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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 151 |
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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.)
COMMON ENEMIES "SORRY," LITTLE WIND whispered, before lowering his eyes. Moon Wolf tensed, even before another voice came from somewhere above him. "Well, wabano," it said, and he looked upward to see Mishosha smirking down at him, "happy to see me again?" Moon Wolf's eyes widened in disbelief. Mishosha's smirk twisted into an evil leer and his eyes almost seemed to glow when they narrowed. All around him stood the rest of the group--even Thomas, despite Little Wind's earlier comment that he had run off...yet all around them stood the mitchi manitous, or at least, yet more of them, as Mishosha seemed to have an uncanny knack for summoning them up wherever he went. Francois and Baptiste still held their guns, but it was obvious which party was in control for now. Moon Wolf turned his head to look at Little Wind again, and even though he couldn't believe that he felt it, he felt betrayed. "You did this," he whispered, remembering how the younger wabano had instructed them at the last minute to change direction--and how he hadn't even mentioned sensing Mishosha or the manitous anywhere nearby. Little Wind just lowered his head now, looking sincerely ashamed. Moon Wolf didn't care. He started to turn back to Mishosha with fist clenched, only to receive a kick to the jaw which made his head snap back. From the corner of his eye he saw Little Wind flinch, but when he lifted his hand to rub at it Mishosha just crossed his arms and smirked again. "Consider that payback, for what that little winter girl did to my best manitou," he said calmly enough. "Not that I can't work without him, but still, I considered it amusing to have an Island spirit helping in your group's destruction." He lifted his head and smiled at Little Wind. "And look at this...you manage to prove yourself useful again after all. Good work, leading him to me so easily. I was actually starting to worry a little that he might get away without us having a decent fight." Moon Wolf dug his fingers into the snow, keeping his head lowered. "This is how you treat your power--?" he whispered under his breath; Mishosha frowned, sensing that he wasn't the one being spoken to. Moon Wolf's stare flitted in Little Wind's direction and Little Wind flinched again. "You realize that now that you've betrayed us, you've betrayed it as well? Imagine yourself living your life without your manitou--and then tell me if this was worth it!" Little Wind opened his mouth to speak, then gasped when Mishosha kicked Moon Wolf again so he fell to the side. Moon Wolf winced and rubbed at his jaw again, wiping away a drip of blood before it could pelt against the ground. Mishosha saw the gesture and sniggered, tucking his arms into his sleeves. "A rather silly move this late in the game, though I can't fault you for trying to be careful. Don't worry about that trivial little manitou of yours, Little Wind; as soon as we become manitous ourselves, any power you wish will be at your command, and you'll never have to ask or wait for it, like these insignificant people." His eyes narrowed and his smile grew ugly. "You did have me concerned for a little bit, that we would have to end up eliminating you along with the rest...but you're turning out to be quite useful after all. Consider yourself forgiven." Little Wind paused, then tentatively pushed himself to his feet. This time Moon Wolf turned to glare at him openly; the younger medicine man couldn't even look at him. Everyone else stared at him as well, until Moon Wolf spoke aloud, this time addressing Mishosha. "And so you've caught us again," he said. "And what does our fate matter to you? You still don't have the ones you're really looking for--and I doubt you'll manage to find them on your own." "True," Mishosha mused, looking skyward thoughtfully. "I have to admit, it was quite clever of you, convincing me that you were the brains and power behind all this when in fact it's nothing more than two little girls...for who would ever expect mere children to wield such dangerous medicine? I underestimated them, and I do so hate when I underestimate people. I'm over that now though, and it's only a matter of time before we round everyone up, and split you all up as best befits us. You as well, Little Wind; I'll give you, oh, say, that big manitou over there, to have fun with, though you might not want to kill him, seeing as how he's tied to that fire-haired girl..." Best befits us...? You as well...? Moon Wolf stared at him for a moment, then let his eyes wander around the group. Looks of defeat mixed with anxiety or anger were on every face...but one more face than he'd expected was missing. Before Little Wind and he had arrived, Mishosha and his manitous looked to have shown up there alone. Makwaquae, Moon Wolf thought, and his eyes went wide. He surged to his feet, everyone's heads jerking up at the abrupt motion, and clenched his fists. "Where is she?" he shouted. Mishosha's mouth twisted again. "Too far away for you to follow her!" he replied. Moon Wolf gritted his teeth hard enough to hurt. He saw a warning look flash through Francois's eyes but ignored it, lifting his hand and swinging it back, fire flaring to life over his fingers. Little Wind actually jumped back as if afraid of getting hit, but all of Moon Wolf's attention was focused on Mishosha this time, and he let out a furious yell as he hurled the fireball forward. Mishosha's smirk didn't fade as he raised his own hand and with a great swing, batted the fire away. It splintered into individual tongues which sailed harmlessly over the snow and fizzled out. Moon Wolf gaped, uncomprehending. That had been one of his most powerful attacks! Mishosha's twisted smile grew. "How pathetic!" he exclaimed in a mock-pitying voice. "You call yourself a wabano yet you can't even compel the fire spirits to do your full bidding--? What sort of fire-juggler are you? That should have been EASY!" As if to illustrate, he raised his own hand, and flames, exactly the same as Moon Wolf's had been, formed over his fingers. "You must have grown soft hanging about with such humans!" he yelled over the roar, as the fireball grew bigger and bigger--big enough that Moon Wolf went pale just looking at it. None of his fireballs had ever been so massive. "I see how those girls talk--ask this, ask that! Yes please megwetch! Even a third-rate wabano knows you DEMAND and never ask! If you ever hope to give me a decent fight, you're going to have to relearn that!" And without any further warning, he swung his arm in a circle and loosed the fireball. It wasn't as fast as Moon Wolf's attack had been, but he knew he would never be able to repel it the way that Mishosha had repelled his, and all that he could do was hold up his arms and brace himself. Through the space between them he saw Francois jerk a hand at Baptiste, and the two of them aimed upward; two gunshots rang out one right after the other, and it was only because of this that the fireball wavered and began to break apart enough so that Moon Wolf could at least withstand the blow, even if not remain on his feet. He stumbled and fell with a wince, batting frantically at his clothing to put out the stray flames before they could sear him. He heard Little Wind let out a breath. "Grandfather, do we have to kill him--?" he exclaimed. Mishosha pursed his lips. "No, not yet, Grandson, because I still hope to have a decent fight against him! Consider that a warmup," he said with a sneer directed at Moon Wolf. Moon Wolf whirled around to bare his teeth at Little Wind, who took a step back. "Don't you dare stand up for me!" he snarled. "As if you think I would ever have anything to do with you! There's one thing that can be said of your grandfather--at least HE hasn't betrayed us all!" Little Wind stared back at him, guilt still in his eyes. "I had to do it," he whispered. "I'm sorry." Moon Wolf's lip twisted. "Their blood is on YOUR hands," he whispered, before Mishosha's fist came down on his neck and he fell to the ground, promptly unconscious. Something on the other side of the slope moved. Lieutenant Barrington fixed on it in a flash and pulled the trigger of his gun--only nothing happened. He remembered now that he'd just spent his shot on the bear which had been attacking--how could he have forgotten such a basic thing as reloading?--when the shape behind the slope jumped up into view again, its own gun pointed between his eyes. Barrington's own eyes went wide in disbelief. Winter Born, cowering behind the nearest stand of trees, stuck her head out, her own eyes just as surprised. "Father?" she cried. The gun pointed at Barrington's face didn't even quiver. Black Elk Horn's eyes glinted like two chips of flint, and Barrington knew that there would be no chance of his missing again. "Now," he said, his voice grating like rocks, "we can settle this permanently." The color drained from Barrington's face and his own gun fell into the snow at his side. "It was a mistake," he heard a voice whispering, and it took him a moment to realize that it was his own. "An accident. I didn't mean to fire it." Black Elk Horn's lip curled back and his finger drew closer to the trigger. "Whatever it was," he growled, "you stole his life--and I have the right to steal yours." His voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "You should NEVER have set foot on our Island!" "Father--?" Winter Born called out again, and took a step out from the trees. "Stay where you are, Winter Born," Black Elk Horn ordered, keeping the gun trained on Barrington's head. Barrington's eyes flicked to the side and he just barely saw the little girl hesitate, then start wringing her hands. Half his mind screamed at her to go back into the trees--the other half screamed at her to do something that would bring an end to this, though he had no idea what. She wavered, then bit her lip and raised her voice a little. "But...Father..." "Winter Born--?" The ogimah at last turned his head to glare at her. "I said go back into the trees!" He knew that it was utterly foolish, but did it anyway. The split second that Black Elk Horn turned away and the words came out of his mouth, Barrington shot forward and knocked the gun away in the same movement. Black Elk Horn whirled back around in surprise, but Barrington didn't get to see just how furious he would look next, as he slammed his fist into the chief's face and knocked him to the ground. Black Elk Horn landed hard with a thud, wincing. Winter Born's eyes flew wide open. "FATHER!" she yelled. Black Elk Horn shook his head to clear it; even though he had another clear shot, Barrington failed to take it, instead stepping back. "I don't give a damn how you do things on that Island," he snapped, "but out here, in the middle of nowhere, it's different!" Black Elk Horn wiped his mouth and pushed himself to his knees, scowling. "Different? It is easy enough for you to say this now that it suits you. When before you would set foot where you don't belong and expect everything to work the same--?" His hand snaked out and he grabbed up Barrington's gun, still lying in the snow. Barrington knew he couldn't load and fire it quickly enough, but he gasped and ducked, remembering only at the last minute that a gun could make an excellent club. Black Elk Horn swung it directly at his head and missed the first time; but the second time Barrington wasn't so lucky, and it caught him in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. He stumbled and landed on one knee and one elbow and saw Winter Born still hesitating nearby. He blinked when he saw that she didn't seem to know whether to root for him or for her father. "But--Father--" She glanced at Black Elk Horn. "He didn't--" Her voice was drowned out by Black Elk Horn's yell as he stampeded toward Barrington, gun raised over his head. Barrington rolled aside and the stock smashed into the ground, sending snow flying; a second later the ogimah let out a startled yell when Barrington wrapped his ankles around his leg and tripped him. Now both on the ground, they grabbed at each other's arms and began struggling, their feet scuffling and gouging into the hillside. Throughout it all Barrington kept catching brief glimpses of the little girl standing some distance away, and wondered if Black Elk Horn was seeing the same thing. "You really want to do this in front of her?" he yelled. "I'll gladly kill you MYSELF just to get this bloody thing over with!!" He received no coherent response, just a strangled growl before Black Elk Horn abruptly let go of his arms and wrapped his fingers around his neck. Barrington's eyes goggled and he began gasping for breath, digging at the other man's fingers yet unable to pry them loose. His head started swimming and he kicked out, but only succeeded in hitting his leg. "Father, DON'T!" Winter Born cried. Barrington gritted his teeth and, shutting his eyes tight, let go of one of Black Elk Horn's hands, even though he felt that it might be a fatal decision. His own hand crept down toward his powder horn and he managed to shake some of the powder loose; a moment later he'd hurled it up into Black Elk Horn's eyes, and the ogimah let out a startled yell, abruptly letting him go and rubbing at his eyes as if blinded. Barrington took this chance to kick him off; then, once he'd gotten to his feet, he picked up the gun lying on the ground and struck Black Elk Horn across the back with it. Black Elk Horn collapsed with a wince. Barrington stalked toward him, teeth grinding together hard enough to hurt. He gripped the barrel of the gun so hard that his knuckles went white; as soon as he saw Black Elk Horn struggling to push himself up, he raised the gun and swung it sideways now, striking so that it just glanced off of his chin and sent him tumbling somewhat down the other side of the slope. Some tiny part of his mind was yelling at him to stop, but overriding it were images of the fort, blood running across the ground interspersed with the echoes of screams and gunshots. As soon as he reached the ogimah he hit him again so he rolled to the bottom of the slope, and it must have been sheer desperation that made Black Elk Horn at last hurriedly push himself up onto hands and knees and glare up at him. An ugly bruise was forming on his jaw and blood streamed from his mouth, but his eyes were as hateful as ever. They looked just like the eyes of the men who had streamed into the fort with their hatchets raised. "Even if you kill me," Black Elk Horn hissed, "there will be a hundred more after me--and none of them will stop until you are dead." "So much for things being so different, isn't it--?" Barrington growled in response, raising the gun. No fear showed in the Islander's eyes as he did so, and for some reason that infuriated him. "I won't stop either, until every one of you--" "STOP IT!!" Barrington's grip on the gun faltered just a little and his eyes went wide--he saw Black Elk Horn's do the same. They both glanced to the side at the same time to see that Winter Born had followed alongside them, albeit at a slight distance, and was now at the bottom of the slope as well--and her fists were clenched and her own teeth bared. Barrington immediately recognized the glow in her eyes, as well as the glow expanding around her--before he had only felt it, but now he could actually see it--and sucked in a breath before taking a step back. He didn't let go of the gun, but his arms felt like rubber trying to hold it. Winter Born's eyes flared. "Stop FIGHTING!" she snarled, and the light around her practically crackled, making the other two tense. Barrington, even though he knew he would get no response, whispered, "What in the hell is it with that girl--?" "Winter Born," Black Elk Horn said with the slightest warning note in his voice, and pushed himself up a bit more, even though it obviously pained him to do so; for the first time Barrington felt a pang, remembering their relation. "Don't get involved in this." The aura around Winter Born flared so brightly that they flinched. "I'm ALREADY involved!" she shouted back. "Stop FIGHTING each other! Or else--" A horrific bellow erupted through the air, and both Barrington and Black Elk Horn gasped and hunched in on themselves, expecting to get blown away--yet the surprised look that flickered across Winter Born's face, her words dying out, told them both that it hadn't come from her. They whirled around in time to see that the three of them were no longer three but four--a large black bear, brownish in color, had arrived, and it stood up on its hind legs as soon as it saw that it had their attention, and bellowed again. Winter Born let out a gasp and the flaring aura around her abruptly vanished. The bear's lips curled back until it looked as if it were grinning from ear to ear. So EASY to find you, it said, and they instantly recognized the voice of Makwaquae. All I had to do was sniff along until I lost the trail, and then wait until you blew your temper to trail you the rest of the way! Why don't you just light a stick and wave it in the air, little winter girl?--you could hardly make it any EASIER! Without the slightest warning, she swung one massive paw through the air, and Black Elk Horn was swept sideways. He crashed into the slope and went tumbling head over heels before landing in a muddled heap; Barrington glanced at him with his mouth hanging open, and could tell that he was still alive, though who knew for how long-- Winter Born took a couple of hopping steps back, little whimpers escaping her, then turned and went running with a cry. The Bearwalker didn't pay Barrington the slightest bit of attention before dropping to all fours and barreling off after her. Barrington watched them go, disbelief all over his face. Black Elk Horn managed to roll himself over, grimacing in pain; his cheek was gashed open. "Winter Born!!" he yelled, and started trying to get to his feet, though he kept stumbling dizzily. Barrington gawked for a brief moment, then started hastily trying to load his gun. He cursed himself when he spilled some powder on the snow, and glanced up to see just how far away the other two had gone. The little girl could run remarkably fast when she was afraid, but the bear seemed to be gaining on her. He went running even as he finished loading the gun and brought it up to his shoulder, ignoring the inarticulate shout that Black Elk Horn let out behind him. He trained his sights on the bear's nape as she bounded through the snow, snarling and growling; despite her snowshoes Winter Born's feet were flying like mad, and he wanted to yell at her to stop looking back over her shoulder. He didn't know if she could see him or not, but didn't want to take the chance. Knowing that it would alert the Bearwalker to his presence, he shouted anyway. "Winter Born! GET DOWN!" Without a pause, she dropped to the ground. Barrington fired the gun. He saw the bear slide to a sudden stop and whirl around with a speed that was surprising for her massive size--and with a snarl she jerked her head up and caught the ball between her teeth. Barrington's breath fled him and he nearly crumpled into the snow in shock. Makwaquae spat out the ball and gave him a furious snarl. Stop interfering, maggot! she growled, and reared up, turning back toward Winter Born--only Winter Born was no longer there. What--? Barrington distinctly heard the Bearwalker exclaim, then she whirled around again, eyes livid and spittle flecking her muzzle. I TOLD you not to INTERFERE!! she bellowed, and came charging at him now. Barrington quailed for the briefest instant, then remembered the other uses for a gun, and whirled it around in his hands to grab the barrel. He almost dropped it and had barely enough time to take a swing at her but missed; he yelped and dove to the ground when she ran past, her paw just missing taking off his head. She halted and turned around again and for the briefest moment their eyes met, and he felt his insides shrinking. Makwaquae's eyes narrowed to ugly blue slits. WHERE is she? she demanded, a growl rasping in her throat. Barrington fought not to start quaking. He strained his ears--and his thoughts--for any sign of the little girl, but couldn't tell where she'd gone. Had that other Bearwalker come along and snatched her up--? Against his bidding, his eyes flicked to the side, toward the nearest stand of trees, and Makwaquae immediately turned her attention toward this. Her nostrils flared, fur bristling. She's tricky but she's not THAT bright! The bear's front paws met the snow, and then she was gone, storming toward the trees. Barrington sucked in a breath and rolled himself over to watch her make her way toward them. Somehow, Winter Born had avoided leaving a footprint trail through the snow--perhaps she'd walked in the prints she'd already left--but when he squinted, he thought he spotted something moving up through the branches of one of the pines. His heart did a backflip and he scrambled to his feet. "HEY!" he shouted, rushing after her. "What use to you is a little girl when you have BIGGER things to deal with--?" The bear paid him not the least bit of attention. Apparently she too had noticed the movement up in the tree, and was making a beeline for it. Barrington ground his teeth, swinging his gun to his other shoulder and trying to think of something especially insulting. "Anyone ever tell you how remarkably FAT and disgustingly SMELLY you are--?" he shouted. "And I'm not talking about when you're a bear!" When that resulted in nothing, he added, somewhat desperately, "Your mother must have been a badger!!" "Your husband is the weakest of pathetic HUMANS!" Barrington halted, nearly falling over himself. Makwaquae jerked to a halt just a few paces or so from the tree, her fur bristling in every direction. Barrington blinked a few times, confused, before peering over his shoulder, the bear doing the same. Black Elk Horn had managed to stumble after them a bit; he was kneeling again and gasping for breath, but the look on his face made it obvious that the comment had come from him. Barrington's brow furrowed. "That's the worst insult one can take...?" What did you just say? Makwaquae growled, turning around slowly. "You heard me," Black Elk Horn said, wincing as he made himself get to his feet. He was holding his shoulder, which Barrington guessed must have been jarred from Makwaquae's blow. "Just as is every other wabano I've ever met. A real medicine man does not steal his power. Only a weak one does. If he wishes to be a manitou he's a far cry from it." Makwaquae's eyes narrowed again and an ugly rasp escaped her throat. Barrington took a careful step aside so that he didn't stand between them anymore, and looked from one to the other. He was perplexed that an insult about power would draw so much more ire than an insult about one's physical appearance, but it seemed to be working. Then you've never known a TRUE wabano, little man, the Bearwalker said, starting to pad slowly toward him. You'll soon take back your words, once Mishosha and I achieve our goal. We have the assistance of the most powerful manitou there is, and soon we will be even more powerful than he. You should watch who you call a human. Black Elk Horn snorted weakly and slumped back to one knee. "I describe only what I see with my own eyes," he said, and for some reason that seemed to infuriate her even more than his other comments. She let out a bellow which made the ground shake, and raised her paw. Barrington tensed to strike at her, but he hadn't expected Black Elk Horn to make such a swift recovery. For as soon as the bear's paw went sailing through the air, the ogimah was gone, rolling between her legs and coming out on the other side. He leapt to his feet--both arms apparently fine now--and with his own gun--when had he retrieved it so quickly?--swung out at her. She turned her head just as he did so and received the gun's butt right across her face. Makwaquae let out an awful, pained sound and stumbled, then pressed a paw to her muzzle and roared. YOU VILE LITTLE INSECTS! I'LL TEACH YOU NOT TO DO THAT TO ME!! She pushed herself up and with another roar charged at Black Elk Horn, who held the gun up again--but at the last second she veered aside and avoided him, racing past. Black Elk Horn and Barrington both gaped at her until they realized what she was doing. Winter Born was peering out of the top branches of the nearby tree, and Makwaquae was making her way right for it. You think I'm stupid enough to think YOUR life matters? she bellowed as she went. See how brave you are once it's your LITTLE GIRL'S life that's on the line! The blood drained from Black Elk Horn's face and he ran after her without a word. Barrington did the same, though he had no clue what he could even do. Winter Born saw them all coming and, with a gasp, ducked back inside the safety of the branches. Makwaquae reached the tree and hurled herself at it, her claws gouging into the trunk as she pulled herself rapidly upwards. Gouts of snow went falling and she even tore several branches loose in her mad climb, her jaws slavering and her eyes livid. The top branches quaked and Winter Born appeared again, clinging to the leader. "Go away! Go away!!" she yelled in panic, and glanced down at Black Elk Horn and Barrington. "Help! She's going to get me!!" Barrington, gasping for breath, dimly noticed Black Elk Horn hastily taking aim at Makwaquae. He fired and the shot glanced off the tree just above her head, making her snort and pause just momentarily as splinters of wood flew past her face. She shook her head to clear it and continued climbing. Barrington glanced over his shoulder. Black Elk Horn was reloading, even though it was obvious he would never hit her by now. That fact, and the glassy look in his eyes, nearly made Barrington take pause. He somehow imagined that same look on his face when that scream of his had rent the air on the Island, when the red-haired girl had been dragging Barrington away from the camp. Barrington turned back to the tree and focused on the hind end of the bear, which was disappearing among the thickest branches. Winter Born's cry turned into a scream and she clung to the leader like a stranded porcupine, drawing herself up into as small of a ball as she could. "FATHER! HELP!!" she yelled. Black Elk Horn held the gun up and shot without even bothering to aim. This time he splintered one of the branches just as the bear climbed past it, but it didn't even make her pause. Barrington heard the strangled noise that he let out as he frantically tried reloading it one last time, then looked up in time to see the bear's head and foreleg appear from the topmost branches, not that far from Winter Born herself. Winter Born screamed and shut her eyes tight--Barrington wondered why she didn't just use that awful power of hers--when Makwaquae snarled and swatted at her. She just missed her leg, and both Barrington and Black Elk Horn let out their breath. Makwaquae's eyes turned to slits and she bared her teeth. Then she lunged forward and sank them into the bottom of the leader itself. Winter Born's shriek pierced the air as the top branch of the tree snapped loose and went plummeting to earth, taking her with it. |