a shower. Her eyes were big and round. Then she looked down at her hands and her feet. They were small which made her feel useless sometimes. She picked out a wooden toothbrush with white bristles out from a nearby bundle. Her brother handed her a small wooden bowl of lime green paste. She dipped her wooden toothbrush into the lime green paste. She went over to the basin of water and empty basin. She opened her mouth and brushed her white teeth for a few minutes. The green paste quickly changed to foam in her mouth. She watched her brother brush his white teeth for a few minutes before she turned away. She sipped water from her water basin swishing the water in her mouth for thirty seconds, counting in her head before finally spitting it out in an empty basin. Then she put everything back into place on the floor.
Her brother handed her a basket of berries. She popped a few in her mouth. The moment she bit into the berries, a burst of sweetness and tanginess lit up her taste buds. After eating her full, she went into her pack and pulled out a small container. She twisted off the cap and applied black dye around her eyes. She picked up her yew longbow and strapped it over her shoulders.
Her brother yelled from below. “Are you ready, Deary.” He was already climbing down the ladder. She yelled. “Wait my book! It’s not in my pack.” She looked around in haste. Then she spied the black book next to her mattress. She carefully placed it inside her pack.
An hour later, they were running along a riverbank. The girl turned her head towards the slow-moving river. The water was clear and motionless enough for her to see the reflection of herself. Then a glimmer of silver leaped from the water, hanging in mid-air for a second. Then a second later, the glimmer of silver plunged back into the water sending splashes, distorting her reflection on the water surface. She was curious to see what leaped out of the water. She slowed down before stopping completely. She bent down on her knees on the soft mud. She was on the edge of the damp riverbank, looking down at the clear water. Then she noticed something gold sparkling at the bottom of the river. Her eyes widened as she leaned in for a closer look. Then her hands slipped on the mud, losing her balance and fell in.
Her brother heard a loud splash and turned around. She screamed out for help. He ran back to her as she was fighting for her life. She kicked frantically as her head bobbed up and down in the water. He looked around and saw that there were no nearby trees close enough to tie a rope around. He saw no other resort and leaped off the riverbank. He took one breath of air and dived into the water. The first thing that hit him was the cold. He touched the bottom of the river and his fingers grasped upon the gold object. Then he swam up to water surface. He grabbed his sister and swam them both back to the riverbank. He pulled her onto the riverbank and immediately gave her a warm embrace. He looked down to his fingers and saw it was a golden ring. He quickly closed his fingers over the golden ring. Then he put the golden ring in his pocket stealthily without his sister noticing. He spoke urgently. “Deary, we must go. We still have a lot of ground to cover. We have many more ground to cover before night falls.”
She cried out. “My book. It’s wet. Soaking wet.” He spoke. “Give it to me. We have it dried later. Right now we have to go.” Reluctantly she pushed her hands off the soft ground. The boy spoke hurriedly. “We must go now. Okay?” She looked at her brother beaming proudly. She spoke. “Let’s go, Brother Bear.”
He grabbed her hand and guided them just as the shrieking howls began. Above them were branches dense with leaves. The strong, bright light shined through the cracks of the trees above. Thousands of withered autumn leaves lay scattered on the mushy, muddy forest floor. She was slowing down as weight of her bow and her pack was taking its toll. He also carried a pack and his maple bow over his shoulders while holding a gnarly, twisting maple staff in his hand. The shrieking howls seem to be getting closer. The boy stopped at his tracks and motioned for his sister to stop. The boy turned his head in the direction of the sound. The shrieking howls sounded eerily familiar to him. The boy yelled. “Deary climb up the trees now!” She obeyed him without question. She ran towards a tree of medium stature that had several branches that was within her reach. She heard the screeching howls and the fear made her run even faster. She was a foot away from the tree when her left feet got tangled in a roll of thick, evergreen vine. Frustration was written all over her face. She pried the tangled evergreen vine off with her other feet, pulling it off her feet. She overstepped and landed awkwardly on her left ankle. She grimaced in pain and fell to her bottom. The boy yelled. “Flaming Light!” He ran over as quickly as his feet could run to his sister. He bent down to his knees and tried his best to calm her down. She looked at him, struggling to get up. He kept her down by restraining her with his arms. “Deary, please you’ve got to stay calm down and keep still.” The howls were louder and sounded like humans shrieking at the tops of their lungs. He laid his maple staff down and dropped his pack on the forest floor and searched hastily inside the pack until he found his home crafted knife. It was a sharp around the edges and at the tip was sharp point. He held it steady with his left hand and gently pressed down on his right arm until the tip pierced his skin. He winced. The red blood seeped out of his wound. He cut a sleeve of his shirt with his home crafted knife. Surprisingly the knife cut through his ripped sleeve easily. Then he crumpled each shred of cloth and pressed the cloth down on his wound to absorb the blood. He repeated with each cloth until the final one was done. Then he began throwing them in different directions of the forest. One landed by the rocks, another caught on a needle shrub, and another somewhere above a tree until he threw all of the bloodied crumpled cloth balls. Then he locked eyes with his sister and saw fear in her eyes. He winked his left eye, smiling to reassure her. “Deary, remember that game we would play?”
She nodded, clenching her teeth in pain.
“This time when you will find a good hiding place, you stay there until you hear my whistle. The scent of blood everywhere should confuse their sense of smell. Can you walk a few more steps?”
She tried to pick herself up, testing her sprained ankle by applying l
ight pressure on the damp ground. Immediately she grimaced in pain.
“No. I don’t think so. It really hurts. Maybe I can crawl.”
He spoke. “There’s not enough time.” He picked her up gently, carrying her body in his arm. He laid her gently beside the granite rocks near the river.
Then he covered her with a fur blanket. She was now curled up tightly under a dense blanket. He spoke gently. “I know you won’t be able to breathe. But don’t move or make a sound. I will do my best to distract them. When you hear the whistle the coast is clear.” He pulled the fur blanket down to cover her exposed toes that poking out. He piled handfuls of mud and autumn leaves onto the blanket until he was satisfied. He surveyed his surrounding to find the best vantage point to keep a watchful eye on his sister. After climbing several layers of the branches and leaves, he found a branch perch that held his weight. The howls were now closer. A pack of long-nosed feline appeared about twenty paces away where his sister lay hidden. He counted twenty long-nosed felines. They were all about the same size, about twice as large as him. They looked rugged with gray matted fur with a greenish tint. They had pointed ears and a long snout. Under their long snouts, were sharp teeth overlapping each other. He looked back at the spot where his sister was lying. It looked like a log of mud. The group of long-nosed felines aimed their nose upward and howled with such ferocity that the boy had to clamp down on his ear. Below him the long-nosed felines broke away from the group and foraging into the bushes and by the rocks for the scent of blood. Sweat beads accumulated across his forehead. His face was lined with creases around his eye. He was in an intense concentration, blocking everything except for his targets. He unhooked his bow from his back and took one arrow out of his back holster. He clenched the wooden handle of the bow with his left hand and flexed the string a few times, testing the string’s elasticity. The string deformed and stretched to considerable length until finally it reverted back to its original length. He placed an arrow into position and aiming at the nearby long-nosed felines that were in his field of view. A few long-nosed felines drifted away to the granite rocks and the muddy pile where his sister was hidden under. But the main group of long-nosed felines stayed put. Some were sniffing on the ground or up in the air, while others were wrestling with each other playfully. His hands were damp with sweat, but he never lost his grip on his maple bow. His sister’s life depended on it. He was waiting for the right moment to strike.
Seconds turned to minutes as his hands ached from the pressure of his grip on the bow and arrow, not to mention the beads of sweat on his palm. Below the long-nosed felines were getting restless and hungry. A few long-nosed felines who followed the scent of blood earlier returned with nothing, but shreds of bloodstained cloth in their mouth. They put their heads up in unison and sniff deeply into the air. They screeched into the air. They found him and howled in frustration up at the tree. The three smaller long nosed felines leaped together onto the tree. The two long nosed felines climbed up from the sides of the tree and were only about ten feet away from the boy. But they couldn’t keep their footing and fell down to the ground. The middle one with his tongue out managed to get his claws onto the loose barks and slowly with one claw at a time began climbing up. The boy was adjusted his grip until he had a firmer grip on the handle of his maple bow. He aimed at the long nosed feline making his way up. Eight feet away. Down below, the long nosed felines circled around the tree, howling in anticipation. He noticed the largest long nosed feline who was clearly the pack leader, lurking behind the pack. The large long nosed feline sniffed into air and walked slowly away from them.
The boy occupied at the moment, waited patiently with his maple string strung on his hand. Any second now and he would ready to release the string. He locked eyes with the beast climbing towards him. The beast climbing up was shrieking in delight. Four feet away. Then the boy heard a yell for help. He glanced over and saw his sister managed to jump into the river. The largest long nosed feline barked at her, not daring to join her in the river. The rest of pack seeing an easier prey ran towards the edge of the riverbank. Without hesitation, he pulled the string as far back without breaking the string. The sweat dripped down his face. The beast was now close enough for him to smell the earthy musk emulating from the beast. Now. The boy released the string and the arrow flew down, striking the target right at the center of its face. The force of the arrow dropped the beast onto the forest floor. The boy waited for any movement. The beast died instantly when it landed on the forest floor. The boy slide down the tree trunk and landed on his feet. The boy frowned as he looking down at the lifeless brown eyes. He didn’t want to kill the animal. But it had to be done. He pulled out the arrow, cleaning off the wet blood on the arrow by wiping it on the matted fur of the dead beast.
Then he aimed the arrow towards the barking pack of long-nosed felines. His sister was struggling to keep her head above the water. He took a deep breath of air, holding it in for a few seconds. When he exhaled, he released the string. The arrow flew through, hitting another long-nosed feline. The wounded long-nosed feline yelped in pain. The yelps from the wound beast caught the attention of the pack of the beasts standing near the riverbank. They turned around to find where the source of the arrows was coming from. They howled immediately in anticipation. The beasts took off running full speed towards the boy. The boy pulled two arrows out of his back holster and lined them on his maple bow releasing them into incoming pack of beasts. The first arrow hit the beast closest to him right in the head instantly killing it. The second arrow flew over the pack hitting harmlessly into the river. The boy seeing no other opinion took off running into the opposite direction. I have to lose them fast.
He ran evading the trees by going around them and jumping over the shrubs and vines that sprawled all over the forest floor. Then he saw a maple tree over to the left and he changed direction, running towards the maple tree. The boy looked over his shoulders to see the beasts only a few paces away from him. I am not going to make it. Mustering the last energy he possessed, he changed direction and sprint to the left towards a slender red oak with plenty of branches.
A few second later, the pack of long-nosed felines crowded below the base of the slender, red oak. He continued lifting himself up the tree with every branch and maintaining his footing in every indentation on the tree. A weird crooning was heard from above and he glanced above to his horror. It was a nest full of sleeping reptals. They were spiral-shaped with pointer at opposite end with leathery wings folded at each side. The crooning got louder. He heard whines down below and decided it was safe to take a peek down below. He saw the wisps of the long tails from the long-nosed felines as they fled the scene. He climbed down slowly while still watching for any activity from the reptals. He jumped down landing on the forest floor below. He turned his head from left to right. The crooning seem louder on the forest ground so he turned his head to the left to see a single reptal hovering near his ear. He stood as still as possible. After a few moments, the reptal hovered away back to the nest. The crooning became louder and he looked up to see hundreds of reptals awake and hovering. He sprinted off towards the river. As he ran, he could not help, but chuckle at his situation. Don’t worry Deary, there’s an army on my heels. Behind him, hundreds of reptals were chasing him with deadly stingers pointing at him.
Meanwhile back at the river, she was losing the fight for her life. She kicked her feet in the water, trying to keep her head above the surface. The river water was freezing cold. Her body was numb. Shivering she tried kicking her legs to measure how deep the river was. She needed to get out of the water before she drowned or froze to death. An unexpected wave of cold water went right over her. Caught unaware, she swallowed some water before closing her mouth tightly. Some of the water managed to go down into her throat. She emerged out of the surface, coughing out water. She was flailing fanatically with both her hands as she tried to swim towards the riverbank. Smaller waves hit her from all sides of her. The force of th
e wave from earlier shook her. What would my brother do? Then she came up with an idea as another huge wave hit her, submerging her underwater. But this time she was prepared. She closed her eyes and mouth tightly. Submerged in the water, all she saw was darkness. The currents underwater pulled her through the water. As she tried swimming back up to the surface, she felt an unimaginable pain. Her injured ankle was stricken with pain and her legs and arms were numb from the cold. She could not move them. She could not move her legs. Her lungs were screaming for air. This is the end. I love you Brother Bear. As her hope for survival dimmed so did the light at the end of the tunnel.
Then her eyes open and she saw the clear, blue sky littered with white clouds drifting slowly. A face appeared into her view. He had blond, wavy hair and blue eyes. He wasn’t her brother. “Hey Darling, we fished you out of the water. My friend over here thought we lost you. Don’t you worry now, you are safe now.” His friend gave her a toothless grin. His two front teeth were missing. She closed her eyes again, hoping it was just a bad dream. She heard the man speaking. “Tie her up quickly. I want to get out this forsaken forest before night falls. Brother Bear where are you? I need you now more than ever.
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