by S. S. Segran
Jag, Kody, Tegan, and Mariah rushed to him and helped him up. The girls fussed over him. “Are you okay? How’s your leg?”
“I’m fine, you two,” Aari answered gratefully. “And my leg doesn’t hurt that much. I did lose my shoe though.” Kneeling by the hole, he rummaged for his missing sneaker. “Got it.” As he put his shoe back on, he cast a glance back down the warren. He stopped and immediately plunged his hand down the hole again.
“Hey, Jag,” he said, holding up his hand. “I think this is yours.” Hanging from his fingers was a chain with a gold crucifix. Jag took it carefully, astonished. “Dude! I thought I lost this in the crash! How did this end up here? The plane is nowhere in sight . . .” He trailed off, mystified.
“Wait.” Tegan stared at the hole where Jag’s necklace had been. “Jag.” He was gazing in fascination at his crucifix. “Jag.”
“Yeah?”
“Was your chain around your neck when we crashed?”
“No. I took it off and held onto it when the first engine blew.” He paused, thinking about what he’d said. “Which means it would have been thrown out when the plane crashed.” He turned to Tegan, eyes wide. “The plane’s got to be around here somewhere.” He pulled his chain over his head, exhilaration in his husky voice. “We need to cross this river. I think the plane’s on the other side.”
“Yeah?” Kody said. “And how do you suggest we do that?”
Jag beamed shrewdly. “Who’s up for a swim?”
“Over my dead body,” Kody retorted.
“Hold on, guys,” Aari interjected. “There could be another reason why Jag’s chain ended up here. Some animals and birds are really attracted to shiny things and will carry them around for a while before dropping them off. For all we know, the place where the animal may have picked it up could be days from here, maybe not even on the other side of the river at all.”
Mariah threw her head back, frustrated. “We can’t keep halting and second-guessing. Stick to one idea and just go with it.”
“What if the initial idea is completely off?” Aari demanded.
“Doesn’t matter! If we keep up this pattern we’ll make no progress and the villagers will catch up to us. This is their home turf after all.”
“Mariah’s got a point,” Kody agreed. “Sooo . . . are we gonna cross the river?”
“Everyone needs to agree first.” Tegan looked at Aari, waiting.
Aari heaved a long sigh. “Let’s do it.”
Jag watched a drifting branch being carried rapidly with the river’s current. While the water was fast-moving, the river itself didn’t seem too deep. “There has got to be a way across.”
“Maybe we should split into two groups to search,” Kody suggested. “One goes that way, and the other goes the other way.” He stretched his arms and pointed in opposite directions along the length of the river.
“Sure. We’ll go that way.” Tegan began heading upriver with Mariah. The boys looked at each other, a seed of concern growing in their minds. None of them wanted to call the girls back and tell them not to go alone. Tegan and Mariah despised it when people thought they were too delicate and needed constant protection.
As the boys hesitantly headed in the opposite direction, Jag yelled, “Call if you find anything! And don’t cross the river alone!”
Tegan, without turning back, raised her hand, indicating she heard him.
The boys followed the river’s current. “Most rivers are crossable at some point,” Aari mumbled to no one in particular. “Hopefully this one’s no different.” He jogged ahead, scanning the place for a natural bridge. “There has got to be one here somewhere.”
They passed a few rocks that seemed ideal, but when they saw the water splash over and completely cover them from sight, they walked right past.
“I don’t hear anything from Mariah or Teegs,” Kody said. “You think they’re okay?”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Jag answered, although he was a little anxious himself. “They just haven’t found anything worth yelling out for.”
“Here,” Aari called. He was a couple of dozen feet down from where the two boys were. He indicated a line of large rocks in the river that extended toward the other side. “What do you think?”
“Let’s give it a shot,” Jag said.
Kody bellowed at the top of his lungs for the girls to come back. They didn’t have to wait long, and soon Mariah and Tegan were standing beside them, praising Aari for his find. “Who’ll go first?” Mariah asked.
“I’m game,” Kody announced. He bounced forward one rock at a time, carefully balancing himself. Once he was on the other side, he yelled, “It’s about forty feet across! Be careful! Some of the rocks are kind of slippery!”
“I’ll go next.” Tegan warily made her way across. Kody offered her a hand. She grabbed it and he helped her down. Mariah was next, then Jag, then Aari. Kody looked proudly at what they’d accomplished. A word formed in his throat but it vanished when he saw a couple of packets resting on the ground on the opposite bank. “Whoops, I think some food dropped out of my bag.”
Tegan walked around him and closed his pack securely. “Smarty,” she smiled. “Fetch?”
“You bet.” Kody quickly hopped back over the stepping stones, picked up the food and placed them in his pack. He gave the rest of the group a thumb’s-up and sprang onto the first stone back to the others. Some water splashed onto the rock but didn’t bother him. He leapt confidently over a few more rocks. More water splashed and drenched his right shoe. Momentarily distracted with the uncomfortable slopping and squishing, he put his left foot on the next rock. His foot glided over a patch of wet moss and, with a startled yelp, he lost his footing and fell over backward into the river. His friends on shore cried out in alarm.
Kody’s head went under the swift-flowing water. Forcing his arms and legs to move, he propelled himself back to the surface. He gasped for air and spewed out water as he tried to grab at a rock. He was a second too late as the current swept him downstream. Panic shut down his mind and he only moved automatically to keep his head above the water. He didn’t even notice his food pack being tugged from his shoulders by the rapid current.
Jag sprinted along the bank to keep up with Kody. His long strides were no match for the increasing speed of the river but he didn’t stop. He kept an eye on Kody as the other teenager’s head constantly bobbed above and then under the rolling water. Hang in there, bud. His eyes flicked up and ahead. On the side closest to him were rocks that extended to the middle of the river. He roared, “Kody! Move to the rocks!”
Kody didn’t hear, and as Jag watched, his friend’s struggles began to diminish as he started losing energy. Desperate, he tried again. “Move toward the rocks, Kody!”
Jag’s voice must have reached Kody’s ears because at the last moment, he strained toward the rocks. He slammed into the granite, groaning, and hung on, the cold water splattering against his back.
Jag finally reached the rocks. He rushed over them as far as he dared and stretched out his hand. Kody reached up and was about to grab it when he lost his grip on the rock and the current swept him away once again.
Horrified that he had been so close to saving his friend and the chance had literally slipped through his fingers, Jag quickly backed up to the bank and continued running. Kody was several seconds ahead of him. Fifty yards away, a fallen tree rested on two huge rocks over the river. An idea formed in Jag’s mind. He gathered his energy and forced himself into a full sprint. Passing Kody, he reached the fallen tree and clambered on, panting. He trod to the center and lay down. The tree itself was a few feet above the water; no way could Kody grab onto it.
As Kody drew nearer, Jag stretched out his hand again. Kody tried to reach for it but the current was too fast. Not willing to lose his friend for a second time, Jag flipped over at lightning speed to the opposite side of the trunk and made a wild grab at Kody’s shirt as the other teenager passed underneath. For a moment, Jag though
t he’d failed again but realized the collar of Kody’s shirt was crumpled in his clenched fist. He tried to haul Kody out of the water but wasn’t strong enough. More strength and more speed, that’s what I need! Jag thought, teeth gritted.
“Jag!” Mariah’s voice rang out. He cast a quick look over his shoulder and saw the others climbing onto the tree.
“I’ve got him! Help me pull him up!” Jag shouted over the noise of the current.
With some effort, the four of them managed to pull their sodden and dripping friend out of the water and onto the fallen tree. From there, they guided him back to shore where Kody collapsed, shivering uncontrollably. After a few minutes, his shuddering subsided just enough for him to thank the others, who rubbed his arms and back vigorously to warm him up. He stared at the river, teeth still chattering. “I c-could have been swept away t-to who knows w-where . . .” He trembled again, both from the cold and the thought.
“Are you alright?” Jag asked, gently squeezing the back of Kody’s neck. Waving the question aside, Kody curled into a ball to conserve the little warmth his body had. His friends kept rubbing his back until he’d warmed up a little, then he stretched out and struggled to his feet, trying to wring out his clothes.
“You’d think,” he complained, still shivering, “that with all the cool inventions those villagers came up with, waterproof insulation would be among them. But nooo . . .”
Jag felt himself grin. “Yeah, you’re definitely alright.” A breeze picked up and blew toward the group. Kody muttered something in annoyance. Mariah passed her pack filled with spare clothes to Kody and ordered him to change out of his soaked garments.
“Where am I gonna change?” he griped, stiff with cold. Mariah pointed to the trees and he reluctantly obliged, quickly disappearing into the forest. He walked back out shortly after, looking more relieved, and even his shivers had eased. He passed the pack to Mariah and the girls wrapped him in a hug to warm him up faster.
Kody looked at his friends ruefully. “I’m so sorry. The food’s gone.”
“Better the food than you,” Tegan said. Kody smiled a little but it was clear he was unhappy.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Aari consoled him. “Accidents happen.”
Kody sighed. “Still. I feel like an idiot. Now we’ve got no food at all.”
The friends looked away. Truth was, they were concerned that the pack was gone. It contained all the sustenance they were depending on.
“We should get going,” Mariah said.
“Yeah. Come on.” Jag strolled northward for the next fifteen minutes, keeping close to the tree line. He frowned as he looked at the trees further ahead. A number of them had burn marks on their bark and some of the trunks were scarred badly. The whole sight gave the surroundings an ominous feeling. The only thing that lightened the atmosphere was the small creek that snaked out from the main river and disappeared beyond the trees.
“This is kind of creepy,” Tegan said as she walked beside Jag, looking at the blackened trees. He acknowledged her and scanned the foliage. Then, without warning, Tegan cried out and tumbled head-over-heels, rolling several yards down a small slope. Jag and Mariah scrambled down and helped her to her feet. “What happened?” Jag asked, bewildered.
Tegan was wide-eyed. “I have no idea. I think my foot hit something.”
Aari and Kody were crouched at the top of the slope where Tegan had tripped. They brushed away some dirt and pulled off a few broken branches. Jag and the girls made their way up to the pair, who now staring blankly at something on the ground in front of them. The sunlight that filtered through the trees reflected and bounced off a shiny red object.
Kody held it up for the group to see. “From the plane.”
Realization dawned on the five. Jag switched his gaze from the red object to the lacerated trees around them. “The plane’s got to be here somewhere.”
Behind him, the marred trees beckoned the friends deeper into the forest. Jag obliged and the others caught up with him, staying close. It got darker the farther they went. Climbing over and down a large fallen tree in their path, they halted, aghast.
Thirty feet away, through some tall coniferous trees, was the partly charred wreckage of the Piper Comanche.
19
The Elders were pacing back and forth in front of their assembly neyra when Akol ran back to them, breathing hard. Chayton was at his heels, whimpering anxiously. “I have searched everywhere, and there was not a single trace of them,” he said, puffing. “They must have left during the night.”
“Why would they foolishly stray from our protection?” Saiyu demanded. “They were safe with us. Against the power of the forest, they are mere fledglings!”
“They may have been protected, but they were a little less than happy to stay in our village,” Tayoka said. “Do you not recall? When we had our first talk with them, they wanted to know when they could leave.”
“But to wander out there alone! My goodness!” Saiyu faced Tikina. “We must find them.”
Tikina agreed and stepped away. As she closed her eyes and prepared to enter her meditative state, a bloodcurdling scream ripped across the valley. Tikina’s eyes snapped open. The Elders and Akol heard footsteps rapidly approaching and Huyani burst through the trees, panting for breath, fear in her brown eyes.
Akol held his sister as she tried to form coherent words. “Fiotez . . . I do not know what happened . . . he—he is . . .” She leaned against Akol to steady herself, pressing her palms to her face, and tried to regain her composure. Chayton nuzzled her knee, his ears folded back.
“Where is Fiotez right now?” Nageau asked.
Huyani pointed straight ahead. “He was in between the convalescence shelter and the school.”
“You mean he is out of his bed?” Tikina asked, alarmed. Huyani nodded.
The Elders rushed westward, leaving the siblings and the wolf behind. They crossed a path and ran over it into the trees until they reached a second path, parallel to the first, and found themselves near the convalescence shelter and the school building where the younger children were. What they saw shook them to their bones.
Fiotez was half-stumbling, half-racing around the school, screeching like a dying animal. Blood streamed from his nose and ears. When he opened his mouth to bellow, crimson splattered out. His eyes were reddened, and he heaved a long, glinting object high above his head.
“A sword!” Saiyu gasped. “He took one of the ancient swords from the temple!”
Fiotez swung the blade at a young child who screamed and ran away in terror. As Fiotez lunged at the boy, the Elders realized that it was the madman’s own son.
Diyo tripped and fell as he tried to dodge his father. He looked up to see wide, crazed eyes, and foam dripping from his father’s mouth as Fiotez stood over him with the sword raised. The boy screamed again, tears running down his face.
As the Elders raced forward, Fiotez’s manic eyes registered recognition as he stared at his son. For a brief moment, a look of utter pain and remorse flitted across his face. Then, without warning, the sword fell from his clenched, claw-like fingers and he dropped to the ground, writhing.
Saiyu bounded ahead of the others. She lifted Diyo to his feet and hurriedly ushered him back toward her companions. By this time Huyani and Akol had caught up with the Elders, and Saiyu left Diyo in their hands. Chayton fretfully weaved between the young boy and the siblings.
Nageau approached Fiotez carefully. Fiotez’s thrashing was settling down but he still twitched uncontrollably. Foam had encrusted his mouth and his bloodshot eyes slowly glazed over until he stopped moving altogether.
Nageau watched with a stony expression, then moved closer to examine Fiotez. A minute passed before he turned around, his blue eyes laden with grief. “He has passed.”
He went up to Diyo and knelt in front of the young boy. As he gazed into the child’s eyes, he knew that the damage had been done. Diyo would never—could never—forget this day when his father at
tempted to end his life. He would never be consolable. For such a young soul to experience something this traumatic, this disturbing, Nageau thought, the poor lad will be scarred for life.
Nageau gently kissed the child’s head. Diyo burst into tears and wrapped his arms around the Elder’s neck, his heavy sobs being the only sound anyone heard for a while until Tayoka and Ashack began warding away onlookers who came to investigate.
“We should strap Mitska’s mate down,” Saiyu said. “Else we shall witness this scene repeat.”
“I agree. It perturbs me that we must go to this length to take care of our ill, but now the concern lies with the safety of the community.” Tikina lifted the boy into her arms. “I will take care of Diyo. You go ahead and strap our remaining patient down.”
* * *
“Are you sure he is properly restrained?” Akol asked, looking over his sister’s shoulder at Mitska’s mate. The old man lay on the bed with fiber bands wrapping his chest, abdomen and legs. He was asleep, appearing ill and chalk-white.
“Trust me, Akol, he is.” Huyani checked the straps just in case and stood by her brother, unhappiness enfolding her. “This feels immoral, to fasten one of our kinfolk to the point where he can hardly move.”
Akol squeezed her shoulder. “I know, but it has to be done.”
The sound of footsteps outside the convalescence shelter alerted the pair and they looked over in time to see the Elders enter. They walked over and took a long look at Mitska’s mate. Nageau pinched the bridge of this nose. “This disquiets me. For generations we have been safe . . .” He let the sentence hang in the air.
The villagers remained still until Huyani timidly asked, “What has become of Fiotez’s body?”
“We have made arrangements for him to be buried this evening,” Saiyu answered.
“And how is Diyo?”
Tikina, who had entered the shelter with the other Elders, replied with a sigh. “I brought him to his mother and informed her of what just occurred. The poor boy fell asleep whilst crying in my arms before we even reached his family’s home.”
