by L. S. O'Dea
“Okaaay.”
It was clear that he didn’t understand. “If something attacks, I need to be able to move, fight. If you’re on top of me, I can’t.”
He cleared his throat. “Ahh. I wasn’t on top of you.”
“Close enough.”
“Not really.” There was a smile in his words.
She spun around. “What did I say wrong this time?” She often said things that made the males chuckle and her dad turn red.
“Nothing. Sorry, I mentioned it.”
“It’s about mating isn’t it?” Her eyes narrowed. “How am I supposed to know when I say something wrong about that? I’ve never done it. I’ve seen animals so I know basically—”
“Please, stop.” He glanced around, his eyes almost panicked. “This isn’t a conversation we should be having.”
“Then who can I ask? Dad won’t tell me and everyone else laughs at me.” She turned and started walking again. She hadn’t meant to say the last part. He already knew she didn’t fit in with the others. He didn’t need to know she was the camp joke too.
“I can’t believe I’m going to explain this.” His tone was beleaguered.
She stopped, her eyes meeting his. He was going to help her.
“I...you said that you’ve seen animals, right?” He ran his hand through his hair.
She nodded. Someone was actually going to talk to her about this stuff. Unbelievable.
“The male”—he cleared his throat, his face flushing—“ahh, mounts the female.”
“From behind.”
“Araldo, help me,” he whispered as he looked up at the sky and then down at his feet. “Yes. That’s how animals mate.”
“We do it differently?”
“Yeah. I mean we can do it that way but...” His face was as red as a tomato. “Look, I’m only going to talk about what you said not about the...ahh, process itself. You said I was on top of you.”
“Oh,” she grinned. “Males mount the females. That’s why you laughed.”
“I didn’t laugh.” His eyes met hers. “I’d never laugh at you for not knowing something. I was amused. Not at you but at the comment.”
“Thanks for explaining it to me.” She was going to have to be nicer to him.
He nodded and they started walking again. She began pointing out things to him like Gaar had done for her. She’d been completely useless out here when she’d first started and Gaar had been hard on her. She hadn’t liked it, but in the long run it’d been good for her. Of course, a kind word from Gaar every now and then would’ve been nice. She’d sworn to herself that she’d be more encouraging if she trained others and usually she was. “You’re walking quieter.”
“Thanks, the sunlight helps.”
“You have to keep practicing though. You’ll need to know where to put your feet when you aren’t following me and in the dark.”
“How am I going to know where to step when I can’t see?”
“You have to feel the forest.”
“I have no idea what that means but I’m trying to move quieter.”
“I know. It’s not your fault. Your kind isn’t made for the forest.”
“My kind isn’t made for much.”
“That’s not true.” She stopped and began digging through the weeds. “Almightys are good at a lot of things.”
“Don’t start patronizing me now. I’ve come to...” He paused. “It really hurts to say this...but respect your honesty.”
“I bet that did hurt.” She smiled up at him. This was working better than expected. She might make it to the city without killing him. She started searching the brush again.
“What are you looking for?”
“A canoe.”
“Jackson and I hid it over here.” He walked to another group of bushes.
“He’s supposed to hide it in here. How am I supposed to find the stupid thing when he keeps changing where we put it?”
“He said that those bushes were getting too much scent on them.” He pulled the canoe from the vegetation. “He said you’d be able to smell it.”
She would’ve thought to sniff it out in a moment or two. “Still, he should’ve said something.” She picked up the front half of the canoe.
“He probably would’ve if he knew we were leaving.” He grabbed the back half.
“Trust me. He’s not going to be happy when he finds out.”
“Why do you hide the boat so far from the water?”
“Because no one will look for it here.”
“That makes sense, but it’s too heavy for you to carry alone.”
“I wouldn’t need it alone.” It was harsh, but he’d said he respected the truth.
“Right. I’m slowing you down.”
“Well...yeah. No offense.”
“Jackson said that the canoe saved us a lot of time on our trip to camp,” he said.
“Taking the river is usually faster.”
“And you couldn’t carry it alone?”
“No.” She glanced back at him. “I’d have to drag it and that would leave a trail even an Almighty could follow.” She grinned; he did not.
“Then, I’d say that in this case, I’m not slowing you down. I’m actually helping.”
“Hrmph.” That comment didn’t deserve an answer.
They stopped at a narrow stream.
“Can’t say it, can you?” he asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“Admit that right now, me being with you is actually helping. Go ahead. Admit that I’m right. It’ll be good for you. Shows maturity.”
“Has anyone told you how annoying you are?” She’d been wrong. She’d never make it this entire trip without scratching his smug face at least once. She dropped her half of the canoe into the water and he was forced to do the same. “This will lead to the river.” She turned back toward the forest, searching for the little Servant. “Say, if you’re coming you better get over here.”
“Why don’t we leave him? It’d be safer, right?” He climbed into the boat and sat on the front seat.
“Not this far away from camp.” She couldn’t do it. She knew what it was like to have no one.
A shadow broke from the trees and headed their way. The Servant stopped a few feet from them.
“Come on,” she said.
Say shook his head and pointed at the water.
“What’s he pointing at?” Hugh glanced around. “Is there a River-Man or some other creature lurking around here?”
“No. He hates the water. Most Servants don’t like it, but he hates it even more than my dad.”
“Save me from your father and water.”
“Exactly.” Dad could be a real pain, especially when water was involved. She turned back to Say. “If you don’t get in, I’m leaving you here.”
“Can River-Men swim in water this shallow?” He stared into the stream.
“They can walk on land, so yeah.” She took a step toward the boat. “I’m not waiting any longer. You either come with us or go back to camp.”
Say bared his teeth at Hugh and then climbed into the craft.
“What did I do?”
“Nothing.” She tried not to laugh, but a giggle escaped. “Say doesn’t like too many people.”
“Figures.” Hugh watched the Servant warily. “He still has his claws doesn’t he?”
“Of course. It wouldn’t be safe for him without them.” She stepped into the canoe and sat, handing one of the two oars to Hugh.
They began paddling. It took a little while for them to get into sync but Hugh was an expert rower. After a short while they reached the river.
“Jackson said that the River-Men seldom bother the canoes.” Hugh scanned the water. “I really don’t like the word seldom in that sentence.”
She couldn’t blame him for that. The idea of a large creature lurking below the waves, waiting to capsize the boat sent chills down her spine. She should reassure him, since the River-Men had never attacked a
canoe, but she enjoyed seeing him squirm. “They could. Christian is certainly big enough to capsize a boat of this size.”
“How long will we be on the water?” He rowed faster, the muscles in his back straining.
“For a while.” She smiled to herself.
“Figures,” he mumbled.
Say sat next to Trinity, his eyes never wavering from Hugh’s back and never blinking.
“I can feel him staring at me. Tell him to stop it.”
“Won’t do any good. Say does what he wants.”
“Great, just great,” muttered Hugh.
She laughed. She didn’t want to make this trip and she didn’t want Say along, but since he unnerved Hugh it was okay. Plus, she didn’t want to be alone with Hugh for several days. He put her on edge and she didn’t understand why, but there was something about him that drove her crazy. At least with Say around, there’d be a buffer between them.
“What’s that?” Hugh pointed to the right.
Something shimmered in the water. She was impressed. His eyesight was better than she’d thought. “A River-Man.”
“Christian?”
She glanced at the creature again. “No.”
“How can you tell?” He rowed faster.
“It’s smaller. I think it’s one of the females. Plus, Christian doesn’t stray this far from the Lake of Sins.”
“They don’t attack the boats, right?”
“No.” She stared straight ahead, trying not to smile at his fear. “At least, they haven’t...yet.”
“You had to add that last part, didn’t you?” he mumbled. “My luck, they’ll start today.”
Say hissed. She glanced at the water. The River-Man had disappeared. She studied the surface. Usually, the creatures would submerge and swim away, but Say didn’t hiss for fun.
“It’s coming closer.” Hugh’s voice was tense.
Sure enough, the River-Man had re-emerged and it was closer. A lot closer.
“Keep rowing—”
“Did you think I was going to stop?” he asked incredulously. “I know you don’t think much of my survival skills but please, I’m not an idiot.”
She wanted to glare at him but she had to focus on the water. “What I was going to say, if you hadn’t interrupted me, was let’s shift to the left a little. We might be in what she considers her territory.”
He grunted as they changed direction. The River-Man followed them for a few yards and then stopped, lurking in the water and staring after them.
“Have you ever seen one do that?” He glanced over his shoulder.
“No, but they’re more aggressive when protecting their food.”
“You think it already had something to eat?”
“Maybe.” She glanced back. "But that wouldn’t have stopped it from collecting more.”
“They hunt even if they’re not hungry? That’s not normal behavior for a predator.”
“They store their food.”
“Store it where?” He rowed faster.
“Underwater. They keep it for days, weeks even before feeding.” She fought to keep the images of the swamp from her head. She didn’t want to think about that place ever again.
“How in the name of Araldo do they do that?” He spun half-way around.
“They wrap it up in the river grass. Let it rot a bit.” She shivered as the blood drained from her face.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I were.” She shook her head. She wouldn’t think about that. She’d focus on her plan to save Hugh’s Guard. “Keep rowing.”
He turned around, digging his oar into the water. “We can’t get off this river soon enough.”
She couldn’t agree more. Say hissed and she followed the little Servant’s gaze.
“Go to the right. There’s another River-Man.” She dug the oar into the water, turning the canoe.
“Where?” Hugh scanned the surface as he helped shift directions. “Oh, shit. That one’s huge.”
“About average size for an adult male.” She rowed faster.
“It’s coming right for us.” The muscles in his back bunched and stretched as he rowed.
Say’s hiss became a rumbling growl.
“Keep moving away from him,” she said.
“Really? Gee I hadn’t thought of that.”
“You don’t have to be a jerk.” It’d been a stupid thing to say, but she wasn’t thinking about words right now. This was the second River-Man to approach them in a few minutes. This wasn’t normal.
“There’s another one.” He pointed ahead and adjusted the angle of the canoe to avoid that one too.
“And another.” This couldn’t be happening. River-Men never behaved like this. Never.
“They’re herding us.” He stopped rowing. The canoe bobbed on the waves.
He was right. There were three River-Men coming toward them from different angles. To avoid them all they’d have to go back toward the first one.
“Should we rush them?” he asked.
Say scratched him.
“Ouch. It was just a question.” He glared at the little Servant.
“As Say was trying to tell you, we’ll never make it. Even if we get past one of them, they’ll catch us. We can’t row faster than they can swim.”
“Then we head for shore. It’s close. We can detour around the one and make it to the bank.”
Say slapped at Hugh again, but she grabbed the little Servant’s hand. “Stop it. He doesn’t know.”
“What don’t I know?” He glared at Say.
“We’ll have to go back.”
“What? No, that’s where they want us to go and that can’t be good.”
“Not back toward the River-Man. We’ll make a wide berth and go all the way back to the stream.” She started to turn the canoe. “I’m sorry.”
“We can’t go back.” He put his oar in the water, battling her for control of the boat. “We don’t have time.”
“We can’t get past the River-Men.”
“Then we go ashore and go through the forest on foot. I promise to be as quiet as I can.”
“Not here.” Her temper was fraying as she struggled against him. “I’ll take you to the city through the forest, but we need to go back to where we started.”
The River-Men were getting closer.
“We’ll have wasted the entire day.” He moved his oar, sending the canoe a bit toward shore.
“If we go to land here, the only path to the city is through the swamp.”
He turned and looked at her. “How bad is it?”
“Bad.” It was really, really bad. She turned the canoe around and began rowing back the way they’d come.
“You’ve been in the swamp?”
“Yes.” She didn’t want to talk about that. Not now, not ever.
“How did you get out?”
“Trees, Hugh. I can climb trees.” The canoe stopped. He had his oar in the water again, making sure that they didn’t move.
“I can climb trees,” he said.
“These trees are too high.”
Say hissed but unfortunately he didn’t try to scratch Hugh. She would’ve let the Servant attack him this time. She was ready to hit Hugh upside the head with her oar.
“We can use a rope.”
“We’re not going through the swamp. I said I’d help you free Reese, not help you die.”
“I’m not losing an entire day when there’s another option. Reese is alone and scared, maybe hurt. I have to get there.” He turned the canoe back toward shore.
“You won’t do her any good in the belly of a River-Man.” She was touched by his concern for his Guard but he didn’t understand the swamp. She struggled with the canoe but he was stronger than her and they inched their way toward shore.
“Listen closely.” He glared at her over his shoulder. “I’ll do whatever I have to do in order to save Reese, including die. I’m not going back. So, help me row or we’ll sit here fighting for c
ontrol until we’re capsized.”
If they delayed any longer the River-Men would be too close to outrun. “Okay. We’ll go through the swamp but don’t complain to me about how bad it is and if you die, I’m not saving your Guard.” She hated him right now. Because of him, her nightmares would return. She’d see them all again. All those Producers she’d been supposed to save, dead and rotting underwater.
CHAPTER 30: TRINITY
THE CLOSER THEY GOT to shore, the more Trinity’s gut twisted like someone was scrambling her insides with a knife. She couldn’t go into the swamp, not again. She had to convince Hugh to take another route. The canoe scraped land and Say leapt out of the boat, racing into the brush.
“Well, at least he’s gone,” said Hugh.
“That’s not funny.” She trudged to shore. “Say, you need to stay with us. You’re too far from camp to be by yourself.” She scanned the forest but there was no sign of the little Servant. She turned to glare at Hugh. “If something happens to him, it’s your fault.”
“I was joking.” He bent to pick up the canoe. “I’ll hide this. You go find your creepy, little friend.”
“It’s too heavy for you to carry alone.” She grabbed the side of the boat. They both had a long and dangerous day ahead of them, especially him.
“I...got...it.” He tugged the canoe away from her.
“I’m in charge, not you.” She poked him in the chest with her claw. This was her mission and she’d already let him win once. If she gave in again, he’d never stop bossing her around.
“Fine. Do it yourself.” He dropped the boat.
“I will.” She grabbed it by the front and began dragging it toward the brush.
After a few minutes, she stopped, panting. It weighed a ton. He walked toward her.
“I can do it.”
He ignored her, shouldering her aside so he could grab the boat.
“You’re not stronger than me.”
He proved her words false as he lifted the boat, sending her a superior look and carrying it to the forest.
“Fine. You’re stronger than me, but I’m better equipped to survive in the forest.
“I never said you weren’t.” His voice was strained. “Where do you want it?”
The sun was behind him, making his sweat-dampened hair glisten. Her heart lurched a bit. He reminded her of Jethro. Except, Jethro’s face had been round and soft with youth whereas Hugh’s cheeks were lean and his jaw was set in stubborn determination.
