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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 141 |
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(DISCLAIMER: This part, and all parts hereafter, are works in progress (WIPs) and have not been proofread or checked for plot inconsistencies. I've decided to present them "as is" for now, as there is a significant amount of unfinished material; yet this story has been on hiatus for a long while, I've forgotten certain details, and I have no plans to resume work on it any time soon. Please keep in mind while reading that details may change in the future. Should you spot an inconsistency, however, please feel free to point it out to me for possible correction.)
SEPARATION ANXIETY "I HEAR SOMETHING!" Winter Born's voice rose above the howl of the icy wind. Charmian looked at her as if she were crazy--how could anybody hear anything but shouting in this mess?--but when Winter Born pointed excitedly skyward, crying, "I see something, too!"--she just had to look. At first nothing was visible, of course, but the dull white whipping all around them. Charmian's nose wouldn't stop running, at least, not until it had frozen over, and she hated that she had to keep wiping at it with her hand just to keep from getting frostbite. She hoped that Thomas didn't notice, though it was hard not to; she felt like Rudolph, and wondered why she wasn't leading their expedition, instead of Francois. She squinted hard and got several dozen snowflakes in her eyelashes for her troubles; but after another moment or so, she could at last spot something very tiny and faint far above, and heard an equally tiny and faint voice hallooing from the sky. "Hellooooooo! Canya see meeeeeeee?!" "Is that Marten--?" Charmian asked, then grimaced; her voice was the most nasal thing she'd ever heard, and she threatened to hit Thomas in the arm when he almost laughed. "It has to be! I told you we'd run into him!" Winter Born hopped up and down and waved cheerily. "Hello, Marten! Down here!" The tiny shape grew slightly bigger and darker, and they all stood and watched as the Mikumwesu--in the shape of a bird--came flapping down toward them, fighting against the wind. Still, it didn't seem to bother him nearly as much as Charmian had thought it would, and he landed rather gracefully amidst them, changing back into his normal form with a puff and toddling toward her, holding Mishosha's medicine doll aloft as if it were a trophy. He hopped up and down just as enthusiastically as Winter Born had. "Still got it! Still got it! Did I do well?" "You did just right, Marten!" Charmian exclaimed, reaching down to retrieve the doll. She held it close and looked it over; it was just a generic wooden statuette with a little hollow carved in the chest, and Moon Wolf's lock of hair tied tightly around the neck. She frowned at it and tapped its head with her finger, then shook it somewhat. "It hardly even looks menacing," she said doubtfully, giving Thomas a puzzled look when he tugged on her sleeve. He nodded off to her side and she turned to see Moon Wolf swaying a little and rubbing at his head with a wince. Charmian gasped and grabbed the doll tight and he nearly fell over, then she dropped it in the snow and he did fall. "OH! Moon Wolf! I'm sorry!!" "Perhaps somebody else should look after it for now," Thomas said, gingerly picking up the doll and glancing around; he handed it to Stick-In-The-Dirt, who reluctantly accepted it, tucking it in one of his pouches. Charmian hurried to help Moon Wolf to his feet, wincing at the dirty look he gave her. "Now you see why such medicine is not easily fooled with--?" he muttered as he dusted snow from himself. Charmian nodded, still making a face. "Sorry," she apologized again, and turned to look down at Marten. "Have you seen Mishu and X'aaru--? Are they anywhere nearby?" "I came down 'cause I thought I heard water nearby!" Marten answered. "Then I ran into you guys instead! But the water sounded like it was that way." He pointed in the direction they'd been headed in. Charmian sighed. "Right track, at least. I guess we should just make our way over there then. Marten, now you lead the way." "Yippee!" the Mikumwesu cried, and went scampering off. The others had to hurry to keep him within sight, and Charmian fumed at herself to remind him to slow down the next time. After a while, the swishing, splashing sounds of water came to their ears, and they shielded their eyes to see a large dark shape emerging in the midst of the white. Charmian could tell from the whitecaps that it was a small lake, and the long black snake of a riverbranch extending toward it told her that this must be the right one. The water nearest the shore was already beginning to ice over, and she worried that Mishupishu and X'aaru would end up frozen beneath the lake, when she spotted something swimming in circles out in the middle, water roostertailing up around it. It took her a moment to realize that it was Mishupishu, with X'aaru perched upon his back. Everyone slowed to a stop and stared at them in puzzlement. The Lynx just kept circling like a speedboat, and X'aaru kept racing back and forth along his curving spine, toward his head, then toward his tail, then toward his head, over and over again. The looks on their faces were rather panicked. "Keep moving! Keep moving!" Mishupishu cried. "Just keep running!!" "Keep swimming! Keep swimming!" X'aaru yelled back. "I'm running as fast as I can!!" "X--? Mishu--?" Charmian called, then cupped her hands to her mouth. "X!! MISHU!!" Mishupishu halted so abruptly that X'aaru yelped and went flying into the water. The Lynx's mouth fell open when he saw Charmian and the others; when X'aaru splashed up out of the lake, sputtering, he reached down, snatched him up by the scruff as if he were a kitten, and came sailing straight toward shore, plowing through the ice as he did so. He dropped the demon without any ceremony and Charmian winced, but she was blinking again, confused, as soon as X'aaru shot up and resumed running around on the shore, Mishupishu splashing back and forth through the ice. "Charmian!!" X'aaru cried, back and forth, back and forth. "We were so worried about you!" "You got away from that awful wabano safely--?" Mishupishu called, back and forth, back and forth. "Um--yeah--sort of," Charmian replied, her neck starting to hurt from trying to keep focused on them. "GUYS!" She grabbed at X'aaru's tail when he passed. "What the heck's going on?! Is something chasing you--?" "Huh--? Oh! No!" X'aaru pulled free and continued running. "It's just that--when we first got here--we stopped to rest and--Mishupishu nearly froze into the lake--and I nearly froze to Mishupishu! This wind is so cold and we're both so wet! We have to keep moving--or else--we'll end up freezing right where we stand!!" "Oh." Charmian rubbed at her head. "I suppose that makes sense...so you haven't seen any other Lynxes or anything around--?" "No, not yet," X'aaru panted, now running in circles. "Though I suppose there could still be some..." "Well, that's for then and not now." She turned to look at Francois and the others. "Guys! Do you think maybe we could build a wigwam and a fire before they collapse from exhaustion--?" Several of them had to trek a good distance to reach the nearest trees of the right size, while Charmian and some of the others remained behind to clear a spot in the snow and build a firepit. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about a spark not catching," Charmian thought aloud, lifting her hand and watching fire form over her fingers. "Though as for keeping it going..." "So we're going to camp here for the night?" X'aaru asked, depositing a rock beside her, which she picked up and settled beside the others. He went off to fetch another. "Don't you worry that they'll find us here...?" "We're going to have to face them eventually," Moon Wolf said. "I do not know him well...but if he truly intends to become a manitou then he's not going to let little things make him give up. And so far, we have offered him no great challenge." He paused, then looked at Winter Born, who was coming back with her arms loaded with sticks. "Except for her," he said under his breath, though Charmian heard him, and she bit her lip. She tried to help when the others returned and began trimming down the tree trunks to fashion them into a decent-sized wigwam, but kept getting splinters and yelping in pain, so Stick-In-The-Dirt and Thomas finally made her sit down and tend to the firepit. She scowled as she kept her fire trained on the sticks that Winter Born was arranging in the circle. She couldn't even build a hut right. "Sorry our manitou-talking lesson didn't get very far," she said. "That's okay," Winter Born said. "Maybe when this is over and we all get back home you can teach me! All sorts of things!" She bit her lip and peered down at her knees. "So...maybe I can apologize to them, for doing that thing..." Charmian blinked. She opened her mouth to protest, but the others moved around and started digging holes to place the posts in, and she and Winter Born had to hurry just to avoid getting trampled in the commotion. The wigwam went up in almost no time at all, though with an absence of birch trees from which to use the bark, they had to make do with pine boughs carried back from the woods and lashed to the posts as thickly as they could place them. This alone consumed most of their efforts, while Charmian, Winter Born, and now Marten focused on getting the fire as big as they could without burning it all down. Though Charmian was a bit relieved now that the trees were still green, and not dry like she would have wanted them to be before. The wood in the fire didn't burn remarkably well, but at least they could keep it going, and she invited X'aaru in to dry himself off. Within moments, the demon was collapsed beside the fire, snoring away. "I hope Mishupishu will be okay out there," Charmian said, worried. "We can't exactly invite him inside..." "Underwater Lynxes normally sleep in the winter," a voice said, and Charmian turned to see Little Wind seated at the opposite side of the lodge, checking through his numerous pouches and scrolls; on the other side of the room, Stick-In-The-Dirt was doing much the same thing. "They can survive in ice water for a long time. If the ice gets too thick though he might not be able to break it." "I don't like the sound of that," Charmian said in a worried voice as Manabozho got to his feet. "Not to worry," he said, turning to the entryway and brushing the boughs aside. "My wolves and I can keep a hole poked in the ice, just in case." "I will go out and keep watch for Mishimakwa or the other manitous," Niskigwun offered, following him. "I somehow doubt they will give up so easily!" A whistle came from the entryway, and Charmian turned to see Mani poking his head in. Can talk with Red Land One for a moment...? he asked; she furrowed her brow a little but nodded and gestured at Winter Born and Marten to keep working on the fire as she left. As soon as she stepped back outside, she started chattering; the wind and cold seemed to have only increased, and even her clothes from Mudroot's camp didn't seem to be helping very much. Mani stood as if the wind wasn't bothering him at all, though it did ruffle his fur so he looked rather mussed. Have to tell Red Land One something, he said in a serious voice. Charmian frowned. "Something you couldn't tell me inside...?" Do not know how important it is. But... He looked somewhat behind him, and she craned her neck to see two vague shapes standing in the snow some distance away. Mani turned back to her, ear flicking. Oki-ones say they sense something nearby. Maybe more manitous. Cannot tell difference between good and bad manitous as well as us, so aren't sure. Mani can't sense them as well. Might be good, might be bad. Charmian chewed her lip. "Any idea how far away they are...?" He shook his antlers, a sort of shrug. Still a good distance. Say they are hard to sense, like something hides them. Mani believes this, otherwise I would sense them! Like oki-ones to lie...? "I don't think so," Charmian said. "So what should we do--?" Mani and oki-ones can keep ears open, Mani offered. Just in case. "Well...all right. But if it's Mishimakwa again, try not to take him on by yourselves, okay? Maybe we'll be able to think up something--" Yelling and barking noises cut them off, and they turned to look out at the lake. Manabozho had fallen on the ice, the wolves racing toward shore; Mishupishu was still swimming in circles, but as soon as she looked toward him, he plunged into the water and didn't come back up. She had just enough time to blink before she saw what was happening and gasped, whirling around in disbelief. Although only the water nearest the shores of the lake had been covered with a thin layer of ice before, this ice was spreading even as she and Mani watched. Right before her eyes, the blue-black water was going white, and she could hear the cracking, creaking noises, like Styrofoam being broken into pieces, as the ice formed, crystallizing and even breaking against itself like ice crags forming on the Great Lakes. Charmian glanced from shore to shore and saw the ice rapidly moving out toward the center, the patch of dark water growing smaller and smaller. It was like watching the freezing process in fast-forward mode. Mani bristled. What--!! "I--I don't even know!" Charmian cried, racing toward the lake. She had to jump aside to avoid getting bowled over by the barking wolves. "Manabozho! Are you all right--?" Manabozho was getting to his feet, dusting himself off and glancing around himself in bewilderment. "I didn't do it!!" he yelled, waving his arms. Charmian grimaced and jerked a hand at the air. "Just GET BACK HERE! Mishu will be fine! But if you break through you might get STUCK that way!!" She whirled around again to face Moon Wolf and Singing Cedars as they came jogging forward. "What the heck is going on?! What's happening to the lake--? Is it Mishosha?" "I doubt he would have such a power," Moon Wolf said, shielding his eyes. "Not unless he's enlisted aid, and I doubt Kabebonikka would help him." "So you think Kabebonikka did this--?" "He did say he was going to make it difficult, didn't he?" "I'll send my okis out to look for anything strange," Singing Cedars offered, jogging off. "We should get back inside," Moon Wolf said, meeting Charmian's eyes. "Weather like this can mean only bad medicine." "But I thought Kabebonikka was more like...well...neutral," Charmian said, confused. "I don't mean Kabebonikka's medicine," Moon Wolf replied, grasping her arm and steering her back toward the lodge. "I mean what others choose to do with it. This weather is a detriment to Mishosha, but it could also be the perfect excuse for him to merely utilize another trick." "What could he possibly do with Kabebonikka's medicine--?" Charmian started to ask, when a gale of wind slammed against her, knocking her to the ground and tearing her arm away from Moon Wolf's grasp. She blinked and saw him throw his arms up to shield his face, staggering backward--then he was gone from view, and all that she could see was white. She sucked in a breath--the freezing air stung her lungs--and clambered to her feet, struggling to maintain her balance. "Moon Wolf--?" she called, before realizing just how tiny her voice seemed now, in this tempest. "MOON WOLF!!" she yelled as loudly as she could, but the wind seemed to tear her words away so they sailed out into nothing. She staggered toward where she'd last seen him, but there was nothing there now, not even footprints. Glancing about in bewilderment, she turned and tried to run toward the lodge instead. It was a challenge just trying to make a straight path to it, with the wind shoving her from side to side, but at least she didn't go tumbling into the lake, frozen though it was. However, when she lifted her head, fully expecting to see the lodge several paces away, she didn't see it at all. She took a few more steps and stretched out her arms--no result. It was as if the wigwam had completely disappeared. "Stick! Cedars! MANABOZHO!!" she yelled, her throat beginning to hurt from the strain. She turned in circles now, not knowing the safest way to go--by now that lake could be anywhere. But if I just stay still, I might freeze!! I have to at least TRY to find that lodge! Biting her lip, she shut her eyes briefly and used her most tried-and-true method of deciding which way to go-- "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo." She pointed, then opened her eyes. Just white. Well...that lake did freeze over...and falling into ice water is nothing new! Maybe Mishu will think to rescue me in time... Cursing herself for letting go of Moon Wolf's hand, she burrowed more deeply into her clothes and began tramping in the direction that she'd chosen. Maybe running into the lake would be the best choice. She had no idea where anything else was, and it was a lot bigger than that lodge. Once in a while she thought she heard voices calling, but every time she halted and screamed back, all that she heard was the wind. Her walking grew more and more impaired the deeper the snow seemed to get, and she didn't feel smooth ice under her feet at any point, or run into any jags of it. She tried telling which way the sun was shining from, but it had been cloudy for so long, and evening was coming on, so that didn't help either. She chattered and wished that she'd been stuck with someone--even Walks-On-The-Shore--someone who knew how to figure out where they were. Why didn't school teach basic survival lessons...? She halted at last in frustration, clenching her fists and letting out a yell. "DAMMIT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GOOD MANITOU!!" She forced herself to take a breath and let it out, then to think, which she really didn't feel like doing but knew she had to do sometime. "Okay. It's obvious that just sitting still and just walking in circles aren't going to help any," she said, hating that she couldn't even hear her own voice. "So what else...? Oh! DUH!" She shut her eyes and cast out her net, feeling around. "How come I never think of this until after I'm all pissed off--?" She didn't sense anything in her immediate area--that bothered her--but just bit her lip again and kept extending the net out further and further, hoping to catch something. At last she felt something in the distance off to her left, and let out a gasp, latching onto it in relief. Thank goodness! Somebody's there!! You know, I knew you would try this trick, but even I didn't know you would be so stupidly eager to get caught! Charmian gasped and her eyes popped open. All of the relief fled her and panic seeped up into her breast as she sensed Mishosha's presence coming closer already--how had she not sensed him before? Had he let himself get caught--? "Bait," she whispered, then began gnawing on her lip. "He used himself as bait! And I BIT!" Where are you, fool girl? Makwaquae's voice joined in. Come along and play nice! We haven't all day to be rid of a tiny thing like you! Charmian whirled around and began dashing back the way she'd come from. "THOMAS! FRANCOIS!!" she screamed, hoping that anybody would hear. She ran only several paces, however, before halting so abruptly that she fell into the snow; she sputtered and pushed herself up, then spun about and went running the other way. Her legs burned as she wallowed through the drifting snow, feeling her toes and fingers going numb. I CAN'T go back to the camp now! Even if I DID know where it is! Mishosha thinks I'm nothing--it's WINTER BORN he's interested in--and Moon Wolf--and that doll! All I can do is hope that I'm getting even FURTHER away from the camp--as insane as that sounds!! She kept casting about, hoping that the woods nearby were inhabited by manitous so that she could sense them, but she couldn't--were they hiding? Did everybody know how to do that around here? She knew that every time she threw out her net, it just made her path all the clearer to Mishosha and Makwaquae, but that was what she was aiming for. She still couldn't quite believe that now she wanted them to follow her, as she stumbled and nearly fell and veered off somewhat to the side almost blindly. She had to slow down for a few paces to catch her breath, as her lungs were both freezing and burning at once, and when she lifted her head she could at last see the top spires of pine trees, seemingly floating above the white fog of snow. She let out a dry sob of relief and staggered toward them. The ground began to climb somewhat, making the going a bit more difficult, but she reminded herself that the two wabanos trailing her were likely to not be too merciful should they catch up, and put on a fresh burst of speed to try to at least make it to the shelter of the woods. She glanced up again, then gasped and squawked, twisting on her ankle and promptly falling over. She rolled onto her back and scuttled back like a crab, teeth chattering wildly, as Mishimakwa loomed out of the billowing snow, his eyes glowing like two blue-hot coals. Charmian threw up her hand, voice cracking. "F-f-fire!!" she cried, hurling a fireball at him, but it sailed harmlessly right through his head, and she remembered a little belatedly that he was only a ghost. She blinked, also remembering how his attack on Francois had resulted in nothing more than severely rattling the voyageur; the look on the giant bear's face was one of the scariest things she'd seen, and she'd never liked bears to begin with, but she forced herself to get to her feet and shakily inched her way around him. The bear manitou's malevolent blue eyes stayed fixed on hers the entire time. At last when she was out from in front of him she dashed ahead several paces, then stopped. She turned, digging in her pouch as the bear watched; she tossed a handful of tobacco at him and the wind blew most of it away, but some crumbs landed in the snow before him. Mishimakwa looked down at them before she whirled away and went running again, not caring to see the rest of his reaction. She was gasping for breath by the time the pine trees were sailing past her, the drifts of snow in the forest not being quite as deep or difficult to traverse. Still she stumbled often, and at last had to slow herself down to avoid running headlong into a trunk, but it was a long time before she allowed herself to stop completely. Even then, she had to fight to try to hide herself, not even sure if she was able to disguise her presence like everyone else around here seemed able to do. She glanced anxiously out from behind every tree she crept toward, expecting to see fireballs or bears everywhere she looked, which was why a voice in her head made her scream and jump, arms flailing madly. You come among us to hide--? "WHO?!" Charmian yelled, spinning in a circle. She couldn't see anyone. They are coming right after you, the voice said. Our medicine is weakened by the winter but we can help you this once... "Wh--who are you?" Charmian cried, beyond bewildered. She opened her mouth to yell again when her view of the pine forest changed, and she blinked in confusion. There was no way she could have seen what she'd just seen. She looked at the trees around herself and they seemed exactly the same as before, but... Is...is it just me or...did those trees just move closer...? "Little girl!" another voice called out from beyond the pine woods. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Charmian slid a hand up over her mouth to keep herself from chattering. She gasped, instead, when she realized now for certain that the trees around her were moving--so slowly as to be imperceptible if she looked right at them, but if she looked away and then looked again, she could see the change. She glanced around herself, the trunks of the pines shifting closer and closer until she thought she would end up smushed between them; but all that happened was that somehow their boughs moved lower, and covered her up, shielding her from view. She could peek out from between the needles, and at last saw two shapes emerge in the woods beyond. Two bears, one black and one brown. Their noses were twitching. I know she came this way, the black one said. I can even SMELL her! Feh! Why do you waste your time on her anyway? the brown bear replied. It's obvious she's nothing more than a nuisance! Go back and find the others--while I finish off this pest for you! Charmian's muscles began to ache. No, Mishosha-Makwamosa said, frowning and sniffing. Something about THIS girl is making me uneasy now, as well! Why else would that teacher of hers go to such trouble just to protect her...? And the Wintermaker...? What power does she possess--? They continued sniffing around--just several yards in front of her--but somehow didn't even notice her crouching behind the pine boughs, staring right back at them. She could swear for a moment that Makwaquae sensed her, as the brown bear lifted her head and glared directly into her eyes, but when Mishosha muttered, Come along, they both turned and ambled away. Charmian didn't even dare to breathe for the longest time, until she sensed the trees pulling away, and she peered up into their branches as they did so. We are afraid this is all we can do, the voice said, and she realized that it was in fact many voices, only they spoke so closely together as to sound almost like one. The winter makes our medicine weak. But you should be safe for now. "Th...thank you," Charmian whispered, looking around at them. "Who...who are you...anyway?" We are the pines, the voice replied. We are but weak pines...there are those in your own land who are much stronger. We can give you advice. When you return to Gitchi-Gami, upon the southern shore, you will find our elder brothers and sisters, and they can protect you much better than we. The pines fell silent for a moment, then their branches rustled. Mishimakwa is coming this way. Charmian tensed, hoping that the trees would shield her again, yet they didn't. When the giant ghost bear came ambling toward her, she froze...but all that he did was lift his head as if to sniff at her, then turn and keep going. I did not see you here, he muttered, just this once. And a moment later, he was disappearing deeper into the forest. Charmian blinked. "H...huh...?" The wabanos seek your friends, the pines said, and she looked up at them once more. The Wintermaker is playing a game. You should go. Before you are lost. We cannot help you anymore... And their voices faded away, the moan of the wind replacing them. Charmian paused before letting out a breath. "Megwetch!" she said, and tossed some more tobacco on the ground just in case. Her own footprints were gone, but she could vaguely recognize her path through the woods, and went jogging back along it, retracing the route as best as she could. The trees thinned ahead and she mentally pieced together the landscape as she remembered it; the pine forest had been just within sight of the lake and the wigwam, as she'd seen the others gather wood there not that long ago, so if the storm had died down surely she would see the camp by now. She stumbled and nearly fell before grabbing onto a sapling for support, then vaulted out of the woods and staggered down a slight slope a bit, sinking into snow up to her knees. She finally forced herself to come to a shaky halt, gasping for breath. She brushed her hair back and lifted her head to find the lodge and get her bearings. She blinked. There was no lodge. There was no lake. Either some immense power had completely obliterated both, or she was completely lost. |