Prologue Previous Chapter

Reya

“We can’t just leave them!” Reya shrieked, but no one seemed to be listening.

Barak sat on the ground, head in his hands, gasping repeatedly. Lam and Mika were holding each other tightly, eyes closed, heads buried in each other’s necks. Weakly, Reya truned and stared back down the hill, across the lake and down towards the cave entrance. Behind her, the setting sun bathed the valley in orange-red flame.
“No. No. Nonononono. Kito!” Shara screamed, thrashing helplessly in Oola’s firm grip. The curly-haired girl whispered fiercely into Shara’s ear, her face wet with tears.

“Fine! I’ll do it myself.” Reya snarled, picking up her spear from the ground, starting back down the hillside.

Strong arms grabbed her before she could take two steps. “Reya, no.” Instantly, she turned and slapped Barak across the face.

“We have to save them.” She said, her jaw twitching, eyes blurred with tears. “Coward.”

Barak ignored the insult, perhaps for the first time in his life. “Reya, you saw what happened. They’re gone. That monster ate them.”

“You saw the vines take Kito.” A quiet voice whispers inside. “You saw Armis and Tohm run forward to help him.”

And she saw them all disappear, shoved into the pink orifice, like gobbets of meat.

“We don’t know that.” She argued, ignoring the voice. “Maybe it spit them out. Maybe…”

“They’re gone.” Barak repeated, woodenly, and stares off at the setting sun. “They’re gone.”

“You wanted this.” She snarled, surprised at her own vehemence. “You wanted to lead. And you won’t save him, because you want to be the chief. You miserable coward.”

His slap set her jaw on fire and the world whirling beneath her.

“Shut up, you fat cow.”

Blood filled her mouth, and she spat it at him, ignoring the stinging pain, smirking as her blood sprayed across his face. “You’re no chief! You’re no leader! You’re a miserable worm. A bully who–”

Eyes on fire, Barak grabbed her hand, twisting her thumb back, forcing her to her knees.

He followed her down, murmuring in her ear as her blood dripped down his cheek. “You’ll follow me, because I’m the only one who can keep you safe. You need me.”

She spat at him again, but her aim was bad and it just soild his dark hair. Giving her thumb a final, painful jerk, he let go, and wiped his face clean. “We’re going to do things my way now. I’m the chief. And we are not going back into that cave.”

Reya turned, and studied the faces of her friends. Shara was sobbing. Oola was focused only on her friend. Din and Pak were silent, staring wide-eyed at her. Lam and Mika were staring warily at Barak.

Shara took a deep breath, stifling her cries, and wiped her eyes. “We need- We need to go west.” She said as she rose to her feet.

No, you stupid idiot. Don’t let him take control.

Barak turned, eyes boring into hers. “Why do we need to do that? It’s quite rocky.”

“I had a true dream.. Jiant was chasing us.”

What a strange thing to say.

Barak paused, and cocked his head. “What is a true dream?”

Oola stood up, her hand on Shara’s shoulder. “Shara dreams the future. She dreamt about the scorpions, and she dreamt…She dreamt about the burning dead, back at Red Cave.”

Reya stared at Shara, but she was just staring at the ground.

“Look.” Pak hissed, pointing back towards the Axar’s cave.

A figure emerges. Dark hair. Armis?

No.. Axar.

He carried his bowl with him, casually, like he hadn’t just overseen the deaths of three good people. As they watched, he carried the bowl to the lake, letting it float on the surface as he waded in. Bending over, he ripped weeds from the murky water and placed them in the bowl.

“You monster!” She roared.

“Reya, quiet.” Barak hissed, grabbing her hair and yanking her backwards.

Axar turned towards the sound, his sightless white eyes staring off to their left. “Hello.” He called out, faintly. “Come. Join me for food. It would be so nice to have visitors.”

Reya blinked, unable to find words. They all stood together, silently. After a few heartbeats Axar shrugged, and started back towards his cave, disappearing into the shadows.

“Come on. ” Barak said. “Let’s go.”

Suddenly, Reya was afraid of what might come out of the cave next. “Alright.” Her feet are on fire from all this walking. Mika helps her up, and she waddles up the hill as fast as she can, her belly swaying in front, back and forth. The baby kicks a couple of times, and then stops.

They walked, up the hill, and down the other side into the twilight, into dusk, into night, until they were trying to pick a path under the light of the stars and the slowly shrinking crescent-moon, her whole body trembling with pain and fear. Doggedly, she kept walking, until an unseen dip sent her stumbling forward, her ankle buckling under the strain. Losing her balance, she toppled forward, clawing out in desperation to keep the baby safe, sending jarring pain through her wrist as it connected with the ground, and then another into her back as she slammed against a rock.

“Reya?” Mika rushed forward, reaching out to her tenderly.

Enough. “Barak.” She said, miserably. “We have to stop. I can’t go any farther.”

“No stopping. Not yet.”

Her mouth tighened. “You go on. I’m staying here.”

He turned, eyes dark in the night. “No stopping.”

“Barak.” Shara, Oola, Lam and Mika said in unison. “She can’t keep going.”

He stared at her, the promise of future retribution in his eyes. “Fine. We’ll camp here.” And then he smiled. “I’ll take the first watch, Shara the second, Reya the third, Oola the fourth, Lam the fifth.”

Thoughtful of her condition, Armis had never given her the middle watch. “But.” She protested, rubbing her aching wrist.

“No.” He hissed, smirking. “New rule. Whoever asks to stop before I’m ready will have to take the middle watch.”

Closing her eyes, she fought back the anger. Let him win this one stupid, petty thing.

“Fine. I’ll take the third watch.” She said, evenly.

Barak smirked again. “I’m glad we could reach an agreement. Oola, see if you can find us some rabbit, or anything with meat on it. Shara, make us some of your nasty dried carrots and apples.”

The others stared at him, dumbfounded as he sat down. “And someone make a fire.” He growled.

This is going to take some getting used to.

Later, after a mildly unpleasant meal of old apples and carrots, Mika crept up beside her. “I can take your watch for you.” She murmured.

Reya smiled. Out of nowhere, tears filled her eyes. “Thank you, little sister.” She said, wrapping Mika’s head with her arm, hugging her awkwardly. “But I will do it. Barak is the chief now…” She starts sobbing.

Mika reached out and gave her a long hug. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a new place soon, and Barak won’t be in charge.”

=-=

Reya lay on her back, Mika at her side as the two stared at the night sky, watching the strange shimmering beasts devouring the last few bits of the Moon.

“I used to love to watch the Moon.” Mika said. “But now I am afraid.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I am afraid of what happens next. ” Mika whispered. “When those creatures have no more Moon to eat. Will it come back?

Reya paused to consider this. “I guess I assumed it would come back, the way it always has before.”

Mika was silent for a moment. A star shot across the sky, and then another.

“Lam thinks as you do. I hope you’re both right.”

Reya smiled weakly. “You’re spending a lot of time together.”

“Yeah.” Mika said, quietly. “He’s… He makes me feel warm, all the time.”

Reya couldn’t help herself, she started sobbing.

Mika sat up, concerned. “Reya?”

“I’m.. I’m sorry…” The pain re-emerged, and it was crushing her. “I hadn’t told you yet…”

More memories, more lost hopes, and another series of sobs.

Inside, the baby kicked rapidly, angry perhaps at being shaken so.

Mika was silent for a long time. “Reya? What is it?”

“Armis.” Reya snuffled.

“I’m sorry he’s dead too…”

“No! You don’t understand. Two days ago…. no, three…. he-”

The despair rose again, and she fought to contain it. “He asked me to marry him.” She said.

It hadn’t been that simple.. He talked to her about the baby, about her plans, about her fears.

“I was thinking,” Armis had said, the night after they had escaped from Jiant, “That your baby will need a father. If it would help, I could be- I mean I’m willing to be that father.”

Reya had stared at him, nonplusse.d “What are you asking me, Armis?”

“If you need someone… I mean, I guess I’m asking you to decide.. if you want the baby to have a father, then I am willing. If that’s okay.”

It had taken her some time to work through that sentence. “Armis, are you asking me if I will marry you?”

The next heartbeat had taken a year.

“Yes. I guess I am.” He had said, smiling nervously.

Not the most romantic way to join together, but then with only two months until the baby came, it was not a time to be fussing with formality.

“Oh no.” Mika murmured.

Oh no, indeed.

Another bubble of loss popped around her heart, and the tears came again. Mika hugged her tightly, and she laid there, body and soul quivering in the night.

“I still feel like he’s out there somewhere, like maybe I’ll see him again.”

Mika hugged her tighter still, as the crickets chirped in the night.

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Thursday, June 1st, 2006 at 10:30 pm.
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