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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 13 |
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Mad Dash CHARMIAN GASPED AND jumped back, Thomas doing the same, as soon as the little pine tree beside the trail seemed to explode, taking Turtle with it. A blinding glare hurt her eyes, and a booming noise filled her ears; after a second she lifted her head, her eyes stinging, and gawked at the plumes of smoke now rising from where the tree had previously stood. Her vision immediately blurred. "TURTLE!" she and Thomas both yelled. She felt her muscles tense, to run forward and start searching the ground, even though she suspected that she would find nothing more than fragments...what sort of awful manitou would do such a thing to a little girl?...when she noticed that, as the smoke cleared, there were no little fragments lying about on the ground after all. Instead, she found herself staring at a pair of moccasins, and she blinked. Her eyes roamed upward, until she saw that someone was standing there; then she gasped and jumped back again, running into Thomas. The smoke drifted upward, and she at last saw Turtle, clutched in someone's arms; the girl was beaming from ear to ear, the happiest look imaginable on her face. A coughing noise commenced, and Charmian's stare drifted upward with the smoke, until she could just barely make out the face of the person holding her. He coughed in the receding smoke and then started blinking blearily, looking around himself as if lost, and then glancing down at Turtle and giving her a venomous glare. Charmian's eyes went wide and she took a step forward. "Manabozho!" Manabozho's head jerked up and his eyes fixed straight on hers. Then they went wide as well, and he immediately dropped Turtle so that she hit the ground with a thud. "Charmian--?!" he practically yelped, looking as if he wanted to vanish into nothing. He even hurriedly put out his leg to nudge Turtle behind him and took a step in front of her, but Charmian didn't even notice. She was too busy grinning and running at him, throwing her arms around his waist. He blinked a few more times before starting to sputter; she beamed up at him gleefully. "I was HOPING I'd run into you!" she cried. "And you were pretending to be a TREE this whole time--?" "That's our favorite game!" Turtle exclaimed, popping back into sight; she came out from behind Manabozho's leg and grinned, half of her teeth still missing. "The Pretend-To-Be-A-Tree game! Papa's REAL good at it! And I'm REAL good at finding him! I find him all the time--the only time he fooled me for long was when he appeared as a rock, and I couldn't find him, because I was looking for a tree, not a rock, so of course I was real confused and had to keep looking and then I--" "She's yours?" Charmian exclaimed, glancing down at Turtle and then back up at Manabozho; his face went brilliant red but all that she did was grin again. "I didn't even RECOGNIZE her! She's gotten so BIG! No wonder she has wings--she's part Michinimakinong, isn't she!" She let go of Manabozho and he started rubbing at his neck as if it hurt, a scowl on his face. "What're you doing here?" he grumbled. Charmian gave an amused snort. "Well, hi to you, too! I came back just to see you guys!" She gave Turtle a mock glare. "How come you never TOLD me your dad is Manabozho--?" "You KNOW each other?" Turtle cried, and started promptly hopping up and down. "Paaapaaaaa! You never told me you KNEW each other!" Manabozho bristled. "We only just MET again! How was I supposed to--" "I kind of thought you'd be a bit happier to see me," Charmian interrupted genially. "Though I guess I understand it, coming from you!" Her face screwed up. "Were you hiding from me--? Dressed up like a pine tree like that--?" He bristled again. "No, I wasn't HIDING from you! I was hiding from--" He sputtered and grimaced, Turtle climbing diligently up his leg. He was forced to put his arm out and she happily perched upon it, digging under the collar of her dress. "I was--just watching," he amended himself with a scowl. "Since when is watching such an awful thing to do--?" Charmian frowned a little, then shrugged and smiled. "I guess since never! So--how've you been doing lately? You two hang out together a lot?" "Always," Manabozho said between his teeth, just as Turtle thrust something in his face. They all stared at the little clay container dangling from a leather thong as she waved it before his eyes, grinning cheerily. Manabozho frowned a little, just as Charmian had, and reached up to poke at it with one finger. "I got you something, Papa!" Turtle stated, nodding proudly. Manabozho's look shifted to one of mild unease mixed with curiosity. "Got me something...?" "Uh-huh!" She pulled the tiny stopper out of the clay container and held it up before his eyes; he blinked into it. Immediately the expression of curiosity fled his face, and he looked as if he were ready to slip into a coma. "It's dirt!" Turtle explained, and nodded again as if to prove her point. "I gathered it myself! From the Island! And put it in this little jar!" She capped it again and dangled it. "You wear it around your neck like THIS! So you can always have a little piece of the Island with you!" "Dirt," Manabozho echoed, his voice flat, and took the necklace. "Lovely." "Aw," Charmian said, smiling again. "I think it's sweet." Turtle grinned at her, cheeks dimpling, but the look that Manabozho gave her was indescribable; she started laughing. "You have to admit, it's pretty smart, for a--well--however old she is," she added, rubbing at the back of her neck with some confusion. "I thought it up all by myself!" Turtle exclaimed, then turned to Manabozho and tugged on his feathers. "Papa! Papa! Papapapapapapapa--" "WHAT?" Manabozho just about roared. He pulled her off of him and tried tucking her under his arm but she promptly crawled up his back and onto his shoulder. "Papapapapapapapa," she said in his ear. "I wanted to ask you something! They're going to the Sky Tree, see, and I wanted to go back, but I forgot to ask you the last time, and I know you worry about me a lot, so I thought I'd ask, and then you wouldn't worry, and everything would--" "Why would I worry." He tried pulling her off of him again and Charmian had to stifle a laugh at the awful look on his face. He gave Charmian a look as well. "The Sky Tree--? Why are you going through there?" Charmian's smile faded and she scratched her head. "Well...it's a long story. How long have you been around here, anyway...?" "I was away," Manabozho said. "That's all anyone needs to know! This place can get tiring after a while, you know! OW!" He grimaced when Turtle pulled on one of his upright feathers, like two rabbit's ears. "Well, while you were away," Charmian said, "weird things have been going on here. Do you have any idea what you've been missing? For one thing, Augwak's all beaten up, and there's a wounded British soldier, and these cracks are appearing everywhere--" "So? So? OW!" Manabozho at last succeeded in disentangling Turtle from his head, and tucked her under his arm so her head stuck out behind him. He took in a breath and let it out. "So the GeeBee is beaten up--sounds good to me! And I don't know what a British soldier is. And...what is this about cracks--?" "Just like I said," Charmian replied. "They're popping up all underneath the Island. There's things out in the lake trying to get to the Island." "Things?" He frowned. "I haven't noticed anything!" "You said you had been 'away,'" Niskigwun said, and the two of them commenced scowling at each other evilly. Charmian rolled her eyes. "Oh, come ON!" She moved to stand between them. "You two are STILL not over that--?" "You mean things are happening to the Island and NOBODY thought to tell me?" Manabozho demanded. Niskigwun flared his wings. "You were AWAY! And it is no longer MY duty to watch this place, is it--?" "Simmer down," Charmian sighed, putting out her hands to keep them from each other. "I'm sure it was nothing intentional," she said with a pointed glare. "We think that maybe the things trying to get through to the Island are these things called Mishupishus," she started, only to cut herself off when Manabozho took an abrupt step back, feathers flaring. "Mishupishus?" he echoed, then his face screwed up. "Mishupishus don't live HERE! What makes you think they'd be coming HERE--?" "Because Pakwa saw them," Charmian answered. "And Augwak and Khiieta and X'aaru smelled them, and the manitous and the Nebanaubae say they're coming." Manabozho made huffing noises. "They're all being foolish! There aren't any Mishupishus within--what is it you use?--miles of here." He crossed his arms. "And EVERYONE knows they're weak little worms anyway." Niskigwun bared his teeth and bristled. "Don't say that! Are you an utter FOOL?! Even if they are weak, you do not go INSULTING them--!!" "Why shouldn't I?" Manabozho retorted. "They're easy enough to fight." Charmian blinked. "Wow...you mean, you fought one once...?" she asked, surprised. He lifted his chin and gave a superior nod. "Of course I did. And it was easy." He snorted. "I could probably give YOU some pointers on fighting an Underwater Lynx..." "Papa's the BRAVEST!" Turtle cried from behind his back, her legs wriggling. "He can fight ANYTHING!" "Well," Manabozho said, eyes rising skyward, "at least she gets one thing right..." "Well, hold on! That solves it then!" Charmian said; everyone looked at her and she waved at Manabozho. "If it is Mishupishus, then he can fight them off easily! No more problem!" Manabozho stared at her with wide eyes and she could have sworn that his face paled a tiny bit; apparently the others, save Turtle, saw it as well, and Niskigwun snorted and crossed his arms. "Me--?" Manabozho echoed. "But...that was ages ago...and anyway!" He shuffled Turtle forward and tucked her under his other arm. "Like I said--they don't live anywhere near here and have no reason to come. Everyone knows the Mishupishus are always fighting the Animiki! There are no Animiki here, do you see any?" He glanced skyward; Charmian followed suit, not having any idea what he was talking about. "No? Like I said! No Mishupishus!" "So, do you think everybody is lying--?" Thomas asked. Manabozho gave him such a venomous glare that he actually took a step back. "I challenge ANYBODY to dig up a Lynx!" Manabozho snapped. "Until then, there aren't any and there WON'T be!" "There's still the cracks," Charmian said. "And I'd feel a lot better if we at least took care of those." Manabozho threw up his arms and Turtle promptly fell to the ground. "Fine then! I can fix a few broken rocks--I fixed that stupid Arch, didn't I? Just show me to them, and I'll take care of them...tedious chore though it is..." "There's so many of them I doubt you'd get them all!" Charmian retorted, but followed him just the same when he started walking, glancing from left to right. "If we're going this way, then the nearest one is down in X'aaru's and Khiieta's cave--and Ocryx saw one, and I know there are others..." They headed in the direction of the little cave. "By the way," Charmian said after a while had passed with them tramping in silence, Turtle skipping alongside Tiiku in the rear, "I've been meaning to ask. You're the one who named Turtle?" "Of course," Manabozho said rather sourly. "Who else would do it? It's not as if I've had a lot of help taking care of her, is it...?" Charmian waved it off with a wince. "Fine, okay. I was just wondering what her real name is, because I feel kind of weird just calling her 'Turtle' all the time." He gave her an odd look. "Turtle," he said, then one of his feathers twitched. "That is her real name." Charmian's brow furrowed in disbelief. "Huh...?" She glanced back at the oblivious Turtle, then at Manabozho again, and her mouth fell open. "You--you named your daughter Turtle? You really named her TURTLE--?" Thomas and Niskigwun remained silent, staring skyward as if uninterested. "I couldn't think of any better names!" Manabozho said defensively. "That was the only one that came to mind!" Charmian threw up her hands. "HOW LONG DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT?! You mean you thought and thought and the BEST name you could come up with is TURTLE--?!" "Turtle's a nice name!" Turtle said, still skipping. "I think it's a nice name! Isn't it a nice name--?" "It is not quite so bad," Niskigwun murmured. Charmian whirled on him. "You stay out of this!" She turned back to Manabozho. "I can't believe you named your kid after an aquatic reptile! You could've named her Thistledown or, or Apple Blossom, or--something cute and girly..." Manabozho started huffing again. "LOOK AT HER!" he yelled, gesturing wildly at Turtle, who was now busily trying to hop on only one foot, while picking the mud out from between the toes of her other foot. "Does she LOOK cute and girly--?!" "Maybe if you'd keep better watch over her rather than let her run around in the FAIRY Realm!" Charmian retorted. Niskigwun's mouth fell open this time. "What--what is so bad about THIS?" he cried, before blushing furiously and ducking his head, excusing himself from the argument. Manabozho threw his arms up and started walking faster. "I hardly came back here to FIGHT over such trivial matters! I have better things to do--like seal up these cracks, and go somewhere where I'm actually APPRECIATED!" "Oh, come OFF it!" Charmian picked up her pace to match his. "I came all this way and all you can do is bitch about it? That is so like you! No matter what goes down on this Island you just NEVER change!" Manabozho opened his mouth to yell something back at her, when noises from further ahead in the woods made them fall silent, and they all glanced ahead. Nothing was visible, but Charmian was sure that she heard very faint yelling noises from the general direction of the Red Leaf camp. She blinked and halted, brow furrowing. "What is all that...?" "It doesn't sound terribly good," Thomas murmured, stopping beside her. They started walking again, hesitantly this time; the noises grew louder the closer they got, until the trail leading into the camp came into sight. Something suddenly popped out of the camp and landed on the trail, and they all jerked to a startled halt. The thing crouching on all fours lifted its head, and THUNK--let out a yelp when something struck it. One hand flew up to rub at where what looked to be a kettle had hit it. Something else flew over its head and it started scampering down the trail, straight toward them; Charmian's hair stood on end and she hurried to scramble behind Thomas and Niskigwun. The thing in the trail saw them and picked up its pace. "FLESHLIIIINNNG!!" it screamed, and Charmian blinked when she recognized Augwak's voice. She stuck her head out from behind Thomas's back, and saw the look of pure panic on the GeeBee's face. He came to a screeching halt before them, every limb shaking, his long ears quivering and swiveling like two pointed satellite dishes. "Fleshling!!" he cried. "They'll KILL me! I can't stay there anymore! I'm DEAD if I stay there--!" "What--what happened--?" Charmian blurted out, and blinked, then came out from behind Thomas and glared at him furiously. "What did you do? If I know you then all of this is YOUR fault--!" Augwak clasped his hands together and whimpered loudly. "I swear it, fleshling, I did NOTHING! And that's just it!" He cringed at the continued yelling sounds still coming from the camp, and glanced nervously over his shoulder. "It was that red person!" "Red person--?" He nodded wildly. "The fleshling all in red! You remember? The one you left with me?" "The British guy--?" Charmian's brow furrowed. "What about him? What happened?" Augwak shrugged helplessly. "He up and LEFT! THAT'S what happened! That little girl-whelp got him his firestick and then he LEFT!" He started shifting from foot to foot, whining. "Next thing I know the girl-whelp is running back in yelling, and the ogimah is yelling, and they think that I ATE HIM!!" He wailed and flung up his hands. "I DIDN'T EVEN TASTE HIM, FLESHLING!! If I'm going to be accused of such a thing you would think I could have at least eaten a toe or an ear or SOMETHING! But NO! I didn't even nibble on his HAT!" He turned in a tearful circle. "And that little whelp-child won't tell them otherwise! She says I didn't do it but she doesn't tell them what happened to him! And so they all come after ME--with drums and fire and cooking pots and spoons and--" Charmian let out her breath and started jogging up the trail. "I told her not to let Black Elk Horn know the soldier's here," she said. "She must've been trying to keep her word. Where did he go--? He was UNCONSCIOUS when I last saw him!" "I hardly know this myself, fleshling!" Augwak exclaimed, trailing after them. "All I know is he awoke, screamed, seemed to be in an awful fit, and demanded his firestick. And that stupid girl GAVE it to him! STUPID STUPID STUPID!!" He grimaced and pounded his fists against his head. "I should have wrung her neck MYSELF!" "THEN what--?" Charmian snarled over her shoulder. The GeeBee blinked and paled, then shrank in on himself. "Well--the--the girl-whelp got him his firestick, and he pointed it at her head, and asked to--" "Pointed it at her HEAD?" Everybody winced at the tone of Charmian's voice, now; she whirled around in the middle of the trail and her eyes looked as if they were on fire; even Manabozho took a step back. She turned away again and started stomping so hard that the ground shook; everyone else followed only hesitantly. "I'll MURDER HIM when I find him!!" "Easy!" Thomas cried, jumping in her path and doing his best to slow her down, since he couldn't stop her completely. "If Black Elk Horn's not supposed to know he's here, then you can hardly go barging in demanding to know where he is!" he hissed. "At the very least think this through a bit more!" "FINE." Charmian made herself take in a deep breath and let it out, and her face soured. "I'll just talk to Winter Born then! She's the one who was there, she knows where he went." She started walking again. "THEN I'll kill him!" Thomas opened his mouth, appeared to reconsider, then followed. They reached the camp, which had settled down somewhat now that Augwak was no longer present; there was still a lot of chattering, however, and Charmian noticed that the fires around the medicine lodge had been stamped out--presumably by Augwak, during his mad escape. Other than that nobody was tending to the building. Charmian and Thomas made their way easily through the clearing, the others remaining behind; nobody even paid them any attention, which both relieved and confused Charmian. Had she really become such a staple here--? "See Elk anywhere?" she murmured to Thomas out of the corner of her mouth. He shook his head. "Hopefully he wandered off again. I'd do well enough not having to deal with him!" "Ditto." Charmian spotted Winter Born now, standing not too far from the lodge and staring at it disconsolately; she whistled and waved her hand, catching the girl's attention. Winter Born's eyes grew and she immediately came dashing at them, skidding to an abrupt halt. Charmian blinked when she saw that her eyes were teary. "Ch-Ch-Charmian!" she cried, her voice cracking. "I told him to stay put! I told him he couldn't leave! And he left anyway!" She sniffled and rubbed at her wet nose. "I tried to make him stay, Charmian, honest..." "I know you did what you could," Charmian said. She glanced at the lodge. "It's HIM I'm angry about!" She looked back down at the girl and chewed her lip. "Did Black Elk Horn see him at all--? What does he think's going on?" Winter Born fiddled her fingers. "Well...after the man in red ran off...I was yelling a lot, and Father showed up, and wanted to know what I was doing in the same place as the GeeBee, and I had to tell him something." A pause. "What did you tell him?" Charmian prompted, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Winter Born winced and her fingers fiddled even more furiously. "Um...I told him that the GeeBee bit my finger." She spotted the others waiting near the trail and her eyes glistened. "I didn't MEAN to get him in trouble! It was just--the only thing I could think of!" Her face dissolved in tears. "I'm sorry!" Augwak started hopping up and down and shaking one fist as if threatening to come and brain her. He collapsed into a messy heap when Manabozho and Niskigwun both cracked their own fists down on top of his head at once. "Anyway, Father went back to the wigwam to get his hatchet, and was saying he would split his head open when he got the chance..." Winter Born went on. "Where did he go off to--? Did he see where Augwak went?" Charmian asked. Winter Born shook her head. "No, the GeeBee ran off before he could see him...I told him he went running toward the bluff...I didn't mean to lie so much!!" The look on her face grew truly horrid now. Charmian grasped her arm and shook it. "What about the other guy? The guy in red? Where did he go?" The girl rubbed her nose again. "He--he went running off toward the town! He asked for his funny stick back, but he wasn't very nice about it!" She started scowling. "He COULD'VE just said PLEASE!" "Toward town with his stick," Charmian said, and grimaced, turning on one heel. "Great!" She started jogging in the direction of the trail toward town, Thomas following. "HEY!" Manabozho popped out of the woods, causing several Islanders to let out a yelp and duck back in surprise. He threw up his hands. "What about ME?" "You guys'll just have to wait till we're done!" Charmian shouted back. "Go visit your grandmother or something and we'll be right back! Promise!" Manabozho's jaw dropped as if she'd just called him a dirty name, then he scowled and kicked at the ground. She didn't have time to see what else they might do, as the trees closed in behind them as they made their way along the trail. "Pointing a gun at a little kid!" Charmian exclaimed furiously. "What sort of JACKASS does something like THAT?" "The sort of jackass who obviously hasn't met you just yet," Thomas said. "Very funny!" She picked up her pace. "I don't even know what century he's from! Do you have any idea?" Thomas shrugged--or at least, he tried to. "Sorry--British military history's never been MY field of interest, either! But if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say eighteenth century." "He does look kind of like a Redcoat," Charmian agreed. "Not that I've ever seen one except in pictures!" The trees began to thin and the distant noises of the town started to come to their ears. "He must be looking for something familiar," she panted. "They said he showed up in a canoe on the shore. There must've been a fog, or something, where he came from. As for why he's wounded..." She shook her head, frustrated. "If he's lost, then he'll look for the first thing he remembers from this place, if he's ever been here. The town." Her face blanched and she glanced at Thomas. "Thomas! There WAS no town in the eighteenth century! He'll just be expecting a bunch of little HUTS!" She started running even faster, so that he had to struggle to catch up. The town finally came into view below the crest of the hill, and Charmian ran down the slope so fast that she couldn't stop once she reached the street proper. She pinwheeled her arms and skidded a bit, stepping in a puddle of mud and veering to the side when a carriage driver yelled at her; a few people standing around the Fur Company hurriedly got out of her way, and she launched herself at its long porch in an attempt to slow herself down. As she neared it a hand shot out and grabbed onto her wrist, yanking her to a halt; she nearly fell over, but somebody grabbed her other wrist, and before she knew it her hands were being pumped up and down enthusiastically. "HEY! MAINLANDER!" a voice boomed; she blinked and focused on the two faces in front of her. One was a stocky native dressed in a ratty otterskin cap; the other had one normal eye, and one which glinted glassily. The teeth of both were crooked and about half missing. They grinned at her and shook her hands so hard that her shoulders hurt. "Remember us?" the one with the glass eye cried. "Of course she does!" the one in the otterskin cap exclaimed. "She can't forget her old friends Chief and One-Eyed Pierre! Can she?" "H--hey--hey guys," Charmian managed at last to get out, Thomas jogging up behind her and resting his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. She carefully started pulling her hands loose. "Nice to see you again--" "SHE DOES REMEMBER US!" the two yelled, and showed all of their teeth now, which was probably just enough teeth to fit one person's mouth, with a little room to spare. Pierre grabbed her arm again and gestured across the street. "Say! I seem to recall you partaking of some whiskey your last time here, and partaking of it pretty damned well! What say you come on over and join us? We were just about to wet our tongues ourselves when you showed up!" "You in there will be like a flower in a headband!" Chief added cheerily. Charmian winced at the memory and pulled her arm free again. "Sorry I can't stay and talk--but I'm actually looking for someone. Somebody who might've come through here. I have to catch up with him." The two's faces fell. "Awwwww!" they both said; then, "You're sure you can't join us for one teeny-tiny sip--?" from Pierre. Charmian shook her head. "Sorry, guys...but I'm looking for a guy in a red coat..." "OH!" Chief's eyes lit up and he leaned toward her. "You mean the fellow all in red with the bandage around his shoulder--? Look on his face fit to raise the dead--?" Charmian blinked, then turned toward him and grabbed his arm. "That's him! You've seen him--?" The two of them nodded, beaming. "Sure we did!" Pierre exclaimed. "Running right through and waving that big gun of his--spooked a horse--then went running off again! Seemed pretty upset with everything!" "Quite pecu--pe--pec--peeky-oolee-er for such a fellow," Chief added with a pensive frown. Charmian let him go and clenched her fists. "Can you tell me where he ran off to--? It's really important that I catch up with him!" The two glanced at each other, then back at her, and rubbed their chins; she made a face. "Well," Pierre mused, "I suppose we COULD tell you..." "But that tavern is looking pretty lonely..." Chief added. Charmian scowled and yanked her pack off of her back, tearing it open and digging in it viciously. The other three all watched her in curiosity until she pulled out a small white box and thrust it toward the other two, who jumped back. "What is that--?" they both exclaimed at once, as if expecting a trick. Charmian waved it at them, livid. "Take it! I don't have time to go DRINKING and making an idiot of myself again! Go on and take it, and then tell me where he went off to!" She had to wait while they looked the box over, carefully opened it, then peeled back the wax paper inside and sniffed at its contents, poking them with a finger. Thomas craned his neck to see the wedge of some brown substance inside it, and he frowned. The other two frowned as well. "What is it...?" Pierre asked, sounding genuinely confused. Charmian looked ready to snarl. "Fudge! Genuine 100% Mackinac Island FUDGE! You EAT it!!" she snapped, when they started sniffing it again, and they jumped once more. "Now tell me where he WENT!" "Eat...?" She ground her teeth; they both broke off a tiny fragment of the bar of fudge and tasted it. Their eyes lit up immediately and they pointed at a side street. "Went up that way, toward Market Street!" Pierre exclaimed. "Running the whole way!" "Don't think he stuck around though," Chief added. "There was a good deal of fuss back there!" Charmian turned to run up the side street, but Thomas grasped hold of her sleeve. "Was he saying anything when he passed through?" he asked, and Charmian felt like kicking herself for not thinking of such a question. The two nodded vigorously. "Didn't hear all of it since we were in the Company," Pierre said. "But that's why we came out in the first place! He was yelling up a storm! Something about a fort." Charmian's brow furrowed. "A fort--?" Another nod. "Also something about something not being right, being all wrong," Chief said. "He was looking straight at the buildings when he said that! Quite a strange fellow." "He was pretty insistent that something was quite wrong," Pierre finished. Charmian bobbed her head. "Thanks." She gestured at Thomas and they had to wait for a horse carriage to pass before racing up the side street. Market Street was a dead end, figuratively, as there was no one in a red coat there. A bit of questioning, however, led to some pointing. "Ran off that way," one of the residents said, pointing north. Thick woods rested in this direction, and Charmian chewed on her lip as she and Thomas started off once more. "Why would he run back into the woods?" she asked in confusion. "I thought he was looking for civilization!" "Maybe he had quite enough of that for one day!" Thomas suggested. They slowed their pace somewhat as they entered the woods, glancing around. The sun was at such an angle that the trail was heavily shaded now, and they peered into side trails when they passed them, some of them small and dark enough to be tunnels. "If he turned down one of these," Charmian said, "then we might never find him." She shivered. "I wish he would've headed back east...any further west and we'll have GeeBees after us." She slowed her step and glanced down. Thomas was pulling lightly on her arm; as soon as she stopped he slowly stepped sideways into one of the side trails. She opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head, so she fell silent as well. They crept back into the trees a few feet and peered out. Charmian paused as soon as she realized that they could see the main trail, but she doubted that anyone who might pass by would see them, the trees were so thick. "Creepy," she whispered, and rubbed her arms. "What are we doing here...?" "I sensed something ahead," Thomas whispered in return. Charmian frowned. "You sensed something...? Isn't that my job?" She grimaced and nearly slapped herself on the forehead. "Duh! SENSE! Why didn't I think of it?" She shut her eyes and tried to focus on the animal which had helped her sense other beings on the Island her last two times here--the bat, Apakwaanaajiin--and cast out a mental net further along the trail. Just as she sensed two presences further ahead, she heard Thomas whisper, "Something about fire. Maybe because I'm half Wendigo--I can sense it." Charmian's eyes opened. "There's two of them. If one's him, then who's the other? And what's this about fire--?" Her question was answered as soon as something went sailing down the path, in the direction that they'd just come from; they both blinked as soon as it struck one of the nearby trees, erupting in a shower of sparks and embers which went flying every which way. Charmian threw up her arm to shield her face, though oddly enough, the bits of flame evaporated as soon as they struck the ground, leaving only little trails of smoke behind them. She stared at the spot that the fireball had hit and saw a black smudged area on the tree, nothing more. A moment later scrabbling cracking sounds came from the same direction as the ball and Thomas pulled her back; the British soldier went running by, still carrying his gun, his face as pale as a sheet. Charmian's eyes goggled and without thinking she leapt out of the woods to follow him. "Hey! You--!" His head whipped around and he saw her, his eyes fixing on hers. They grew wide. Charmian opened her mouth to say--something--only to feel something strike her in the back. Thomas shoved her to the ground--she opened her mouth again to yell at him, only for all of her words to vanish as a plume of fire roared over their heads. |