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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 144 |
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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.)
LOSING HEART LIEUTENANT BARRINGTON AND Winter Born stood atop the snowdrift, looking down at what appeared to be the world's biggest footprint, smashed into the snow. It was so large that Winter Born had fallen into it, and there was plenty of room to spare besides. They stared at it silently, unsure of what to say or think. Winter Born began nibbling on her lip. "A...a Wendigo...?" she whispered at last. Barrington gave her a sharp look. "One of those ice giants?" he said, making her flinch. "You mean to tell me one of THOSE things is now here--?" "There was one up in the mountains," Winter Born said, and spread her arms. "He was HUGE! But Charmian killed him! And there was another one, but Mishosha killed it too. I haven't seen any since then...I thought that was it!" She shifted from foot to foot. "Why would there be Wendigo footprints out here...?" "If you're telling me those giant beasts are real," Barrington said, "then where is it going? Where's the front and back of this thing...?" He started walking around the massive footprint, frowning as he looked it over. "It looks like it came from the northwest," he said after a moment, "if those are its fingers...or toes...or whatever the hell they use to get around!" Winter Born looked at it more closely--or from further away, rather--and noticed that she'd in fact tripped and fallen into the space pressed by one of the giant's long toes. She sucked in a breath and started hopping frantically. "Our camp is to the southeast!" she cried, and he frowned at her. She pointed as if he had no sense of direction. "What if it's heading THAT way?" Barrington stared at her mutely for a moment, then looked southeast, as if finally getting it. A moment later he was wallowing his way in that direction, and she gasped and had to catch up with him again. He was busily unshouldering his gun. "What business would that thing have attacking our camp?" he called out to her as they awkwardly ran. "Aren't we just tiny flyspecks to something like that--?" "That's--that's what Wendigoes do!" Winter Born panted, falling to one knee and pushing herself up again. She got fed up with her braids falling in her face, and tied them together under her chin before continuing. "They HAVE to keep eating people and each other or they'll starve!" "Something tells me this has more than a little bit to do with those nasty fellows following us," Barrington muttered, making certain his gun was properly loaded. "But--Kabebonikka's the one who controlled them before!" Winter Born protested; when he glanced back at her she waved northward. "The North Wind! He's the one sending all the storms and snow." "Really," Barrington replied. "And I take it he's yet one more in a long line of creatures set on stopping us." "Well..." Winter Born rubbed her ear. "Not really...but he did kind of say he wanted to have some fun..." The soldier let out a sputtering irritated noise and picked up his pace. "What's that story you savages have--? That the only way to truly kill one of those beasts is to burn its heart? Tell me, how does one REMOVE a heart so damned big--?" He let out a yell just as he topped a rise and vanished from sight. Winter Born gasped and scrambled up the slope on hands and knees. She reached the top and looked down, seeing him sprawled out in yet another huge footprint, and had to fight the urge to yell, "HA HA!" at him, as her mother had taught her that was rude. Still, she at least thought it. "You should watch where you're GOING!" she shouted instead, then her gaze fell on what was just beyond the footprint, and her eyes grew. "I'd like to see you watch where you're going..." Barrington muttered as he pushed himself up, straightening out his hat and scowling as he got to his feet. He turned to glare up at her. "How about you just keep heading on your way and I head on mine, and never the twain shall meet...?" He noticed her vacant stare, frowned, and turned to look for himself. He let out a gasp and gave a little jump, but Winter Born was too preoccupied to take much notice. There were several more giant footprints, in a messy configuration upon the ground, mounds of disturbed snow piled around them. What was most noticeable, though, was the giant figure just beyond the footprints. Winter Born began edging back down behind the rise, but gasped and popped up again when Barrington started tentatively making his way toward the Wendigo. She waved her hand frantically and hissed. "Hey! Don't go near it! What if it eats you--?" He halted and glared back at her. "Take a look at the bugger! Does he look in any condition to eat anything?" Winter Born's brow furrowed, but the longer she stared at the Wendigo lying upon the ground, the more it reminded her of the one that Mishosha had killed on the mountain, and she could see that its sides weren't moving. Just like the two of them, it had landed on its face, so its eyes and mouth weren't visible from here, though she could see the way that its claws were gouging into the snow, the wind rustling its fur. Barrington resumed making his way toward it; after a moment's hesitation, Winter Born decided to follow. "Is...is it really dead...?" she asked softly as they came close to its leg. "Looks that way," Barrington said. He poked at it with his gun and received no response. They wound their way around its outstretched left arm--which took a while, considering how long it was--and approached the head. Barrington walked around to the other side and tilted his head sideways to peer at its face; unable to suppress her curiosity, she followed suit, shifting from foot to foot when she saw its huge glassy eyes and spittle-flecked teeth which were longer than her arm. Barrington poked at its nose, then gingerly touched it with two fingers. "Cold," he said. "I guess it's been dead a while..." He paused, seeing the look that Winter Born was giving him, then scowled. "Or not." He took a step back and scanned its body as far as he could see. "I wonder what killed the nasty thing? Doesn't exactly look like the easiest beast to kill..." "Well, Charmian killed one, but a rockslide helped," Winter Born said, following him as he resumed walking. "And Mishosha killed the other one--he's the most powerful medicine man I know!" "I figured the most powerful medicine man you know would be that one who's hanging about with us," Barrington said absently, stooping forward again. "Oh." Winter Born furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "I guess Moon Wolf is pretty powerful...but he didn't want to fight Mishosha..." She tilted her head. "What are you looking for, anyway?" "Some clue as to what exactly happened here." He frowned. "I was told the one true way to be rid of one of these buggers is to melt its heart, isn't that what your people say?" Winter Born nodded. "Uh-huh, why...?" She trotted over toward him and looked at what he was looking at. She blinked on seeing the void just barely visible in the Wendigo's chest, which was pressed nearly to the ground. From here a large pool of blood was visible staining the snow; Barrington crossed his arms and wrinkled his nose. "If you want to head back, we..." He found himself talking to air. Winter Born was already on hands and knees, busily crawling toward the opening. Barrington blinked in surprise, then gasped and reached out to grab hold of her collar and drag her back. She fell to the ground, luckily just beyond the bloodstained snow. "What is it?" she asked, furrowing her brow at him. "I wanted to see what's in there." "Are you bloody mad?!" Barrington hissed, flailing his hands. "What do you think you're DOING?" "I just said! I wanted to see what's in there!" Winter Born frowned, then turned and resumed her crawl toward the Wendigo's chest. She did have the sense of mind to hitch up her dress a bit to avoid kneeling on it in the blood, though she surely brushed against some when she crawled into the cavity. Barrington ran his hand down his face and made an awful noise. After a moment Winter Born's head popped back out--her braids stained red--and she seemed perplexed. "His heart is gone!" she exclaimed. "Somebody did melt it, because it's not even there!" "What...?" Barrington blinked again, in confusion this time, then stooped to get a better look. The opening wasn't big enough for him to crawl in without getting seriously messy, not that he had any plans to do so anyway. "Describe it to me!" he snapped instead, grimacing when he touched the bloodstain. "Well..." The little girl crept back in again so only her rear and legs stuck out. "I see some ribs and meat and stuff, like inside a deer that's being gutted, and right where the heart should be there's this dangly thing, and nothing on it, and it's dripping and oozing and..." "All right, all right, descriptive enough," Barrington muttered, grasping her foot and pulling her back out. As soon as they were in white snow again he washed off his hands, then scooped some up and put it in her own hands. "Wash off! This thing reeks like nobody's business! Why is there this blood all over if these things are made of ice?" Winter Born gave him a funny look, then rolled her eyes. "They're not made of ice! They have guts and stuff just like regular people! But their blood is cold and their hearts are hard and rocky..." She bit her lip as she began rubbing the snow on her hands and arms. "Who could've taken out its heart and why...?" "To kill it, of course," Barrington groused. He looked at his hands as if they were still stained, then dried them on his coat; it was already dirty, what more could this do? "I thought that was the whole point of taking out the heart." "Well, if they took it out, then where did they burn it?" Winter Born asked matter-of-factly. Barrington opened his mouth, then shut it. He frowned and glanced around them, but no firepits were visible anywhere near. They both turned in circles and began kicking at the drifts a bit, but still no ashes were revealed. "That's strange," Winter Born said with a frown. "I wonder why somebody would take the heart with them...?" Barrington just stood staring at the ground for a moment. A strange look came over his face, then he turned to her and grasped her by the shoulder so abruptly that she gasped and jumped. "Tell me," he said, his voice halting any exclamation she might have had. "What would be the use of a Wendigo's heart? If someone left it intact?" "Well..." She untied and fingered one braid thoughtfully. "Mother told me that the last time Charmian was on the Island, Chakenapok took part of a Wendigo's spirit stone and gave it to Augwak--he's the GeeBee ogimah--and he got really big and brought winter to the Island until they got the spirit stone back. The spirit stone's in the heart. Maybe that's what they wanted...?" Barrington stared at her in silence, then turned to look southeast. His brow furrowed a little, but his expression wasn't a confused one. After a moment he shouldered his gun again and started walking, then jogging. Winter Born gawked before stumbling after him, trying not to sink in the drifts. "Where--where are we going now?" she cried. "Back to that camp!" he snapped. "If the damned thing is even still THERE!" He glanced over his shoulder at her. "You do have three Wendigoes in your camp, don't you--?" "No, we have only two!" Winter Born exclaimed, before something struck her, and her eyes went wide. "Two and a half!" she corrected herself, and picked up her pace. She actually passed him, waving frantically as she did so. "Come on! It's more this way--the trees told me so!" "Trees--?" Barrington echoed, then decided not to even press it. He nudged his gun back to keep it from sliding off and struggled through the snow to catch up with her. A chilly wind continued breezing around the little camp on the shore of the now-frozen lake. The wolves were curled up in the snowdrifts around the wigwam, their noses burrowed into their tails, and snow was even beginning to drift over them in places, as if they intended on becoming part of the scenery; most of the others remained inside, though they peered out the doorflap now and then, and Manabozho paced along the shore of the lake, back and forth, now and then shielding his eyes to see better before resuming his walking. "They've been gone for ages," Kenu said, huddling miserably against Mani's side. Now that X'aaru was gone, the manitou was the most convenient source of warmth, and the little Animiki was making the most of it. "It's only been about an hour," Moon Wolf, stationed near the entry along with Francois, replied. The two of them took turns looking outside. "Stop counting the moments so much, and try to rest, because soon we'll likely need it." "But an hour's such a long time out in all that dreadful snow and cold!" Peepaukawiss said, and rubbed his arms and inched closer to the fire. "Ooohh, I DO hope they're all all right!" "How can you just sleep?" Thomas asked Mani, frowning when the manitou opened one eye slightly. "Knowing that she's out there somewhere probably lost? I thought the two of you were close. Usually you want to go charging right after her. And now you're sleeping...?" Red Land One is fine, Mani murmured, one ear flicking. Will know when she's not. His eye drifted shut again. Red Land One has always proven Mani's worries wrong in the past... And he began to snore a little. Kenu made a face. "He smells like wood." Thomas stood up so abruptly that Stick-In-The-Dirt, seated next to him, flinched a little. When Francois and Moon Wolf both glanced up at him he waved at the doorflap. "I'm going outside," he said, and scowled at their frowns. "To cool off! It's getting stuffy in here. And I have to think, unlike some others!" The two peered at each other, then Francois moved aside a little. They watched him as he stooped to lift the bough and go outside, letting it fall shut behind him. The lodge fell silent but for the crackling of the fire and Mani's soft snoring, though there were more than a few shared looks after he'd departed. "Is it just me..." Stick-In-The-Dirt murmured tentatively after a moment, drawing their attention. He rubbed meekly at his neck. "...Or is he...somewhat...crankier than usual...?" "No," Francois said. "It isn't just you." "Can you blame him?" Walks-On-The-Shore said. He was resting on his head, his legs propped up against the wall. "From what I hear he and that mainlander girl are practically ready to sew each other's clothes together and weave a pallet for one." "What's that mean...?" Kenu started to ask, but Puka covered up his ears. "Back at the river, I understood his frustration," Francois said. "I even understand it now. But there's something else to it, and it has me uneasy." He nodded toward Mani. "He is always unsettled when she's in danger. If he's calm, then she's fine, at least for now. Thomas should know this. It's not like him to lose his head." "He seems understandably upset to me," Puka argued, shivering. "I can't say what dreadful things would be going through my mind if it was someone I loved disappearing in the middle of nowhere!" "Would you be doing that...?" Francois asked, and lifted the flap. Everyone leaned forward to peer outside. Thomas was just barely visible, pacing in circles right through the snowdrifts. His hands were in his pockets but the wind and snow had picked up again and were tugging at him; he ignored it, walking around in just his shirt and jacket, trousers, and shoes as if it were a summer's day. Francois let the flap fall shut again and the silence resumed. "Well, no," Puka said after a pause. "I wouldn't exactly be doing that." "That doll Mishosha had," Moon Wolf said suddenly, and their attention turned to him now. He didn't meet anyone's eyes, simply stared at the fire. "You were thinking of that new doll," he said, apparently to Francois. Francois paused, then nodded, a bit tentatively. "I'm not positive how those things work, but it seems that if one can influence you, then one can influence him. I don't know how that wabano could have gotten anything from him but it's always possible, if he used trickery. Recall what his manitous did to the forest folk back east? I wouldn't find it hard to believe that he's been manipulating things all along." "You mean those kindly little people we stayed with might be in on this--?" Puka asked with a gasp. Francois shook his head just as Moon Wolf said, "No, but he could use them to achieve his own ends. He did it with the Nebanaubae, and with Mishimakwa--he could likely do it with almost anything." "He had more dolls with him," Little Wind said suddenly. The others looked at him; they'd almost forgotten that he was even there. "That's one of his biggest tricks," he said, raising his head and looking anxious. "I've seen him control so many manitous that way. That was how he first got control of those mitchi manitous!" "So what is it that you think he's planning on doing to Monsieur Thomas, if he's really the one that doll represents?" Baptiste asked. He sat near the fire next to Remy, who occasionally sneezed and rubbed at his runny nose. "Are we going to have to tie him up and sit on him--?" Stick-In-The-Dirt had been silent until now, but his head slowly rose, eyes widening. "Wait a minute," he said. "It's all around us," he added when they looked at him, and he waved at the lodge's walls. "Think! It's freezing outside. Thomas is--" "Half GeeBee," Francois said, his own eyes widening. Everybody glanced at the doorflap then, as if expecting to see him come rampaging inside. Puka clutched at Kenu while Francois and Moon Wolf both got to their feet and shared a tense look. "So--what should we do?" Moon Wolf asked. "As much as I hate to say it," Francois said, "Baptiste's plan is sounding pretty good right about now!" "He hasn't done anything yet," Puka offered. "Maybe he can fight it off--?" "Is that really a risk we want to take?" Moon Wolf said. Puka shrugged and cuddled Kenu to himself more closely. "I...I don't know! I just think it might be a bad idea to go upsetting him!" "He has a point," Francois said, biting his thumb. "From what I know of Wendigoes, the angrier they get, the more dangerous they get. As long as he's just pacing around out there, at least he's preoccupied." "The moment he changes his mind about just pacing, no one had better hesitate putting a plan into action," Moon Wolf warned, resuming sitting beside the entryway. "No matter how unpleasant it might be." "Well, don't look at me," Augwak groused; he was sitting in the furthest corner of the wigwam, as far from the fire as he could get. "I've had more than my share of Wendigoes for a long time!" Kenu nudged Puka's hand from his face. "No one ASKED you!" he retorted, sticking out his tongue. "We should at least start preparing either for this or for leaving here, whichever comes first," Francois said, also returning to his seat on the other side of the entryway. "This place is hardly safe anymore as it is, and Charmian kept making the point that this Pearl Feather is getting tired of waiting--" The doorflap flew up and everyone jumped, turning to see Manabozho standing there, gasping for breath and wet from snow. He looked from one of them to another, then wiped his dripping hair from his brow. "What are you all talking about--?" he blurted out, short of breath. Several of them furrowed their brows. "We were speaking partly about Thomas, outside," Moon Wolf answered, vaguely perplexed. Manabozho let out a breath. "Good! For a moment I thought none of you were aware of what he's doing right now." "Pacing around like he wants to burn a hole in the ground," Puka said with a frown. Manabozho's own brow furrowed. "Huh--? No! I mean running off northward like his behind is on fire!" He lifted the bough further and waved behind himself. "See--?" There was a brief pause, then Francois and Moon Wolf, and several of the others, crowded into the entryway. Their eyes went wide and their mouths fell open. Thomas's tracks from his pacing were still there, as plain as anything, but a trail now led away from them, and just barely visible in the distance was Thomas himself, racing off toward the distant trees. |