In the middle of the trap line there’s this pile of boulders with a small overhang. It kind of makes a shallow cave and gives a little protection from the wind and dust. It’s our usual place to rest up when we’re out hunting. We settle down in our little nook and Ben pulls from his slingbag a waterskin and two round wedges of sweet berry bread.
“Here, ma said ‘cause it’s your special womanly born day’ you can have an early treat.” I ignore his snicker and eagerly take a wedge. It’s still warm! I hold it up to my nose and sniff and the smell makes my mouth water in anticipation. Not able to wait any longer I take a huge bite. The sweet berry flavor floods my mouth and I close my eyes…it’s so good!
“Shizen, this is delicious!” Well that’s what I try to say around the hunk of bread in my mouth but I don’t think Ben understands. I can tell ‘cause he’s looking at me all dumb like, then shakes his head and laughs.
“Just close your mouth and chew Tara.”
I do as he says, take a swig from the waterskin and wipe my mouth with my sleeve.
“Your ma is the best cook ever,” I say.
“Aye, that she is,” he agrees.
We eat in silence for a bit, just enjoying the rare treat, listening to the wind and watching it raise and swirl little dust devils outside our shelter. I keep eying the gift Ben has left sitting between us the whole time. He knows it’s bothering me some but he don’t let me have it.
“Found a good patch of berry bushes yesterday out past the old swimming hole,” he says, breaking our comfortable silence.
“Oh yeah?” I say. The swimming hole has been dried up for years now, ain’t been there in a while.
“Got us a good bucket full, me and pa. Ma was real pleased.”
I nod. “I reckoned the berries this morning had come from you.”
“Aye. I snuck ‘em in real early, your gra’da asked me too. You were still sleeping, snoring like Lou’s ol’ hound used to do.”
“What…?” My eyes go all big. “I was not! I don’t snore!”
“Now how do you know if you’re asleep?” he says. “I ain’t lying, you nearly busted my eardrum.”
But he’s laughing so I know he’s just torturing me some again.
“You’re a mule turd,” I say. He raises an eyebrow at me.
“Oh is that so?” He picks up the gift and starts putting it back in his slingbag. “If I remember correctly Ma’s got a born day coming up soon. I’m pretty sure she don’t think I’m a mule turd.”
“No…….!” I lunge at the gift. “I’m sorry Ben, truly.”
He holds it above my head again. “Truly?” he asks.
I nod. “Truly.”
“Okay, here.” I yank it from his hands and once it’s safe in my possession I mutter again “Mule turd.” He laughs.
Gently I place the cloth on my lap and eagerly unfold the layers. Laying inside is a flower, but it ain’t like any flower I’ve ever seen around Rivercross. What it’s made from I ain’t sure, maybe some kind of settler plastic. It has a center of pure white but the petals surrounding it are all shiny black. One of the petals has a leather thong laced through it so as to wear it around my neck. It has a couple of chips in it but it’s surely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. But all I say is “Oh.”
Ben is looking all worried.
“What’s the matter? You don’t like it?”
“No! It ain’t that. It’s just… I ain’t never owned anything so pretty before.”
I guess it’s the right thing to say ‘cause he’s smiling again.
“Well go ahead…put it on.”
I untie my neck wrapper and start to place the leather strand round my neck but Ben scoots over and takes it out of my hands so as to do it for me. I lift my long braid out of his way.
“Found it last week when me and pa were out at the pickin’ grounds. The bucket it was stuck to was full of these things, but this one…this one was special. Had a hell of a time getting it offa the bucket but I knew it had to be this one ‘cause the black and white was just like your hair….made me think of ya.”
He stops talking but right away my hands move instinctively to cover my hair. My hair is black, as black as crow feathers but it has these two awful looking white stripes on both sides of my face that run from the top of my head straight to the ends. It’s always been like that for as long as I can remember.
I cain’t recall how many times the old folk would say “how strange” it were or joke about how I must be a mutie or something. I always tried to hide them in braids or under my hat but they were a real sore spot with me. Hearing Ben speak of ‘em bothers me some. He just moves my hands back to my lap and goes right on talking.
“It reminded me of how darn pretty your hair is so I says to myself …Ben, this has got to be Tara’s born day gift.”
His hands brush the back of my neck making me shiver some.
“There, nice and tight so you won’t lose it.”
I look down at it lying against my dingy tunic. I’m quiet for a bit. I ain’t ever been good at putting my soft feelings into words, Ben was always better at that sort of stuff. But I want him to know what it means to me.
“Thank you Ben…it’s truly the most perfect born day gift I ever got,” I say quietly.
He shrugs, and then grins at me, the laughter back in his eyes.
“Weren’t nuthin. Would have given you the bucket too but pa figured it would come in real handy for taking out the slop.”
I laugh at this. I laugh so hard my stomach starts to hurt. Trust Ben to turn our conversation to slop.
“You’re a…..”
“Mule turd….I know, I know,” he says and ducks the punch I throw at his shoulder. “Hey, if you want help checking the trap line you better stop with the hittin’!”
“Lot of good you are to me…ain’t much of it left to check,” I say, but I’m just teasing.
My words make him frown some though and he glances at my slingbag.
“You’re almost finished checking and that’s all you got? Two dirt dogs?” he says in disbelief.
“Aye,” I say. “Ain’t much I know….was hoping for a couple more at least. If I don’t get ‘em then I was thinking I might head out a bit further into the sand lands, see if I can get me a wild rabbit or maybe even a wild hog.”
He looks at me all funny….then laughs.
“Wild hog?” he says “Ain’t been no wild hog ‘round these parts going on two years now Tara…you’re talking foolish.”
I know he’s right. There ain’t been no decent game spotted anywhere near Rivercross in a long time. But his laughing at me irritates me some.
“Who are you to say I won’t find no wild hog? You a seer now like old Molly?” I say, mad at him for calling me foolish.
“No, but I ain’t no fool either.”
The smile drops from his face and he looks real serious all of a sudden. It ain’t like his normal look at all.
“I know what’s happening even though none of the old folk will say so. Rivercross is a dying place Tara. I cain’t remember the last time we caught us a fish, or rabbit, or hog….can you?”
I think about it, but finally I shake my head no.
“It’s been a long time,” I say.
“Exactly! And we ain’t ever gonna see them things again, mark my words. Shizen, we ain’t ever gonna see that river run no more either. Might as well call the place muddy cross ‘cause it’s all that’s left of that damn river!”
He’s angry, his face is all red. This truly surprises me. Ben is never angry. He’s always joking, or laughing, or downright irritating…but never angry. The surprise must be showing on my face some ‘cause he looks away ashamedly.
“I’m sorry Tara,” he says. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that, and on your born day and all. It’s just….” he looks back at me and his eyes remind me more of some old man than his true seventeen years.
“Don’t you ever worry ‘bout what’s gonna happ
en to Rivercross? To us?”
“What are you saying, Ben?”
I don’t like how he’s talking. He scratches his head, mussing his hair even more so, and loosening some dust that floats lazily in a stray sunbeam sneaking through the cracks above our heads.
“I cain’t understand why the old folk don’t do nuthin. Every year is worse than the one before. Every year we have less and it gets harder to find. And what do they say? ‘Oh the gods will provide. The gods will bring rain.’ It’s a load of shite! We ain’t had rain in months! The well is all but dried up along with the river. All of the animals have practically died off. And the harvest…well there ain’t no way in dirt dog hell we’re gonna have a harvest this year or the next!”
I know he’s speaking the truth but like the old folk I reckon I don’t want to admit it either.
“Then we go look for water,” I say. “There’s gotta be another river or spring, sure enough. We find it and we bring water back. We dig another well maybe…whatever we have to do. If we gotta travel further into the sand lands to find game then we do that too. And the rain will come, you’ll see, and there will be a harvest next year…”
“Tara,” he stops me from talking. “Open your eyes. You sound worse than the old folk…than pa. Rivercross is dead.”
“No,” I say.
“Yes Tara.”
“No, you’re wrong.”
His words are making me angry now.
“Why you being so mule headed about this?” he asks.
“Because!” I say, “This is our home! To say Rivercross is dead is to give up on our home and I ain’t no quitter….and neither are you!”
I poke him in the chest so hard it hurts my finger. He just sighs at me.
“I ain’t saying we should give up….hell no. What I’m saying is we should move on elsewhere. And if the old folk weren’t so stubborn they would know that’s the right thing to do. There’s gotta be a better place out there…” he jerks his hand toward the sand lands “…somewhere.”
I stare at him all quiet like for a bit.
“You talked to your pa ‘bout this then,” I say.
He nods. “Aye. He’s too stubborn to see it though, just like the rest of ‘em. He keeps saying it will turn around and that a boy my age shouldn’t be concerned about things of that nature. It’s just…frustrating!”
“Well then maybe he’s right,” I say. “Maybe we ain’t got no reason to be concerned. The old folk have been around a long time….they ain’t gonna let Rivercross perish, surely you know that. Gra’da and your pa and the others…they know what they’re doing. And as for ‘out there’…I use his words. “There ain’t nuthin out there except ruins and dead lands. And beyond that…what? Muties and raiders and critters that’ll just rip us into pieces, gobble us up, and shite us out.”
I ain’t expecting it but he laughs.
“We ain’t ever been more than a day’s travel from Rivercross. How the hell do you know what’s out there? Muties? Raiders? Have you ever seen such things Tara or you just letting the old folk scare you with such nonsense.”
In all the years I known Ben I ain’t ever heard him talk like this. Something sure has got him riled up.
“It ain’t just the old folk. The traders that pass through Rivercross sometimes….they speak of such things too. You’ve heard ‘em same as me,” I say.
“Aye, I’ve heard their stories round the campfires. I’ve also heard ‘em speak of magic and demons and monsters…does that make it all true? It’s just tales Tara meant for scaring young’uns. Don’t try to tell me you don’t believe the same.”
He knows me too well. But unlike Ben I don’t want to say those thoughts out loud. To speak ill of the old folk it seems wrong...disrespectful somehow. He takes my silence as a yes.
“Look, we know there’s other places out there somewhere…other villages. The traders prove that much. They have to come from somewhere. They ain’t just blown to life by the dust and the wind. All I’m saying is maybe where they come from is better than here. Don’t you think we should at least find out for ourselves?”
I finally understand what he’s saying and it scares me.
“You want to leave Rivercross?” I say, shocked. I cain’t imagine living here without Ben. We grew up together, did everything together. We were kin.
He shrugs. “Dunno…maybe. Been thinkin’ ‘bout it for a while now. Who knows what I could find. The worlds a big place Tara, bigger then you or me can imagine I reckon. Maybe I’d find some magical place where there’s always fresh water, always a good harvest and always clean beds with not a single damn grain of sand in ‘em.”
I think about this in silence for a bit.
“Aye, maybe you will,” I say finally. “And then again maybe I will shoot me a wild hog today.”
I know he’s trying to stay somber but he cain’t keep a straight face and he laughs.
“Okay, you win this one,” he says.
“I win always,” I say and toss his waterskin at him. “Come on enough talking already. We still got work to do, that trap line ain’t gonna check itself.”
He pretends to scowl at me but packs up like I ask. I follow him back out into the heat of the day, glad we ain’t arguing no more. It would have ruined my born day gift with all that talk about leaving Rivercross. I know he ain’t serious about that…he’ll come around. He never was one to stay serious for long. I cain’t help but look back down at my flower and smile and I’m so busy admiring it I don’t see Ben stop suddenly in front of me. I ram solidly into his back, almost knocking me off of my feet.
“What the…?” I right myself, follow his gaze to the horizon. A huge cloud of dust, about two leagues away, is rolling towards Rivercross.
“What is it?” I say, anxiously. “A rider?”
He squints into the sun.
“No, too big.”
“A dust storm?”
“Dunno….maybe.”
We watch in silence for a bit.
“Whatever it is its moving fast,” I say.
Then we feel it. Vibrations under our feet, like thunder, only it don’t stop. I ain’t ever felt the ground shake like this and a lump of fear starts growing in my belly. We look at each other wordlessly and I can see the concern on Ben’s face.
“Maybe we should head back,” he says.
“Aye,” I agree.
We don’t hesitate, we both start running full out as the vibrations get stronger. Even the land is disturbed by the dust cloud ‘cause I can feel its distress and what I’m feeling right now is ‘danger.’
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Most everybody is out watching the dust cloud move in. Some of them are holding their axes or bows but all of ‘em are looking mighty scared. Their fear hangs heavy in the air, almost like you could reach out and touch it. I know in my own gut that something real dangerous is coming in that cloud.
Shelly runs right up to us as soon as she spots us, panic etched in her face. “Have you seen Jane and young Thomas?” She’s nearly screaming at us she’s so scared. I shake my head no and she wrings her hands.
“Oh gods, they were out playing…I gotta find ‘em! Help me find ‘em!” She don’t wait for us to help though, she just takes off yelling their names, her worry making her voice high and shrill. I look over at Ben and I can see that his dark eyes are clouded with fear.
“Go get your crossbow,” I say. “This ain’t good! And tell your pa to get his ax! I gotta find gra’da!”
Used to my gut instincts, he don’t question me, he just gives me a quick nod and runs off. I head for the shanty, the vibrations in the ground so strong now it feels like they’re jarring my bones.
Gra’da comes limping round the shanty, looking relieved when he spots me. He yells to me but I cain’t hear him over everybody ‘cause by now, I reckon, they’re realizing the danger. I run to him and I’m struck by the panic in his face. I ain’t ever seen him look like that! Gra’da is
a big man, a brave man. I ain’t ever seen him scared of anything. It makes me afraid something fierce.
“Tara! You have to come with me right now! You have to get to the storm cellar!” he says. He grabs my wrist and starts hauling me around the shanty toward the back.
“Gra’da no! It ain’t a dust storm!” I say, thinking he must be confused. As if to confirm what I’m saying the rumbling vibrations from the cloud is made much worse by a high pitched screeching. No..... it’s screaming! I look over my shoulder. It’s almost upon Rivercross, this massive dust plume, and every villager can now see what was hiding in it. I stop in my tracks, frozen.
Shizen! I ain’t ever seen the likes! Black metal monsters moving over the land, gobbling it up and spitting out the dust. There’s three of ‘em from what I can see, rolling on huge wheels taller than any man. They’re like something straight out of a night terror! I cain’t even begin to understand what they are.
“Tara no!”
I don’t even realize I’m moving towards them, towards the screaming villagers ‘til gra’da grabs me around the waist nearly lifting me off my feet.
“There’s no time! You have to get to the cellar!”
Old Molly runs by us screaming, her eyes almost popping from her head with fear. Vaguely I notice she only has one boot on but she don’t seem to pay no heed to the sharp rocks under her bare foot.
“They found us! Death! Death is here!”
She trips and goes sprawling in the dirt. I should help her, I think. But I cain’t move. I cain’t breathe.
Everybody’s running, screaming, but it’s all muffled like I’m back at the swimming hole listening to them all from under the water. Like none of it ain’t happening for real.
“I have to find Ben!” I say suddenly and try to pull away from gra’das grip but he just holds me tighter and gives me a shaking, making my teeth rattle.
“Listen to me Tara and mind what I’m saying! You have to hide in the storm cellar! I’ll cover it well enough, they won’t find you. You stay in there nice and quiet ‘til they’re gone!”
Awaken Page 2
