by Dan Decker
***
The afternoon air felt heavy with the potential for rain. The feeling had been getting worse for hours and Soret just wanted it to rain so the feeling would pass. There had been several small showers earlier in the morning, but the afternoon clouds had become worse without a shred of precipitation. The anticipation was wearing on nerves that were already so frayed that she couldn't stand even a single strand more of additional anxiety. She wished that the rain would just come.
Today was the first day since the loss of her parents that she'd felt like she might be able to return to something like her normal self. The guilt she'd felt about the arguments she'd had with her parents had subsided, and the pain of their deaths had been replaced by a dull ache that she was certain would return whenever she thought about them.
She wasn't feeling hope for the future, though. The reality of their new situation was starting to sink in. It was a topic everybody avoided, but was evident on everybody's mind. The life they'd known before was gone. The life they had ahead of them was unknown.
Soret was glad for the strong presence of Adar, Jorad, Xarda and the others. If they hadn't pushed her to keep going in the days after the attack on Neberan, she would have probably found a comfortable tree and curled up, waiting to die.
She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to kindle some hope. It was nice to be traveling on the road. She'd always thought that she enjoyed walking through the woods, but the last week had taught her otherwise. Having a maintained road to follow was a luxury that she was doing her best to enjoy. It might not last long. The slightest hint of the Hunwei would send them back into the woods.
There was a shout from somebody up ahead. To Soret's surprise, it sounded like Leron and Wes were arguing. There wasn't anything alarming about either of their actions, and it was evident that they were horsing around. The sudden sounds of their jostling filled her with fear. Those two should know better. The Hunwei could be anywhere.
“I'm going to kill them,” Xarda said, storming past Soret with Karn and Lous beside her. Xarda and Karn were carrying their bows with arrows notched. Lous held several daggers. All of the Radim had been traveling with some manner of weapon always at the ready.
Soret ran after them, not wanting to be away from the main group. By the time she caught up, Xarda was chastising Wes and Leron, not bothering to notice how loud she was talking. Her voice carried through the air and heightened Soret's unease. Xarda needed to quiet down.
Soret looked around the trees, trying to spy signs of trouble and hoping everything would remain quiet. There was a freshly made notch in a nearby tree.
Her mouth went dry, it looked like the warning that Adar had carved into the tree the day they'd run into the Ou Qui again.
“Xarda,” Soret hissed, pointing at the tree. Xarda stopped mid sentence when she saw where Soret was pointing. The others looked as well and their attitudes changed in an instant. Both Leron and Wes, who only moments before had been belligerent, changed their tune. Leron pulled out his sword while Wes fumbled for a dagger. Xarda brought her arrow up and ordered everybody to get under cover.
Soret had only taken several steps toward the trees when the sound of small explosions reached her ears. She recognized them. Hunwei blasters. Melyah, she thought, they've killed us all. As she continued to run for the trees, she noticed that Xarda was taking aim with her arrow. Soret turned to see that a Hunwei was approaching. Xarda's arrow glanced off the Hunwei without harm; it was followed by several more. Soret didn't see the source of the other arrows, but she assumed that Karn had shot some as well.
“Soret, get down,” Xarda yelled.
Soret, hearing her name had turned to look at Xarda and tripped, falling to the ground. Her hands took the brunt of it, but she fell into a patch of mud that had formed during the rainstorms earlier in the morning. There was heat as a blast from the Hunwei went over her head. She exhaled. Saved by luck.
The Hunwei that had aimed at her turned his attention elsewhere and fired again. Soret tried to get up and run, but she couldn't move. Wes and Leron had already disappeared into the forest. The same feeling of helplessness she had the day Neberan was attacked, fell onto her like a bag of bricks. It became hard to breathe. She needed to run.
As she lay paralyzed, the Hunwei fired again. His aim was true, and Lous went down with a hole in his chest. Tears welled up in Soret's eyes as the fear tore at her. She was going to die. She didn't blame Wes or Leron for running away. It was the only sensible thing to do. There was a war cry and the next thing she knew, Karn had charged into the Hunwei and knocked him to the ground.
“Hurry,” said Xarda from behind. Tugging on Soret's arm. Soret was amazed at how in control Xarda was of her emotions. The man she loved was charging a Hunwei and could die, but Xarda was trying to save Soret's life instead of worrying about him.
The shame that enveloped Soret spurred her to action. She sprung to her feet and followed Xarda into the woods. She looked back in time to notice that Karn had knocked over the Hunwei and then immediately dashed away. The Hunwei was just sitting up as Soret followed Xarda into the woods. She'd never stopped to think about what Xarda represented because she'd been so overwhelmed with the loss of her parents. Xarda was strong like Adar, Karn, and Jorad. She fought as well as them and controlled her emotions, even when the man she loved was putting his life on the line.
It was a new reality, and that meant it was time for Soret to face it and make the changes necessary to survive. For the first time since the death of her parents, Soret felt something very much like hope. Xarda represented to her a pathway forward. If Xarda could do it, so could she.
***
The sun shone through the ever-darkening clouds, and Jorad was surprised to see that it was already so low in the sky. They only had a few hours of daylight left. Truth be told, Jorad was surprised that they were still both alive. Attacking the Hunwei had been a stupid thing to do. He only hoped that the others had been given a fighting chance by their brash action. With the brief glimpse of the sun gone, Jorad turned his attention back down the hill, careful to keep his head low.
Any minute now.
He was crouched behind a rock with Adar at his side. Broken rock covered the steep decline before them and disappeared into the forest. His back was starting to ache, and one of his legs would likely fall asleep soon, but he didn't dare move. There was movement in the trees below. He strained his ears, he could just make out the sound of the Hunwei moving between the trees, but he couldn't tell if there was more than one.
If there was only one, they were going to put Adar's crazy plan into action. If there were more, they'd have to run again. The Hunwei walked out of the trees and sniffed the air. Could it smell them? Jorad hadn't anticipated that. The grizzled gray face of the creature was visible even at this distance, and his bright orange eyes scanned the hillside looking for them.
“We’ll have one shot,” Adar said, his breath stank.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“There’s just the one, and if it doesn’t, we’ll run away and try something different.”
Jorad grunted softly.
The Hunwei followed their trail, up the steep hill, moving slower than before. It wasn’t clear if he knew they were here or if the hill was slowing him down.
Soret was out there with little for protection. The image of a Hunwei blasting a hole into her chest came unbidden, and he tried with little success to push it away. He tensed, hoping he’d see her again, hoping the distraction had worked and she and the others had gotten away. For all he knew, an army of Hunwei stood between them now.
“Stick to the plan!” Adar whispered. It took Jorad a second to recognize the source of Adar's worry. Jorad had gripped his sword hilt; he relaxed and moved his hand back to the rock without comment.
“On my mark,” Adar whispered.
Jorad readied himself. They’d tested the rock earlier to make sure that they could push it down. It was going to be a struggle
, but they should be able to move it. The Hunwei still followed in their tracks. That would be the rock's path on the way down.
“Now,” Adar said.
They pushed against the rock, but it barely moved. It was heavier than they’d estimated.
“Again.” They pushed repeatedly, and each time the rock seemed to move a bit further, but they still hadn’t come close to pushing it over.
“We need to run, he’s too close,” Jorad said.
“Not yet.”
They continued to push, and Jorad was wondering how long it would be before the Hunwei noticed them, when there was a loud clap, and the ground exploded in front of the rock, answering his question. The blast from the Hunwei loosened the rock, and one more push sent it over.
Jorad lost his footing and slid down the hill face first after the bouncing boulder. As he tried to stop, digging in his hands and feet as best he could into the loose rock, he caught a glimpse of the boulder as it fell towards the Hunwei who still had his blaster aimed up at them.
The rock hit the Hunwei at the same moment he fired several shots, one shot hit the rock and the other continued on to Jorad. Having slid to a halt sideways on the slope, Jorad screamed in pain as the blast grazed him. Blinking back tears, he touched his lower back. He withdrew his hand at the flash of pain. Blisters were already forming, and part of his shirt was burned away, melted into his skin. He got to his feet and found that despite the searing pain he was able to move.
Adar ran past him, down the hill.
“Wait!” Jorad cried. “He’ll kill you.” Then he saw what had happened. The boulder had hit the Hunwei, sending him to the bottom of the hill but the blaster hadn’t tumbled down the mountain after the Hunwei. Adar neared the blaster, but he was moving too fast. He tried to slide to a halt but missed and plummeted down the hill.
Jorad walked down the slope. Every step hurt. When he picked up the blaster, his back felt like it was on fire. As he straightened, he lost his balance and slipped down the hill. He gripped the blaster while he rolled, his back wrenching with pain. The string of his bow snapped, and it fell away from where he’d temporarily slung it on his shoulder.
At the bottom, Jorad lurched to his feet and fell on his face, the weapon flying out of his hands. He took a breath. Then another. Crawling forward he reached the blaster, picked it up and held it like the Hunwei did. It felt awkward, not at all the way a weapon should.
Adar was swinging away at the Hunwei with his sword, who was parrying the blows with his armored arms. Every hit rang out as if the armor was a bell and Adar’s sword the hammer. The Hunwei grabbed the sword with his gloved hands. In response, Adar jumped back pulling the sword away and attacked again.
Jorad leveled the blaster at the Hunwei and pulled the lever as he’d seen the Hunwei do, nothing happened. He tried repeatedly. The blasts of fire he’d been expecting didn’t come.
“Melyah!” He threw down the weapon, unsheathed his sword and charged.
Jorad thrust his sword into the face of the Hunwei, it jarred in his hands, and he nearly lost his grip. The point of the blade stopped on the Hunwei’s face without doing any harm. The Hunwei bared his teeth and let out a howl through his glistening fangs. Jorad thought of the Ou Qui dagger but didn't dare let go of his sword. The dagger was blunt; there was no way he was trading his sword for that.
“He’s calling to his companions. We need to run!” Jorad hit the Hunwei again.
“The blaster. It’s our only chance.” Adar was attacking the Hunwei’s legs now, testing for weakness. “He’s just playing with us.”
“I already tried the weapon. It didn’t work.” Jorad began beating down the back of the Hunwei. Every hit seemed to be hitting just above the creature. He increased the ferocity of his attack but to no avail.
“Keep him distracted, I’ll try the blaster.” Adar stepped out of reach. The Hunwei made to follow, but Jorad jumped into his way. When the Hunwei saw where Adar was going, he slapped away Jorad’s sword and charged past.
“Adar he’s coming. Run!”
Adar picked up the blaster and took off into the trees with the Hunwei close on his heels. Jorad gasped for breath as he followed.
Chapter 19
Jorad hadn’t seen Adar or the Hunwei for half an hour. He hadn’t been able to keep up, the pain in his back made it tough to run. If it weren’t for the mountain towering in front of him, he wouldn’t have had any idea which direction the road lay. He stopped, planted the tip of his sword into the ground and leaned against a nearby tree as he tried to catch his breath. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up at the sky, trying to guess what time it was. It had cleared up for a little while earlier, but now the clouds had returned, more ominous than before. It had been hours since they’d first come across the Hunwei, and he figured it was late in the afternoon.
Did some of the Hunwei break off to go back for the others? Was Soret even still alive?
Jorad took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the matters at hand, and was startled by the sound of a blast. Melyah, those things were loud. He gripped his sword and moved in the direction of the blast.
In moments, he faced a small clearing. Jorad crouched. Crossing it was out of the question, but maybe one of the Hunwei would. They didn’t take much care to hide. Why would they? Human weapons bounced off them with no harm. Confound it, they were in trouble.
He listened, hoping for more sound to indicate which direction he should move. After several minutes of observation failed to reveal anything, he moved to the right and circled around the small meadow. He was almost to the other side when a Hunwei walked into the opening. Jorad froze but it was too late, he’d been seen.
The Hunwei pointed his weapon in Jorad's direction and fired. Jorad dove to the ground, rolled, turned to run and found himself face to face with the Hunwei they’d disarmed earlier. He was glad to see that the Hunwei still hadn’t retrieved the blaster as he burst into a sprint. That hopefully meant that Adar was still alive. The Hunwei grabbed for Jorad, but he twisted away, lost his footing and fell. His sword slid out of reach.
He crawled towards his sword, but there was a flash of pain in his side as the Hunwei kicked him. The air went out of his lungs, and he struggled to breathe. The Hunwei kicked him again, this time hitting the burn on his back. The scream that erupted from his throat caused the Hunwei to gurgle with laughter.
Jorad charged into the cackling Hunwei’s legs, grunting in pain when he made contact and taking them both to the ground. He could smell the creature. It was the same stink from the night they followed the shadows outside of Neberan. It was strange that he'd only now smelled it again, but perhaps that was because his mind had been so wrapped up in other things. He grabbed one of his daggers and stabbed down into the face of the Hunwei, refusing to die without a fight, no matter how futile his efforts.
To his surprise, the dagger plunged into the Hunwei’s eye, causing him to scream. Jorad pulled it out and stabbed the other eye, as the creature convulsed beneath him. Wrenching the dagger with both hands, he twisted and pushed it to the hilt. The Hunwei screamed again and wriggled beneath his legs. He pushed it in as deep as he could, pulled it out and stabbed into the neck repeatedly. Blue blood covered his hands when he stopped. He stood; shocked that he'd been able to kill a Hunwei.
The dead creature's body continued to move with spasms as he examined the Ou Qui dagger in his hand. The dagger shouldn’t have worked. It didn't even have an edge.
Footsteps crunched from behind, and he turned to see the other Hunwei aiming a blaster at him. Jorad lifted his blood-covered dagger, preparing to throw it. A bloody blue hole appeared in the Hunwei’s chest, and his face went blank just before he collapsed. Adar stood behind, baring his teeth, smoke curling from the end of his blaster. Another blaster hung from his shoulder.
“That makes two,” Adar said. “Two to go.”
“Don’t you mean three and one?” Jorad motioned to the Hunwei he’d killed. The fact tha
t he’d survived was still dawning on him. He couldn't believe it. Melyah was smiling on him today.
“Ou Qui dagger?” Adar kicked the Hunwei as if to make sure it was dead. “It worked?”
Jorad held up the small blade. “Maybe the Ou Qui have a chance of rescuing their people after all.” He turned the weapon over in his hands. He pulled up a wad of grass and used it to clean the dagger. The black residue remained. “Think this black stuff is what allowed me to kill him?”
“Probably. They aren’t immune to their own weapons and the Ou Qui have figured out how to kill them. I’m sure we’ll find other ways to kill them as well.” Adar kicked Jorad’s Hunwei again. “Not much left of his face.”
“He’s dead isn’t he?”
Adar nodded toward the other Hunwei corpse. “Not criticizing you, dead is dead. Pick up his blaster.”
“How do you use it?” Jorad retrieved the weapon.
“There are two levers.” Adar pointed to a button that was just above where he was holding the front of the weapon with his left hand. “If you cover this button and then pull the other lever it fires. See for yourself.”
Jorad pointed his blaster toward the Hunwei corpse, pulling the lever while holding down the button. He blasted a hole into the Hunwei’s body. The blast was much louder from this close, and his ears rang afterward.
“Nice weapon.” Jorad felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe there was a chance they could survive.
It was almost dark by the time they returned to where they'd left the notch on the tree. The area looked undisturbed. It seemed like it had been days ago when Adar had put the carving into the tree, not hours.
Adar stepped out of the forest onto the road while Jorad covered him with his blaster. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees and the chill in the air was getting colder.
Tere and Tarner appeared on the other side of the road as Karn came out of a bush several feet ahead of where Jorad crouched. He was followed by Soret, Xarda, Leron, and Wes. Jorad hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath, but when he saw Soret, he exhaled. Her hair was pulled back behind her head, and she was covered from head to toe in dirt. There was a determination on her face that hadn't been there this morning. Something had changed. Was she past her period of mourning for her parents or was it something else?
