The Big Game

by Sarah Jaune

  He followed Ivy out and spotted the huge Sasquatch waiting for them just outside the entrance. Ghan gestured for them to follow him, and they set off on a track that quickly thinned out into reeds and tall grass.

  Ghan stopped and the two teenagers paused, watching his back. He moved his hand in a strange manner, like he was slithering it back and forth.

  “I don’t—” Eli began before his blood froze in his veins. He did. He absolutely did. Horror, terror, dread, and a million other terrible emotions flew through him as he heard the undeniable rattle from the bushes to their right.

  Faster than Eli had ever seen anyone move, apart from his crazy grandmother with the magical power of speed, Ghan flung his hand into the grass and came up with the rattlesnake’s head in one of his meaty fists.

  The snake lay motionless, like a shoelace dangling from his fist.

  Eli bent his head over into the grass and threw up everything he’d just eaten. He didn’t even realize the nausea was there until the vomit was flying. His throat burned while his stomach rolled in heaving waves.

  When it was over, he wiped his mouth with the hem of his shirt and turned to find Ivy holding out a canteen of water. “Thanks,” Eli croaked as he took a small swig and rinsed his mouth. He spit it out before drinking a little to sooth his ravaged throat.

  “You weren’t kidding about being afraid of snakes,” Ivy said as she took the canteen back from him. “Daggers, Eli, that was…”

  He shuddered as all of his muscles, gave out on him. “It’s bad. I know it is. That’s why I get your fear of storms.”

  “You’ve never been bitten?” Ivy asked him curiously.

  Eli shook his head, but felt a nagging in the pit of his stomach that something wasn’t quite right.

  “Come on,” she said after a pause.

  They reached the small lake, more of a pond, ten minutes later. Eli stopped by the water’s edge and marveled at just how clear the water was except for one minor detail. It was pink.

  Clear, but pink. He had never, in his life, seen a pink lake.

  There were sticks and brambles off to his left, and he heard the slow sound of running water all around him.

  “Oh,” Ivy said on a long sigh. “I get it now. There were beavers.”

  Ghan nodded and pointed to the dam, then across the lake towards an opening in the trees.

  Ivy knelt by the water and touched her fingers to the surface. “It’s not pure. There’s… something…” she hesitated. “It’s like it has been poisoned or something.”

  Ghan nodded again and moved into the bushes to their left. Seconds later he came back with a large skiff of lashed logs. If was flat on the top, but with two perpendicular logs along the bottom. There was one on each side. He set it in the water and motioned for them to climb on.

  He stepped on after Eli, who was surprised when the raft didn’t bobble in the water. Ghan had to weigh at least three hundred pounds. “Was that you?” he asked Ivy.

  “Partially,” she told him, “but mostly the raft is really well made.”

  “So do you want to tell me what’s going on besides the poison?” he asked her as the skiff started to move under the force of Ivy’s magic. Eli could move things as well, but only solid things. He was useless when it came to liquids like water.

  Ivy kept her face on the bank across the lake. “Beavers built a dam and turned this river into a lake. That’s actually good for the environment. Beavers help when there are droughts, but unfortunately this river parallels one of the poisonous, volcanic rivers, and when the river turned into a lake, it overspread the banks and merged with the other one. It’s poisoned this river and killed everything living in it. If you’ll notice, there are no fish.”

  “And you can just sense all of that?” Eli asked her in complete amazement.

  She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and studiously avoided looking at him. “It feels like I’m getting a better handle on my magic. It’s almost like the water is whispering to me. Aren’t you feeling the same way?”

  Eli’s mind flashed back to the moment he’d pushed open the security gate at his father’s home in Chicago. He’d used his strength and telekinesis together, melding them seamlessly to pop the lock. He was also not tiring like he had in the past when he exerted his magic close to its limits. “I guess so.”

  They reached the other bank a minute later and Ghan hopped off, holding the raft steady for them so they could scramble up onto the muddy bank.

  “This way,” Ivy pointed to their right. They reached the stream, which was a violent shade of red, and the small ribbon of water that flowed between them, emptying into the lake.

  “Ah,” Eli cottoned on. “This one is red, dyeing the other one pink. It’s staying pink because of the beaver dam.”

  Ivy nodded. “I have no idea what is causing it to be red, only that it killed all the fish and it has poisoned everything downstream. Where does this one go?” she asked Ghan as she pointed to the red lake.

  Ghan made a circle with his fingers then jabbed down into the ground.

  “I’m betting that means into an underground cavern,” Eli said as Ghan grunted an affirmative. “How should we fix this?”

  Ivy put her hands on her hips and studied the land around them. “Part of me says to drain the lake. Whatever the red gunk is, it killed everything, and I don’t sense the beavers here which means they aren’t keeping up the den, and it’s likely to fall anyway, but,” she smiled at Ghan who was shaking his head vigorously, “I also know that’s not the best thing. These dammed up lakes can be very beneficial and the new water coming in will eventually clean the lake out. So…” she turned back to the red creak. “We need to build a wall of some kind between them.”

  “Is that going to be enough?” Eli asked as he crouched down to examine the dirt and gravel. “We’ll still have some runoff seeping between them even with a rock wall. We’d need concrete or something like that to completely stop it.”

  “I think that slowing it down would be enough, actually,” Ivy told him. “The tiny trickle that might get through won’t be nearly as much as what’s getting in right now. It’s probably five gallons per minute right now, so if we could slow that to even an ounce a minute, we should be fine. The lake isn’t going to get any higher because of the beaver’s construction.”

  Eli nodded as he started to scout around for a rock that would be big enough. “Can you divert the red gunk?”

  “It actually has a lot of water in it, so I think I can,” she said as he marched off into the woods to hunt up a large boulder.

  Finding the large boulder was easy. Maneuvering it through the trees was a major pain in the butt. What was really amazing was how he was able to meld the two magical powers, and it didn’t drain him.

  Unfortunately, that only lasted until he ran the boulder into a tree. It bounced off, cracking branches and sending pine needles to rain down all around him.

  “Don’t do that,” Ivy called over to him with a laugh.

  “Thanks,” Eli grumbled good-naturedly as he concentrated on getting the massive rock around the trees. As soon as he was in the clearing, he positioned it where Ivy told him and dropped it to the ground.

  “Can you try to force it into the dirt a bit?” she inquired as she kept her hand out, directing the red stream of liquid back down the hill, away from the lake.

  He narrowed his eyes as he focused on the boulder and felt the power well up inside him. Slowly, painfully slowly, the boulder began to sink. When it was about eight inches down, Ivy held up her hand. “That’s good. Now we need two more about half that size.”

  He sighed, but caught Ghan’s eye as the Sasquatch motioned for Eli to follow him. Twenty feet away was another rock, about the size that Ivy wanted. “Okay,” he said as he picked this one up, not bothering to use magic. The coarse surface cut into his palms, but it felt good to be doing something. “Let’s get this finished.”

  They were done less than thirty minut
es later, with the finishing touches of Ivy pushing the red river further from the lake, while Eli and Ghan stacked more boulders and rocks along the banks.

  Ivy stood back and admired their handy work. “It looks good. I think it will—” her words were cut off with a strangled gasp, followed immediately by a shrill scream.

  Eli spun to her, but when he saw her staring into the woods, he turned to see… nothing. “What’s wrong?”

  “Can’t you see him?” Ivy pointed to the woods with a shaking finger. “He’s just right… gone.” Bewildered, she waved her hand to the trees across the red stream, but Eli still couldn’t see anything. Unfortunately, with the poisoned water between them and the trees, he couldn’t just sprint over to take a look.

  Ivy staggered over to him, her face white as a sheet. “I saw something, Eli! I saw…”

  “What did you see?” Eli asked her as Ghan came in close to them, towering over them protectively. Eli took her hand and felt her shaking.

  “He… I…” she shook her head. “I think it was a he, but his face was distorted, like he was blurred. It was like someone had smudged his face off! It was horrible, but…” her green eyes bore into his. “He was magical.”

  Surprised didn’t even cover what he felt. “He was magical?”

  “That’s how I know he was real!” Ivy shivered and stared back at the forest. “I heard ‘jumper’ and that’s why I looked over to the woods. He was there!”

  “I believe you,” Eli promised. He gazed up at Ghan. “Did you see him?”

  Ghan shook his head and pointed down towards the raft.

  “I agree,” Eli made to let go of Ivy’s fingers, but she tightened her grip.

  “I feel sick,” she whispered as her whole face screwed up in pain.

  It wasn’t fear that he saw in her face. She might have been startled, and maybe a little grossed out, but whatever it was had affected Ivy on a deeper level than that. Eli put his arm around her waist, and started them down the hill. “Okay, lean on me.”

  “I wanted to drain some of the poisoned water,” she told him as they settled on the raft. Ivy lay on her back with her eyes closed and her hands pressed to her face.

  “Later,” he said as Ghan pulled out what looked to be a paddle and started them across the lake.

  Ghan grunted at Eli, which Eli took to mean that they’d have rest and a meal when they were back at the cave. Eli was hungry again, after having moved all the rocks. Plus, he’d puked up his breakfast.

  Whatever it was that had been in the trees was not something Eli wanted to mess with. Ivy’s reaction to it, him, whatever it had been, unnerved him straight down to his toes. As soon as they were able, they needed to get back to the jeep and get home.

  CHAPTER 10

  POISON

  Ivy wasn’t fit to drain some of the lake for several hours. In fact, she slept all the way through lunch while Eli tried, somewhat successfully, to talk to Ghan about their pod. Although he didn’t learn much, he did get to stuff his face with whatever their amazing bread was. If he had to guess, he’d have said some kind of corn, but there wasn’t any way to grow it where they were in the forest.

  When Ivy stumbled from the cave in the late afternoon, she still appeared exhausted. “Lake.”

  “Eat,” Eli said as he pulled her down next to him. She pressed her face into his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  “My head is spinning,” she admitted quietly. “It stays still this way.”

  They sat there for a long time, upwards of thirty minutes, before she was able to eat something.

  “This is helping,” she told him as she slowly nibbled on the bread. Ivy was still pressed up tight against him, but she seemed steadier.

  There was something very wrong here, but he had no idea what.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Eli asked her, even as the Sasquatch moved around them, preparing for dinner.

  “I dunno,” Ivy said after a moment and Eli heard a distinct hitch in her voice. “I can’t shake it, and it’s making me feel like my whole body is filled with ants. I hurt, and I feel sick, and I’m scared, but I don’t know why. He didn’t threaten me, Eli, he was just there.”

  He wanted to move her out of this forest. He wanted to get them home, but there was no way Ivy could make the walk back to the cabin. Eli could carry her back, but something kept nagging at him, making him feel like they shouldn’t head through the woods just then. “Do you know what jumper means?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of it.”

  “We’ll stay one more night, and head back first thing tomorrow,” he said finally. Eli turned to see Ghan studying them. “Is that okay?”

  Ghan nodded and pointed to the lake.

  “Yeah, in a bit,” Eli agreed as he rubbed Ivy’s arm. She was freezing, even though it wasn’t a cold night. “She just needs a bit more rest, and then she can start getting the lake cleaned up.” Privately, Eli thought that draining the lake of the red gunk was going to knock her out.

  He heard a shuffling and saw one of the smaller Bigfoots inching over to them. It was essentially a mini-sasquatch, but with much bigger eyes that were more brown than black. He grinned at it, and for some reason thought ‘her’ rather than ‘him.’ “Hi,” he said to the youngling. She was only about four feet tall, practically minuscule compared to the adults, but she still probably weighed more than Eli did, even though he was a good bit taller.

  Ghan grunted and tapped his arm twice, then pointed to the baby.

  Eli’s brain took a second to register what he was trying to say. “Oh! She’s two years old?”

  Nod. Then Ghan said, “Meeh.”

  “Your name is Meeh?” Eli asked her, but Meeh wasn’t looking at him.

  She skirted around Eli, to stare at Ivy. Specifically, Ivy’s hair.

  Ivy grinned at her. “You are adorable.”

  Meeh chittered and ran a finger along Ivy’s golden locks.

  “You like my hair?” Ivy asked her in surprise. She sat up a bit straighter and started to pull it straight from the messy knot.

  Meeh practically cooed as she sat on the ground and gently ran the hair through her fingers. Then with a gurgle, she clambered to her feet and wandered over to her mother, chattering excitedly.

  Ivy leaned against Eli again and closed her eyes. “I still feel sick. About the only time I feel steadier is when I’m next to you. You’re like nausea medicine or something.”

  “Anti-puke powers,” Eli laughed, completely bemused. “I never thought to ask for those magical gifts.”

  She did make it down to the lake, but it was mostly because Eli was holding her up. Ghan waited on the bank as Eli rowed them to a spot in the middle of the lake. Ivy sat as though meditating and Eli watched, in stunned fascination as the red gunk flowed from the lake to form a ball under the raft.

  “Closer to the stone wall we made earlier,” Ivy said in a low voice.

  Eli used the oars to push them closer to the bank and was amazed to see the viscous ball following below them. Then, without warning, a controlled fountain of the red gunk flew from the lake, over the stone wall, and onto the other side where it had originally come from.

  The ball shrunk below them as it poured out in a huge arc through the air, almost as though it was traveling through a clear pipe.

  The moment the last of the red had left the lake, Ivy collapsed backwards onto the raft.

  Unsurprised, but still a little concerned, Eli rowed back to the shore where Ghan was having what amounted to a Bigfoot panic attack. He grunted and pointed to Ivy.

  “I know,” Eli agreed. “Can you hold the raft steady so I can pick her up? When we use too much magic, it can sometimes make us pass out. Since she is sick, that was too much magic.” It wouldn’t have been if Ivy had been feeling well.

  He carried her limp body back to the cave, but she wasn’t totally out. She kept murmuring things under her breath through the whole walk, almost as though she was having a dream. Eli walk
ed her past the fire in the cave, which was still being tended by the older Bigfoot, and set her on the bed that had been designated for them. He made to stand, but she grabbed his hand.

  “Don’t leave me,” she pleaded pitifully. She sounded more like she was a little kid, rather than sixteen. Stunned, he stared at her as she continued to babble on. “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me! They leave, they all leave, everyone leaves.”

  “I won’t—” he began, but she kept on.

  “Dies, leaves, dies,” Ivy moaned as her whole body began to tremble. “No one cares, no one wants me, no one stays. No one, nothing. No one. Alone. No more alone, no more! It hurts! Please don’t leave me.”