“Looking for this oh great protector?” He was obviously aware of my intent last evening, and my total failure in staying awake. I yank it out of his hand ignoring his laugh, and pack it into the slingbag at my feet. Finn walks over to join us and hands me a waterskin.
“How come you slept sitting up against that tree Tara?” he asks.
“No reason,” I say. I take a big gulp from the water skin but he keeps looking at me curiously, waiting for more.
“I was just star gazing and I fell asleep is all.”
He seems to accept this without question and moves on to pack up his bedding, but Tater is eyeballing me. He knows I ain’t telling the whole truth.
“Did you witness any unusual constellations during your gazing?” he asks.
“If by that you mean strange stars then no, just the usual,” I say. I reckon I best not mention what I had seen last evening, or thought I had seen. I kind of feel foolish for my fright and I weren’t even sure it was real now in the light of day. No sense worrying them over what could have very well been my imagination. Sides, if something had been here last evening Cat would have sensed it, I think. She would have warned us. Instead she had slept sound through the night, obviously she hadn’t sensed anything amiss. No, best push it out of my mind and blame my jitters on my exhaustion. We got us more pressing matters like some crazy villagers and mountains and possibly raiders to worry about instead. Just another typical day in the sand lands.
Mid afternoon, day five in the mountains. The ground is changing the higher we climb. And we are climbing. Not so quickly that you really notice but the ground is sloping upwards. It’s getting rockier, sparser. The loose shale sometimes makes it hard for Winnie to get her footing, but Tater coaxes her along gently. I believe he truly does love that mule.
It’s getting cooler too, especially the nights. I’m real glad I have Thomas’ wolfling cloak to keep me warm ‘cause the wind that sometimes blows cuts like a knife. I had made Finn a cloak out of one of my blankets to keep him protected from the biting wind but Tater, he only seemed to need the warmth of his tin flask just adding to my belief that he was indeed a mutie.
The half man assures us it will only take a few more days travel before we start going down the other side, then things will get better. Better, he says. I’m not sure about that. Littlepass means closer to Lily and answers to my questions about Ben and the young’uns. But it also means we’re getting closer to the Prezedant’s lands. To my plan of abandoning Finn. I ain’t yet told him of my idea to settle him there. I hope he won’t hate me too much but it’s all I can think to do for him. I know it’s going to be hard to say goodbye to him. I kind of enjoy having him around, Cat too. Even Tater don’t irritate me so much though the thought of not hearing his voice every day don’t bother me at all. But the thought of not seeing Finn every day….. it don’t sit well .
I watch him now plodding along after Tater, yammering with a hundred questions.
“How much further Tater? What does Littlepass look like? What kinda food do they eat there?”
His hair is sticking up as normal and there’s a big streak of mud across his cheek. Don’t know how he got that. He sees me watching him, stops talking and gives me his gap toothed grin. It tugs at me some but I squash those feelings right away. I ain’t got time for that. I cain’t afford to have any kind of care for anybody right now, except for Ben and Jane and young Thomas. They were my only concern. Besides, I know it’s best for him and me to part ways. Some of what I’m thinking must be showing on my face however ‘cause his smile fades away.
“You okay Tara?”
“What? Me? Aye, I’m fine you mule turd. Why you asking?” I say.
“Cause you look…I dunno…sad kinda,” he says and starts walking towards me. I give him my brightest smile and reach out, try to wipe the dirt off his cheek, but it’s stuck good.
“No…I’m fine…truly. I…I was just thinking about how the sky looks mighty dark up ahead.”
I grasp at something to change the subject. I don’t want to have to tell him anything yet. I don’t need to be arguing with him the rest of the way.
“Looks like it’s gonna rain.”
Tater stops at my words and studies the sky.
“H’m ….you are right Tara. There is definitely a rain storm up ahead. We are going to have to wait it out. It’s too dangerous to be walking in the gulch right now.”
“What do you mean Tater? Why is it dangerous?” Just like that Finn totally forgets about me at the mention of danger. He trots back over to the little man.
“Why is a storm coming dangerous?”
“Rain in the mountains…it’s different from the sand lands. The rains are intense and torrential and can cause the gulch to flood…sweep us away before we even realize it’s coming. We need to get out of the gulch now, wait it out on that plateau above us.”
I ain’t sure what a ‘pla-toe’ is but I follow Taters gaze and figure he’s talking about the mountain ledge up ahead. The ledge is flat and open but there are a couple of boulders high enough to maybe give us shelter from the rain if it came this way. It would have to do.
Reaching the ledge I choose one of the boulders to rest against and ease my slingbag and bow from my shoulder. Tater does the same, easing Winnie’s burden by taking off her saddlebags and laying them under the other boulder to keep them as dry as possible. Winnie is enjoying this bit of freedom and takes a happy little romp about the grass, scaring away some sort of mountain bird that had been using the grass as a hiding spot from us. The bird squawks some and takes off, Cat following and nipping at its tail feathers. I smile at the chase. I’d be willing to bet we’re having mountain bird for our evening meal tonight.
I lay back against the rock, close my eyes. I feel bone tired and my shoulder is aching something fierce. The slingbag strap has been irritating me some lately. I was going to have to try and get some extra padding on it, I think.
Finn, unlike me or Tater, is showing no signs of weariness. He ain’t even bothering with sitting down, he’s busy exploring the ledge, yelling my name to get my attention. I crack open one eye. He is at the ledges drop off, not close enough for worrying but close enough to see how high up we’ve climbed.
“Tara, you gotta come see this! It’s like we’re at the top of the world! It’s amazing!”
I close my eye again.
“I’ll take your word on that Finn,” I say, too tired to move. “Don’t get no closer to that edge!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says, brushing aside my warning. I’m still listening to his yammering about the view below when, suddenly, I get a real bad feeling in my gut. Seconds later Winnie starts braying in fright. I bolt upright and instinctively grab for my bow. The mule rears up on her hind legs and before Tater can stop her she runs off towards the gulch.
“What the…?” I duck instinctively as a huge dark shadow leaps from the boulder above my head. It lands right in between us, with me and Tater on one side and Finn on the other.
“Holy damnation!” Tater’s cussin’ bursts out of him as he stumbles backward into me, nearly knocking me from my feet.
The creature standing before us is enormous, even bigger then Cat. Its light fur is matted and dirty and the red eyes regarding me and Tater at the moment look wild…and hungry.
“Tara!”
At the boys cry the creature’s head swings toward him, and I can see the powerful jaws on the massive head. It bears its teeth. They look like a mouth full of daggers! I can see Finn over its head. He’s frozen in place, his face a mask of fear.
“It’s okay Finn,” I yell out to him, sounding a lot calmer then I really am. Slowly I raise my bow and reach for an arrow only to grab at empty air. Shizen! I had taken my quiver off with the rest of my things earlier! I see it out of the corner of my eye, laying about four paces from me and make a move for it but the creatures head swings my way. I freeze, waiting for it to pounce on me. Finn must fear the same ‘cause he cries my name again ca
using the devil cat’s attention to shift back to him. It crouches then, finally deciding on the boy as the easier prey. It’s about to attack Finn! I don’t stop to think, I just drop the bow, grab my knife from the sheath and run at the beast screaming. I cain’t let it get to Finn! It springs into the air away from me and I yell, terrified.
“Finn! Run!”
From out of nowhere seems like, Cat comes flying past me, her teeth bared and snarling like the she devil she was. She collides with the other beast in mid air and she brings it down. They tumble over and over, a black and golden blur, their claws and teeth ripping at each other’s throats.
“Finn, get away from them!”
I’m yelling at him to move but all he can see is his beloved beast in danger and it’s like he don’t even heed me.
“Cat!” he’s screaming. “Cat no!” He runs right into the path of the fighting beasts and I watch in horror as he is knocked from his feet and disappears over the mountain edge!
Once, when Ben and me had been real young, he had challenged me to see who could jump from the highest rock ledge above the old swimming hole. Never one to back down from his challenges I had climbed straight to the top, the highest ledge possible. I had jumped, convinced it was going to be my best dive ever. Only when I hit the water I hit belly first and it felt like every breath of air was knocked clean out of my lungs. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think. This is that same feeling! I watch Finn go over that edge and my body is gone numb…useless. I can still hear the beasts shrieking off to the side but it don’t matter. Not anymore…Finn is gone!
I can hear someone yelling, but they sound so far away. Who’s yelling? I slowly realize that it’s Tater. He’s yelling Finn’s name, over and over again. It’s like his yelling somehow wakes me up and my body starts moving again. I push him out of the way as I run to the edge. I have to see with my own eyes before I can believe it. Desperately I scan the ground below fearing for what I will find. I search for Finn’s broken body, my ragged, panicked breaths loud in my own ears. I keep searching but he ain’t there. Where is he?
“Tara…”
The voice is weak and terrified but it fills me with such relief my knees go numb. There he is….I see him! He’s sprawled on a ledge jutting out of the mountain, about halfway down the rocky slope we’re on. Thank gods…he’s alive!
“Finn!” I yell. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
At first there’s no answer. He’s blacked out, I think. But then…
“My leg hurts some but I think….I think I’m okay.”
I can feel the tears welling up but I quickly dash them away. No time for tears.
“Don’t move! I’m gonna get you up!” I say.
If only I knew how. I look around me wildly, looking for something….anything to help the boy. Tater by now has gotten the iron shooter out of my sling bag but it’s just hanging limply at his side as he stares at me dazed. He don’t need it, the two beasts have disappeared, which is good. I ain’t got time to be worried about Cat. My eyes fall onto Winnie’s saddlebags.
“Tater you got rope in them saddlebags?”
“Rope? Yes. Yes! I have a rope,” he says and heads for the saddlebags.
He don’t move quick enough for my liking. At the first yes I head for them, knocking him out of my way again. I don’t give a care for what else is in the bags, I dump them on the ground, the contents spewing everywhere. I just want that damn rope! There! It’s a nice thick cotton rope and I desperately pray in my head for it to be long enough. I run back to the edge.
“Finn,” I yell down. “I’m gonna make a loop in the rope and lower it down. All you gotta do is put it round you underneath your arms and we’ll pull you up. Can you do that?”
“Yeah…I think so,” he yells back, but he sounds so frightened.
“Good boy,” I say. Swiftly I make the loop in the end of the rope and cross it again to make a sturdy knot. The other end I tie round my own waist real tight. I weren’t taking no chances of that rope slipping out of my hands. I kneel over the edge and start lowering it down. Please be long enough, I pray. A moment goes by.
“I got it!” he yells.
I close my eyes in relief…thank gods.
“Okay good. Now be careful! Don’t move too quick. Put the loop over your head and move it down under your arms so it’s cross your chest.”
I wait for him to do as I say, holding my breath. That ledge was so narrow! Just one wrong move, I think. I can hear Tater behind me muttering, “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…”
“Okay.” I hear Finn’s quivering voice from below. So far so good.
“Now the end of the rope that’s sticking out, I want you to pull on it ‘til the rope is tight round your chest. Pull ‘til it’s tight understand?”
I can feel movement of the rope on my end as he does what I tell him to, then….
“It’s tight Tara...I did it!”
“Good boy! Now hold onto that rope ‘cause we’re gonna pull you up now. Hold it tight Finn!”
I get to my feet. Tater is still aimlessly pacing but runs straight for me as I motion for him to grab the rope. I move back and he stands in front of me hanging onto the line still muttering…or praying, I ain’t sure.
“Now Tater!” I say and we start pulling, slowly so as not to hurt Finn. Little by little we reel the rope in ‘til finally a tuft of red hair comes peeking over the edge, followed by a pair of huge, frantic eyes. He’s swinging wildly to and fro and one of his skinny arms reaches desperately for the rock ledge trying to grab it. I yell at Tater.
“I got the rope…go help him!”
Tater grabs for the flailing arm while I keep pulling. Once I see Tater has a good grip on the boy I give one last tug and we get his body onto solid ground. Tater throws an arm around Finn and drags him away from the edge. They both fall to their knees once they’ve cleared the edge, gasping for air. I join them, grabbing Finns shoulders real tight. A mixture of emotion starts coursing through me. Relief at his being safe, but I can feel my anger brewing at his not heeding my words to run. Instead he had been stupid enough to head right into the path of the fighting beasts. He had almost gotten himself killed! What the hell had he been thinking? Why didn’t he listen to me? I want to shake him ‘til his teeth rattle but, lucky for him, the relief wins out.
“Are you hurt?” I ask gruffly, trying not to let my anger show, and running my hands over his arms feeling for any injuries.
“Don’t think so….just my leg is banged up some is all.” His answer is shaky but at least the color is coming back to his face now. Tater starts laughing and does his crazy little clap.
“Thank the gods for this glorious miracle indeed! We rescued the boy! We are truly heroes Tara! Well us and that magnificent cat of yours boy, for without her we’d probably be in the digestive track of that other beast right about now.”
At the mention of Cat Finn brushes my probing hands away and looks ‘round with wild eyes.
“Cat! Is she okay? Where is she?” he asks, frantically.
Tater tries to calm him down.
“No need to worry my little friend. Last I saw of your she devil she was chasing that mountain cat off with its tail between its legs.”
“Truly Tater?” he asks, fighting the tears that are now threatening to flow.
“Cross my heart,” Tater says. “And as my dear mother used to say…”
“Tater…shut up,” I say. I don’t know why I say it, it just comes out of me. The offended and incredulous look on the half man’s face at my words puts me into a fit of laughter. I cain’t help it. I ain’t sure if it’s relief or shock, maybe a bit of both, but I cain’t stop laughing. Then Finn starts laughing too…and finally Tater joins in. We’re all laughing uncontrollably. Finn laughs so hard he starts hiccupping which makes us laugh even more.
“Well, well boys…seems like we’ve interrupted a celebration.”
The voice is gravelly rough and totally unexpected. Instinctiv
ely I push Finn behind me and whirl around. Who spoke I ain’t sure ‘cause there’s about nine, ten men standing there, watching us. Least I suspect they’re men, they don’t look like any men I’ve ever seen before. Their faces are marked with weird stripes of green and black and their hair is all decorated with feathers and beads and such. They were a peculiar sight indeed. As scared and surprised as I am, it also fascinates me. What the hell are they? Even their way of dress is so strange. Oh they were wearing tunics and trousers all right but their chests and shoulders are covered with such an array of objects....settler relics I’m guessing. One of them steps in front of me and my eyes are instantly drawn to the small, rounded pieces of metal attached all over his tunic. There’s so many they’re making me dizzy so I focus on the faded red one with the white lettering. I can barely make out the fancy writing. C O L A, I think it says. So odd! What does that mean?
I don’t got much time to think about it though ‘cause the weapons they are carrying quickly outweigh my fascination with their clothing. Their shooters are massive, about twice as long as the one we have and they are pointing directly at us. In all the hullabaloo of Finns rescue we ain’t heard even a foot step of their approach. Tater starts cussin’ under his breath behind me and his next words make me shiver in fear.
“Damn the gods luck! Raiders!”
Raiders? Shizen Ben, the old folk were speaking the truth. They are real!
***************************************************************************
We have been walking for hours feels like, through the rain, all in a single file…Tater, then Finn then me. All of us tied together with the same rope we had used to rescue Finn off the rock ledge. The raiders had thought it hilarious that we were already tied together, they had a good laugh at that. At first Tater had tried to reason with them. He had tried to convince them that we were just poor traders traveling through….how they had no reason to have any interest in us. How we had nuthin of value that they could possibly want. They had listened in silence, then just knocked him off his feet and proceeded to rob him of his flute, his spyglass, even his hat. The one to the left of me now was wearing it, off to the side of his head all cocky like. I glare at him with all the hatred I’m feeling inside right now but he just winks at me. The mule turd!
Awaken Page 9
