|
Escape From Manitou Island: Part 182 |
|
(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.)
WINTER GIRL VS. WINTERMAKER YOU REALLY DIDN'T think I'd quit that easily, did you? Charmian felt the blood drain from her face. She and everyone else in the group stared north and east, seeing the horizon fade from sight as it was filled with an unbelievable number of whirlwinds kicking up gouts of snow, their spinning making her ears throb with its loud whining drone. As they drew closer, she could tell that they were of the same sort that had accosted them further east, only these ones seemed bigger, and there were a lot more of them. They spun around each other and back into line as they drew closer, almost as if they were engaging in some sort of dance. "You already tried this," she said weakly. I know, Kabebonikka's voice said. But even with as much as I hate to appear unimaginative, it was pretty interesting, was it not? There was a brief pause as the whirlwinds hummed and spun closer, then he added, But I agree, let's spice things up a bit--and an awful SHIINNG noise made them all flinch, when giant wicked shards of ice suddenly jutted out of the whirlwinds every which way. They somehow avoided hitting each other despite their closeness, and Charmian could see how the shards were positioned such that they closely passed by each other, like the teeth of a zipper, and through the neighboring winds, without even hitting each other. It didn't even look possible, and she could tell that should the whirlwinds bear down on them, there would be no way through without getting sliced to ribbons. Charmian didn't even notice that she was starting to fall over before Thomas and Moon Wolf grasped her elbows. She wanted to say something, perhaps rail against Kabebonikka for coming up with such a dirty trick now that they were so close, but knew full well that this was only what he'd promised the whole time. "Even if there's no magic barrier," she murmured, "there's no way we'll ever make it through those things. Not even if we jump around and duck. I don't think even Marten could make it." "Can...can we fly over them...?" X'aaru asked, watching the whirlwinds with wide eyes. As soon as he asked this, several of the nearer winds suddenly shot upwards, increasing in height so that they towered over the others, then shrank back down to their normal height. A few more did the same, then a few more, in some sort of pattern that none of them could determine. The demon's tail slunk between his legs and he lowered his head. "Guess...guess not," he said meekly. "I'm guessing we can't outrun them, or tunnel under them," Manabozho said, "even if we could dig fast enough!" He braced himself, hands facing outward. "All right--I know I can knock in at least a few of them..." Pakwa ambled forward and also held out one hand, though he didn't look as convinced. Charmian swallowed and pulled her arms away from Thomas and Moon Wolf. "Maybe all together we can do at least a little damage," she said, "and those of us who can't attack them, can keep running west. If at least some of us get there then that's good enough." She braced herself as Manabozho had done. "So, who's ready to face them down...?" She trailed off when she noticed that nobody was leaving, and felt her ears grow hot. "What?" Thomas said, sounding offended. "You think we're just going to bail out after all that other stuff?" Charmian blinked. "Well--yeah, kind of. I know some of you WANT to!" And she glared at Peepaukawiss, then Little Wind. Puka started hopping from foot to foot, mashing Marten to his breast. "Eeehhhh...! As much as I'd adore fleeing--er--beating a hasty--er--exiting, I do have a duty to attend to!" He threw out one hand as if to hurl wind, but just kept dancing about, cringing and whimpering and jangling. Charmian rolled her eyes. "Oh, cripes. Those of us who can actually do anything--I think we better do it now!" She placed her wrists together and summoned up the largest fireball she could in such a short time, and threw it. It sailed at the nearest approaching whirlwinds and struck one in the middle--some of the ice shards snapped and went flying, and the whirlwind seemed to topple in on itself until it was only half its normal height, then it was lost from view as the others converged around it and kept approaching. At least it was something. She let out a breath. "I think maybe we can hold them off for a bit," she said, just as Niskigwun stepped up beside her and blew into something. She saw the long narrow pipe that he held to his mouth, and only then remembered the crystal medicine shards he had; she knew he couldn't possibly have enough to subdue all the whirlwinds, but perhaps there was enough to give them a head start. The shard struck another one of the whirlwinds and it seemed to evaporate in a puff; Charmian's face lit up, but Niskigwun shook his head. "They're not dispersing. We're merely breaking them apart, and then the other winds take them up again. See?" He pointed toward the further edge of the group of winds. Charmian squinted and saw several of them over here briefly grow larger and faster, before smaller whirlwinds burst out of them, converged, and formed a completely new whirlwind that she knew, with a sinking heart, must be simply the one Niskigwun had just hit. "Maybe it's just the shard medicine that's not working," she suggested, desperate. "Maybe if we try something a whole lot stronger, they'll really disperse." She held her hands up again. "I bet I could give it more if I tried..." As she felt the tingling in her arms that signaled the medicine working its way up into her fingers, a small voice said, "Maybe...maybe you're not supposed to fight them...?" Charmian blinked, then felt the medicine die away. She turned to see who had spoken and saw Winter Born fiddling her fingers and peering up at her as she nibbled on her lip. Everyone else stared at her as well, and her face went pink as she shrank into her clothes. Charmian furrowed her brow. "Well...we have to get away from them somehow. If we can't fight them, then what did you have in mind...?" Winter Born just gnawed her lip even harder. Her eyes shifted as she peered at several of the others, as if hoping someone else would speak up; when nobody did, she took in a shaky breath. "I thought...I thought maybe, I thought maybe since you said I have to use my medicine sometime to help us out in everything, well, remember Kabebonikka testing me?--what if this is it again?--and even if it isn't, you keep saying I have to use my medicine somehow, and get used to it, and learn how to control it and everything, and even though I did use it that once, it was only once, and I know that if I want to learn how to do something right I have to keep doing it and keep doing it, at least, that's what Mother and Father always say, so just doing it once won't be nearly enough, so maybe this is a sign or something and I'm supposed to fight them off?--not you?" She gave a horrible grimace and sank into her clothes again. "But maybe--maybe I'm just wrong or something! I don't know. It's up to you, really." Awkward silence. Charmian's own eyes shifted to see the others' reactions. Most of them seemed surprised, though Moon Wolf didn't, and she realized that he must have not spoken up on purpose, in order to prompt Winter Born into talking for herself. She felt her ears grow warm again and rubbed her hands together just to give herself something to do. "Well..." She made a face herself. "I feel like a moron not thinking of it myself! Why didn't you speak up sooner?" When Winter Born lifted her head a bit to peer at her again she gestured at the whirlwinds. "Do you really think you might be able to pull something off...? They seem a lot bigger and scarier than before..." Winter Born blinked, then hurried forward to halt beside her. "If there's anything Mother's taught me it's that big and scary doesn't mean anything," she said as if reciting something from memory. "Something really big and scary like an Uroona or an Ocryx can be harmless while something really small and cute like a snake or a spider can kill you! They're just the same things as the last time, right? Only bigger?" She held up her hands. "I took care of those really easily, didn't I? I could do it again. I mean--maybe. I'm not sure." Charmian mentally slapped herself as soon as the bright aura which had been flaring to life around the girl started to falter a little. "I know you could do it again," she said, and the glow grew a fraction brighter as Winter Born looked back at her. "You just have to control it. And you did that once, so you can do it again. Remember when you went to the Island in your head? And how you came back? Keep yourself here this time and focus on that. That's all it takes." It takes a hell of a lot more than THAT, she told herself, but kept this thought from Winter Born; she apparently already doubted herself more than enough. Winter Born nodded and turned back to the whirlwinds, which had been keeping a respectful distance as if listening in. They let out a roar when she faced them again, and spun faster, then began creeping forward. Charmian waved at several of the others behind her. "Keep close by just in case. I think it'd be okay to take off the edges if we need to!" Manabozho seemed a little irked at being upstaged, but said nothing, instead focusing on the whirlwinds on the far left while Charmian and Moon Wolf and Thomas focused on those closer to the right. They didn't attack yet, and Charmian wasn't sure just how much they would be allowed to interfere, if this was another test on Kabebonikka's part. Oh, relax on this "testing" stuff already, Kabebonikka said in her head, and she flushed. I already did that and she came through admirably, didn't she? The rest of you, however, need no such test, because I just find the prospect of stalling you amusing. That Animiki and that Lynx of yours got away, but considering the circumstances I don't think they count since, basically, they cheated. No such luck for the rest of you, however. And one of the nearest whirlwinds broke ranks with the rest and sailed toward them, its blades slicing madly every which way. Charmian quailed and, forgetting herself, hurled a fireball at it; the others, seeing this, attacked as well, Manabozho and Thomas and Pakwa throwing wind while Moon Wolf threw a fireball and Niskigwun blew more shard medicine. Charmian's fireball smacked into the whirlwind and it broke into pieces which skittered about in the snow; she noticed that the immense blades were now tiny to match the whirlwinds' new size, and almost Awww'ed at the cuteness of them. Winter Born spun about on one foot and clenched her fists. "Hey! I thought I was supposed to attack them!" Charmian blushed horribly. "Er--! Sorry, I just freaked out!" Winter Born's lip stuck out. "Well, knock it off! We're supposed to keep our heads, right--?" And she turned back and held up her arms. Her eyes shut and she bit her lip and looked to be concentrating. "Stop trying so hard!" Moon Wolf snapped before Charmian could say anything. Charmian shook a fist at him, wanting to hurl a snowball, but Winter Born let out a breath and nodded. "I...all right, I remember," she stammered, shutting her eyes again. "I have to call it up..." Although it didn't seem right, and she felt kind of guilty doing it, Charmian surreptitiously felt at Winter Born's thoughts, and was surprised to discover that they weren't shielded in the least; almost anyone else in the group could probably read them, should they choose, though judging by the way their attention was focused on the whirlwinds, she assumed they weren't interested. I'm supposed to do this MYSELF, Winter Born thought suddenly, and Charmian nearly jumped. You--you can feel me--? Of course. I don't know why I wanted Mother to teach me this, it's really easy once you figure it out. She opened one eye and glared at Charmian accusingly. And I'm supposed to figure this out myself, too! I'm not going to help you out this time, Charmian insisted. But I want to see how you do this. And if you can remember to do it in the future. That's what counts most. I know, Winter Born said in a rather exasperated tone, and shut her eye. It doesn't work so well if I just think it all. I have to picture it all, like this. And Charmian suddenly found herself standing right at Winter Born's side, in a sunny grassy field, with trees around all sides. She blinked and her jaw nearly dropped when she recognized the great field in the middle of Manitou Island, not far from Crack-in-the-Island and Cave of the Woods. The last time she'd been here, it had been coated in snow, and Augwak, in full Wendigo mode, had been tearing out great hunks of trees trying to find her. Now it looked like a regular summer day, and that confused her just as much as the fact that she was on the Island. "What--?" she blurted out. "I told you!" Winter Born said, startling her and grabbing her attention. "I have to picture it!" She gave Charmian a look. "Before now I've never ever been away from Manitou Island so it's what I know best. So when I picture stuff, I usually picture the Island. That's why I came here before, when you found me. It was the only place I could picture clear enough." "But--Winter Born--" Charmian waved her hands. "I said not to come here!" "It's okay," Winter Born reassured her. "I know it isn't real. At least, it's not where we really are, right now. But I can think better when I'm here." And she turned away, and Charmian sucked in a breath to see that the whirlwinds themselves were still present as well, spinning toward them through the grass. She looked behind them; the others were still there, but there was something odd about them. They were standing stock still, staring ahead blankly, and as she looked more closely, she saw how some of their faces wavered and shifted. She pondered this for a moment before realizing that the ones whose faces were vaguest were those in the group whom Winter Born apparently didn't know very well, for Stick-In-The-Dirt, Black Elk Horn, and X'aaru, among several others, didn't change shape very much, while Little Wind and Singing Cedars, for example, were difficult to distinguish from the rest. Charmian was reminded of her own partial inability to recall strange faces from her dreams, and shivered at the eerie sight before turning away. It's almost like she's created her own dream, she thought in surprise. A waking dream! Since she knows she's awake now! That's not too different from my vision--and Moon Wolf said only the most accomplished medicine men can sustain that. If she can do this, what else can she do--? "Kabebonikka said they're from the Island, didn't he?" Winter Born asked, and Charmian looked at her. She was staring intently at the whirlwinds. "Because I didn't want to hurt them even more when I found that out," she added, and aimed her hands at them. "Well...if we want to head west, I have to try, right?" And, to Charmian's surprise, she dropped her arms to her sides and shut her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out. The glow around her flared and dimmed--Charmian started to panic before noticing that it didn't exactly dim, but it retracted, drawing itself closer to Winter Born's body, so close that she almost couldn't see it anymore. It looked like little more than an intense white line outlining her shape, but its brightness increased so much that she had to shield her eyes. It was like the difference between a club and a knife--a club was big and impressive and you could clobber people with it, but a knife was so much smaller and sharper and more focused. Once her mind made this analogy it all made sense. Winter Born was focusing her power. Charmian had to force herself not to bring this to her attention. Instead she stood and just watched on as the whirlwinds converged, forming a semicircle which cut them off from the northern end of the field. They hovered in this formation for a moment or two, blades whirring, but Winter Born didn't even look at them; Charmian worried that she'd fallen asleep, or lapsed into some sort of vision within a vision--this thought startled her--was Winter Born now on some Manitou Island within Manitou Island--? Before her head could start hurting too much, a buzzing sound made her gasp, and one of the smaller whirlwinds zapped forward. She held up her hands, but before she could even think of calling up fire--whether it would work in Winter Born's vision or not--the whirlwind zipped sideways sharply, right at Winter Born's side. It swept past Charmian so fast that she almost didn't notice it but for the way her hair and clothes whipped through the air in its wake. She heard a strange pop sound, then with an awful squeal the whirlwind flew past her again, in the opposite direction, and evaporated--she blinked, unable to see what had just happened. Two more whirlwinds charged now and she focused on them as hard as she could as they approached, but again, they were dispersed before she could tell what was going on. Seeming agitated, another, bigger one came next, letting out a loud shhinnng as its blades increased in size, protruding from it like bizarre batwings before beginning to spin along with it. Charmian tried hard to swallow her anxiety--no matter how easily the other winds had been fended off, she wasn't ready to consider any of this easy just yet--but as it zoomed at them, that was when she thought to look at Winter Born instead of at the whirlwinds. Winter Born's eyes were still closed, and she hadn't moved in the least. But when the whirlwind drew close enough to tug at Charmian's hair, she caught the slightest bit of movement--the fingers of Winter Born's hand flicked forward, as if she were shooing away a fly that had landed on her knee--and the whirlwind caved in on itself, separating in the middle and collapsing in a mess of air and ice. Charmian winced and covered her ears at the horrible grinding noise of the blades gouging into the ground and coming to a halt. The top of the collapsed whirlwind righted itself and began spinning again, scuttling over toward the others, which promptly sucked it up; then the entire wall of winds was racing at them, and Charmian yelped and threw her hands up before her face. Something grabbed her arm and she screamed; her eyes popped open and she saw that she was again in the snow with the others. Moon Wolf was staring at her, eyes wide. "What are you seeing?" he demanded. "What is she doing?" "Huh--? Oh!" Charmian blinked and gasped; she'd evidently been moved a little bit away from Winter Born, as the girl was some distance away from her by now, but the whirlwinds were still very much there, and all bearing down on her just like in the vision on the Island. Charmian pointed wildly. "That's--that's what she's doing! She pictures it all in her head and--" One of the taller whirlwinds raced right up against Winter Born, blades slashing out, but seemed to vanish; a split second later everyone was staggering and struggling to keep upright when some sort of shockwave slammed through the air. Charmian stumbled and grabbed Moon Wolf's arm to keep her balance. "She pictures it all in her head," she repeated herself. "She puts herself on Manitou Island and sees everything that's going on, but it's like she cuts out all the stuff she doesn't need to see--you guys are hardly even there--it's just her and the whirlwinds, and--" Impressive, Kabebonikka said. She seems to have improved since we last met. Or am I slacking off today? Charmian shook a fist at the air. "HARDLY! I already told you she knows what she's doing!" Well, either way, I think we've made it clear she can handle this quite easily, now, the North Wind replied. I suppose the time for fun is over. Charmian and Moon Wolf both blinked at the same time. "What--?" The moaning whirring sounds of the winds changed now, growing deeper and louder, the sound of stones grinding against each other, the added screech of fingernails on a blackboard. There was an additional tone to it that Charmian couldn't place, nor did she want to; all that she knew was it was one of the worst sounds she'd ever heard, and she let go of Moon Wolf's arm, grabbing at her head and making an awful face. It felt like the world's largest bee was trying to dig into her ears with its stinger. None of the others seemed immune to the noise; X'aaru's and Mani's and the okis' fur stood on end; Marten let out a cry and dove into Peepaukawiss's arms; the GeeBees bared their teeth and gashed their claws; the loons puffed up and flapped their wings in a panic, while most of the others grimaced and covered their ears the best they could, a few of them sinking to the ground. Winter Born tottered backwards a step and her eyes flew open; an instant later she too was screwing her fingers in her ears and making a face. Charmian gasped, seeing the glow around her dim like a dying lightbulb. "Ewgh!" Winter Born cried. "What's he doing--?!" Charmian shot to her feet. "WINTER BORN!" The girl spun around, hands dropping and eyes wide. Charmian opened her mouth to yell at her, but Moon Wolf dragged her back so that she almost fell. An image flashed through her mind--a distant memory, of herself at Cave of the Woods, not long after meeting Moon Wolf in person for the first time--how first Augwak had shown up, then Ocryana herself, and how Justin and Mani had wanted to help Charmian fight them, when Moon Wolf had blocked them both and shoved her forward to fight on her own. "You're done hiding behind others! You face him alone! "She has to learn sometime. That time's now!..." FOCUS! Charmian thought as hard as she could, but at the same time, she kept the thought to herself, even though she wanted to send it out at Winter Born with all her might. Instead she bit into her lip hard enough to hurt, meeting Winter Born's eyes but saying nothing. The look on Winter Born's face was such that her vision blurred and she had to blink; but when she looked again, the girl still stared at her, a quite different expression on her face. Charmian blinked again merely from surprise on seeing it. One blink ago Winter Born had looked utterly bewildered and lost. Now, she looked... Winter Born turned back to the whirlwinds...which had changed, themselves. Even as the others watched, their tall funnel shapes grew shorter yet more massive, expanding, growing bulkier...glowing eyes appeared in their faces, and the ice blades reappeared, hissing and crackling as they shot out to form gigantic spiky antlers which pointed every which way. The whirlwinds resolved themselves into a strange semblance of tribal manitous, albeit much bigger, and still composed of air which spun around and around itself in such a way that Charmian couldn't figure out how it was even physically possible. It was like they were manitous formed out of countless smaller whirlwinds each spinning in a different direction. They roared as they moved, and as soon as they assumed these shapes, they charged, spreading out to left and right and coming at the group from all angles. Mani and the okis bristled and lowered their own antlers as if not knowing what else to do. Puka let out a little shriek and jumped for cover; Lieutenant Barrington and Baptiste both fired off their guns without thinking, pure panic lighting up their faces. One of the wind manitous met Mani head on and their antlers locked, but then the ice shattered, pelting against Mani's fur as he stumbled backwards and the rest of the windling evaporated and re-formed right behind him, the shards of ice sucking back up to compose its antlers again. The guns had no effect whatsoever, and the others ducked to the ground as the wind manitous leapt over them or charged right over where they'd been standing. An instant later, all was chaos, as everyone tried to figure out how to attack or if it was even possible at all. Charmian collapsed into the snow, Moon Wolf at one side and Thomas at the other, and they covered their heads with their arms, squinting hard to try to make sense of what was going on. Moon Wolf sputtered when a gout of snow was kicked their way; Thomas waved his hand and sent out a blast of wind that cleared the air around them, and it was only because of this that they could see anything at all. "What's he mean, the fun is over?!" Charmian yelled. "I kind of got the feeling none of this was FUN in the first place!!" "Don't tell me all that stuff he pulled was still just playing!" Thomas exclaimed. "What else could he possibly do--?" "I think he's showing us," Moon Wolf said, gritting his teeth against the frigid gusts. "This isn't about toying with us anymore! He said he'd keep us from reaching the west--well--" "He said he'd try to," Charmian protested. "I was told he isn't really a BAD manitou!" "Still," Moon Wolf said, "if he promised to try to stop us, he's as much bound by that as anything. You did make a deal with one of the Four Winds." He lifted his head a bit and squinted. "Did you think he was going to go only halfway--?" Charmian lifted her head as well to see the giant wind manitous racing about in the snow, breaking apart and re-forming whenever they collided with each other or with anything else. Manabozho managed to keep standing despite the gale, but even he seemed overwhelmed, especially when he stood his ground and one of the winds barrelled straight into him. It burst into pieces which drew back together, but the damage was done; Manabozho collapsed, and had to struggle just to try to get up again. Mani and the okis fared little better, as each time the windlings battered against them it seemed to sap away more of their strength, until they were forced to their knees, whistling shrilly and batting their antlers at the air. The wind manitous had every advantage--they could strike, without being struck in return--and even if they were hit, they could just break apart and reshape themselves an instant later. Charmian gawked at the spectacle, her mind railing against how unfair it was. "She'll do it," she found herself whispering, despite this. Her own comment surprised her, and Thomas and Moon Wolf, standing nearest her, glanced at her as well. "She'll do it," she said again, louder this time, and clenched her fists. Although the situation seemed bleak, and she still hated the thought of Winter Born fighting such things alone, she shoved these thoughts aside, took a breath, and let it out. "Why do I even worry about her anyway?" she said aloud. Thomas furrowed his brow. Moon Wolf said nothing, just looked back at the melee. "You're...sure about that?" Thomas murmured after a brief pause. Charmian forced a shrug and made her voice sound more nonchalant than she felt. "I've been worrying about her the entire time we've been traveling, and take a look! Out of all of us she's probably the one who needs help the LEAST! Sure she needs some poking and prodding but aren't I the same way? And I'm not nearly as strong as she is. Just wind her up and let her go. It has to happen sometime." And, even as one of the giant manitous galloped straight at Winter Born, she shut her eyes and crossed her arms. "It's like Kenu said. Wake me up when it's over!" There was an awful noise, and another shockwave buffeted them, Thomas taking her arm to keep her steady. She didn't bother looking to see what had happened, ignoring the shrill little voice demanding that she do so. A slight murmur came from the others and that was enough to tell her that Winter Born was still standing; when this was repeated a moment later, and Manabozho let out a triumphant hoot, the little voice slowly died down to a mere niggling in the back of her head and she took in another shaky breath to still herself. "I guess you're right," Thomas said, still seeming surprised. "Told you," Charmian felt like saying, but thought this might be pushing it too much, so just shrugged. She did strain her ears to listen in on whatever must be happening; it was still quite loud, and she tried not to grimace too much at the awful racket, as it was hard to look composed and unconcerned while grimacing. The loud grinding noises and strong blasts of wind were coming hard and fast now, telling her that the windlings must be attacking Winter Born in rapid-fire succession, apparently with little result. After a few moments of this, several of the others began to cheer every time one of the loud grinding or squealing noises came, and Charmian let out her breath. "It's amazing how much she's progressed," Moon Wolf said, just barely loud enough to hear. "Good thing she's on our side," Thomas agreed. "If she can beat the North Wind then maybe we stand a chance against that other fellow...?" "Why are you even asking? Of course we do!" Charmian snapped. She opened her eyes to glare at him, noticing that Moon Wolf had looked ready to speak before she had. "Cripes, I finally start to believe it and now you go doubting on me!" "Well," Thomas retorted, "usually you're the one saying not to relax just yet!" A hideous tumult broke out from Winter Born's direction but Charmian refused to look; she heard Peepaukawiss and Marten cheer. "Yeah," she said, "but that was before she figured herself out!" She made a face and lifted her hands. "And any other time I know I'd hate saying it, but I think Old Windybag is starting to run out of fresh ideas!" She clapped her hands against her ears to try to block out the racket. But not before there was the slightest letup in the noise, and a distant voice yelled, "Winter Born!" Charmian's eyes shot open and she sucked in a breath so sharp it hurt. There was no way she'd just heard that. There was no way that Silver Eagle Feather was here. |