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Escape From Manitou Island: Part 172 |
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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.)
HIDING IN THE DARK MANABOZHO SHOT TO his feet, fists clenched, and shook his head wildly at Charmian. "It WASN'T ME!!" Charmian blinked, then sucked in a breath, whirling to Thomas. "Then where the heck did that wind attack come from--?" Before he could answer a horrible voice, seeming to come from everywhere at once, boomed, "I DO NOT CARE WHO RULES OVER THIS REGION! NO ONE ATTACKS A BROTHER MANITOU SO AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!!" Thomas furrowed his brow when Charmian's face briefly went blank. She recognized the voice, but couldn't place it; Manabozho's eyes widened when he seemed to realize the same thing, then his mouth gaped in an almost comic fashion and he threw up his arms. He managed to let out the briefest startled noise before another gale of wind swept over them, this one sweeping the already bewildered buffalo spirit far across the snow as if to carry it away completely. Its distressed lowing noises quickly grew into an almost-wail of panic as it became little more than a speck in the distance. Winter Born turned her head to look behind them and gasped, pointing. "Charmian--! Is he with Mishosha--?" Charmian tensed and turned as well. She couldn't quite be sure what she was seeing, at first. Some sort of glowing apparition stood some distance away, and she could tell that its arms were outstretched, but other than that, she had no idea what it was. She glanced around for Kenu, hoping that he wasn't acting up, but he'd apparently transformed back into his human shape some time ago (*didn't he transform on Charmian's request earlier?), as even he was quailing and hiding behind Mani's leg. "What the--" Charmian got to say, when the glowing shape lifted its arms higher and the strange yet familiar voice boomed again. "I WILL TEACH YOU TO SHOW YOUR FELLOW SPIRITS SOME RESPECT!" Winter Born squeaked and ducked her head, Charmian and Thomas doing the same, when the shape flung its arms forward--but instead of a gust of wind, there was a high-pitched wail, and the shape grew smaller and smaller, though the glow around it became almost blinding to look at. Charmian had to squint as the light zoomed toward them and zipped right past, leaving a trail behind it like a comet, and she felt her heart do a flip when she realized how like a fireball it looked. It sped past directly under Manabozho's nose so that he jumped back in surprise, and sailed at the buffalo spirit which was finally attempting to get to its feet. Charmian saw it lift its head, then the little light was going at it from all angles, and the buffalo staggered and pitched from side to side, letting out awful noises of pain and fear. "What...what the heck is that thing--?" Charmian whispered, not sure if she even wanted to know. "Is this some sort of new attack of Mishosha's--?" "I thought he was the one having that buffalo-thing ATTACK us in the first place!" Thomas protested, obviously as confused as she was. "You said he's flighty but are you sure he's that flighty--?" "Moon Wolf!" Charmian called out, pushing herself upright enough that he could see her, as he was some distance away, near Francois. "Is it a wabano--?" He shook his head, brow furrowed. "It feels like a manitou--but aside from that, I can't say WHAT it is!" Charmian next turned to Manabozho in the hopes that he would know, but he had already turned away from her to face the attack. "HEY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "THIS IS MY FIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!" Charmian got ready to scoop up a snowball and throw it at him when the buffalo spirit came running back in their direction. Her muscles untensed a little when she saw that its motions were different from before. Whereas earlier it had jerked about like a marionette manipulated by some crazy puppet master, it now ran with direction and purpose, and she could tell that it was again under its own control. For some reason, Mishosha had stopped his attack--but whatever was attacking the spirit now didn't seem to realize this. The firefly-fast light kept pelting at the buffalo spirit's sides like an angry bird defending its nest, and-- "Charmian!" Winter Born gasped, giving a little hop as she pointed at them. "It's some kind of bird--!" "Wha--?" Charmian got out, feeling as if Winter Born had just read her mind. But when the buffalo changed direction to try to throw the light off, she could see that that was exactly what it was. A large crested* bird was keeping pace alongside the spirit, wings flapping madly, and every time it divebombed the spirit to peck at it, it glowed even brighter. It looked vaguely like a bluejay, and again Charmian was reminded of something she couldn't quite place, and this frustrated her. "What sort of crazy spirits do they have here--?" Stick-In-The-Dirt, even further away than Moon Wolf, cried, shaking his rattle. "What did that thing say when it attacked--?" Francois countered, his gun ready but his finger away from the trigger. "'Who rules over this region'? What if this thing isn't even from here--?" "That's right," Charmian gasped. "It called Manabozho a brother manitou!" She got to her feet. "That thing's trying to DEFEND us!" "Well, I think it's doing an admirable job!" Thomas said. Charmian shook her head. "That spirit's not attacking us anymore--and it's not even the real bad guy! We have to get that thing to stop!" She cupped her hands to her mouth. "Manabozho--!" Manabozho stood not too far from where the buffalo spirit was currently spinning in circles, lowing and trying madly to get the bird to stop attacking it. His face scrunched up and he stomped his foot hard enough to make the ground shake, then flailed his arms like a child throwing a tantrum. "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!! How dare you ruin my fight! I CAN HANDLE THIS ON MY OWN, YOU STUPID LITTLE BIRD!!" The glowing bird abruptly zipped up and away from the buffalo spirit, which wheezed and tottered and sank into the snow in exhaustion. "My brother calls upon me to desist--?" the voice, now coming from the bird, said, and it puffed up and drew its wings in. "So be it! Anything for my dearest brother!" "What's all this brother stuff--?" Charmian had time to say as the bird's glow grew brighter and its shape began to change. Evidently Manabozho was thinking the same thing, based on the awful look that he got on his face when the glow assumed a vaguely human size and shape before him. "You little pellet-brain!" he snapped, shaking his fist at it. "You're no brother of--" The glow died away and Charmian's mouth fell open. Manabozho's did the same when he found his fist being grasped, and Wisakedjak exclaimed, "We are BOTH brothers in our fight against these hideous spirits set on deterring us from our quest!" And then he enveloped Manabozho in a hug that made him wheeze as loudly as the buffalo. "Wisakedjak," Charmian whispered, not quite certain if she should believe it. Just as Manabozho started struggling to pry himself loose, she hurried toward them and looked him up and down. "You're okay!" she exclaimed, when he at last let Manabozho go. "I thought Mishosha might've done something awful to you!" Wisakedjak blinked as if caught offguard, then puffed up a little again--she noticed at last that the feathers he wore looked just like those that the bird had had--and dusted himself off. "I must grudgingly admit that those two ruffled me a little," he said, getting a sour look, "but not nearly for long! After all, they're mere humans and I'm a manitou--" "Half-manitou," Manabozho grumbled, also dusting himself off. "--So of course I could hardly allow myself to remain down after they left." He shook a fist and scowled. "Those louts RUINED my tunnel! The hours of work that went into that thing! And then they think they can just attack my brother so--?" He again turned to Manabozho and held out his arms. "When he is only just nearing the end of his noble quest--?" "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Manabozho roared, making him take a startled step back. Fortunately, his attitude didn't seem to dampen Wisakedjak's that much, and he turned back to Charmian with wide eyes. "Those two can control the spirits around here! I saw it attacking you. I just had to follow those louts west to make sure you all made it out of my tunnel all right, and when I catch up I see that hideous thing!" He pointed at the buffalo spirit, which, having recovered by now, bristled and snorted in offense. Wisakedjak shuddered. "Ugh! Shall I blow its head open--?" He held up his hand. Then yelped when Charmian swung out and smacked it down so hard that it made a snapping noise, and he jumped back, shaking it wildly. "NO, YOU SHAN'T!" she yelled. "GOD you two are just alike!! Stop trying to blow things up! This spirit ISN'T a bad guy, it was just like you said and he was being compelled to attack us. By those louts who blew up your tunnel! I'd really appreciate it if you don't go attacking the manitous around here since we'll probably be needing them!" "Well you don't have to be so rude about it!" Wisakedjak huffed, rubbing his sore arm. He leaned far to the side, toward Manabozho, and said from the corner of his mouth, "Kind of touchy, isn't she--?" When Manabozho opened his mouth and looked as if he fully intended to agree, she gave him such an awful look that he immediately shut it again. "If you want to be any help," she snapped, "then why not head south and try to find our friends? This spirit here tried doing it but Mishosha and Makwaquae--those louts who ruined your tunnel--are in that direction and they obviously have control over him. So we can't send him back--" Wisakedjak was already holding up his hand. "Say no more! Well--except who it is you're looking for--?" He got a puzzled look. "A water serpent and a wolf demon," Charmian growled, teeth grinding. He held up his hand again. "Say no more! I'll go seek them out and let them know of your progress. I'm afraid I can't follow you all along to the west as I have to see to my lodge and try to dry out another tunnel, see...but this is the least I can do for my friends--and my DEAREST BROTHER!" He turned to Manabozho and let out a war whoop that made everyone jump, then transformed back into a jay and went flapping off southward. Charmian realized that she'd forgotten to tell him that the other two were underground--or, rather, he'd never given her the chance to say so--but decided against calling him back. One Manabozho was more than enough. Singing Cedars was standing by the buffalo spirit with his okis and they were apparently communicating. "He says he'd best head back to his own people," he explained when Charmian turned their way. "He isn't certain if he can hold off whatever Mishosha is doing to him, so perhaps if he stays with the others, they can stop him from coming after us again." "I hope he didn't get control over that other spirit," Charmian sighed. "Otherwise we're going to have to stop and chat up everybody we pass just to get through! Is everybody FINALLY ready to keep heading out now--?" "I thought our original plan was to find a decent spot to rest--?" Lieutenant Barrington cut in, and Charmian blinked when she remembered their reason for calling upon the spirits here in the first place. The sky had gotten even darker in the meantime, and more than a few of the others were trying not to yawn or rub their eyes. Charmian had to mentally commend Barrington himself when she saw how he made faces only when she pretended not to be looking at him, shifting from foot to foot in his moccasins. "I guess so," she admitted at last. "I really don't like being out in the open like this..." "It should be easy enough to dig out a spot for the night," Manabozho said, and held out a hand toward the ground. "Help or no help! This, I assure you, I can handle." And he started plowing the snow aside into piles and scooping out a small section of earth to settle down in. Marten hopped over and began packing the plowed snow into a small wall to surround the cleared section, and Winter Born and Remy hastened to help. Kenu hesitated only a moment or so before giving in and doing the same, his eyes alight as they constructed the snow fort. Charmian thought wistfully of Fort Holmes; she looked at Barrington and noticed the unease on his face, but he followed the others when they started to help out as best as they could. Charmian tried to protest when Stick-In-The-Dirt pointed Thomas toward the snow walls and took Charmian aside, setting her down within the emerging enclosure and digging out the little jar that Mudroot had given her. Thomas worked on hardening the walls while Stick-In-The-Dirt applied some of the gooey substance to the worst of Charmian's cuts, making her wince. "I know it galls you," he said, "but we're going to be resting in a moment anyway, so some extra rest won't hurt any. It's a wonder you haven't bled to death! Besides," he said when she opened her mouth, "some sleep might help us focus on things. We don't know what to expect in the west. If you have any way to speak with this Chakenapok, or anyone, you might want to take it now." Charmian bit her lip, thinking anxiously of how everything seemed to be turning out regarding Chakenapok and the Red Swan, but said nothing; she could do the worrying for both of them. Plus Winter Born was coming their way, and Stick-In-The-Dirt took the jar and left to go try to see to Black Elk Horn's injuries, although the ogimah certainly didn't make it easy for him. Winter Born sat down in a huddle next to Charmian and they watched the others continue their work, a few snowflakes starting to drift down from the sky again. "You think you can still talk with Chakenapok...?" she murmured. "Maybe," Charmian said, "but do you think you can do the same with the Red Swan...?" Winter Born bit her own lip. "I'm not sure...I'm worried about her, after what she said to me. She was so mad I thought she'd hate me! But then she was so scared..." She hugged her knees to her chest and stared pensively into the enclosure. "I hate saying it...and I know they both seemed sincere...but I really don't know if I should believe either of them..." Charmian blinked on realizing how alike to her own thoughts this comment was, but said nothing. She stared at the others' progress until she noticed that Winter Born had fallen asleep against her, then allowed her own eyes to drift shut, not sure if she wanted to see anything, not sure if she wanted to see nothing at all. When she became conscious of seeing nothing, she tried mentally to swallow her anxiety, wondering what was going to end up happening now. She waited a pretty long time, and at last began to grow a bit impatient, looking around herself, unable to see if she was in a specific location or just nowhere. She would have tapped her foot had she been able. "Well...?" she said at last, not even sure if she was really saying anything. "If something's going to happen, then..." She trailed off when she felt water around her feet. Frowning, she sloshed them a bit, then called out, "Chakenapok--? That you--?" She cut herself off again when she felt the water rising now, to her ankles, her knees, her waist. She sucked in a breath when she realized that she wasn't even walking, so why was it that the underground lake was getting deeper--? "Chakenapok--?" she called out, then, when the water started creeping toward her chest, "This isn't funny!! I don't care how pissed off you are, knock it--" She sucked in another breath, almost yelping, when the water rushed up to her neck and she had to shut her mouth as it enveloped her completely. The ground went out from underneath her and she paddled her arms frantically, eyes wide and straining to see anything at all, but it was still as dark as night and now if she didn't find some way out of here she would drown-- Just like that, the water vanished, and Charmian wheezed and collapsed, gasping for breath. She stumbled to her feet and spun in a circle but still saw nothing, and this was making her more and more frantic. She hated not knowing what was going on, especially in her own mind! "Chakenapok!" she cried, hating how her voice cracked. "What the heck's--" "Did you feel it? Did you sense it--?" Charmian's voice vanished when she heard the Red Swan speaking, and she froze in place as if expecting to get struck down. She stood that way for what seemed like an eternity, before daring to open her mouth. She didn't get to speak as the Red Swan's voice spoke first. "You did feel it, then--?" Another very long pause. Charmian didn't know if she even wanted to speak to her by now. When she realized that it was obvious the Red Swan knew she was there, she bit her lip, then said in a small voice, "Um...felt what...?" "The water. You felt it--? I've been seeing it, but I don't know what it is. All I know is, it hurts, and the Island is crying." Charmian blinked. "What--?" she blurted out, confused. "What do you mean by that--? Is something wrong on the Island--?" She clenched her fists and looked upward blindly. "Chakenapok--!!" Mainlander--? Chakenapok's voice came to her, and she started when she realized that he was further away than the Red Swan was. Then what was with the water--? Where was she? I can't hear you very well anymore, he said, and that really worried her. "What the heck is going on?" Charmian blurted out. "What was all that? What's this about water and the Island crying and where the heck are you two and where am I--?!" Something started glowing not far from her and she gasped and jumped, flinging up a hand as if to throw a fireball, although she didn't know if she could. She blinked when she saw the Red Swan, and realized that she was the one who was glowing. The strange thing was...despite her red clothing, the glow surrounding her was a strange blue, shimmering like sunlight playing on water. Even as Charmian watched it flared and dimmed and flared again like the glow she kept seeing around Winter Born, and Charmian could tell that this must be the Red Swan's power. "I don't know how or why it is," the Red Swan said, what looked to be fear in her eyes, "but I feel it. The Island. I know it's so far away from me but...I don't know! It seems so close! Right here." She placed a fist against her chest. "It hurts right here." Mainlander, this isn't a good idea, Chakenapok's voice came faintly. You can obviously see the power around her. Something is making it harder for me to sense her, but I can tell that whatever her medicine is, it's only growing. Growing--? Charmian swallowed. "You told Winter Born it's getting dark," she said. "Mishosha is strengthening his trap around you--?" The Red Swan opened her mouth but it was Chakenapok who answered. Mainlander, I've been doing all I can to try to sense things properly, and it's not the wabano doing this. It's her own medicine. Now the Red Swan blinked. "He's--he's lying!" she cried. "Why would I hide myself away--? Why would I do something like this when all I ever wanted was to be free from here--?" In response Charmian reached out her hand and concentrated until the Red Swan's spirit came into view. The Red Swan gasped and tried to jerk back, but the spirit stone was already visible, and although the jagged streaks of black swirled around it as darkly as ever, the bits of blue that showed between them were flaring like a star getting ready to go supernova. The two of them stared at it in silence for a moment. "I'm not lying, Red Swan," Charmian said. "You know me and you know I wouldn't do things like you said to Winter Born. You can look at my own spirit and tell I'm telling the truth. Why did you tell her those things? Why do you think I'd lie to either of you?" The Red Swan just continued staring down at her spirit stone. Charmian could tell that she really was confused and afraid of what she saw, and was again perplexed that someone's spirit could be so without their knowledge. "I...it was the only thing that made any sense," the Red Swan whispered. "I know you're afraid of her power. I know it reminds you of the demon you fought. I didn't lie about anything, either. Everything I said was the truth as I saw it." "You really think I was lying to Winter Born?" Charmian's brow furrowed. "I'm NOT trying to pit any of you against each other! The only thing I'm trying to do is get Turtle, and save the Island. That's all I wanted to do. And come free you, too. I said I would and I meant it, but you have to help me! Stop confusing things and tell me what's going on!" "That spirit made me disappear," the Red Swan cried, her eyes filling with tears as she tried covering up her spirit stone. I never did a single thing to harm you, even though I easily could have, Chakenapok retorted. If I had not gotten rid of that Pearl Feather when I did then what do you think would have become of you--? "But--he used to be able to make spirits dark--" "He can't do that anymore," Charmian said. "I saw his spirit myself, and I was there when he lost that power. See this--?" She waited until her own spirit stone came into view. "His spirit looks just like this. You're the only one, of the three of us, whose spirit looks like that." "Why should I believe either of you?" the Red Swan said, taking a step back. "I never did anything to hurt anyone, either! I just wanted out of here. Now you tell me my spirit is evil and I should believe you? Why? What sense does that make?" Charmian struggled to think of an argument, but failed. "I don't know what to tell you," she admitted at last. "Except to look at it for yourself--I know you have--and decide what to do. I told you I'd come free you, and that I'd help the Island, and I still plan to do this, but I really can't without knowing where you stand." A pause. "They keep telling me you're dangerous, that you were trapped for the good of everything. I want to free you, but why would the Thunderbirds and everyone else lie about that? Just think about it for a minute. Pretend for a minute that Chakenapok's not here, and I'm not here, and it's just you, and you've been told all this. The only reason you have to think that any of us are lying is that you just don't want to believe you're really like that." The Red Swan stared at her for a long moment, her eyes brimming and hands trembling. She slowly looked down at her spirit stone again, and they stood in silence for a while. "If I'm really like this," she whispered at last, "and I'm truly dangerous...then why don't I feel it? How can I not know?" "Mishosha says you're not a dark manitou," Charmian said. "So you're not evil! But I need to figure out exactly what you are. Chakenapok's spirit was cleared; then that means yours can be, too. But I have to figure out how before I can free you. Ishkode-Aanakwad said that if I release you, it could endanger the Island itself. I know you wouldn't want that--" The Red Swan winced and bent over, one hand clasped to her chest. Charmian almost panicked until she said, "The Island--! I feel it...I don't know how! I've never even set foot there! But it feels like it's crying..." She managed to lift her head enough to meet Charmian's eyes, and Charmian took in a breath at the anguished look there. "The water...I don't know what it means, but this is what I keep sensing, when the Island hurts..." Mainlander, Chakenapok said, there is something I did not get to tell you before. I believe the girl knows of it already. There is a dream, or a vision, going about the Island, and everyone is seeing the same thing. They see water, and darkness, and feel that they cannot breathe. Everyone from the Ocryxes to the Islanders to the smallest animals is reporting this vision. I've since had it myself, and though I have no idea why, the Red Swan seems to be having it now too. "A mass dream...?" Charmian murmured, confused. "Is that possible?" She shook her head; that wasn't the most important question that could be asked right now. "The Islanders are having this dream--? They think it has to do with the Island somehow?" When she sensed a mental nod from Chakenapok she bit her lip. "It makes me think of the flood story! Manitou Island is a living thing, isn't it--? It hides places and then shows them when it feels like it--and everybody who lives there is connected to it somehow. If it's afraid that this is going to happen again--then it could be making people feel this too..." Her brow furrowed. "But why would the Red Swan be getting the same dream? She's not from the Island..." "If I wanted to destroy the Island, then why would I feel this right here...?" the Red Swan added, her fingers splaying over her heart. "I don't think it's a matter of wanting," Charmian said. "I think it's just a matter of being capable of it." She shook her head when the Red Swan opened her mouth. "I can't answer it right now! I really don't know. I'll figure it out, if you just help us. But I need to know why it is that your own power is starting to shield you from us! Chakenapok sounds so far away. If we can't get to you, then we can't get to the Island..." "I'm not even doing anything," the Red Swan insisted. "All of this--" she gestured at the darkness surrounding them "--I want it gone too! I want out of here! Why would I make it worse--? Why would I hide when I want you to come find me--?" Listen to her, Chakenapok said. It's not what you want, but what you're capable of doing. Maybe this is what makes you so dangerous--you don't know how to control your power. Just like the girl. The Red Swan's eyes went wide just as Charmian's did. "That must be it!" Charmian exclaimed, and clenched her fists, taking a step toward the Red Swan. "Listen! You'll be okay! You just have to try to calm down and then maybe we can find some way through this! It worked with Winter Born--I know you could do it too!" For the first time in a long time, Charmian saw a flicker of hope flit through the Red Swan's eyes, and the glow around her, which had been flaring in an agitated way, dimmed somewhat; "You'll still help me--?" she asked. "After what I said--after what the Animiki said--?" "Of course," Charmian said. "I mean it when I make a promise. It might take a while but--" She gasped and cringed back when the glow around the Red Swan suddenly flared to life so brightly that it hurt her eyes. The Red Swan's own eyes flashed blue at the same time, and Charmian threw up her hands, recognizing the sign of a manitou powering up when she saw it. Mainlander--! Chakenapok's voice exclaimed in alarm. "Red Swan--!" Charmian blurted out, and her hands started glowing. "I said calm down--!!" She braced herself for some sort of awful attack--despite the Red Swan's apparent improvement in attitude, it looked like she'd just pulled a one-eighty--which was why she blinked in surprise when she received a reply that wasn't accusing her of anything for once. "I sense him coming!" the Red Swan cried, her voice coming out in awful hiss. "He tried this before--it surprised me--but I can feel him now! He must sense me when I'm in people's dreams! He followed me here!" Mainlander, Chakenapok said again, and Charmian blinked again to realize that his earlier exclamation hadn't been a warning about the Red Swan. I sense him too--somehow he follows dreams and can reach us here. He tried it with me before but I managed to stop him--but he got through the last time, and this time I can't fix on either of you that well-- "Red Swan!" Charmian yelled. "If you stop shielding yourself then maybe Chakenapok can protect you--" The Red Swan shook her head violently, her own fists clenched; the glow around her was so bright that Charmian could barely see her by now. Her eyes looked like two brilliant hollows in her face, and Charmian shivered at the sight. "I don't know how to control this yet--but if you wake up--at least you can get away from him. You say I have power--I'll try to hold him off until..." MAINLANDER! Chakenapok shouted, so loudly that she nearly jumped. He's not in the dream! he warned. He's-- The glow vanished from the Red Swan's eyes--though not from around the rest of her--and Charmian paused briefly at the stunned look there. "He's--" she gasped, then glanced at Charmian. "He's with you!" "What--?" Charmian cried, before she felt wind gust against her, and her dream of the Red Swan vanished when she awoke again in the hollow in the ground, and she could tell from the looks on the others' faces that the gale wasn't from Kabebonikka this time. |