by Matt Wilk
“Hey, that’s mine!”
I dove after one and landed on my stomach. I had to crawl back quickly to stop them from biting my shell and one jumped into my Chron vest and stole away with more of my string. By the time I made it back to the rocks, I was covered in their loose dander and stunk of rat poops. More importantly, I had found the perfect place to build a Nanu Trap. The lion would never gather any momentum with the tunnels beneath his feet. He was much more likely to happen on me by surprise on his way to have rat for dinner. The spikes already had previously dug out holes to fill, and I would not be the primary bait.
I ran back to the compound out in the open and doing flips. A passing herd of red raptors complimented me on my spikes. They ran at me, flanked out, and then let out the barking call that signaled I was not worth the trouble. I ate heartily and filled an empty powder bag with fresh water. I knocked on Dooza’s door to tell her about being stuck on my back. She did not answer.
“Oh, well. You could have had a laugh at me- your loss.”
Nothing could detract from my mood. The predators were learning to fear me, and soon, Major Swiftblade would show me respect. With my honor, and a sword, I chased my dreams to the Nepori Highlands. The Commandoes had slain more pirates than the Seals, and ended the war. Captain Matthius, of course, had led them all to victory.
Two days after the full moon, and the gods were getting antsy. Their little rats refused to allow my pikes at their front door until I had peed on each of them. Marking my territory aggravated the entire colony. I could hear them down below, screeching and fighting one another in a chain reaction of male dominance that I had initiated. A few of the shorter rats were even killed in the scuffles. I felt responsible, and ashamed, but my presence was not the only factor involved.
“All day. All day. All day.”
All day, the gods tortured us with their trickery. After I had the trap set, and the rats no longer knocked over my pikes, I had nothing left to do but wait for the lion with no tail to arrive. Four stacks of rocks held up one of the extra wagon wheels as my leaf covered roof. The spikes I had applied to my shell were too long so I took off the heavy shield and kept it safely under the center of the wheel. I crawled all around it, using it for both cover and shade. No matter, the gods had other plans.
The morning sky cleared up and the air fell dead still. The valley was subjected to a surprise heat wave. All I wanted was to drink water. The heat had turned the sealed bag of water into steam. I dare not open the swollen thing, as all of my water would have simply blown out and away.
I played with the few strings I had left, tying them into characters and focusing my mind on the many ways the lion may approach. Occasionally, one of the rats would stalk past and shoot me a dirty look. From the unseasonable heat and dehydration, my hysteria was so unchecked that it even gave the animals pause. After several hours of shaking and sweating and moaning, the clouds returned. The air cooled down while the wind picked up. Just a few hours before sunset, I was still there waiting. However, I was finally able to drink my water.
The gods were merely playing another trick on Matthius- their least favorite toy. The wind never stopped blowing until the cold had transformed the humid dew into a freezing mist. I never saw the sun go down so quickly in my life. The cold had me curled into a ball with my knees tucked up and into the shell. Shivering, teeth chattering, and shaking are normal. However, just as Jyetta had warned, rock back and forth for too long, and the madness will take hold.
“All day. All day. All day.”
The rats were the first to warn me of an approaching predator. Their lookouts sounded a shrill whistle and the borough emanated the stench of fear. The half-eaten bodies of dead challengers were pushed to the tunnel openings and left as offerings. I began to shake violently and chase shadow men in circles. The peripheral mirage made me close my eyes and beg for mercy. The fear and the shaking and the hunger had taken complete control. The gods had finally gotten what they wanted- I had given up. I could not see Mother Moon but knew that she too had given up on me. Disappointed by my cowardice, she aided her brethren in their quest to end the bloodline of Gojinus. The mist froze in place, the whole ground shook with fear, and her red tainted light drowned the world in blood. I was left powerless to stop the beast they sent to claim my soul.
“Hello? Major Swiftblade?”
Footsteps, made by two feet. Not talons, not boots, and not bothering to hide.
“This is not funny!”
More footsteps, made by a group. Either the wild men were back for revenge, or the Opa had found me first. Right then, I prayed for the lion to find us, and spare the little turtle.
“Damn you bear-kin. I will slay you all.”
“Whoop!”
“What?”
“Whoop- whoop!”
“No- no- no!”
The wild men dared not travel that far west. The entire tree line was screaming and stomping and excreting that rotten egg stench. If not for the Nanu Trap, the Opa would have already eaten man flesh for dinner. The noise was driving me mad until it suddenly stopped. A single reed was thrown and they watched it sail through air whilst collectively holding their breath. A short and deep hum pierced my ears the moment before the sharpened reed came into view. It landed in my clay reinforced shell, and stuck, vibrating and splintering from the force of impact. I shuttered and gasped from the surprise. The army of tall reds went wild in celebration. Foolishly, I called back to them, letting them know that I was still alive.
“You missed- you idiots! And now I have a weapon. I dare you to reveal yourself! Show yourselves cowards!”
They went mostly silent, only whispering in a language that was less complex than that of the raptors. However, I understood damn well what their next message meant. Their reeds slammed against the tree trunks, slow and methodical. The pounding reached a unified tempo and any drummer boy would know that they had sent a challenger into the fray. My frozen and shaking fingers did not have the strength to pull their reed from my shell. A noise from nearby convinced me to hide those fingers before they ended up becoming an Opa snack. I tucked my heels in under the shell and made a small hut for my fingers inside my leather vest. I huffed on them, and wiggled them to regain dexterity. I stopped shaking long enough to muster a hot breath that could be seen in the dark scarlet night.
“No more running!”
I spread my arms wide and prepared to grab the reed. My eyes opened just in time to see the one- eyed lion that had carefully crawled his way across my wagon wheel shelter. He was already prepared to snatch up all of my fingers- their escape mattered little. His giant paw shot through the opening of my vest and each one of his claws extended to full. Starting from my groin, he tore through my weak man flesh and ripped four long lacerations deep into my abdomen. The fool should have finished me off right then and there. Without the sun, and without the red shadow, I reacted the way any beast would have. I could not breathe, but my legs shot out like coiled springs- just as I had intended. The spikes on my shell tore through the beast in too many places to not eventually bleed him dry- then he landed on the iron tipped pikes. He let out a final dying whine, and the Opa fell silent. Some of them, I could hear clearly, were running for dear life.
“Owie.”
I wanted nothing more than to scream. I could not. My mouth filled with more blood at every breath. Standing was more painful than I had ever imagined it could be. Just as I made it to my feet, another reed hummed towards me. Blocking it nearly broke my wrist. Their War Chief let out a final growl in disappointment, then he turned to chase after the safety of numbers.
“Thank you- idiot!”
Both of the long reeds had cracked and split wide where they impacted. After some fussing and bending, they made a perfect set of crutches. Before I began the long journey back, I tied the last bits of string to my hair. The man eating long tooth was no more, and I took one of his weapons as my evidence. Each step hurt my whole body, but I could not stray. After
ripping a tooth from the lion, were I to sit back down, I would not have had the energy to stand. The straps from my shell added just enough pressure to the vest to slow the bleeding. The lion’s blood was all over me and warded off any would be attackers. Only a few steps into my long journey back to base, and the rats began to peek out of their holes. Not long after that, they tore the man eater apart. I spit, hoping they left not even a single bite for the crows. They had all night to defile one of their tormentors. By morning, the other predators would know what an army of burrowing rats was truly capable of.
Still wheezing and coughing up blood, I took my time and focused on remaining upright. My training took over. I walked back, slipping on every stone, bleeding out from the artery in my groin. And yet, no animal dared to so much as move in my presence. Even the Opa had learned to fear the little turtle. The valley below Ram’s Peak was mine. Soon, I would have my honor.
The walk back was the most intense hike of my life. I had no breath control from the tear through my midsection. The monster had effectively slowed me to the proper pace of a land turtle. The sun would not rise for some time. When it finally did, the cloud cover was prepared to block any chance of reprieve. My sweat dripped down into my vest and burned the fresh wounds. Every time I stopped to tighten the straps, I let out a growl that silenced the bugs. In the time between stops, my mind drifted in and out of sleep. It was a good practice that took over when I needed it most as it blocked out all of the pain. By the time I reached the paved road, the red night had been washed away by a dark grey overcast. The frozen north flashed lightning in front of my eyes and reminded me to toss the crutches before I got struck.
A long line of scavenger birds circled and dove in turns after the mess I had left for them. The threat no longer stopped the bison, who then washed over the valley headed south. If I had gotten hit by one of the stampeding megas my guts would surely have exploded out. I was so weak that I could not summon the strength to trot in the tall grass after one of the sun’s rays shining through the gathering storm. Worse, I could not deviate from my path, and ended up dragging my feet through many a pile of droppings.
Not long after sunrise, the serpentine came into view. The Lady Dooza and Major Swiftblade were standing on the third tier with their hands on their hips. They yelled as if I could hear them and kept pointing towards the flock of birds. It was obvious that something had indeed been slaughtered. I smiled up at them, expecting to hear all about how they were worried sick. At last, I finished stumbling up the gravel trail. Wearing a smile on my face- as always- was a mistake.
“What have you done?”
“Where have you been?”
“What is so funny?”
“He thinks you are a joke Charles.”
The blood moon had sent him back to base early. Boredom being his worst nightmare, he had stayed up through the night drinking. My hilt hummed at the sight of his swirling horn of wine.
“I need that.”
“Just like you needed to modify your armor.”
“Spikes dipped in lion’s blood. Do you think this is how a Nanu Trap works?”
“Sir?”
“I saw you tossing those reeds aside. You can hide nothing from me.”
“And, whatever mess you made has upset the entire valley.”
They would not listen. I did not have the gut strength to match their volume, nor the internal pressure. I wrestled with the shell and had to lean on Dooza’s wall for support. Once it was off, they both went wide-eyed in disbelief. The sudden loss of weight and increased speed caused me to fall flat on my face.
“You dare to take off your shell- right in front of my eyes.”
“Don’t.”
“You have no respect for authority. No discipline. No shame.”
I crawled towards Major Swiftblade slowly, dragging my hips low to keep pressure on the artery. He shook the wine around in the horn, listening and looking inside to check the level. I estimated that over half remained, and so did he, taking another swig. He placed it on the ground with one hand, brandishing the tiny obelisk from his belt with the other. The moment my hand reached the horn- he grabbed my face. Extending my abdomen backwards tore open what little scabs had formed. I could not speak, or move to stop him. He cut me deep across the chin in a single slice, and then tossed the ceremonial pike into the fire pit. He did not even look me in the eye. He stood and turned to stare at the swarming scavengers.
“And now, once again, I must clean up your mess.”
“Still smiling? Do you have nothing to say for yourself?”
The Lady Dooza bent forward to point her finger at my face from across the fire. She had mistaken my wincing for a laugh, so she was low enough to see what happened next. I tried to speak but, instead, I coughed up a fat clot of blood. It took all the energy I had left to straighten up onto my knees. I took a swig of the wine and swished it around in my mouth. My blood was thin enough, so I spit it and the loose blood into the pit, causing a flare of heat and flame.
“No. I am surprised he waited this long.”
I raised the horn, slowly tilting it over. The wine dribbled onto my chin and burned worse than I thought it would. Major Swiftblade had turned to yell something back. Upon seeing me waste his wine without even drinking it, he stomped over to my back shell. While he was slamming it to knock the spikes off, I slipped my left hand in under my vest. I pushed and squeezed and held my breath. Then I upended the ram’s horn onto the wound. Dooza remained partly skeptical, that is, until I removed my vest. I finished drowning the deep lacerations and held in all the pain. Instead of crying out, when the horn was empty, I fell over on my side. I was dangerously close to the open flame. Dooza gasped and ran around to pull me away but Major Swiftblade did not care for such theatricality.
“Grab him. Charles, help me. Get him up.”
“The baby drank too much? That’s too bad. From now on, he can learn every lesson the hard way!”
“Look at him, damn you. He already has.”
With more wine in my veins than blood, my back arched and my legs shook uncontrollably. My own body refused to aid Dooza in rolling it away from a fiery grave. The old pair of pants ripped apart rather than be used as a handhold. I grit my teeth so hard I expected them to begin cracking loudly one after another. Finally, she ripped the lion’s tooth from my hair and threw it to Major Swiftblade. He stopped pulling on his uniform and looked up at the slashes all down my abdomen. Then he grabbed the long tooth and ran to help Dooza.
Once they had lifted me up, she began a Shaman’s chant. She occasionally stopped to offer directions, but my mind was no longer registering complete words. I know because I was still trying to speak them myself- without any success at all. Wherever she took us, there was even less sun than before. Somehow, the air got hotter. My face got wet with steam. They gently dipped my lifeless body into a hidden hot springs. The temperature was just below hot enough to boil my skin. I thought that it would be a pleasant experience, until the water hit my open wounds. The intense pain gave me the strength to utter a single word.
“Much too late for stitches.”
“Salt!”
“I know child. Hush now.”
The hot salt water was torture, much worse than the wine. The salt content was extremely high, forcing my feet up the deeper I was dipped. I remember the Swiftblade walking away as my weight disappeared from the unbelievable buoyancy. Dooza continued to hum strange tunes and finished with me quickly thereafter. I heard her walk away, but I was still floating. The heat relaxed my muscles and the salt held me in place. Though my blood had stained the water around it, the salt crystalized over all of my skin- especially the pink torn flesh. Eventually, the pain subsided, and my breathing slowed. Then I took the longest nap of my life.
I slept the entire day without a single dream. The lacerations had healed enough to stop bleeding. The lion’s claws had left a tree outlined on my body with roots spread wide, leading to a thinner trunk around the belly button,
and a spreading canopy that disappeared outward after bouncing off the ribs. The eternal storm had decided to roll back east and Mother Moon began to flash through the speeding clouds.
“That’s an awful sad shade of blue. Does that mean you’re sorry?”
The lightning continued to dance around the glaciers. I thought it must have been the flashing gold light from my eyes that woke me. The reflection on the water was so bright I witnessed the anomaly first hand. A full bladder turned out to be the culprit, and I dare not wet a bed made of salt water. Muscles groaned and joints popped and I let out a long growl while righting my body. I grabbed the rock and peered into the thick mist of hot and wet air. My eyes flashed while the thunder rolled in and I frightened a nearby creature.
“You’re safe little one. Come here. I have a treat for you.”
The thing did not believe me. My voice was too rough and I was growling like a predator. After such little time spent healing, I was feeling like a monster as well. Without the heavy armor to pull me down, I was able to launch my body out of the hot spring and land flat on my feet. The dry air and the squeezing punished me for showing for off. I hobbled north toward a tree line and the beast remained frozen stiff. On my way back, I slowly veered in his direction and nearly fell into another pool. One that was filled with Opa. They were all in a trance and staring up at the moon. I stopped dead and was grateful to have already emptied my bladder. Then the light glowed from my eyes and caught their attentions. They slapped at the water and stood up tall- barely breaking the surface. The mist cleared from their flurry of motion and revealed them to be tiny grey and white Opa.
“You have spots- just like me!”
Few of them dared to leave the water, but the younglings ran out to poke my spots and sniff the backs of my hands. Every time my eyes glowed they cheered again, as if I were in control of the power. The thunder rolled in after and convinced them to hide back in the water. The moon was not the only cause for their trance. In the sudden heat wave of the previous day, poisonous mushrooms had grown on the felled logs. The Opa were clearly immune, as they had left piles of them all around the pools.
