Prologue Previous Chapter

Shara

“Shara. Wake up” Someone was prodding her with a foot.

She tried to ignore him, to get a few moments more sleep, but he was insistent, poking her.

“Get up. Make breakfast.” Barak said. “Oola hasn’t come back yet with any game.”

She nodded, and stretched sleepily, shambling over to the lake shore. Building her courage, she counted to three and then stepped forward. The icy water swirled around her feet and legs, shocking her into full wakefulness.

We’re never going to escape.

She stared at the sand-colored mountains towering over her to the west. Barak insisted that they keep going westwards, but the mountains had other ideas. So they had traveled north along the lake, looking for a pass that would lead them to the other side.

But in her dreams, Jiant grew closer every day.

Yawning, and stretching, she waded out of the water again, and walked over to the remains of the campfire. A tumble of sticks sat in a pile near the fire, and she chose a few, tossing them on top of the embers. In a few moments they were smoking and starting to catch.

Rummaging through her sack, she found some more carrots, some raspberries and a few strips of dried meat. She stared at the carrots, and sighed.

Still, there was nothing to do but–

What is that?

There was something sitting on a rock nearby. It looks like a peach!

And it was, firm, and pink and golden. Her mouth started watering, and she ran over and grabbed it, returning it to her stash. Sitting cross legged in front of it, she closed her eyes and began to sing the Song of Thanks. It was so easy now, she didn’t have to concentrate anymore, it just came out.

The peach brought back memories, sitting with her family, eating together, gathering fruits from the trees. Before the Spear. Before everyone had been taken away. Everyone except Kito.

Oh, Kito, I have not mourned for you like I should have.

In her mind, she saw his last moments again, wrapped in the arms of that hideous green monster, helpless to stop as he was taken. Barak had carried her, kicking and screaming out of the cave. “Kito!” her cry echoed through her heart.

And the Spear, the golden star that had taken away her people, her home, her life. Unbidden, her memories of that night came back, flying, circling the Spear, watching it plummet downwards.

Too much… Too much gone.

Her eyes welled up with tears and she closed them tightly, letting the streams of salty water run down her cheeks. This isn’t fair. This isn’t what life is supposed to be like.

She stopped singing, punching her leg, burying her face in her hands as tears ran down her arms. In the distance, she could hear the boys laughing as they fought back and for with their spears – clack, click, clack.

Hold it together… you’re an adult now.

Wiping her eyes, she rubbed her face, smoothed her hair and took a deep, shuddering breath, letting the pain wash away. Opening her eyes, she started to sing the Song again, but saw that there was no need – a huge pile of food lay in front of her.

Was I really singing that long?

Standing up, she wiped her eyes again, and smoothed her shirt. “Foods ready.”

Din and Pak bounded over, sweaty from sparring, laughing in delight in the cool breezy morning. “You found my peach.” Pak said, proudly. “Wow. You made a bunch of food.” Din grabbed one from the pile, and Pak followed. In a flash they were down to the pit, and each boy grabbed another one.

“Be careful you two – leave some for the rest of us.” She teased.

Pak burst into tears, and dropped to the ground, sobbing, a half-eaten peach rolling out of his hand.

Startled, she stared at Din. “What did I–?”

Din’s smile melted away and tears poured down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Here, take it.” He cried, the peach rolling from his hands.

Dumbfounded, she caught it as he turned, and ran wailing across the grasses, disappearing behind a boulder.

I am being toyed with. She pursed her lips, expecting any moment that Pak would pop up off the ground and laugh at his great joke.

Reya trundled up, her belly swaying in front of her. “How are you doing?” Shara asked her in a friendly voice.

Reya frowned in response. “Ugh. All this walking is killing my ankles.” She made a face, as she grabbed some berries. “And I can’t see my feet anymore.” Demonstrating, she tried to lean forward, and then windmilled her arms backwards before she fell over. “Shee?” she said, mouth full of food.

Shara laughed.

Reya looked down at Pak, weeping silently in the grass. “What’s his problem?”

Shara shrugged. “I think they’re teasing me.” A flash of annoyance shot through her. If this was a joke, it wasn’t funny anymore.

Reya responded in a choked, alarmed voice. “They shouldn’t do that.. that’s terrible.”

Shara stared at the older woman’s face. Reya was fighting back tears. And then she sank to the ground, rolling on her side, burying her face in her hands. “No.” Reya whispered, moaning and rocking back and forth.

“Reya, don’t play games…” She started to say. But Reya wasn’t the type to play games… she never had been.

Barak came running up. “What’s going on?”

Shara shrugged, a panicked feeling building up inside her. “I don’t know. They just started crying.”

Barak grabbed Pak by the shoulder, and pulled on him roughly. “Get up.” Mostly through the force of his grip, Barak forced Pak upright. The moment she saw his face, Shara was horrified – the boy’s eyes were red and swollen, his face muddy with dirt and tears.

Nonplussed, Barak let the boy sink back down to the ground, where he curled up in a ball, still weeping. “What’s for breakfast?”

Shara stared at him for a moment. “Uh… carrots and raspberries and peaches.”

Barak smiled. “I love raspberries.” He grabbed a handful and started popping them in his mouth. “Better make more.” He said, ignoring the weeping figures.

Disgusted, Shara turned and knelt down next to Reya, gently laying a hand on her back. “Reya? Are you okay?”

“Go away. Leave me alone.” She shrieked between sobs.

Startled, Shara backed away, and turned to where Barak was standing.

But he wasn’t standing anymore – he had dropped to his knees, and he was smashing the ground with his fists.

“No. No. No!” He roared, before smashing his face into the ground.

“If this is a joke, it isn’t funny anymore.” Shara screamed, but no one responded.

Furious, she kicked Barak in the side, “Stop it. Stop it!”

“Shara, what are you doing?” Lam came up, with Mika in tow. They both looked flushed.

“They’re playing a trick on me.” Shara said, staring at the three. “It isn’t funny anymore.” Unbidden, tears rushed into her eyes. “Why do you all have to be so mean to me?”

Lam stared at Barak, while Mika knelt down by her older sister, whispering in her ear.

After a few moments, Mika stood up. “I don’t know.” she said, picking up a pair of peaches, and throwing one to Lam. But he wasn’t paying attention, and it clonked him in the side of the head. “Hey. Watch it.”

“Shorry.” She laughed, peach juice running down her chin.

Well, they seem to be alright.

Mika’s tone changed abruptly. “Oh Lam. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Lam smiled, nervously. “Mika, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

“What have I done? Oh Lam.” She tottered, and pitched forward into his arms. He caught her, and sank to his knees. “Mika? Are you alright?”

She shoved her face into his neck and started sobbing as he tried to reassure her. “Mika, I’m fine. I’m fine.”

He looked up for a moment. “Shara, what is going on?”

But she had no answer.

=-=

The sun was emerging from the mountaintops by the time Oola returned, carrying a dead rabbit in each hand. But nothing else had really changed – Din, Pak, Reya, Barak and Mika remained stricken with grief, immobile. Lam was stuck comforting Mika, and that left Shara to check on the others. She had found Din behind the boulder, banging his head against the stone for so long that it was red, bruised and bloody. Gasping, she dragged him away from the rocks, and left him lying in the grass, a trickle of blood running down his cheek.

Oola waved, and laughed as she approached. “Look, rabbits.” She said triumphantly, lifting them into the air. Shara smiled weakly, exhausted from tending to the others.

Oola paused, and looked around. “What is going on?”

“I don’t know.” Shara threw up her hands in exasperation. “I made breakfast, and everyone started crying.”

Oola furrowed her brow. “Are they making fun of you?”

“I thought so, at first.” Shara said. “But now…”

“Well, here,” Oola said, handing her a rabbit. “Help me dress these. We need to keep the meat fresh as long as we can. Up ahead…” She paused for a moment. “Up ahead it is very barren – like there was a great fire or something. Dead animal skeletons everywhere.”

“How strange.” Shara said, grateful for the respite from the moaning of her friends.

“Yes. Oh! I saw what looks like a pass through the mountains. If we leave now, we might be able to get there before dark.” Oola glanced at the sun. “Maybe.”

“A pass?” Shara brightened. “Maybe that will snap him out of it.” Turning, she walked over to Barak and knelt at his side. “Barak, Oola found your mountain pass. It is close by.”

But he didn’t respond.

It wasn’t until midday that the fallen began to snap out of their malaise. It happened slowly, the sobbing lessened, the moaning and the pounding stopped, and then, finally, the five stood up on wobbly legs and stared around the campfire.

“Sorry…” Reya said, blushing with embarrassment.

Barak stood up, wiping his hands on his shirt. “Shara, you said something about the pass?”

“Yeah!” Oola said, brightening. “It’s ahead.” She glanced at the sun. “We probably won’t make it today.”

“Well, we’re going to try.”

“I’m hungry,” Pak said, and walked over to the campfire.

“Leave it!” Barak snapped. “We’ll get some more food on the way.”

Din stared at the peach in his hand, and dropped it. “Okay. I’m a little tired of peaches anyways.”

Everyone gathered up, and they marched northwards along the lake shore. Oola had spoken the truth of the fire – within a short time they arrived in a burned out area, covered with ashes, and the yellow-white bones of animals scattered here and there.

“Look. There it is.” Lam pointed.

Sure enough, Oola had been right about the pass too – a notch in the mountains – a difficult climb, but not an impossible one. They kept marching, and the pass drew slowly nearer.

As the sun reached the tops of the western mountains, Barak started laughing. “Look there.” He said.

A fair walk past the notch, the mountains broke completely, and everyone could see the orange glint of sunlight on a river as it snaked away from the long lake, westwards between the mountains.

“Walking along the river would be much easier than trying to climb the pass.” Lam commented.

Barak nodded. “I agree.” He stared at the setting sun in dismay. “But we won’t make it there today.”

He looked around. “Let’s camp here. Din, Pak – get some firewood – there are a few trees up there.” He pointed at the mountainside, and the two boys scampered off. “Mika, make dinner – I believe Oola has some rabbit.”

Shara nodded. “We cooked them this morning.”

“Okay. Shara, you take the first watch, Lam the second, Oola the third, Mika the fourth, and I’ll take the last.”

“Hey. Why are you giving Lam and I separate watches?” Mika demanded.

“One pregnancy is enough right now.” Barak responded without missing a beat.

Lam opened his mouth, and then closed it again. “Okay.”

The rest of the evening went swiftly, and soon Shara was alone with her thoughts, perched on a rock next to the campsite, staring at the stars while the campfire popped and sizzled. She examined the great sky hunter, arm poised for throwing, his latest kill dangling from his belt. Beyond that, the great band of cloudy white poured across the sky like a stream.

Something tickled her arm. She ignored it at first, and then remembered the scorpions, and glanced down sharply. Just an ant. Big and yellow.

Wait, it’s not yellow… it’s glowing.

And burning.. she could feel the heat against her skin. Yelping, she swatted her hand down, crushing the insect.

With a soft sigh, the ant burst into flame as she smashed it, sending searing heat into the palm of her hand. Gasping, she pulled away, staring dumbfounded at the circle of blackened skin.

Her leg exploded in pain. She screamed in pain, standing up on the boulder, brushing feverishly at her legs as her skin caught fire in two places. And then stopped.

Line after line of tiny glowing lights were marching towards them from the north.

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Saturday, June 17th, 2006 at 5:03 pm.
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