“You sleep okay, Birdie?” Tom asked.
She sat up from the fur blankets and shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not.”
“It’s hard to get used to,” Otto said as he snuffed out the fire with handfuls of dirt. “The travel wears you down, but your mind is still looking for trouble.”
“Indeed,” she agreed.
Adam had taken to latching himself to Bernadette’s back instead of walking. She didn’t mind, and it spared his little feet. Gabe seemed more inclined to be carried as well. Although he still spent over half the time in the trees, he catnapped on her several times that day. With less energy consumed on walking, Adam seemed to have far more questions to ask.
“Birdie, what happens if they find you?”
She marched along behind Otto, not sure what to say. “I suppose I would have to go back.”
“What happens if you don’t?”
“They might hurt you or your brothers,” Bernadette replied. “I won’t let that happen.”
“If they try to take you, I will kill them,” Adam growled with as much threat as a four-year-old boy could muster.
“Oh, I’m sure you would.”
The jungle was hotter today, and Bernadette felt herself slowing in pace compared to the day before. Gabe let out a yell, and she smiled knowing he was up there. Tom found his way to her side. She turned to see the boy with a start. How long had he been walking beside her?
“Why do they want you so bad?” He asked.
Bernadette grimaced at the thought of explaining it to them. “Remember the sheep and how the female sheep can have babies, but the males cannot?”
She felt the nod of Adam’s head bounce against her neck and figured that was a yes. The jungle boys were quiet, but she noticed that both Tom and Jon now flanked her. “My people are too old or too sick to make babies. They need me to make babies.”
“You don’t want to,” Cal said.
Bernadette struggled to answer. Adam’s grasp on her shoulders suddenly felt tighter. “I want to have children, but not to a society like the one I came from. If they were willing to relax their laws, become more lenient with their rules, it would be different.”
She realized there was more to it. “They are not very nice people,” she continued. “They are ignorant and often cruel to people like yourselves.”
“It sounds like they were cruel to you, too,” Otto said.
That was not true. The Mármaros people had spoiled and pampered Bernadette. She never worked a day in her life, though neither did they since they started catching servants. They gave her the best room in the tallest tower overlooking the ocean. It was true no one could scale the stairs, but still, the gesture of it was significant.
But still.
“The people there didn’t like me,” she admitted. “I tried so hard to follow the rules and to fit in. To be on time and be polite. My only friend was my mother.”
She still missed her mother terribly. Her mother was the only one who defended her, the only person who smiled at her. Though she was old, and her memory was awful—she couldn’t remember the day Bernadette was born—her mother understood her and loved her.
As if he sensed Bernadette’s sadness, or perhaps he was sad for her, Adam replied, “But we’re your friends now, Birdie.”
She turned her head to meet his eyes and she smiled, “Yes, and you are wonderful friends, all of you.”
Chapter Eight
That night they struggled to find a good clearing to camp. Ultimately they settled between a loose circle of tall trees and slept under the furs together since there wasn’t enough room for a proper fire.
Adam wanted to sleep near Jon because he was whittling a stick and he wanted to play with it. Gabe snuggled against Bernadette’s chest and softly kneaded on her chest. He sucked his thumb, she noted. It was rather adorable to see his childlike tendencies. Otto laid beside Adam because he wanted to make sure that Jon didn’t give the little boy the sharpened stick or the knife. Cal was at her back with Tom, both sound asleep before the second moon rose from the horizon.
When she slept, she dreamt of snow. At least, that’s what she thought it was. She had read of it in books and always wondered what it would feel like. It was cold and far brighter than she expected. Of course, it would be bright if everything blanketed in white, but it had never occurred to her before.
She tried to inhale the scent of the air, but there was no smell. Someone was standing behind her. She didn’t need to look to know it was Alexi. “Is this your doing, or is it my own?”
He was wearing a thick fur cape and a fur hat. Bernadette realized she was wearing furs as well. She had a matching cape and fingerless gloves. Thick leather boots wrapped around her legs up to her knees.
Alexi had both hands tucked in his pocket and stepped forward. His hair was different. He had shaved the sides, and a long braid flowed down the center.
He smiled at her. “I didn’t do this.” He gestured to the snow. They were once again on the hillside overlooking the Mármaros.
She turned to him. “I mean the dreams. Cal said you visit them in their dreams.”
He nodded, not surprised she put it together. Instead of answering the question, he looked out at the Mármaros and gave a slight nod. “This will be the last time, Birdie.”
“The last time for what?” She practically swore at him.
Before he could answer, she felt herself being shaken awake. Opening her eyes, she found Cal and Adam kneeling over her. “You all right?” Cal asked.
Bernadette sat up, disoriented from the dream. The brightness from the daylight was a recollection of snow to her. Had she slept all night?
She looked at the boys as they cocked their heads with curiosity. “We had a tough time waking you,” explained Cal.
“Are you okay, Birdie?” Adam asked.
“I’m fine,” she replied slowly. “I guess I must have been tired.”
The march continued in the similar way it had the last several days, only this time, the sounds of the stream grew into a roaring river. It didn’t seem as though they found the river; instead, it happened upon them. It came into their vantage point a few hours into their walk, and by the evening they were walking along the riverbanks where Tom and Jon were fishing with their sharpened sticks.
Bernadette watched with curiosity. She’d always seen the servants use nets. The boys were harpooning the sticks into the water with quick little jabs. At a distance, she could tell by their mannerisms which boy was which. Tom would stab into the water, miss, then throw a tantrum. Jon, however, remained still and poised. He would strike, but if he missed, he’d resume his pose. It was no surprise that Jon was the first to catch a fish.
Adam did not like fish. Bernadette tried in vain to make him eat, but Adam pinched his lips together and turned his face if she tried. Thankfully, Tom had given up on fishing and went back into the jungle for game anyways.
Jon caught several more fish. Bernadette couldn’t be happier sitting on a big rock and eating fish while Cal taunted Otto with a fish.
“I’ll do your chores for a week if you suck out the eyeballs and eat them,” Otto promised.
Adam turned a shade of green. Cal shook his head, unwilling to accept the deal put before him. “Try a month.”
Otto’s nostrils flared. “No, the image of you doing it will have left my mind by then. Two weeks.”
“Three,” Cal countered.
Otto gave him a long hard look before saying, “Deal.”
“No!” Adam screeched. “Birdie, don’t let them.”
Bernadette could only shrug. Jon must have overheard the bet as he came wandering up the riverbank to see the show. No doubt Gabe was somewhere in the trees watching as well.
“What about Tom?” Bernadette added. “I’m sure he will want to see this.”
Cal looked the fish in the eyes, then back at Bernadette, and nodded. “Let’s wait.”
It was nearly sundown when Tom returned. He had a
handful of skinned and gutted muskrats. The meat that was left was only a mouthful, but for Adam, it was plenty. Cal was eyeing Otto with an impish grin. She had to admit, part of her wanted to see Otto eat the fish eyeball.
Little Adam wandered off with his meat skewers, and it seemed the opportune chance without upsetting him. “Well?” Cal asked, wiggling his brow.
Otto held up the fish so that he was face to face with it before closing his eyes and latching onto the fish’s eye. She cringed and tried not to think of how slimy the texture must have been. This was not the sort of entertainment a young woman should enjoy, but it was more fun than anything at the Mármaros. Cal’s face scrunched with disgust as hers must have been.
Otto was oddly expressionless until he released the fish, now with an empty eye socket and looked at them in surprise. “It’s quite good.”
Bernadette felt her stomach curdle and decided she was no longer hungry. Cal only looked at his brother in awe and newfound respect as he described the taste. “It’s a bit saltier but tastes like the rest of the fish if I’m honest. It would probably be delicious in some soup.”
“Adam is making a return to the campfire,” she said. “Best save the fisheyes for another evening.”
Adam came trouncing through the jungle thickets still holding his little sticks with less meat than when he was seen wandering off, but Bernadette noted he had somehow lost his small loincloth and was now wandering naked. He seemed oblivious to his nudity as he sat down beside her.
She stiffened her giggle as he casually told her about his sojourn from the camp. He talked about the good sticks he found and the birds that Gabe was imitating. Cal and Otto saw Bernadette’s smile as Adam stood to act out the leaps that Gabe made to chase the exotic birds from tree limb to tree limb and Bernadette couldn’t take it anymore. She let out a hearty laugh that stopped Adam in his tracks.
“Hey! What’s so funny?” he demanded.
“Adam,” Otto said. “You’ve lost your loincloth.”
The little boy shrugged off the notion and said, “It fell off when I was squatting to poop.”
“Why didn’t you just put it back on?”
“Cause it fell off before I pooped.”
Bernadette’s eyes flickered to the two older boys hoping they would prob for a better explanation. They seemed to have questions as well. “Why not just pick it up after you pooped?” Cal asked.
Adam stomped dramatically. “Because I pooped on it!”
It seemed that Adam untied the loincloth but, in his hurry, he did not entirely remove his single article of clothing. It slid to the ground as Adam squatted, and it was too late to make any adjustments.
Otto rolled his eyes. Cal’s lips went into a pursed smile, “Well, did you wipe your butt?”
Adam said nothing. It was Otto’s turn to wash Adam, but when Cal looked to Otto, he shook his head and leaned back as if he were relaxing. “Eyeball.”
Cal stood and navigated the little guy to the river to help him wash up.
#
It was early morning when they arrived at the place the jungle boys referred to as the waterfalls. It was a jutting cliff that came seemingly from nowhere. Its sharp point extended from heights taller than the tower by the sea where she once lived. It reminded Bernadette of the stones that were worn away by salty water by the sea, except there was no ocean to shape this rock.
Water fell from each side of the tallest peak and it cascaded through lower tiers in the middle and sides, creating a liquid ladder. Moss and waterweeds grew in crevices and platforms, and the rockface itself seemed to glimmer either from constant moisture or the mineral deposit in the rocks.
Bernadette gasped at the natural monument that split the river in two. The boys knew they had indeed shown her something beautiful. They exchanged knowing nudges and glowing smiles of success.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“We knew you’d like it,” Cal agreed.
“Come over here,” Adam beckoned.
She was unstable in the softer, sandy soil of the riverbanks and held her hands out to help her balance. Tom and Jon each took a hand and helped her along. It wasn’t that Bernadette couldn’t walk it alone, but she was afraid of water and didn’t want the boys to know. It was an understandable fear given her physiology, but it was a secret she wished to keep all the same.
They followed the right fork of the river until they found the broadside of the cliff. There a massive infestation of light brown, lumpy oatmeal looking stuff clumped on the dry portion of the cliff. Bernadette squinted at the thing and wondered what it could be. Wings fluttered along the wall and chirping noises began to ring out from tiny holes in the oatmeal clumps.
“Why, they are nests! Bird nests. And lots of them!” she cried out.
Small, dark birds with white breasts swooped in and out of the holes to feed their young before diving back into the jungle. They were catching bugs and bringing them back to their young. Bernadette was delighted by the spectacle. There must have been thousands of birds at work here.
Bernadette stepped forward, forgetting her aversion to water, but Tom blocked her with his extended arm. “No, Birdie,” he said. “You can’t go in that water.”
She noted the seriousness of Tom’s voice. It was a characteristic that Jon had, never Tom. She looked at Jon, who nodded gravely.
“We’ve been following this river for days now,” she argued.
“The water from the falls mixes in with the river water here. You can’t touch the water from the falls,” Otto explained.
She didn’t know what to make of the jungle boy’s dire warning. “Why not?”
“That water plays tricks on your mind,” Cal explained.
There was something about the cliff that made the water turn. Perhaps a chemical exuded from the minerals in the cliff or the plants mingled with the water, creating this hallucinating effect. She couldn’t imagine how terrifying this was for the boys to discover. Bernadette nodded and said, “We should make camp a bit further upstream.”
Bernadette was tired that evening, more tired than she had ever known. She collapsed on a brown fur hide and instantly fell asleep. Adam tried to rouse her for dinner, complaining that it wasn’t even dark yet, but Bernadette was too tired to respond.
“Leave her be,” Otto said. “She’s been carrying the little ones for nearly a week now.”
The last thing she heard before she fell into a deep sleep was Gabe imitating the birds that nested along the cliff wall. In the middle of the night, Bernadette stirred without explanation. Her eyes ached in protest, and she looked around to see what had roused her.
Chapter Nine
The boys were under the furs beside her. The red coals of the fire glowed in the darkness. The only light provided at all was the Moonlight provided the only light. The sound of the river coursing along the veins of the land created the illusion that she, too, was moving. Occasionally, a few bats would soar through the night sky, but that didn’t mean they were entirely alone. Evening was the hunting time for many of the jungle cats. She would need to be careful.
Bernadette looked at the full moon and remembered something her mother had mentioned before she left the Mármaros. “The large moon’s return is strong indeed,” she said in her favorite chair. Bernadette dismissed her mother’s ramblings because it was daytime, and her mother was staring at the sun. Her mother was referring to the lunar cycle, of course.
It was theorized that a flying star struck the bigger moon and that it was knocked off its axis while the smaller moon remained unchanged. The alpha moon now would appear in the sky for months at a time before disappearing altogether for years. This was the most extended season the moon had been visible since the anomaly first occurred.
It was only a sliver of light on this night, but it was just enough to see the reflection of the moon bouncing off the rapids. Bernadette felt hot and needed some air. She stood gently as to not wake Adam or Gabe who had slipped beside her at some poin
t during the night.
The cold air rushed her all at once, but she welcomed it. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh of relief before stepping out of the furs and away from where the jungle boys were sleeping. In the dark, a pair of green-yellow eyes reflected at her. Bernadette sucked in a breath and tried to ignore the excitement building in her chest.
It might have been Alexi, but it could have been a jungle predator. The boys spoke of jungle cats, and they feared them. Her body could easily fend off such attacks, but a beast might have been attempting to lure her away from the boys. Could an animal exhibit such intelligence?
No, Bernadette thought. It was no trap, but that didn’t mean it was Alexi either. She walked along the river. It was shallow near the cliff, shallow enough for her to wade through. She thought about what the boys had said about the water here. She had no idea if what they said was true or merely a child’s misunderstanding. It was the safest way for her to cross without sinking into the river.
She looked back at the camp before crossing the river. The water was cold and went up to her knees at the deepest part of the first fork. The second stream only went to mid-calf. Bernadette crossed the river and looked again at the slumbering camp. She hated to defy their worries. They truly cared about her well-being, and she found herself moved by their kindness.
There was nothing in the jungle, not that Bernadette could see anyhow. She searched until her heavy limbs threatened to collapse. Bernadette was delirious with exhaustion and thought about just sleeping on the bare ground where she stood, but she didn’t want the jungle boys to worry. She crossed the first stream of the river when she heard swooping noises from above.
Ducking just in time from the angry swarm, Bernadette looked up, eyes wide with surprise to find a mass of blackbirds in the night sky. She thought that they might be bats, but they had white bellies and soft feathers that shone in the moonlight. They made no sonar noises as bats would, and they fluttered in the sky as if they were watching her.
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