Prologue Previous Chapter

Oola

Oola opened her eyes to endless gray, a clammy chill sinking deep into her bones. She shivered, snuggling into her furs, but the insistent pinch of her bladder couldn’t be ignored. Shivering, she crept out of her bed, grimacing with dismay as tendrils of fog swirled around her feet. Her friends were shapeless blobs in the mist, and the Sun was but a mere hint of light in the eastern sky.

She padded silently away from the others, cautiously working her way across the slick stone as if every step would send her tumbling off the mountainside. The smell of smoke grew heavier as she approached the southern edge, and the faintest line of orange snaked across the valley below, the last vestiges of the grass fires that had swept across the plains over the last two days. She stared sourly at the distant flames. “Go out already.” She whispered. “I want to go home.”

Thunder grumbled softly across the sky in answer.

Yawning, she walked back to camp, searching for the nearly empty food baskets. She carefully sorted through the remaining fruits and vegetables. Most were starting to look withered, and most of the peaches were starting to smell unpleasantly sweet. Only a couple days of food left. “Well,” she said as she selected the best carrot from a pitiful bunch, “at least I don’t need a fire.” They had run out of dry wood yesterday. Armis had said that they would look for more in the morning, but between the fog and the impending rain, there wasn’t much of a chance of that, at least until the storm blew over.

Oola crept back to her bed skins, wrapping the warm furs across her shoulders before she wandered towards the last few coals from last night’s fire. She chewed slowly, trying to ignore the slimy texture and sour taste of the carrot. A single raindrop splashed into the embers, hissing and sizzling. Another followed, and then another. “Great.” She muttered. “Now the rain is putting the fire out.”

Thunder rumbled across the sky again, and the rain started to fall in earnest. In moments the fire was dead, sending thin columns of steam into the air, only to be obliterated by the falling water.

“You had to put out my fire.” She said to the sky as rain splattered against her cheeks. “Why don’t you put out those fires?” She asked, gesturing towards the distant plains.

Put out those fires.

“Of course. I’m an idiot.” She cried, standing up. “It’s raining. It’s raining.” She called out, grabbing at her friends as they slowly shook off their slumber.

“Oola, what?” Tohm said thickly, grimacing as he struggled to awaken. “It’s raining.” She repeated, grabbing him and hugging tightly. “The rain will put out the fires. We can go home.”

She stepped back, smiling at him, and he smiled back, a slightly dazed look in his eyes.

“We can go home?” Pak yelled, and started running in circles, shouting “Home” over and over again. Din joined him, and in an instant she snatched up both their hands, dancing in a circle, shrieking and laughing as the rain soaked their clothes.

“Let’s go find some shelter.” Armis said, grinning.

“How about the Watching Stone?” Lam suggested, struggling with his bedskin. “We can put up the skins and make a tent.” Kito added. Lam nodded. Working together, they assembled a makeshift shelter that protected them from the worst of the weather, as long as they all remained completely still. Which, of course, they couldn’t, and Oola spent much of the morning in the rain, struggling to put one of the furs back in place.

It was probably worth it Oola decided, shivering as rivulets of water ran down her back. But just barely.

The rain lasted until well into the afternoon, and even after the rain stopped the clouds refused to leave, leaving everyone wet, cold and miserable in the damp air. Still, the fog left with the rain, and they could see the ashen ground stretching away from the mountain, sporadically lit by struggling sparks of flame that marked the last stand of the great inferno.

Later, as sunset approached, the clouds fell apart, sending shafts of orange light shining across the mountain, glinting off of rock and pool before fading away again. In those brief moments the granite mountain glowed, the tans and pinks creating swathes of rich marigold that blended perfectly against the deepening sky. Oola basked in those warm patches, eyes drinking in the beauty of sun and stone brining peace to her heart.

“Let’s go.”

Oola twitched with surprise as Barak’s voice broke her tranquility. He stood nearby, arms crossed, his left hand wrapped around his pack, ready to leave.

Her heart skipped a beat. Home? Tonight? She glanced at the half-circle of the Sun and shook her head in disappointment.

Echoing her, Armis shook his head as he stepped closer to Barak. “Not tonight. The paths will still be slippery from the rain, and the sun will be setting soon. We will go first thing in the morning.”

Barak’s eyes narrowed and his arms twitched, his face flushing with anger. “Barak.” Armis said, raising a hand. “No one wants to go home more than I do. But walking down a rain-soaked mountain in darkness is sure to leave someone hurt.” He paused for a heartbeat before adding “Or dead.”

Barak glanced away at the blackened plains before turning back to Armis and shrugging his shoulders. “Fine. In the morning.”

Armis nodded and turned to the rest. “Go get some firewood. Hurry.” The boys scampered off. Oola stared after them, and then back at Armis, wondering uneasily what she should do with no food to prepare. Armis glanced at her in surprise. “What are you still doing here?” He glanced at Mika and Shara as well. “Go help them.”

“Really?” Oola asked. “But firewood…” It was custom for men to gather wood for fires, for women to prepare the meal.

Armis threw up his hands. “Do you want a warm fire tonight or not? Go help.”

“Okay.” Shara laughed, and grabbed at Oola’s hand. “Come on.” She said, pulling Oola towards the southern slope, with Mika in tow.

Later, as she sat by the warm fire, the carrots didn’t taste quite so withered, and there was plenty of water for everyone. Even Barak cracked a smile or two, certainly the most jovial they had all been since… well, since before. The night quickly grew chilly as the moon rose in the east, the ever-present grey hare drawn across the surface of the white circle. She drew first watch, and spent the time circling the campfire, returning every so often to the top of the Watching Stone to stare down at Red Cave, still dark, still silent.

=-=

A kick in the side and a grunted “Wake up.” greeted her in the hazy morning light. Her head felt like it was full of rocks, the lack of sleep shattering her concentration. Most of all, she wanted to go back to bed. But moments later, Mika was pulling at her blankets, stripping them away, leaving her exposed to the frigid morning air. Sighing, she struggled to pack, stopping every few moments to belt out a hearty yawn, desperately trying to shake the rocks and sand from her head. Her stomach rumbled, but the pathetic remnants of their food had shrivelled even further in the night, and a thin grey dusting of mold had already grown on the remaining peaches. Tohm stepped next to her and picked up one of the baskets, letting the peaches and carrots tumble to the ground. “Do we need this?” He asked. When no one answered he turned and flung the basket through the air, sending it spinning off the mountainside, disappearing beyond the edge of the summit.

“Hey.” Shara protested. “We could have used that basket.” But Tohm just shrugged.

The sun was bright and warm in the clear blue sky, and for most of the downward trek the grasses and trees were green and healthy. But as they neared the base, it was as if the Spirits had drawn a line across the land, declaring that this part would burn, and that part would not. As they reached the ash, the sharp stench of rot and fire and death built up around them, growing worse with each step into the burn. She kept expecting to get used to it, but it never seemed to fade, wrapping around them, smothering her in rank foulness that made each breath a chore, adding a little bit to the sharp pain in the back of her head until her head was singing in pain. She slogged through the burned grasses, the bits of ash and dust darkening her clothes, and turning her skin pale and gray.

“Look.” Reya said, kneeling on the ground, waving to the rest of the group. Wincing, Oola stumbled towards her as Reya pointed at the ground. The ground twisted and writhed in front of her, and she fought to focus on Reya’s hands as they cupped tiny shoots of green grass that poked through the cinders.

“Already?” Mika exclaimed as she knelt by her sister, searching for shoots of her own. In moments they found that the ground was covered in bits of new grass, hidden beneath the layers of soot.

For some reason, that disturbed her, but she was too tired to care. Nodding politely at the girls, she kept walking.

“What’s that?” Kito said, sometime later.

Oola looked up and then leaned sideways, stomach heaving. Kito was pointing towards a large plume of steam rising into the nearby air. “I’m going to go check it out!” he told her, rushing forwards, Din and Pak following closely behind. As they neared the plume, water splashed around their feet, and they paused, stepping back out of the puddle, pointing excitedly at something in the center. Ever the adventurer, Kito splashed into the water, almost immediately sinking to his knees, and then to his waist. “The water’s warm.” He cried. Pak immediately jumped in after him. “It sure is.”

“Be careful, guys.” She said, head screaming in pain. Where are the others? She glanced around – Armis was far ahead with some of the others, and Shara and Reya were straggling behind. “Come on, out.”

Pak waded further in. “Pak… Out.” The boy froze, staring at something in the water before turning and rushing back. “There’s a rock in the water. It’s glowing and the water is boiling all around it.”

“Can I look at it?” Kito asked her, excitedly.

Her headache flared. “Let’s just keep going.” She snapped. The others trudged onwards. If Kito looked disappointed, well, she was in too much pain to care.

=-=

Red Cave Hill rose from the grasses, black and hunched, smaller somehow than it had been when they left. “Where is Red Cave?” Pak asked.

“This is it.” Oola said excitedly as they gathered by the far riverbank. “Right there. Burned a bit, but we’re almost home.” She turned and smiled at the others. Only the youngsters smiled back. In the distance, Shara and Mika were escorting Reya across the ashen plain.

“Let’s get across the river.” Armis said, hollowly. She stared at him, wondering why he sounded so sad.

He knows something he’s not telling us.

With a last glance at the jumbled stones, Armis slid down the slick clay of the riverbank, landing in the stream with a splash. “Come on.” He said, wading through the murky, ash-soaked stream. Cautiously, the others followed. Clenching her teeth, she jumped in, gasping at the cold. She could feel bits of grit rushing past her legs as she hurried towards the broad flats next to the hill.

The ash and grit left dark stains on their clothes, ugly splotches of black and grey that seemed to penetrate deeper into the soft leather as she tried to wipe them away. “These stains are going to be really hard to get out.” She said, groaning.

No one responded, and she looked up uneasily, noticing for the first time the utter silence that surrounded her. No birds called, no crickets chirped. Even the air was still, stinging her nose with the smell f soot and corruption. Everyone stared silently at the colorless ruin that had been their home. The fiery star had burned away the grass and left the rocks charred and cracked. The huge door that Daro had been working on was gone, just a black smear on blackened rocks remained to show it had ever existed. The flats that stretched from the river’s edge up to the entrance were barren and grey, with strange shapeless lumps, black and pink in the harsh afternoon light, scattered here and there across the top.

“Hel- hello?” Lam called, uncertainly, sounding very young.

No one responded.

“Are they in the cave?” Din asked uncertainly, staring around the barren plain.

And suddenly, Oola understood.

“No.” She said, fighting to keep her voice even, clenching her teeth to stop the screams, digging her fingers into her palms. “They’re not inside.”

She caught Armis’s eye, and he flashed a sad smile at her, shaking his head slightly. Don’t tell them. She nodded slightly in return.

“Hey! What are those?” Kito asked, pointing towards the mounds.

“Let’s go see.” She said, softly. Together, they stepped across the rocky ground, soot and ash rising around their feet.

Something familiar.

She couldn’t place it at first, but there was defintely something in the air, something that seemed like home. She looked back at Armis and Barak, but they were staring stonefaced at the ruined hill. Kito was starting to walk ahead, sniffing at the air, and she stepped quickly to catch up, her mouth starting to water. The faintest smell came to her, strange and subtle. She sniffed hard at the air, smelling the ash, the sulfur, the cooking meat.

Meat. Roasting meat.

Her heart skipped. Where there is meat…

“Hello?” She called, walking faster across the ashen campground., stepping between two of the strange lumps without a second glance. “Hello? We’re back. Where are you?”

There was no answer. The smell was strong now, all around her. She spun around, trying to find the fire, almost knocking Kito and Tohm over as they pressed close behind her. “Can you smell that?” Tohm asked, happily.

“Yes.” She said, smiling, hearing the stones scratching behind her, skritch, skritch.

Oola whirled, staring at a nearby mound that seemed to shiver in the sunlight. Curious, she leaned closer, examining the mound of blackened sticks and bits of brown goo that oozed between them. The smell of cooking flesh was very strong, almost overpowering. She could feel waves of heat coming off of the pile, almost like it was on fire. There was a strange rounded lump on one side, marked with holes and curves that seemed eerily familiar. She turned her head sideways, trying to place it.

Two flames lit up suddenly, side by side in the two large holes and she jerked back a little. That’s funny, they almost look like eyes.

A black shadow shot out from the mound towards her face. She wrenched her face sideways too late, and the blow caught her in the side of her face, sending her sprawling, cheek burning. She scrambled back onto her knees, looking for the mound, but it was gone, replaced by two stands of sticks that looked uncomfortably like…

Legs.

Almost against her will she looked up, and screamed.

It was a man. Or it had been, once. Gobbets of charred flesh hung like rags from its ribs and arms, shivering and twisting as its bony hands lunged towards her. Two tiny flames danced in the eye sockets, and thin strips of seared meat hung from the cheeks and forehead. A jagged scar ran down the right side of its ruined face as it leaned towards her, blackened teeth bared.

Get away! She started to rise, to spring backwards away from this monster, but too late. Slimy fingers grabbed her by the neck, and she could feel the scorched flesh sloughing off as the hand jerked her into the air. The fingers were white-hot against her throat, twitching as she felt her feet dangling helplessly. Warm liquid trickled down her thigh as spots bloomed in her eyes. She gasped for breath, grabbing at the arm, mindless of the searing heat of the thing’s flesh, clawing at the arm, uselessly ripping chunks of meat away from the bone. Her surroundings narrowed to two tiny red-orange flames that twinkled in the blackened sockets of a misshapen skull. Oola writhed helplessly in its grasp as the world faded away.

She found herself on the ground, her neck shrieking in pain as she sucked down air in great whooping gulps. The monstrous skeleton stood in front of her, swaying uneasily , climsily fingering the spear impaled between two of its meaty ribs. Clicking its teeth angrily, the creature grabbed the shaft with one hand, yanking downward and snapping the wood in two, leaving a hands-length of splintered pine protruding between the bones.

Raising its arm, the creature sent the broken spearshaft whirling through the air. Oola scrambled onto her hands and knees, but her foot slipped in a puddle of grease and she sprawled back into the ground, rocks cutting at her face. And then another fiery hand caught her ankle, hoisting her into the air like she was a rabbit caught in a snare.

Someone shrieked in fear as she twisted around, kicking at the arm, flailing with her hands as the earth swayed beneath her. The creature whipped her up into the air above its head, her knee exploding in pain as it tried to bear her weight. Out of the corner of her eye she saw other dark shadows approaching before she was swept back towards the ground, her knee buckling from the strain just before her shoulder slammed into the ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. Kicking out with her good leg, she smashed her foot against the bony, blackened wrist. The impact jarred her leg loose and she yanked it away, rolling desperately across the ground, scrambling to regain her footing. And then her already-weakened knee collapsed beneath her, sending her facefirst into the rocks.

“No!” she screamed, spitting bits of gravel from her mouth, kicking at the ground with her good leg, clawing at the sharp rocks with her hands as she scrambled madly to get away from the foul horror that pursued her.

Vile hands snatched her arm, slinging her into the air. “Nooooooo.” She cried out, certain that she wasn’t going to get away again. Tossing her over its muscled shoulder, the creature bolted towards the river, as she raked its face with her nails.

“Cut it out” Barak roared.

She looked up. The creature dwindled behind her, its bony feet slipping ineffectually on rocks. “Faster.” She screamed as it bent over to snatch a large white rock from the ground. Barak dashed forward with incredible speed, leaping into the river, sending fountains of foam up around him as he rushed across, collapsing on the riverbank, sending her rolling through the mud.

“Let’s get out of here.” Armis said, snatching at her arm, pulling her upright.

“Can’t.” She couldn’t catch her breath for some reason. She grabbed at her knee, which was starting to throb. “Knee.”

Armis looked at her. “Get her arm.” He said to Tohm, and the two men swung her arms around their necks, lifting her off the ground, running unsteadily through the crackling mud.

“Look! They can’t cross the water.” Lam said, laughing and pointing.

Tohm and Armis paused, and awkwardly turned around. The burning creatures, a dozen at least, milled about uncertainly on the far riverbank, seemingly frightened of the water.

“They can’t cross the water.” Tohm repeated, letting Oola’s arm slide from his shoulder as he started back towards the river, hooting and hollering.

“Tohm, get back here.” Armis’s shout rang in her ears.

Tohm turned towards them, laughing. “They can’t cross the water! They can’t cross – Ooof!

A large white rock smashed into his side.

Kito spoke up, excitedly “Hey, wait, what is that?” He started running towards Tohm, pointing at the ground.

“Let’s get out of here!” Tohm yelped, his hand pressed against the side of his face as a hail of rocks and stones arced through the sky behind him. “Help me.” Armis shouted, but Tohm ran past them, blood trickling between his fingers. “Barak.” Armis called as he shielded Oola from the stones that clattered against the earth behind them. “Help me, before they throw any more.” Barak nodded and ran towards them, helping her wrap an arm around his neck. Together the three of them lumbered eastwards across the ruined earth, jostling her painfully as they rushed to escape the deadly rain of stone.

The sun was noticeably lower in the sky before Armis wheezingly called for a halt, collapsing in the shade of a pile of rocks that had only faint markings of soot and ash. As Oola slid from their shoulders, she turned back to the west. Red Cave was just a dark spot in the distance, barely visible on the blackened plain of ash.

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Friday, March 24th, 2006 at 8:35 am.
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