|
Escape From Manitou Island: Part 159 |
|
(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.)
THE WHIRLS "WAKE UP!!" THE yell startled everyone in the group, and even Mani let out a whistle and jumped, fur flaring. Charmian and Thomas, walking alongside him, gasped and hurried to reach out and grab at Winter Born before she could fall. The little girl's eyes were still shut as if she were sleeping, but she was grimacing and squirming as if ants were crawling all over her legs. As soon as Charmian grabbed hold of her, she could tell that she really was still dreaming. "She's still asleep," she said to Thomas, ignoring the puzzled looks that everyone else was giving them. "Help me wake her up!" He didn't get the chance, for as soon as they got her down from Mani's back, Winter Born gasped and her eyes popped open. She promptly let out a piercing scream and flung her hands up so abruptly that she smacked Thomas in the face and he nearly dropped her. Charmian managed to grab hold of her so she didn't cause any further damage, and lowered her to the ground, where the coldness of the snow appeared to bring her back to reality, and she started shivering and chattering. "Winter Born?" Charmian asked as Thomas made a face and rubbed at his cheek. "Are you okay?" "I..." She glanced around herself at the others, then let out a misty breath. "I'm okay! Thank Gitchi!" She began rubbing her arms and shaking harder. "Help her back up," Moon Wolf said, and Charmian and Thomas helped her atop Mani's back. The big manitou turned his head to give her an odd look before snorting and starting to move, the others following. "What happened?" Charmian asked, brow furrowed. "You got to speak with Tal Natha, right?" Winter Born nodded, still rubbing her arms. "I...I got through to his dream and told him about what's going on, and he said things are okay on the Island, mostly, except for a funny dream people keep having." Before Charmian could ask her what that meant, her eyes nearly popped. "The Red Swan! Megissogwun nearly got her!" That effectively halted them again. "Megissogwun?" Charmian blurted out, mouth falling open. "HE was there--?" "You're certain of this?" Moon Wolf asked with a frown. Winter Born nodded. "It was him! I don't know how he got through--even Chakenapok wasn't sure--he managed to get rid of him, but it took a whole lot, and then he and the Red Swan started arguing over who led him there..." She put her hands to her head and made a face even worse than Thomas's. "I'm so confused!!" "Hold on. Calm down." Charmian tapped Mani's flank. "Mani--?" The manitou lowered himself to one knee and she climbed up to join Winter Born, then nudged him again so he rose. Everyone resumed walking. "You said Chakenapok and the Red Swan ran into each other?" Charmian asked in a lower voice. Winter Born nodded. "They really don't seem to like each other...but it sounded like both of them were really trying to help." She twisted her head around to give Charmian a perplexed look. "How can they both be helping us if they want such different things? I know the Red Swan said not to trust you, but...well, I think she's being honest. I think she really is trying to help us...she just doesn't know how." "This could very well be another Pearl Feather trick," Moon Wolf warned. "Did you ask Tal Natha about her spirit stone?" Charmian asked. "Oh. Yes." Winter Born pulled on a braid and started nibbling on it. "He said he was the one who sent you that funny dream, and that it was Chakenapok who showed him the Red Swan's spirit..." She peered over her shoulder at Charmian again, her eyes uneasy. "Charm...Chakenapok showed me her spirit stone, too. It started out kind of blue but then it went all black like smoke. Does that mean she really is trying to trick us...?" Charmian's stare drifted toward the ground. "I don't know," she murmured, feeling the old confusion settle in. "If Tal Natha said it, then it has to be true. But you said Megissogwun attacked her too...?" Winter Born nodded. "He was talking like he knew somebody was hiding her from him and he hadn't known it until now. He also kept talking like he knew her! He said something about a tree, and how could she be here if she was somewhere else, and that the Red Swan was 'grooming' me for something, and that he'd defeated her before..." Charmian's look grew baffled, but she saw Moon Wolf gesturing at her to get Winter Born to keep talking. She bit down her frustration. "Was there anything else? What made you wake up? You were yelling, 'Wake up!' before you did so." "Oh. Chakenapok was showing me the Red Swan's spirit stone, and then..." Winter Born's voice trailed off. "Um..." She rubbed at her head, perplexed. "That's funny...I don't remember. I know I was scared!" "Try calming down a little and then remembering," Moon Wolf said, at which Winter Born sighed but shut her eyes and appeared to be thinking. She nibbled on her lip for a moment before her eyes popped open again and she reached to tug on Charmian's arm. "Oh! I remember now! The Red Swan got REALLY angry! I thought it was Chakenapok scaring me but it was really her!" "Why was she angry if Chakenapok got rid of Megissogwun...?" Thomas, walking alongside them near Moon Wolf, asked. "She got mad right after Chakenapok showed me her spirit stone," Winter Born replied, then blinked. Her eyes grew. "That's funny!" She twisted around to look at Charmian. "She said Chakenapok did that to her spirit stone!" "Chakenapok made her spirit dark...?" The blood drained from Charmian's face, and she nudged Mani in the flank. "Mani. Down!" He knelt again and she hurriedly climbed off, waving at him to resume as she fell into place beside Moon Wolf and Thomas. Winter Born furrowed her brow but didn't protest as the manitou lumbered on ahead a little bit. "Chakenapok's not supposed to have that power anymore!" Charmian hissed under her breath, the other two leaning closer to hear. "So why would he have it now?" "I've been telling you all along not to trust that fellow," Thomas whispered back. Charmian rubbed her knuckles against her head with a grimace. "But I saw his spirit stone when I first got on the Island and it was CLEAR! I've never known anybody who could hide their true spirit from others. If his spirit's clear, then there's no way he would corrupt her even if he HAD the power!" "Perhaps he is not the one who corrupted her?" Moon Wolf suggested. Charmian shot him a look. "If you have any ideas, I'm all ears!" He got a sour look and shrugged. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?" Charmian blinked. Her face grew slightly warm, but she bit down her embarrassment and shut her eyes. Chakenapok...? she called out, gingerly. No answer was forthcoming, so she fidgeted a bit and started to call out again. That power of mine is long gone, Mainlander, and even if it wasn't, I used almost everything I had getting rid of that Pearl Feather. Charmian gasped and jumped, Thomas's and Moon Wolf's heads rising slightly. "You were listening in...?" Charmian asked meekly, her face growing even hotter. If you have an issue with me, then just state it, Chakenapok said. All this evasiveness is getting irritating. The Red Swan's spirit was dark long before I spoke with Winter Born. The Dreamspinner himself told her of the dream I had him send. "Sorry," Charmian said in a tiny voice. "If what you say about her spirit is true, then why does she blame you for it?" Moon Wolf asked, his frown returning. Winter Born apparently misunderstood the exchange as I myself saw it. When I showed her the spirit stone, the Red Swan reacted as if it were a trick, not reality. She wasn't blaming me for corrupting her spirit. She was accusing me of tricking her. "Then..." Charmian's brow furrowed. "Then that would mean that she doesn't think her spirit is dark. She has no idea." She lifted her head as if Chakenapok were drifting above them. "You mean the Red Swan has no idea her spirit is corrupt--?" This is the impression I received. Her angry reaction just verifies it. If Winter Born hadn't forced herself awake just then, I hate to think of what might have happened. A pause. Perhaps you'd best think twice before enlisting her aid again. I rather get the feeling she won't be very helpful from now on. Charmian looked to Moon Wolf. "How the hell does someone have a dark spirit and not even know it--?" He shook his head, also looking perplexed. "I'm not certain...even those who commit evil acts while believing them to be the right thing usually don't have dark spirits, they've merely been misled. If her spirit's as dark as they keep saying then she should know what she is." He fell silent for a moment, then looked skyward as well; it was leaden gray and fat snowflakes were drifting to the ground. "Winter Born said the Pearl Feather spoke as if he's met the Red Swan before," he said. "Ishkode's story said that he kidnapped her in the past," Thomas said. "But if Winter Born heard it all right, the way he was talking to her didn't sound like that's the only time he met her," Charmian protested. "All those things he said about her sounded like..." She paused. "They sounded like he was talking about Geezhigo-Quae." Her face screwed up. "What the hell does the Red Swan have to do with Geezhigo-Quae?! Geezhigo doesn't even know who she is! NOBODY knows who she is, except--" Her eyes went wide. "Except Mishosha!" The other two looked skeptical. "Think about it!" Charmian insisted, grasping Thomas's sleeve. "Little Wind says he guards her--it's almost like he was MADE to guard her! He used to talk about her to Makwaquae. Winter Born just said Megissogwun knows Mishosha's been holding out on him. Who else would he be talking about? If anybody's in any position to know who she really is, it's him." "Well," Thomas said, pursing his lips, "good luck getting information out of him, considering that he's trying to kill us!" Charmian's spirits deflated and she hung her head with a sigh. "Why can't it be anybody else we know...?" she lamented. "Even Megissogwun would probably be more forthcoming..." "I think we have more important things to focus on right now," Moon Wolf said, as a figure came jogging through the snow toward them. Manabozho's face was pale, and he slowed to a stop before them, gasping for breath and pointing west. "Something...something's going on ahead," he wheezed. "I would've gone on myself, but...I thought I should at least...warn you ahead of time." "Warn us--?" Charmian echoed, when a weird, high-pitched wailing filled the air, still faint with distance. Another wail joined it, then another, an even weirder tittering sound joining in every so often. "Ew!" Thomas exclaimed, making a face and putting a hand to his ear; the wolves surrounding the group reacted by whining and shaking their heads, pacing in circles. "What's that dreadful noise--?" "I think maybe it's Uncle Kabebonikka's next trick," Manabozho said with a face of his own. He looked at Charmian and shrugged. "It didn't look that difficult to pass through. But I'm part manitou, and most of you aren't. Do you want to go straight through or find some way around...?" "Well...if we go around, then Kabebonikka's likely to just send it after us--whatever it is," Charmian said, and winced when the tittering noises grew louder and then faded again. "Cripes! What is it, anyway? It sounds just as nasty as GeeBees!" Augwak, off near the back of the group, stuck out his tongue as far as he could. "Ugh! Even WE can't make such a horrible racket!" He clawed at his ears; a glance at Pakwa showed them that he wasn't much better off. Charmian looked at Mani, seeing how his fur bristled and he stomped a hoof and swiveled his ears in apparent irritation. "I guess we head straight through," she said reluctantly. "Before anybody's brain implodes." They started walking again. "I guess some ears are more sensitive to it than others. It just sounds annoying, to me." "I feel like somebody's trying to drive nails into my head," Thomas muttered, wincing again. "I dunno. I think it's kind of catchy!" Marten, sitting on Peepaukawiss's shoulder, said, and started bobbing from side to side and humming. After a moment of this he stopped and made a face. "All right, so it's lousy! You can't blame me for trying!" "Mind filling us in just a bit on what we're going to be facing, exactly...?" Charmian murmured as she joined Manabozho at the front. Ahead, the land opened up somewhat as the trees grew fewer, though it was still somewhat hilly and the snow appeared to be getting heavier. He shrugged. "I'm not quite sure I can explain it. I think it's one of those things that it's better to see for yourself!" Charmian rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the help!" She squinted and shielded her face against the growing wind. "Does all that snow ahead have anything to do with it--?" "No," Manabozho said. "That is it." "Huh? Just snow...?" Even as the words left her mouth, she knew that she shouldn't have said them; and sure enough, as they drew closer and the wailing and tittering grew loud enough to make even her ears throb, and the wind whipped at their hair and clothes and seemed to pierce straight through them, she regretted her flippant comment. Ahead the land swelled into a small hill before gently descending into a valley or hollow on the other side, and atop the hill snow was whipping around in numerous little whirlwinds, each about as tall as a person. They broke apart and re-formed every so often, but Charmian figured that there must have been at least a few dozen. She puzzled over this; she'd never seen so many whirlwinds in one place before, and the noises these ones made made it seem almost like they were living things. The tittering sounded almost like-- She shielded her teary eyes. "Are those things laughing at us--?" "How can whirlwinds laugh--?" Winter Born nearly had to yell. "I think they're windlings," Manabozho said loudly. "You mean wind elementals...?" Charmian eyed the odd funnels as they spun about. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense...but aren't most windlings relatively harmless? I mean, aside from GeeBees and mitchi manitous and such, I've never had any trouble with elementals." Manabozho shrugged again. "It depends on who sent them!" He lifted a hand and pointed it at the whirlwinds. "Want me to just blast us a way through? It should be easy enough." Charmian grimaced. "You would say something like that! Go ahead and try, if you think you really can!" He snorted, then let loose a gust of wind from his hand. It smacked into the nearest whirlwind as it spun past and blew it into pieces; flakes of snow went flying in every direction and the other whirlwinds scuttled away from the blast like frightened birds. They didn't vacate the hill, however, and just kept spinning around and wailing and tittering, but an opening was left through which to pass. Charmian frowned, and was surprised to see Manabozho do the same. They looked at each other, then he puffed himself up and strode forward and through the opening. The whirlwinds tittered even more loudly as he passed and ruffled his feathers, but he made it through to the other side unscathed, where he halted and turned back around. Now he looked utterly baffled, and rubbed at his head. "That's strange," Charmian murmured. "I thought for sure he'd get clobbered like he always does!" "That's strange!" Manabozho yelled over the racket of the whirlwinds. "I thought for sure I'd get clobbered like I usually do!" Charmian rolled her eyes. "Well," Thomas said with a shrug, "maybe it's not Kabebonikka's trick. Because if it is, it's pretty..." "Half assed?" Charmian filled in when he faltered. "I guess...well, since you seem so confident, you can go next." Thomas smirked. "I sense that somebody's been intimidated!" He went walking toward the whirlwinds. This time one that had strayed into the opening moved out of his way and he made it through as safely as Manabozho. Now they both stood on the other side of the hill with perplexed looks on their faces. Charmian growled. "There's no way this can be right." "Guess there's only one way to find out!" Marten exclaimed, and hopped down and went dashing through the whirlwinds. He even stopped to reach out and stick his hand in and out of one before hastening through to the other side. He waved cheerily at the others while Charmian ran her fingernails down her face. "You're right," Thomas called out, "this is pretty half assed." "Maybe they're just harmless windlings after all," Charmian said skeptically, and gestured. "Come on then! May as well not waste time thinking." Everyone reluctantly headed toward the whirring winds and started picking their way through the opening. Charmian waited near the hill to be the last one through, though Winter Born got down from Mani's back and lingered behind as well, staring at the whirlwinds curiously. The others finished passing through and congregated on the other side of the hill; Charmian waved at Winter Born and stepped forward. "Stay close to me. This just seems way too easy." "Okay," Winter Born said, and they went into the opening. Charmian got to take approximately four steps before one of the whirlwinds to her right broke free of the rest and suddenly enveloped her, making her yelp and grab at her clothes as it felt like they could get torn away. She hunched over and tried to keep her balance, barely able to see the others staring through at her in surprise. Thomas and Singing Cedars both attempted to run back inside, but were rebuffed when the whirlwinds converged again, closing the opening; Niskigwun grabbed his pipe and blew a medicine dart at the winds, but it seemed to have no effect other than making them whirl around even more madly. "I KNEW THIS WAS WAY TOO EASY!!" Charmian yelled at the top of her lungs. She gasped when she realized that Winter Born was no longer right behind her, and tried turning around to see where she'd gone. "Winter Born--?" "Ch-Charmian!!" Charmian blinked; the shout had come from behind her after all. She finally managed to turn around and saw that Winter Born hadn't even made one step into the whirlwinds, and was still standing on the other side, separated from the rest of the group. Her eyes were wide and she was shielding them as if trying to see better. "Charmian!" she yelled again. "How do you get out--?" "I--" Charmian cut herself off with a sputter when the wind picked up and managed to knock her off balance. She heard Winter Born and several of the others shouting over the tumult, and tried pushing herself up, but she was rolling across the ground before she could even open her eyes. She yelped and drew in her arms and legs to avoid breaking them and just let the wind carry her where it might. The noise it made around her was deafening. Just when she was sure that she was about to throw up, she ran into something which jarred her, and then was grabbed hold of and yanked upwards. She screamed and started striking out, fearing what sort of windlings these might be after all. "Ow!!" an offended voice exclaimed. "See if I ever try helping YOU again!!" "H-huh--?" Charmian blurted out, and her eyes popped open. Manabozho was the one holding her, and he was rubbing at his face with a disgusted look. Thomas and Singing Cedars and the others stood around him, staring at her in surprise. Charmian's brow furrowed and she turned back to the whirlwinds. They hadn't dissipated any; if anything, they seemed to have only increased in numbers and strength, and their wailing and tittering created a veritable cacophony. The wolves were whining and trotting around in agitated circles; Mani and the okis were holding up moderately well, but the two GeeBees looked like they wanted to tear their own ears off, and Thomas didn't look much better. "Winter Born?" a voice shouted, and she looked to the side to see Black Elk Horn standing right up close to the whirlwinds, shielding his own eyes and peering through them. He kept trying to step through, but each time they pushed him back; he even pulled out the gun and tried hitting them with the stock, but the gun always bounced back as if off a large balloon. He seemed to have the sense of mind to know that shooting them probably wouldn't be a good idea, at least, though Charmian couldn't think of anything to do, either. She slipped out of Manabozho's grip and approached the whirlwinds herself. Poking at them gingerly with her finger resulted in nothing more than a tugging sensation, and pushing on them with her hand resulted in resistance, as if they were pushing back. Judging by Black Elk Horn's fruitless efforts to dash inside them, that was exactly what they were doing. She looked through at Winter Born, standing forlornly on the other side. "Winter Born?" she yelled. "Can you try running through--?" Winter Born bit her lip. "I'll try!" she shouted back, and turned and jogged away from the whirlwinds. She halted at the bottom of the hill, shifted from foot to foot a few times, then braced herself and came running back as fast as she could. Charmian and Black Elk Horn watched breathlessly as she came up close to the whirlwinds, holding her arms up before her face as if expecting the shock which Charmian half expected herself--which was why when that didn't seem to happen she was so surprised. One of the whirlwinds broke free of the group and spun crazily toward the little girl, snatching her up right before she could run into the rest of them. She let out a startled yelp as it spun her around in circles, her braids flying out around her; Black Elk Horn started hitting the whirlwinds with the gun again as if attacking a stubborn piñata, and Charmian took a step back, yelling, "Wind!" and trying to blast her way back through, with no results. Before they could begin panicking, however, the stray whirlwind deposited Winter Born safely back at the bottom of the hill and then rejoined its companions, and the tittering grew louder than before. Winter Born stood blinking where she'd been left, evidently surprised. She furrowed her brow, then ran back to the hilltop. When this resulted in the same thing as before, another whirlwind carrying her and dropping her off a short distance away, she at last walked back to the group of whirlwinds and shrugged helplessly. "I think they don't WANT me running through!" she shouted. Charmian rubbed at her head. "Why would they let all the rest of us through but not her?" she asked, confused. "Is this one of Mishosha's tricks after all?" "I've never seen Grandfather Mishosha use any sort of technique like this," Little Wind murmured, just as mystified. "Charmian," Moon Wolf said, and she looked at him. "You said that as part of the bargain for passing through to the west, Kabebonikka would receive custody of Winter Born if we failed," he said, and Charmian nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Why? You think he wants to make sure we fail?" Moon Wolf looked at the whirlwinds. Charmian followed suit and now saw Winter Born cupping her hands around her face as if to see them better, every so often sticking her hand through and getting it pushed back out. She was biting her lip and her eyes were damp, but she wasn't crying. Moon Wolf frowned. "No," he said at last. "I think he wants to make sure we succeed." |