|
Escape From Manitou Island: Part 148 |
|
(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.)
ACTING UP KENU SAT ALONE in the lodge, aside from Thomas, who wasn't exactly making great company right now. Everyone else had gone outside to talk, even the young wabano, whom Kenu could tell none of them even really liked. And so even though he wanted to go outside and join them, he had to stay inside just to keep an eye on things, and this fact made him feel rather cross. He sat on the other side of the room, hands tucked in his sleeves, a pout on his face. "Just because I'm shorter than they all are," he grumbled. "Even that little furry boy was allowed to go and search! How come I'm never allowed to do anything? Grandfather allowed me to do all kinds of things..." His eyes welled up and he sniffled a little, rubbing at his nose. Thomas kept straining at his ropes, but the two of them mainly ignored each other. "I remember the first bolt of lightning I ever threw," Kenu sighed, staring at the fire. "Grandfather was so proud of me! He said one day I'd hurl lightning bolts as BIG as his! I hope I still do someday." He huddled in on himself miserably. "I miss Grandfather," he said in a small voice, and his eyes grew wet again. "Hsst." Kenu gasped and jumped to his feet, glancing around. The only other one in the room was Thomas--and as soon as he looked at him, the human looked back, and started waving his fingers, which were behind his back. "Hey!" he exclaimed in a whisper, and Kenu furrowed his brow, putting a finger to his chest. Thomas nodded. "Come here," he whispered. "I need to ask you something." Kenu bit his lip but walked around the fire and stooped beside him just the same. "You'd better not try anything funny!" he whispered back. "Animiki can easily take on Whittikos! My grandfather did it all the time!" Thomas made a face and shook his head. "I'm not a Wendigo. If I were a Wendigo, wouldn't I be as tall as a tree?" he insisted when the little Thunderbird's look grew doubtful. "And all covered with ice and whatnot?" "Well..." Kenu looked him over. "You've got claws, and your eyes are funny," he said. Thomas let out an impatient sigh. "If I were really a Wendigo," he added, "wouldn't I be able to break through piddling things like ropes--?" "Hm..." Kenu fidgeted indecisively. "Well...I think so...though I'm really not sure..." "Aren't you worried about Charmian too?" Thomas demanded, and Kenu blinked before giving a vigorous nod. "They think that just because I'm part Wendigo, I must be losing my mind. But I'm telling you I saw her. Even if it wasn't really her--I know she's out there and she needs help. Don't you want her to come back here safe, too--?" "That's why the others went out looking for her," Kenu said. Thomas seemed to suppress an irritated sigh, straining at the ropes again so that Kenu edged back a bit. "Look," Thomas coaxed, evidently noticing his unease, "do you think they have any feeling or idea where she might be--? No? They just went running off willy-nilly, didn't they? I saw her. I think I stand a better chance of finding her but I can't get THESE things off!" He lifted his arms a bit, which in turn elevated his legs, and he winced. "Do you think maybe you could slip them off? Or use your knife--you know, that nice big knife you carry all around." Kenu pulled out his little knife and peered at it uncertainly. "I don't know..." he said. "They said they had to keep you tied up. For our own good." "And meanwhile Charmian's out there LOST!" Thomas hissed, making him flinch. Kenu's lip began to stick out so he took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm down again. "You all saw me go for the woods. I'm not going to hurt anybody! But if I can't get out of here, Charmian could very well end up hurt. You don't want that, do you--?" "Uh-uh!" Kenu exclaimed, shaking his head. "She's been helping me all along!" "Then wouldn't you want me to find her--?" Kenu gnawed on his lip. "You really think you can do it...?" Thomas nodded hard. "All I need to do is get out of these!" He pulled on the ropes. "And I'll bring her back as quickly as I can. Then we can get heading west--and you can avenge your grandfather just like you planned. Does that sound good--?" Kenu's eyes grew wide. "Th--that sounds GREAT!" he cried, and promptly set to work sawing through Thomas's binds. As soon as those tying his wrists to his ankles were severed, and then those wrapped around his wrists themselves, he pulled his arms free with a wince and hurried to unwrap his ankles, having to stretch his sore muscles. Kenu took a step back to watch him as he shakily stood, and fiddled with his knife a bit. "She'll come back safe?" he asked, his voice small again. Thomas glanced at him, as if having forgotten that he was there, then his hard yellow eyes softened a little and he nodded as he rubbed at his shoulder. "Promise." He turned to the entryway and held up his hands. "Stand back a bit. I have to surprise them if I ever want to get one step out of here!" "Re--remember to tell her that KENU freed you!!" Kenu yelled, just as Thomas hurled a blast of ice which slammed into the wall and tore away the whole front of the lodge. Kenu's eyes goggled--it was amazing to think that mere humans could possess such power--and he simply stood and watched as Thomas clambered out, tossing off his spare ropes before going running. A few of the others--the older wabano, the two Wemitigoji--tried attacking him, but he easily fended them off and went racing back up the slope toward the distant trees. Manabozho broke from the crowd and went running after him, shouting over his shoulder. "If he insists on running away like that, then maybe he can lead us to Charmian! Don't you think it's at least worth a--" He fell over. Kenu blinked, then hurried to the front of the lodge to see Thomas whirl around, so he knew that the attacker wasn't him. One of the trees snapped in a gale of wind, and an instant later, a group of mitchi manitous was surrounding them, antlers lowered and nostrils flaring. "Well..." Manabozho said, pushing himself up and wincing, "...I guess maybe it's not worth a shot..." "What is this?" Moon Wolf hissed, raising his hand so that fire sparked to life over his fingers. "His plans are all over the place! Does he want to attack us or them? Does he want to let us through or stop us--? None of this is making any sense!" "I'm starting to think perhaps he's making it up as he goes along," Francois said, starting to reload his gun as Baptiste did the same. "Ever get the feeling that maybe he wasn't expecting us to put up so much of a fight--?" "You mean, you think we've surprised him...?" Stick-In-The-Dirt asked, brow furrowing. He was shaking his rattle like crazy. "Don't underestimate Grandfather!" Little Wind exclaimed, and they glared at him so harshly that he shrank in on himself, fingers fiddling. "It--it's just that--he's not as stupid as you think!" he insisted. "Even if you DO surprise him--he always has another plan in store!" "Perhaps this disorder is more his way of keeping us at our wits' end," Baptiste suggested; he was shaking so hard that more powder scattered to the ground than into his gun. "If so, then it's working!!" "No." Moon Wolf's eyes narrowed and he turned to face the woods, watching Thomas as he stood to face the manitous. "This is unplanned...but he still knows what he's doing. We shouldn't underestimate him. Remember, he has Thomas's spirit in his hands now." "Then we have to try to get that back," Stick-In-The-Dirt said with such resolve that they all gave him odd looks. "What...?" he asked, glancing back at them. "He--he would make a nice son-in-law, that's all!!" he exclaimed, flustered. A loud noise startled them. Thomas hurled a gust of icy wind at the manitou nearest him and it dodged aside, falling onto one knee. He turned to face the next one and the others took brief pause at the look on his face. His eyes were glowing brighter than ever, and it looked as if even his teeth and fingernails had grown longer; the mitchi manitou even quailed when he launched himself at it, kicking a pile of snow into the air and slicing his hand toward it. The snow hardened into granules which slashed against the manitou's face and muzzle and it whistled loudly, jerking away and turning to run. Thomas took his chance and turned on one heel to head toward the deep woods again; then, to the others' surprise, the mitchi manitous abruptly cut off their attack on him, and ran toward them. Stick-In-The-Dirt let out a yell and almost tripped over his own feet trying to run backwards. Manabozho blinked. "What the--?" He threw his hands up. "Now they're after us!!" "TOLD you this plan is working!!" Baptiste cried, and fired his gun at one of them. The blow glanced off its antler, but the next shot--fired by Francois--hit the base of the antler and tore it loose. The manitou blared and skidded to a halt, tossing its head in obvious pain. Manabozho stiffened, then went running straight at it. He grabbed onto the dangling antler and yanked it off completely; when another manitou dashed at him, he whirled in a circle, swinging the antler, and gashed open its side. The fight then turned into a free-for-all, everyone attacking with what sort of weapon they knew best, the mitchi manitous only seeming to increase in numbers whenever they managed to fend one off. "Where are they all COMING from?!" Peepaukawiss cried, screaming and scurrying away from one. "He has some sort of hold over them," Moon Wolf said, and hurled a fireball which knocked another one to the ground. "Little Wind said he has all sorts of dolls--I wouldn't doubt it that he has an entire collection of them dedicated to manitous alone!" He glanced around for Little Wind. "Does he carry all of them on his person--?" "I--I don't think so!" Little Wind exclaimed, gasping and hurling his own fire at a smaller manitou which just missed hitting him. "At least--I've never SEEN him carry that many dolls!!" "He must store them away in his cave on Gitchi-Gami then," Moon Wolf said, and scowled. He lashed out at a manitou as it ran past him. "Which means we have no choice but to keep fighting them until he calls them off!" He looked up to see Thomas fend off one of the manitous with a lash of ice before turning and heading into the woods again. The manitou shook its head, then turned and came running at the rest of them. Moon Wolf's brow furrowed; he craned his neck to see the manitous ahead of Thomas scatter and come running at them as well. For some reason--they were letting Thomas go. "What I thought," he growled under his breath, Francois and Stick-In-The-Dirt hearing him and looking his way. "He wants THOMAS to go after Charmian himself!" Stick-In-The-Dirt gasped. "That's why he turned him Wendigo--? This was never about us!!" He yelped and kicked some snow into the eyes of a manitou when it drew too close; Francois fired at it and it scurried back. "Thomas attacking us would have been merely a bonus," the voyageur said, letting Moon Wolf cover him while he reloaded his gun. "From the looks of it he's hoping he'll kill her off first." "Then it's still Thomas we have to go after," Moon Wolf said, and tried making a dash for him. He nearly fell over when one of the bigger manitous suddenly appeared right in his path, antlers lowered; lip curling back, he threw a fireball at it, only to blink in surprise and shield his face when two fireballs hit it in the head. It fell with a grunt and he started running without thinking, though he did glance back to see Little Wind still standing with his hands held out. Moon Wolf gave him such a venomous glare that the younger wabano cringed and took a step back, but by now Moon Wolf had lost interest in him and was wallowing up the slope after Thomas. He was surprised to see Thomas still there; although he'd had plenty of time to run off, he hadn't, and was even running at the few manitous who remained at the woods' edge with him. They kept making mock attacks as long as he ran at them, but whenever he backed away, they did the same. He didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to Moon Wolf when he attacked the manitous from behind, making them whistle loudly and scatter. "You see it now--?" he called out, ducking aside when one swung at him. "Why he has you playing directly into his hands--?" "I'm not playing into ANYONE'S hands!" Thomas snarled, and pushed himself to his feet, sprinting toward one of them. He lashed it with snow before it could disappear over the slope. "If he wants a fight then he's GETTING one!!" "There's a reason why he wanted control of your spirit!" Moon Wolf said, and the two of them attacked the same manitou, the blast sending it reeling. They ended up practically back to back, looking at the now growing group of manitous beginning to cut off their path back to the others. "See the opening?" Moon Wolf hissed under his breath. "You're more than free to go find her! Just like he planned you to!" "I'm not going to KILL her!" Thomas hissed back, raising his hands to aim. "I could never hurt Charmian like that! You know it!" "Not in your right mind. But I think you'd agree that that's not where you are right now," Moon Wolf whispered, likewise taking aim. Thomas snarled silently at him over his shoulder. "For the last bloody time I'm NOT Wendigo! Why can't any of you get that through your heads--? When I find her I plan to bring her right back here--so we can get going west--" he jerked his hands forward and a ball of ice slammed into the head of an approaching manitou "--and get back to the Island--and put an END to this once and for all!" And then, just like that, he was gone--Moon Wolf blinked in surprise, then saw him dashing down the slope and back toward the group. Manitous whirled away from who they were currently attacking to dash at him, but he dodged them easily, and Moon Wolf couldn't figure out why he was running that way now--when Thomas raised both arms as high as he could, then brought them swinging down, and a gust of wind so huge that it tore at everyone's clothes and hair descended, making everyone duck and wince from the force of it. Moon Wolf had to shield his eyes, and blinked the tears away just in time to see him launch himself at a manitou which had been heading straight at Mani from behind. He landed atop it and raised his hand, bringing his claws down into its back with a noise that made Moon Wolf flinch. The manitou shrieked a whistle and only now did Mani even notice it, skittering away with a startled snort; everyone watched Thomas dig his fingernails into the mitchi manitou's back and then yank them out, dripping red. The manitou's eyes abruptly lost their glow and its legs went stiff before it toppled over, taking him with it. He managed to jump aside to avoid getting crushed; when it landed hard on its side, he lunged down at it and sank his teeth into its throat. Everyone flinched and grimaced, Puka and Stick-In-The-Dirt shuddering and looking away; the manitou let out a weak whistle and stiffened again before going limp and sinking into the snow. Thomas remained bent over it for a moment before lifting his head and pushing himself slowly to his feet; he turned to look at the rest of them, blood streaming from his mouth and his eyes livid yellow. The eyes of the other manitous widened and they began to creep back from the group. "Like I said," Thomas grated, and lifted his hand so his fingernails dripped, "I'm hardly interested in hurting her." Kenu was doing his best to try to help Mani to his feet, as the manitou had fallen to his knees at the edge of the woods. He let out another snort and whistled so that Moon Wolf looked at him. Red Land One would have been killed--! Moon Wolf stared at him for a moment, then looked at Francois. The voyageur looked as if he wasn't sure whether to aim at the manitous or at Thomas, but when Moon Wolf jerked his head he frowned and turned the gun on the nearest manitou. Baptiste followed suit, and Moon Wolf approached to stand not far from Thomas's side as they eyed the manitous who hadn't scurried off in fright. "As long as we're fighting the same thing," Moon Wolf said to him under his breath, "then you get the benefit of the doubt. But the moment you change your mind, I'll put you out so quickly that you never even notice." "Don't worry," Thomas said back in the same dark voice, and he wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. "I have quite different plans right now." With this, he let out a yell and raised his hand, and a plume of snow shot up from the ground and whipped at the nearest two manitous, making them whistle and try to bolt for cover. Francois shot at one that charged, and Moon Wolf hurled his fire at one which escaped from Thomas's attack. Stick-In-The-Dirt let out a scream and Moon Wolf whirled around to help him, only to see the nanandawi smack a small manitou atop the head with his turtle-shell rattle; he must have hit it in just the right spot, for its eyes crossed and it hit the ground with a pained grunt, legs splaying out every which way. Stick-In-The-Dirt quailed and started rattling like mad as if in apology, then went running when more manitous came after them. "Where are they all coming from--?" Thomas demanded, he and Moon Wolf ending up back to back again. "The last time I saw that Mishosha he must have had half a dozen or so, tops! How did he get so many more--?" "He must have them waiting for him in every land he visits," Moon Wolf said, gritting his teeth and swinging at one. "This is the only possible explanation! Manitous don't just multiply out of nowhere!" "The more we fight, the more of them there'll be," Francois said, loading his gun as Little Wind covered him. "They seem pretty insistent that you go chasing after Charmian!" he called to Thomas, before taking aim at one which snorted and dashed away. Moon Wolf stiffened, then glanced at Thomas over his shoulder. Long Knife! he thought, and Thomas peered over his shoulder as well, frowning. He expects you to go Wendigo. So give him what he wants! This is the only way to draw them off, at least until we can get to safety. Notice how they won't attack you when you go after Charmian--? And how am I supposed to do THAT? Thomas retorted. Have you any idea what I tried to do the LAST time I really went Wendigo--? Yes, Moon Wolf replied, because I was there. I'm saying only an act this time. But a convincing one, because-- he hurled a fireball --Mishosha's not likely to be fooled, otherwise! How do I make it much more convincing than THIS? Thomas asked, raising his bloody hand before using it to lash ice at one of the manitous running by. Moon Wolf bit his lip and glanced at everyone, then looked over his shoulder again. I trust you to figure that out easily enough, he said, and felt Thomas's own back stiffen, before it relaxed and he could tell that his point had been understood. I'm going to need a little help first, Thomas thought, and glanced toward Pakwa and Augwak, the first of whom was hurling wind at several manitous, the second of whom was cowering behind a tree nearby. Simple enough, Moon Wolf thought back, and aimed at the same manitou that Stick-In-The-Dirt had earlier hit, as it was just staggering to its feet. When it saw that it had his attention, it blared in panic and scrambled to run away. Moon Wolf could have hit it easily, but he waited until it was in line with the tree behind which Augwak was hiding before throwing his fire at it. He didn't lower his hand after he'd released the fire, however, and guided it so that it sailed over the manitou's back and straight at the tree. Just as he'd expected, Augwak popped out. "HEY!!" the GeeBee screamed, and flung his own hand forward. A blast of icy wind sailed at the fireball, but Moon Wolf jerked his hand up and the fire zoomed up into the air and harmlessly into the treetops. He dropped to the ground and the wind slammed into Thomas, knocking him over with a yelp. They both ducked their heads and for a brief instant glanced at each other between their legs. "He didn't have to hit so HARD!" Thomas hissed under his breath. "Convincing!" Moon Wolf hissed back, earning a grimace, but Thomas then scrambled to his feet as he did the same. He wasn't completely expecting it when Thomas struck him with a barrage of ice, and so winced and fell to his knee again, holding up a hand to try to stem the attack; he swung out his leg and tripped him and a moment later they were both pelting each other with ice and fire. The fighting around them slowed down until almost everyone was staring at them in surprise; Francois swung his gun around to aim at Thomas, but Moon Wolf could tell that he was in on it as well, though Baptiste and Little Wind didn't look too certain. It didn't matter much, however, as the two of them moved around so much that there was no hope of anyone getting a clear shot anyway. Even the manitous stood watching them, ears flicking and brows furrowing, as they staggered to their feet and clenched their fists, glaring at each other. "I SAID I'm looking for her!" Thomas yelled. "And I SAID you're staying HERE!" Moon Wolf yelled back. In response Thomas ran at him, and a second later Moon Wolf was reeling from a punch to the jaw. He blinked and fell to his knees before the pain set in; "You DESERVED that!" Thomas whispered viciously, and then ran off. Moon Wolf twisted around to see him knock Francois's gun away--though Moon Wolf could tell that it must have been staged--and then as if for good measure, he hurled an ice ball at Augwak, who squawked and ducked back behind the tree, which snapped and started to topple over when the ice hit it. Everyone hastened to get out of its way when it fell straight through the middle of the melee, and Thomas again went running off into the woods, calling out Charmian's name as he went. Moon Wolf let out a breath, then sucked it in again when the manitous whistled and turned their attention back toward the group, just as expected. Francois retrieved his gun and Stick-In-The-Dirt raised his rattle--when an odd yell rang through the clearing, and they all blinked to see Little Wind race through, following in Thomas's footsteps. He threw up his hand and fire formed around his fingers as he ran off into the trees. Francois gave Moon Wolf a look that plainly said, "Would you DO something about this?!" "Fool!" Moon Wolf hissed under his breath, and spun around on one heel to follow him. As he passed the treeline he could see Thomas in the distance, just vanishing from sight; Little Wind was clearer as he was illuminated, but he seemed to be running faster than Moon Wolf had thought he could run. He glanced over his shoulder at Moon Wolf, eyes wide. "I'll stop him!" he shouted. "If he finds her he'll KILL her!" Moon Wolf opened his mouth to retort, then bit it back down; if he protested too much, the manitous would catch on to their trick. Instead he clenched his fists and picked up speed, determined to find some way to smash the younger wabano's face into the ground whenever he should catch up with him--though he would make it look like an accident, of course. He paid attention to Little Wind's movements to try to determine which direction he was going to turn in, as it was difficult to follow their tracks by now. A loud whistle came from off to his side and he gasped and leapt in time to avoid getting gored by the manitou which jumped out at him. He had to spend his fireball on it, during which time Little Wind disappeared around a stand of trees; Moon Wolf let out an exasperated growl and nearly tripped over his feet hastening after him. Little Wind was screaming by now, hurling fire at everything that moved, and Moon Wolf wanted to do nothing more than knock his head in. He sped up again, feeling the breath of another manitou catching up just behind him, and reached out an arm to grab at Little Wind's shoulder--there was no more time to make it look convincing, as, if he didn't stop him now, he knew he never would. He'd think of an explanation for his actions later. He didn't get that chance, however, for as soon as he grabbed at Little Wind's shoulder, the younger wabano let out a startled yell and vanished without a trace. |