The Godsend Backfire: The Beginning

by Harold Straugh

  “Just show me how to do it, I will do it after that,” I said.

  “Well, just like with the pot, that I’m about to show you. We get a fire going first,” she said and took some wood from a pile what was in there and placed it under the cauldron. She grabbed a clay bottle and poured its contents over the wood, then used a torch to light it. Then, she walked over to a basket hanging up on the wall. It was a little bigger than cauldron and had a strap to it, “Come with me.”

  I followed her to the tunnel that led to the lake and once out there, I witnessed a spectacle. It was dark and as I watched a green light, slither across the sky, then a pink one slithered into the green one. It was a spectacular thing to see, I watched for a solid twenty-minutes, before Yura interrupted me.

  “Beautiful isn’t it?”

  “Its amazing,” I said as wonderment filled my eyes.

  “The colors, in your eyes, look amazing.”

  I blinked and looked at her, I was unaware she was looking at me, “Why did we come up here?” I asked.

  “We fill this basket with snow, take it down and come back up to get one more.”

  “How many trips does it take to fill the bath?”

  “Mylicious has ice chunks for that.”

  “Why doesn’t he use ice chunks in the cauldron?”

  “He says its too much work to make the ice chunks smaller, plus the snow melts instantly, the ice takes a while.” Yura said.

  I just shook my head, it was Mylicious’s house, his way. I wasn’t there to change anything. I felt as if my time was winding down and started to think about returning to the land that I love. Granted, I was going to help Mylicious fix his boat. I was still, undecided at the time, about helping him find Derium’s head.

  We walked back down to the cauldron where she dumped the snow in, then made another trip back out to get more snow. By the time she returned the first snow was melted and she added the second snow and it melted just as fast. Soon the water was to a slow boil. She took, what I thought looked like a fire poker, and that’s what she used it for, and moved some of the logs around.

  There was wooden cabinet to the left of the basin. It was dark in appearance, with two bone, rounded knobs on the top center of each door. Yura walked over to it and opened it, then got out a cloth and a little, oval, woven basket. It had little soaps in it, they were fragrant. When she walked by me, I could smell pine, lavender and cedar. There was also a small, metal, grater with wooden handle on it.

  She took the soap and grated some of into the warm water, she slowly mixed it with her hand. She dipped the cloth in the warm water and washed her face and hands. Then, quickly, she undid her top, which was only held on by string, tied behind her back. She lifted her breasts and washed underneath them. She caught me looking, but then again it was hard not to.

  “I’m sorry,” I said and turned away.

  “It quite fine. I should have asked you leave, I’m sorry!” she said.

  “For?” I asked, “I should be the one who is sorry, I’m sitting here staring,” I said, looking away.

  I heard some movement, then she spoke, “I should really go lie down, the sun will be up in a few hours and the rest of pack will be back,” she said. She slowly walked by me, “Don’t tell Kallik you saw me, he might get angry, he’s been trying for years to catch a glimpse of me.”

  “I won’t,” I said and caught a smell beyond the soap. There was a different scent to her, not bad, very floral, very wild flower like.

  She stopped and looked back at me, smiled then disappeared beyond down the tunnel. She had her own scent and I found it soothing, but I shook it from my head. I washed my hands and face as well, letting the pine, cedar and lavender take over. I then, put the fire out with what water was left. I put the basket away and then headed out to the main room

  I was once again struck with awe, as the moon was shining down through the hole in the ceiling, over the fire and snow was sparkling within the moonbeam. I sat next to the fire and watched for hours as the snow fell all around. Most of the snow would melt before it even got close to the fire, but sometimes a few flakes would make it just an inch or so above the flames and I could hear it sizzle out.

  The moonlight soon faded, and the early signs of the sunlight started taking hold over the room. I heard movement both outside and inside, I turned around and Mylicious and Yura were both coming out of the center tunnel. Yura was wearing a long, beige dress, that was made of a deer hide, which was the common source of material for their clothing. It had frills and beads running down each side. The beads smacked into each other when she walked, making her even more noticeable.

  Mylicous was wearing hide pants and a long sleeve shirt. He had blue beads for buttons. He had his long hair pulled back and looked at me somewhat crossly, “You’re still here? I figured you would have left in the night.”

  “I would have left but the boat is broken, so I must help you with that first, then I will be gone,” I said.

  “You still aren’t going to lead me to Derium’s head, are you?”

  “The more you ask the more I’m inclined not to,” I replied.

  He stopped talking to me and him and Yura tended to the fish. The fire was ready to go, which Yura thanked me for, not Mylicious. They brought the fish out, then a large, round pan. He then threw some type of gelatinous mass in, that melted down. After the gelatinous mass had melted he threw in a lot of the fish. It wasn’t shortly after that the rest of the pack came in through the main tunnel.

  Kallik and Tapeesa were first, followed my Tarkik, Amaruq and Amka. They were all carrying baskets of fish, then Mila walked in with a smile on her face. She had a basket of her own, but kept it close to her side. She smiled at me and then, walked up and kissed Mylicious.

  “I have something for you!” she said and patted the basket. Mylicious’s eyes lit up.

  “Jorgia berries?” he asked.

  She slowly opened the lid and smiled even more, “Yes, my love.”

  “I can make my drink!” he smiled even bigger.

  “You can, just in time for the full moon,” she had a gleam in her eyes, it was then that I caught a scent coming from her. I started putting two and two together and figured it had to do with the full moon and finding a mate.

  Kallik was quick to give me a hateful glance, if that fool knew what I was capable of, he wouldn’t have, and I was being respectful of Mylicious’s house. I could have ended that shit right then and there, and I didn’t, but I wish I would have. Kallik, later proved to be a major pain in my ass.

  I asked if I could help and was told to grab some more fish, then was told, later I could help clean the fish that the rest of the pack caught. One thing I will say, the pack stayed busy. They ate quickly, Yura made me a plate of fish, which I thanked her for and sampled. She did not make Kallik a plate, she just gave him a hateful look when she walked by.

  “I know we are not seeing eye to eye brother, but are you still planning on helping me rebuild my boat?” Mylicious asked, scooping up pieces of fish with his fingers and shoving them in his mouth.

  “Of course, but can’t we just use one of theirs?”

  “No, too small,” he answered, not looking up at me, “We will have to go to another land, get our wood and immediately start building. With the full moon’s activities upon me it will be three days before we can leave, it’ll take two to build the boat.”

  “I can get it done in two, the activities will have no affect on me. So, while you’re doing wolf stuff, I can work on the boat,” I said, a little annoyance in my voice.

  Yura looked sad, but there really wasn’t anything for me there in the cold land, at the time. After the fish was done being consumed, everyone pitched in, even myself and cleaned fish. Most of them looked to be of trout and salmon, and they all looked different back then than what they do now.

  Mylicious disappeared briefly and returned with two, small axes and tossed me one, “You ever use one of those?”

  “Yes, pl
enty of times, just as good on trees as they are on people,” I said, and the room fell a little quiet, “Are you going to tell me you’ve never killed another human before? I know you have Mylicious, I never would have been sent here if not.”

  The gazes shifted from me to Mylicious, who was the only one staring at me, “Let’s not speak too much of the past my brother,” he said.

  I stopped talking about it, “Lead the way!” I said and waited for him to show me where I was heading.

  Mylicious threw on a thick, fur coat and offered me one, but I declined. We headed up the tunnel and the temperature drop became apparent about twenty-steps up. I was starting to regret not taking the coat. The cold had to be extreme for me to feel it, so I could only imagine what Mylicious had to be feeling at the time, but he was more used to it than I was.

  We were staring right at the sun when we exited the tunnel. We walked for miles in silence, before coming to a shoreline, that had a little less snow on it than what I arrived on. There were two smaller boats, pulled up on land, with rope tied to large logs that were obviously driven into the ground.

  “Get in, I’ll kick us off,” Mylicious said and I done as I was instructed.

  We were paddling before I knew it. I could see the next patch of land, just a few hundred yards out, I could have leapt there faster than what we were paddling. The water though, was a lot smoother than on the way to Mylicious’s. We paddled around the next island, it was bare, no trees or any visible plants, but Mylicious pointed out that there was stream that ran through there but was only unfrozen for a little throughout the year.

  We rounded several more islands, they were small, but with each passing, vegetation was more and more present, and soon I could see a lot of green with some tree off in the distance. We pulled the boat upon the shore in what is now known as Nunavut

  “We have to get to those trees, chop them down and get back before the full moon.” Mylicious said to me, but not looking at me.

  I said nothing in response, just followed him. We walked miles and new scents filled my nose. The grass we walked on had a sort of crunch to it and felt prickly against my toes. It was then I started paying attention to what footwear Mylicous had opposed to mine. His shoes completely covered his feet, mine were sandals, I had worn for so long.

  “When we get back, I will have Mila make you some moccasins, even though you are leaving, they will be more comfortable than the shoes of old.”

  “Thank you Mylicious. The only reason I’m leaving, is because I feel like I don’t belong. I never have, you and Derium have always had special qualities about you, even before you changed. I’ve always been plain, boring and up until Lilith, I didn’t even want to eat anything really, now I crave vampire blood from time to time,” I said, opening up a little bit.

  “You’ve always been special Roldian, hell, Jehovah took you up to Paradise, I’ve never even seen it,” Mylicious said, I sensed jealousy, but it was him, I was jealous of.

  “Well, Paradise looks just like this place, so you’re not missing much.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, just no murder, demon women or betraying brother.”

  “All this time, I thought it was so much more.”

  “Well, it’s not, how exactly are we going to get these logs back home?” I asked, I didn’t want to talk about Jehovah, Paradise, or anything else from the past.

  “I’m going to build a raft with them, you’re going to pull me with the boat and I’m going to paddle the raft. Then I will have Kellik and Tarkik come and carry the logs back.”

  “Why is Kallik even in the pack?” I asked suddenly.

  “Why you ask that?”

  “He’s not very nice, and how he treats Yura..,” I said.

  Mylicious smirked and interrupted me, “Dear brother, you have feeling for Yura. Are you afraid she will give in and her and Kallik will be together?”

  “I do not have feelings for Yura,” I said with some haste in my voice, “I don’t care if they get together, but it should be by choice, not force!”

  “I agree, but you have nothing to worry about, when a female wolf isn’t interested in the male wolf, it never happens. If Kallik ever forces himself on Yura he knows he will be kicked out of the pack and will be a lone wolf, and a lone wolf, is a dead wolf.”

  We finally reached our trees, they were pine trees, white pine trees I believe, “This tree works best. I use the sap on the on the inside, to rub on the outside and it helps keep the water out. It gets sticky though, just warning you.”

  I watched Mylicious fell the first tree. Once it was down, he went and chopped off all the limbs and made a pile of them. It was then I noticed numerous piles of limbs and then about half a mile of tree stumps. It raised my curiosity, so I asked a question.

  “How long have you been coming here?”

  “As long as I can remember. After what happened to you, I fled to a ship, got caught on it, then got dropped off in the land of the cold, where I spent most of my years in wolf form, just to keep warm. I got tired of seeing ice and snow and ventured outward. I like this land, but I know if were to move here, I would be out of control with the amount of food available. There are creatures here, bigger than I am in wolf form, and I could only imagine what they taste like. Mila got one once, fur black as night, it’s paws bigger than my wolfen paw. It looked much like a large wolf, only fatter,” he said and scanned the area quickly, “Part of me wants one to show up, part of me doesn’t.”

  “What are they called?” I asked.

  “I believe they are called bears, but I’ve heard them called demons as well. When I first came here, I ran rampant in wolfen form. Did I ever tell you, Mila hunted me first?”

  “No, we haven’t talked much since I’ve arrived, honestly.”

  “It’s the moon brother, but yes, Mila was hunting me, I killed a bunch of elk around here and her tribe was starving because of it. After breaking numerous snares over the years, she sat up a double snare, which I could easily have snapped, but I saw her for the first time. She had a fierce look in her eye, her spear was ready to launch. It was then I changed and of course she ran. So I spent a month after that, killing elk and bringing them to her tribe to make up for my wrongdoing. I was leaving one night, and a spear landed just inches from my face. I changed and this time she didn’t run. It took time but I made right by her tribe. We fell in love and she came with me back to the land of the cold. Then, I met Yura, Kallik, Tarpeesa and Tarkik, then we had our children, I’ve been blessed.”

  “If you say so,” I said and didn’t even know why I said it.

  “Such a sad outlook you have brother,” Mylicious said and pointed to another pine, “You want to that one?”

  I nodded and walked over to it. I gave it a whack with the axe, sending wood chunks flying everywhere, then done an upper swing creating the classic pie cut look. I then went to the other side and within one hit, the tree fell over. It wasn’t until I started lobbing off the limbs that I ran into the dreaded, sticky, tree sap. It was sticking to the blade of the axe, my fingers, my clothes; everything else, stuck to the sap. There was dirt, pine needles, bugs, just random stuff stuck to me and I didn’t like it. Mylicious would chuckle as he watched me struggle to get the sap off.

  After a few hours, we had all the trees cut down that we needed. Then Mylicious stripped down and transformed, he grabbed onto one of the pine trees with his mouth, took off running, stopped and flung the log towards the shoreline.

  “Do you think you can help me?” he asked in my head.

  I shrugged and walked over to one of the cut pine trees. I figured out where the center was at and tried getting my arms around it. I couldn’t, but my fingers dug in a little to the bark. It took all that I had to lift the twenty-foot long log, but I got it up on my shoulder. I took off running, I stopped and shoved the log off my shoulders and into the air. It didn’t go as far as Mylicious’s, but it went far enough.

  After we got all the logs tossed, we only
had to toss them one more time before were at the shoreline. I gave Mylicious his clothes back and he got dressed. Mylicious then produced some rope that I hadn’t notice before, from the boat. He quickly put the logs, side-by-side, then asked me to help push them into the water.

  “It’s going to be late before we get back, would be nice if the women would have a bath drawn for us. I wish I could talk to them in their minds, like we can brother. Seems Derium is the only one able to communicate like that.”

  “A warm bath sounds nice,” I said, realizing I hadn’t bathed in a long time.

  “Warm? We make our water hot, almost like we are cooking,” he laughed.

  “That sounds even better.”

  “Get in the boat, let’s get heading back, remember, it’s you, guiding me. If you get off course, I will let you know,”

  “Hopefully there aren’t any storms.”

  “Never seen one over on this side.”

  After that was said, I got in the boat and started to paddle. It didn’t make much sense to me, a smaller boat, pulling a larger one, but it was working. I paddled hard and fast, as did Mylicious, but he had to take steps to get from one side to the other.

  It wasn’t long before the sun was setting and the moon was rising, it wasn’t full yet, it was the night before the full moon, but the moon was just as beautiful. I kept up pace and with guidance from Mylicious, made it to the shore about an hour or so after dark. Mylicious transformed again and took off, telling me to untie the wood, which I did. About twenty minutes later, Kallik and Tarkik showed up and started to carry the wood, Mylicious told me to let them do it and for me to get back to his home, he had instructed Yura to have a bath ready for me. I told him I was fully capable of getting my own bath ready.

  I knew the way somewhat, so I was able to use my speed to get there faster. I did get lost for a moment, I had to focus and find the torch lighting the way to the tunnel. The place was immediately warm, was welcomed by Mila, Tapeesa and Yura. There was some fish ready, which I ate graciously and then Yura told me my bath was ready.