Awaken (7 page)

The boy yawns too and I’m surprised to
see how low the fire is. It ain’t nuthin but glowing embers….must
be real late. I feel kind of bad but I take Finn up on his offer of
the bed while he takes to sleeping in front of the hearth. He don’t
mind he says, Cat makes for a real soft pillow.

After weeks of sleeping on the hard
ground the bed feels like laying on a cloud. It don’t take long for
my mind to shut down and I drift off. I don’t rightly know if it
were the soft bed, the boys company, or the protection offered from
the devil cat, but for the first time since leaving Rivercross the
night terrors don’t come….and I sleep.

****************************************************************************

“
Finn you ain’t coming with
me and that’s that!”

We’ve been arguing since the sun come
up. For some reason the boy has decided he is to go with me to
Littlepass and I cain’t get him to change his mind. When he made up
his mind about this I ain’t sure, but he’s like a hound with a
bone, he’s not giving up on it.

“
Why would you want to leave
here? You have food, shelter, water, Cat to keep you safe…you’re
just being foolish,” I say, for about the fifth time.

“
I’m going with you and you
cain’t stop me!” he says. He is standing in front of me his feet
planted apart on the ground and his hands on his hips. His face is
about as red as his hair but it ain’t got nuthin to do with the
heat of the day. And the look on it…well it kind of makes me want
to laugh, but I don’t dare. It’s a real stubborn mule headed look
and for some reason it kind of reminds me of Ben though they don’t
look the least bit alike.

“
And I’m telling you, AGAIN,
it’s too dangerous. I dunno what I’m gonna find in Littlepass.
Shizen, I don’t even know if I’m gonna make it to Littlepass. I
could get killed by raiders or eaten by critters…..today, tomorrow.
Anything could happen.”

I’m losing patience with the boy. I
just want to get back on the road. After my nights rest I feel full
of energy….renewed. Even my feet have healed up good, calloused and
hardened. I just want to fill my waterskins and head out. Feels
like I’ve wasted enough time already and I have to move quick to
make up for it. I believe the longer I stay here the further and
further Ben is moving away from me. But Finn is not giving
up.

“
Then that’s why we should
go with you, to protect you. Cat is real good at protectin’…she
will keep you safe from any old raiders or critters.”

“
Aye, she probably could,” I
say. “But then what? Say we make it to Littlepass. What then? We
just gonna walk right on in with a full grown devil cat trailing
behind us? ‘Oh don’t run and get your axes or bows folks, she’s a
real nice devil cat. She only ever ate one person and he well
deserved it’….is that what you’re gonna say to ‘em? They’ll kill
her before you get two words in, they will.”

I know I’m being mean but I’m trying to
get the boy to understand.

“
You don’t know that,” he
says stubbornly.

“
Aye, I do,” I say, putting
the cap back on the waterskin. I am done with the conversation. I
concentrate on checking my slingbag to make sure I ain’t forgetting
anything.

“
No you don’t!” he yells and
knocks the waterskin right out of my hand! I look at him, surprised
by this outburst. He crosses his arms over his skinny chest and
sticks his chin out, looking at me all defiant. I start to get
angry. That certainly wasn’t called for! But before I can say
anything his chin starts to quiver and he chokes out.

“
Please Tara, don’t leave me
here! I don’t wanna be alone anymore….I cain’t stand it! Let me go
with you…please. Please Tara!”

Oh gods. My heart twists at his plea. I
don’t need this! I don’t need or want to be looking after some
skinny little runt who will undoubtedly slow me down. And traveling
with a devil cat, well nuthin like drawing attention to yourself.
No, absolutely not, I think.

“
Please...” it comes out as
a whisper and one single tear escapes and rolls down his cheek. He
wipes it away almost angrily. I look at his pleading face. I mull
his words over in my head. I sigh, pick up my waterskin and dust it
off.

“
I’ll be leaving shortly,” I
say. “You best be ready….I ain’t waitin’.”

The grin nearly splits his face. He
starts to scamper off but turns and runs right for me wrapping his
scrawny arms around my waist.

“
We’ll be a real good help,
you’ll see. Me and Cat. We’ll hunt and protect you real good,” he
says then runs off again, to collect his things I reckon. I watch
him go shaking my head. What have I just agreed to? Letting the boy
and beast go with me is just asking for trouble.... I can feel it.
I glance over at the cat. The whole time we had been arguing the
critter had lain real content in the shade of the shanty, not the
least bit interested. Now it is watching me intently with its red
eyes as if it knows what decision has been made. I stare back at
it.

“
Don’t make me sorry for
this,” I say. It blinks at me. “And for gods sake if you get hungry
during the night, don’t eat me!”

In response it snorts at me, shakes its
head and the blue tongue I remember so disgustingly well, pokes out
to lick its lips as if it’s saying “I ain’t making no
promises.”

Gods help me, I think.

We set out, the boy, the beast and me.
I couldn’t have imagined more unlikely traveling companions if I
tried. But Finn was true to his word, the critter did all the
hunting and provided for us every meal…we never went hungry.
Whether it was rabbit, dirt dog or some crow unlucky enough to have
landed when it shouldn’t have, Cat supplies us with food. And I
would never admit it to Finn but it was real nice not having to
worry about the hunting. As for the boy, he don’t ever complain
about all the walking…not once. He don’t shut up neither though. He
talks so much it finally just sounds like buzzing in my ears. Funny
thing is though I find I don’t mind. It keeps me from thinking
about other things and worrying about stuff I got no control over.
As far as traveling companions went, they were all
right.

We had reached the tree line about six
days past and had been walking in the woods since. Didn’t have much
of a choice but to go through ‘em. The tree line was massive, as
spread out as far as the eye could see. Would have been foolish and
a waste of time to try and go around. Plus our easterly course was
straight through and I wasn’t willing to veer off
course.

I ain’t used to trees this size. It had
been a little overwhelming at first. The biggest of trees in
Rivercross only grew to your waist but these trees tower over us,
their branches and leaves blocking out the sun and keeping some of
its heat off of us. Would have been kind of nice if it wasn’t for
the smell of death and rot coming from the wood. Most of the trees
are sickly, their bark gray as ash and their leaves dry and
withered. A lot of them were just snag trees, dead, half fallen
over into each other, blocking our way. Slowing us down. We try not
to stray too much off our path but sometimes it cain’t be helped.
Cat scouts ahead of us at times, we lose track of her for a bit,
but never for too long. All it takes is for Finn to give two short
whistle bursts and she’s back, checking on him. She brings an
occasional tree rat or crow, but there ain’t a lot of game in these
dead woods. There ain’t a lot of anything but stillness and quiet.
It rattles our nerves. Even Finn, who ain’t shut up for days, talks
a mite quieter now and less often the deeper in the woods we get.
It’s as if he don’t want to disturb any ghost or demon that might
call this wood home. It spooks me something fierce.

The evening dusk is coming on us fast.
It always comes earlier in here. The shadows are getting longer and
darker, making our minds play tricks on us. Making us see
shapes…things we know ain’t really there. We got to make camp soon.
There’s no way either of us wants to be walking these woods after
dark. We need a fire, which thankfully don’t pose no problem now a
days. The one good thing these dead woods did have to offer was
plenty of fire kindlin’.

We enter a small clearing big enough
for a campfire and for us to stretch out our bed rolls. I stop
walking, look around. Finn stops beside me.

“
Here?” he asks.

“
Aye,” I say. “This will
do.”

We have it down to a routine now. While
I get the makings of our fire together, he clears the ground for
our beds, lays out our blankets, gets the waterskins out. He even
lays out the iron shooter. I didn’t know he had brought it along at
first. Cain’t rightly say I would have let him bring it had I
known. To me it was just a reminder of the evil men it had come
from. But now, after being in these damn, frightening woods for
days, it was almost comforting to have it so handy.

We work in silence and it ain’t long
before I got us a nice flame burning, chasing away some of the
shadows, keeping them at bay. Finn joins me at the fire, hands me a
waterskin. It’s almost empty. With the three of us drinking now the
water is being used up a lot faster but there ain’t no way I’m
tapping any of those trees for water. The thought of drinking from
something so sickly, it don’t feel right. We cain’t chance getting
sick. We’ll just keep looking for a water supply. I figure there
has to be something here.

I pull the remaining crow we cooked
last evening from my slingbag and share it between us. Cat ain’t
nowhere to be seen. I reckon she can fend for herself tonight. Finn
takes his and starts chewing, staring into the flames.

“
How much longer you think
these woods will last Tara?” he asks eventually.

“
Dunno,” I say, biting into
my own crow meat. It’s tough and hard to chew, but it’s all we got.
Finn keeps eating, all quiet like, then he asks “How long you think
it’s gonna take us to get to Littlepass?”

“
I dunno that either,” I
say. Why’s he asking me questions I don’t know the answers to I
wonder.

“
What do you think we’re
gonna find when we get there?”

“
Do I look like some kind of
seer?” I snap at him. “I dunno. Maybe we won’t find nuthin or
nobody ‘cause sickness done took ‘em all! Or maybe the monster men
came and killed all of them too!”

Don’t know why his questions were
bothering me so. Maybe it’s the frustrating endless walking, the
endless heat, the little food, the even less water. The not
knowing. Everything I guess. But his questions are getting to me
and I don’t know how to answer them!

Then I look at his face. His eyes have
gone all big and round at my cruel words, and his mouth is hanging
open so as I can see his half chewed food. I feel real ashamed at
my actions and I think to myself, ‘He’s just a little boy Tara. A
scared little boy just looking for some comfort.”

“
Or maybe,” I say, a little
gentler this time. “We’ll find a magical place where food grows on
the trees, and the animals all talk and….and the people live in
buildings that touch the sky. And they keep their mouths closed
when eating crow.”

I poke him in the ribs and he starts
giggling.

“
Now you’re just being
foolish,” he says, but I feel much better at hearing him laugh. I
poke him again, then start tickling his ribs, making him shriek in
glee.

“
Stop Tara!
Stop!”

I don’t see Cat approaching ‘til she’s
almost on top of us. She’s so black she blends right in with the
evening shadows. Silently, she pads up to Finn and drops whatever
she has caught tonight between us.

Shizen!

I fall backwards on my elbows and
shimmy away in fright at the rather large, still moving
critter.

“
What is that?” I say, a
little more loudly then I mean it to be. Finn, unlike me, is all
excited and grabs the creature’s head….no wait, heads! There are
two of ‘em attached to its long writhing body. He gets to his feet
and the critter is about as tall as he is!

“
Ain’t you ever seen a tree
snake before?” he asks, grinning like he’s got the moon in his
hands.

Feeling a little foolish now for
showing the boy my fright, my answer comes out a bit cross
like.

“
If I did then I wouldn’t
have to ask now would I?” I say, sniffing and wiping my hands on my
trousers, embarrassed by my reaction.
“Don’t look like something we should be eating,” I say.

The boy shakes his head, disagreeing.
“Nah, tree snakes are good to eat and real tender too. I cain’t
believe you never seen one before.”

He is truly tickled to be one up on me.
I give him my best irritating look.

“
Aye.... well if you’re such
an expert then you can clean it and cook it,” I say holding out my
knife. He just shrugs and takes it from me.

“
Okay. I’d be better at it
anyways since you don’t even know what it is!” he says and cracks
up laughing at his own words.

“
Mule turd!” I say to him
but my own lips twitch in amusement.

I watch all interested as he chops off
both heads with one swing of the knife, then a part of the tail.
The snake looks huge laying on the ground, almost 2 arm spans I
reckon. He slits it from the tail end up then makes a couple of
notches with the knife and pulls off the skin all in one piece. I
ain’t ever seen anything like that done before.