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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 111 |
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Out of night has come the day Out of night, our small earth Our words drift away Our words journey To find those who will listen We call out into the distance We call out into the distance We call out into the distance We call out into the distance Less than a pearl in a sea of stars We are a lost island in the shadows It may be our words become lost It may be our words find nothing, find no one We call out into the distance We call out into the distance... "Less Than A Pearl" Enya ©2005 EMI Songs Ltd./EMI Blackwood Music Inc. BMI All rights reserved Breaking & Entering THE PILE OF furs was damp by now. Turtle sat atop them, her knees drawn up to her chest, her chin resting upon them, and sniffled, rubbing at her runny nose with one grubby hand. Tears formed little trails down her face. I know Papa will come for me... But what's taking him so long...? "I miss Papa," she murmured out loud, then hiccupped, then held her breath, because he'd told her in the past that that would help get rid of hiccups. She believed him. The fact that the last time she'd held her breath until she'd fallen over didn't matter. When she'd managed to shake herself awake, her hiccups had been gone, just like he'd said. "Why are you making that face?" Turtle blinked. Her eyes shifted to look at the big manitou standing further back in the cave, his arms crossed and his bored-looking eyes fixed on hers. Her cheeks were puffing out like those of a chipmunk, and when she spoke, she had to bite the insides of them to keep the air from escaping. "I got 'iccups!" Megissogwun frowned a little. "When you have hiccups," he said, "you simply wait for them to pass. Making that face will not make them go away any sooner." Turtle let out her breath in a whoosh. "That's what YOU say!" she retorted. "Every time I hold my breath my hiccups disappear just like that! You'll see!" "I suppose that father of yours told you that." "Uh-huh!" Turtle hiccupped, then felt at her cheeks. "Hey! I lost my breath! Now I have to start all over again!" She sucked in another breath and started to hold it. Megissogwun stared at her for a moment, then took a step to the side. He waved his hand at the air and something lit up beside the cave wall; Turtle turned her head to see an entryway form where one hadn't been before, and like a flash, her father appeared from it, glancing from side to side before he spotted her. His face lit up just as hers did and he came running toward her, arms outspread. "Turtle!" Turtle's breath whooshed out and she leapt to her feet, clapping gleefully. "PAPA!" She reached out for him just as he drew close, when Megissogwun swung his hand through the air and knocked Manabozho's head so hard that it spun at an impossible angle, and with barely a sound his eyes went blank and he toppled to the floor. Turtle let out a scream and started scrabbling at the furs, not knowing whether to run toward him or away or what. Her scream grew louder when she saw the blank look on his face and the blood starting to stream from his nose--then Megissogwun waved his hand, and the horrible image vanished, fading away into nothing. Turtle's scream faded along with it, and she blinked the tears from her eyes, staring at the floor in confusion. She had to rub at her eyes a few times just to make sure that he was really gone. Even so, she couldn't quite figure out what had just happened. "I have heard," Megissogwun said, "that frightening someone is also a good cure for the hiccups." He crossed his arms and a scowl started to come to Turtle's face as she realized that she'd been tricked. "Don't look so relieved just yet," the manitou said. "What you just saw will come to pass. Just at a time slightly later than now." Turtle's lip stuck out. "Why are you so mean?" she demanded. "'Mean' is a matter of perspective," Megissogwun replied. "I don't care if it's a matteraperspekta!" Turtle shot back. "I wanna know why you're so MEAN! What'd Papa ever do to you? What'd the Island ever do? How come you can't just get along?" Megissogwun's nose wrinkled just a little. "You are beginning to get annoying." "You said it was Grandpa you wanted to fight with, not Papa! So why don't you go find Grandpa on your own and leave us alone?" "It appears your 'grandpa' is not up to the challenge I set for him," Megissogwun said. "And I do not know where he is, whereas your father should, so I have sent him to find him." "Papa doesn't know where Grandpa is!" Turtle exclaimed. "He doesn't even LIKE him! You should hear how he talks about him! Grandpa this, Grandpa that! Grandpa never ONCE came to visit us!" "Pity," Megissogwun said. "You almost brought a tear to my eye." He looked at the wall of the cave, as if seeing something, then turned back to her. "Your father is not aware of it yet...but there is a time limit on this search of his...and his time is rapidly running out. Whether he returns with your 'grandpa' or not, you can say goodbye to your Island. And I do believe that this time, it won't be coming back." Turtle's face screwed up. "Why are you so mean?" she echoed herself. Megissogwun stared at her neutrally for a moment. "Some of us are just born that way," he finally said, and turned away. Turtle watched him as he paced back to his side of the cave. "I don't believe it," she whispered stubbornly, and rubbed the tears away from her eyes. An awkward silence had fallen over the long wigwam down in the winter camp beneath the mountains. Everyone from Charmian's party was seated within it, except for Manabozho's wolves, who remained outside, and Mishupishu, who swam back and forth in the bay, every so often peering up at the mountain before lowering his head back into the water. Mudroot sat with them, once in a while pushing herself up, stoking the fires, and sitting back down with a puff of breath; everyone else alternated between staring glumly at the flames, peering out the entryway, and shifting around uncomfortably. Peepaukawiss was foremost among the last group, grimacing and letting out many flustered sighs as he attempted to resituate himself on the cold floor. "Ooohhh!" he moaned. "I'll never get comfortable in a dreadful place like THIS!" He stopped squirming as soon as a dull booming noise sounded in the distance, and everyone lifted their heads, frowning. Kenu quickly got to his feet. "Animiki--?" he said, hopefully. "No," Francois said, staring at the entryway. "It's coming from the wrong direction...and it doesn't sound right." "It sounded kind of like something falling," Singing Cedars added. Stick-In-The-Dirt looked anxious. Thomas got to his feet and went to the entryway to peer outside. After a moment the medicine man followed him, then Niskigwun, then Singing Cedars and X'aaru. They crowded in the doorway staring at the distant mountains with pensive looks on their faces. "Do you think it came from up there...?" X'aaru asked in a small voice, and just as he did, the boom came again, only much louder this time. Kenu took in a little gasp and hopped up and down. "I wonder if it's one of those Whittikos! Grandfather used to tell me all sorts of stories about them--their footsteps sound a lot like thunder--that's how big they are!" Thomas's and the others' eyes grew. "A Wendigo--?" he blurted out, then lurched forward, putting his foot out to go running. He ended up falling flat on his face with a thud instead, and everyone winced. He lifted his head, sputtering, and glanced back at his feet to see a little snake wrapped around them, everyone staring at it curiously. It unwound itself and changed into Marten, who rubbed meekly at his head. "Sorry," he said, and pointed at Mudroot. "She told me to do it!" Stick-In-The-Dirt and Niskigwun helped Thomas to his feet and he started dusting himself off. "What's the idea--?" he exclaimed, looking quite peeved. Mudroot just poked at the fire once or twice, not even looking at him. "Foolish to go running out after her," she said mildly. "The more of you there are, the more Whittikos will come out. Trust me. She's fine as she is." Thomas's brow furrowed, then he started to scowl. "I'm thinking perhaps she's right, Monsieur," Francois added. "At any rate, they're so far up that we couldn't catch up with them anyway. Running after them would probably just make things worse." "Maybe that thudding was a GOOD sign!" Baptiste agreed, nodding vehemently. "I don't know about that," Lieutenant Barrington muttered from his corner. "All those stories I've heard about that beast paint a pretty nasty picture. Though I'm certain they'd do better without someone's company." And he gave Thomas a pointed look. "Maybe--maybe I could just fly over a little bit, and make sure...?" X'aaru offered, tail slinking between his legs. "All of you are worrying about the wrong party." Those who had been arguing blinked, and turned to look further into the room. Manabozho sat at the furthest wall, staring at the fire as Mudroot gave up poking at it and tossed a little fireball into it instead. The flames lit up his face for a fraction of a second, then dimmed again. "What d'you mean?" Marten asked, as the others started drifting away from the entry. "Just like I said," Manabozho replied. "When it comes down to Charmian, and that girl, versus a Wendigo, it's pretty clear which party will be the unlucky one." He shifted his foot. "And I don't mean the obvious." They all stared at him for a moment, then glanced back at the entryway. After a pause Marten's face lit up. "I bet he's right!" he exclaimed, and went bounding back to land with a plop in Puka's lap. "She's smart enough to outwit a stupid old Wendigo!" X'aaru turned away from the entry and went padding back toward the wall. "I think so too! We were silly to worry." The others started murmuring in agreement and returning to their seats. Thomas and Stick-In-The-Dirt were the only two to hold their places at the entryway; after a moment the medicine man sighed and went back to sit down as well. Thomas fought a scowl and reluctantly went back into the room, sitting down beside Mani, who was curled up by the wall not far from Mudroot. He sighed as well and put his head in his hands. Mani tilted his head to nudge him slightly with his antler, and Thomas looked at him. Back leg is hurting, he said, and shifted his leg so Thomas could see; Thomas frowned uneasily to see how swollen it was around his hoof. But's a good sign, the manitou added, and Thomas met his eyes. Mani's ear flicked. Still hurting means still alive. He snorted and lowered his head to rest it on the ground. Do not worry. Red Land One will be fine. He closed his eyes and appeared to doze off. Thomas continued staring at the manitou for a very long while before turning to the fire, then, unable to stop himself, he arose and went back to sit beside the entryway, peeking out every so often. No one bothered him. Still alive, he thought with a twinge, doesn't sound remarkably promising. Charmian rubbed at her ringing ear as she, Winter Born, and the two GeeBees continued trudging their way up around the big mountain. The sky had grown darker and the air even colder and thinner, now that they were back up around where they'd left off, when they'd first met No-Tongue. Charmian walked in the lead, her limp more pronounced now; she could feel the cords wrapped around the splint digging into her skin, but oddly that didn't hurt. Her ankle itself did, though, and she winced with each step. That was why she'd insisted on walking in front, so the others couldn't see her face; but Winter Born trotted up beside her every so often and peered up at her, and she could tell that the girl was worried. She bit down her pain whenever she drew near, but it was getting difficult. And the cold was making her feel drowsy. "No-Tongue's map put the entry into the mountain somewhere up in here," she murmured, lifting her head to look at the glacier trail. "But I don't know exactly where or what it should look like. He said it's where the Wendigoes come through, so it must be big." "We aren't going to run into another one of those things, are we--?" Augwak exclaimed, glancing around himself with a grimace. "I think we'll hear it long before it shows up," Charmian said. She started scouring the mountainside. "It might be hidden...or in plain sight. I wish I had some idea of what to expect." She winced and stumbled a little. Winter Born hurried to her side and grasped hold of her arm, putting it over her shoulders; when Charmian looked at her she gave her a hopeful look. "It's okay! I can help, really! Just lean on me a little bit--please? I can handle it." Charmian bit her lip--she really didn't want to--but the throb in her ankle, threatening to make her leg give out, convinced her to obey, and she sighed and leaned on Winter Born a little as she limped along. She was surprised by how steady the little girl was, until she reminded herself just who she was related to, and found that that rather helped explain things. Pakwa ambled up at her other side just in case she should pitch the other way, though Augwak stayed behind, peering around nervously. "I don't even know if he'll be awake," Charmian said aloud, then frowned. What a stupid thought. "Well..." Winter Born moved a bit closer to her, digging her feet into the ground. "If it's an entryway big enough for Wendigoes to come through, it can't be too hard to miss...I bet we'll reach it in no time at all!" She let out a tiny gasp and nearly tripped when Charmian suddenly sagged against her, and lifted her head. "Charmian! Are you okay--?" "I think I need to rest a little," Charmian said faintly, her head spinning. Winter Born's brow furrowed, but she and Pakwa helped her sit down, and Charmian fought to catch her breath. Her ankle alternated between throbbing like mad, and going completely numb, and she didn't know which was worse. She had to blink a few times as her vision went hazy, and started shivering, lifting her hands to rub at her arms. Her teeth clacked. Winter Born's eyes grew. "Charmian! You're getting cold!" She turned. "I'll see if I can find the entryway! It can't be too far!" She jogged further up the slope and around a boulder. Even when we do find it, we'll just be heading right into an ice mountain, Charmian said, or at least she thought she'd said it, until she realized that she couldn't hear her voice outside of her head. Her eyes slowly went shut and her head started to tilt forward when something gently slapped her cheek and it popped back up again with a gasp. Pakwa gave her a concerned look. "Careful, fleshling! Don't fall asleep!" Charmian blinked a few times, then shook her head hard. Right--I might not wake up! She bit her tongue as hard as she dared and rubbed her arms even more vigorously, then started bobbing back and forth to try to get her blood flowing again. Her head had started to clear just a little bit--though she couldn't believe how drowsy she felt--when Winter Born's voice called back from behind the curve of the mountain. "Hey! I think I found it! It's right over here!" There were pattering noises, then she appeared, hopping up and down excitedly and pointing. "The entryway! It's right back here!" She scrambled down the slope and grasped hold of Charmian's arm, helping to pull her to her feet. Charmian made sure that her mouth was shut so she wouldn't bite her tongue when she started chattering again, and the four of them continued trudging up the slope once more. Winter Born's enthusiasm was infectious, and they even picked up their pace, Charmian eager to be out of the cold, if that was even possible. They picked their way around a fallen boulder. "It's right over here, right in the side of the mountain!" Winter Born exclaimed. "Just like he said!" And she halted, stopping Charmian along with her, and pointed. Charmian, Pakwa, and Augwak looked. Charmian felt her heart start to sink when she found herself staring at nothing more than the snowy, jagged side of the mountain. The angles of the rock were minimal here, and it was pretty obvious that there was no entryway. She scoured it with her eyes yet came up wanting, and felt her legs start to wobble in protest. Winter Born glanced at her in surprise when she slowly sank to her knees. "I don't think I can take more of this," she moaned. "Huh...?" Winter Born's brow furrowed, then she pointed at the mountain. "It's right there, Charmian! See? Just like you said it'd be!" "Winter Born..." Charmian dragged her head up and gave the girl an aggrieved look. "There's nothing there." "Huh...?" Winter Born said again, looking confused. She lifted her head and stared at the mountain, perplexed. "But...it's right there." "Where--?" Augwak snapped, and craned his neck from side to side before baring his teeth at her. "Stupid fool child! What sort of PRANK is this? We come all this way and there's nothing but more ROCK?" "Hit her head maybe?" Pakwa mused. "But..." Winter Born shook her head, bewildered. "It's right there! Look!" She pulled away from Charmian and went jogging toward the mountain. She patted at the stone surface with her hand. "Come on! See--?" The logical part of Charmian's mind told her to just lie down in the snow and die, but the illogical part apparently won out, and she started to drag herself to her feet, limp-trudging toward the blank rock face. Pakwa and Augwak followed, puzzled and irate. "Winter Born," Charmian said drearily as she drew abreast of the little girl and reached out to lean against the mountain, "there's nothing there--" She cut herself off with a gasp when an odd low noise came from the mountain, and she felt something as slippery and smooth as glass against her fingertips. She jerked her hand away, eyes goggling, and looked at the mountain. Then her mouth fell open. Where there had been merely rock before, there was now a great opening, the entire thing sealed with a gigantic sheet of perfectly smooth ice. She and the two GeeBees gawked at it in surprise. Winter Born frowned. "You mean you couldn't see that until now...?" Charmian slowly shook her head. "No...nothing but...rock." She leaned toward the wall of ice to peer within. A great chasm in the mountainside loomed before them...but rather than being dark and gloomy, it was oddly lit, like the tunnels down into the Borderlands. Charmian squinted to try to see if there were any Weaver webs around but couldn't tell. Well, Wabun had said that there were some around, somewhere. The stone within looked more like ice, being in shades of white and gray and blue, and none of the surfaces were rough like the mountain outside; all seemed just as smooth and shiny as the ice barrier now before them. Charmian focused her attention on this, running her fingers down its surface. "It must be at least a few inches thick," she murmured, then cupped her hands against it to peek inside again; Winter Born followed suit. "I don't see how we can get in." "Well..." Winter Born bit her lip, then looked up at her. "Maybe we should just knock?" Without waiting for Charmian to answer, she pulled back and rapped her knuckles against the ice, rap-rap-rap. She pulled her hand away, looking hopeful, when an awful noise that sounded something like GRONCH came from overhead, and all four of them froze, eyes wide. Charmian tilted her head back to peer up at the ice, and her eyes grew even bigger when she saw the massive crack start to quickly zoom down toward them. Crap, she thought; then--"CRACK!" she said, and grabbed Winter Born's arm and yanked her back, away from the ice; the two GeeBees dashed away on their own. They fell down into the snow several yards away and covered their heads when the wall of ice shattered and collapsed, raining great hunks down all around them. Charmian winced, but felt only small slivers patter harmlessly against her back; a glance between her arms showed her that the bulk of the ice had fallen right in the entryway itself, littering the ground and floor within. They stared at this as the awful echoes died away around them, then let out their breath in a whoosh. When Charmian looked at Winter Born again, the expression on the girl's face was so contrite that she couldn't bear to rebuke her. One hand crept up to Winter Born's mouth. "I...didn't mean to do that," she said in a tiny voice. Charmian sighed and started pushing herself up. "Well...at least it's open, now." They all got up and crept toward the entry again, stepping gingerly over the hunks and shards of ice, trying to avoid getting sliced open. Winter Born climbed in ahead of Charmian and helped her over and into the crevasse beyond; then they all stood and stared at the immense walls rising to both sides. Charmian couldn't help reaching out and touching the wall just to see what it felt like; it was cold, but not bitingly so, and still felt like glass. She looked down at the floor and saw that it was the same, and as soon as she rubbed her foot against it she felt how slippery it was. "Walk carefully," she warned. "It's slicker than snot." "'Snot'?" Winter Born asked, but Charmian shook her head and they began walking, albeit quite slowly. Augwak and Pakwa had to shuffle along on all fours, and more than once one of them would go sliding toward one wall or the other as if losing control of a pair of ice skates. Charmian gave up trying to walk and simply slid her feet along the ground, wincing as she did so; after a while Winter Born lost some of her hesitation and began propelling herself along, smiling widely as she slid along the ice. Charmian wished that they wouldn't get so relaxed, but after climbing around in the mountains for what seemed like forever, sliding around on ice seemed like a welcome respite. The two walls moved somewhat closer together to narrow the passageway, then started to spread out again. Charmian could barely make out a cave or room of some sort ahead. Before Winter Born--now far ahead of them--reached it, however, she turned to look at something to her left, then let out a gasp and slid back, bumping into the opposite wall. She glanced back at Charmian with wide eyes, waving at her urgently. "Charmian!" she whispered, as if afraid of bringing the ceiling crashing down; Charmian grimaced and peeked upwards but couldn't see the ceiling. "Come here!" Charmian picked up her pace and skated toward her. She started to make out another opening in the wall, set back in a sort of niche which glowed even more brightly than the rest of the passageway. Winter Born pointed into it. "Look!" Charmian slowed down to stand beside her and turned to look. She blinked, then took in a small breath when she could make out the form of somebody encased in the ice. |