Part 24: Underground Plots

Main story folder & table of contents: "Escape From Manitou Island" 
Previous chapter: "Part 23: Stealing & Stalling" 

PART TWENTY-FOUR:
Underground Plots

CHARMIAN'S VISION WENT white--just as all of the noise around her stopped--and a strange burning smell filled the air. She blinked at the sudden sting in her eyes, and saw the stunned looks on the faces of everyone around her, not least of all White Coyote's. He'd grabbed hold of her wrist to pull her upright again, and his fingers were digging into her arm; yet it was as if his eyes stared right through hers, frozen and surprised. Charmian could do nothing but stare back, wondering what had just happened

Her stare shifted slightly downward, and she then saw the hole blasted through White Coyote's necklaces. She blinked again, her mind too confused to tell what exactly it was. When a trickle of red descended from it, her eyes grew, and her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

White Coyote's grip on her wrist loosened, then he let go. His eyes went glassy and he started to fall.

As he descended Charmian saw Black Elk Horn frozen in place some distance behind him, his own eyes wider than she'd ever seen them--she'd never thought the ogimah could look so surprised. Everyone else in the camp looked the exact same way, and it was as if not even a leaf stirred.

Charmian had enough time to glance from side to side. X'aaru, Mani, and the GeeBees and loons stared into the clearing, mouths hanging. Thomas, Moon Wolf, Stick-In-The-Dirt, and Niskigwun gawked in the same direction that she'd been staring in. Peepaukawiss still held Marten mashed to his breast, the two of them gaping in seeming astonishment, Puka's feathers flaring and Marten's tail puffed up like a frightened cat's. Lastly her stare moved toward Lieutenant Barrington, who still held her other wrist and stood slightly behind her, where he'd started to pull her toward the woods; she was surprised to see that he looked the same as the rest. For some reason she'd expected him to look different. Then she noticed the gun in his hand, a little plume of smoke drifting up from the long barrel.

Her skin suddenly turned to ice and her head whirled around just as White Coyote hit the ground with a thud before them.

The silence went on for what seemed like years. Everybody stared at White Coyote as if expecting him to jump up as some sort of prank, yet he didn't do so; then Black Elk Horn moved, just a bit. He lifted his arm a fraction, stared, then moved his foot. Stared again. His mouth opened, and Charmian had never before seen that look on his face.

Before she knew what she was doing she felt her own fingers dig into Barrington's arm; her foot moved back, she saw the others look at her with their wide eyes, and then she was turning, back toward the woods; Mani and the others stepped aside. She felt like she was walking through water, everything seemed so slow and dreamy and unreal. As she turned she got another look at Barrington, and he met her eyes, disbelief and confusion in his own; then without a word she was pulling him toward the trail away from the camp, moving slowly, dreamily, the only sound a dull roaring in her ears. Her foot touched the ground, then her other foot, again, and again; then she set foot on the trail just outside the camp proper--and all sound and feeling and everything came back in a rush, the birdsong sounding like screaming in the trees, gasps filling her ears like the howl of wind, her own feet thudding as hard as sledgehammers; she lurched forward so abruptly that it felt like her arm would wrench loose from its socket, but a second later she heard Barrington stumbling after her, and then the others, X'aaru and Mani and the GeeBees at both sides of them in the woods, Kwemoo and Maang flying overhead, the thudding of feet pounding in her head like a migraine that would never go away. She heard the echo of the gunblast still ringing in the air over the East Bluff, and the reek of gunpowder still filled her nostrils, her eyes still burning from the flash; she had just enough sense of mind to wonder how long that had all taken, before she abandoned all thought again, and ran as fast as she could away from the camp.

For the briefest moment there was no sound in the woods but for the birdsong and their feet against the ground; then came a screaming yell which made the hair on her neck prickle, and she ran even faster than she'd thought possible. She felt Barrington's fingers dig into her own wrist in return, her feet flying over the dirt and limestone; she stumbled at last, then Moon Wolf appeared at her side, grabbed her free hand, and pulled her ahead even faster than she'd already been moving. She saw the look on his face and nearly tripped again. He hadn't looked so afraid even when he'd been fighting Ocryana.

She tried to speak at last, but her lungs were on fire. X'aaru came up on the right, racing through the trees; "My cave!" he yelled, before sprinting ahead and disappearing from sight; Moon Wolf turned slightly to the right as well, Charmian and the others following. They left the path and raced over the numerous little hollows that dotted the woods, before the low-set cave finally came into sight; Tiiku stood outside it, ears pricked and eyes wide. As soon as he saw them he turned and vanished into the cave with a bark. Charmian's strength at last gave out and she started stumbling over her own feet, letting go of Barrington's hand; Thomas grabbed her instead, and they pulled her toward the cave. Without even a thought they hurled her toward it and she found herself hurtling down through darkness before striking the pine-needled slope and sliding down toward the bottom. She fell into open air, then landed in the pool at the bottom; something landed with a splash beside her, then grabbed her arm and hauled her to the side before whoever splashed in next could land on top of her. The splashing seemed to go on forever; something suddenly lit the cave up in blue, and she glanced to the side to see Moon Wolf holding up his hand, flames dancing around his fingers. The blue glow gave his face an odd hollow-eyed look, as if he'd just arisen from the dead, or had seen a ghost; when she looked around at the others now in the cave with them, they all had the same look. Even Pakwa and Augwak, perched atop a ledge overhanging the pool, stared down into the cave with their eyes goggling.

"What--what was THAT--?" Augwak managed to get out, his voice rising to an oddly panicked screech.

Charmian opened her mouth, but again no words came out. She found herself gasping for breath; Thomas squeezed her arm, but it was as if she were drowning for a moment. Everyone turned to look at her, Stick-In-The-Dirt and Puka sopping wet; she managed to force out the tiniest noise, an incoherent syllable, then another, and another; they started joining together until something like a whimper was coming from her throat, then it rose into a whine, then a moaning screeching sound, then before she knew it, everyone was grimacing and jerking back as she leapt to her feet, screaming so loudly that the cave vibrated. She lurched into the water and grabbed Barrington by the arm; he tried to pull himself away, but her grip was like one of Francois's traps, and her eyes flashed even in the blue dimness.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" she screamed. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!"

Barrington tugged on his arm and cringed at her, his eyes glassy. Hands grabbed hold of her and started pulling her back even as she struggled; her vision went blurry and she had to blink before she could see again, Mani and X'aaru and the others staring at her almost in awe. She kicked water at Barrington; he held up a hand to shield his eyes but did nothing else. Marten winced and burrowed his head into Puka's feathers at the awful noises she was letting out.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?" Charmian screamed.

"Charmian!" Thomas put his hand over her mouth and dragged her to the ground; she fought and yelled, her voice coming out muffled; Stick-In-The-Dirt assisted him in keeping her in place. After a moment or so of this she felt pain returning to her muscles, the results of her panicked run through the woods; she started shaking, then slumped back against them, her eyes squinching shut. They didn't let go of her, though their grips loosened just slightly; the others stopped cringing, looked at her, then started looking ceilingward. X'aaru's tail flicked from side to side, splashing the water, and both Puka and Augwak started chewing their fingernails.

"Wh..." Thomas at last seemed to regain a sense of what had just happened. "What--what was that--?" he blurted out, and whirled to give Barrington the most astonished yet venomous look possible. Barrington grimaced and shrank in on himself.

Stick-In-The-Dirt's fingers dug into Charmian's arm but she barely even felt them. "This...this isn't good!" he stammered, face pale. "NOT good!"

"What--what if we're being followed--?" Puka exclaimed, and whined and scrambled toward the tunnel out of the cave, teeth chattering like mad.

Kwemoo and Maang paddled in circles in the puddle, tails wiggling. "O-ho, o-ho!!" they cried in dismay.

Moon Wolf stood, having to duck his head because of the sloping ceiling. "I'll look to see if anyone's made their way here," he said, his voice and his face tense; he splashed toward the space beneath the slope leading into the cave and glanced up at it uneasily, when something appeared above them, and he gasped and jumped back, forming a fireball. Everyone let out their breath when Niskigwun descended, careful to keep his wings from getting wet in the pool. He glanced at all of them.

"No one--no one's followed us," he said anxiously. "But this may change at any moment."

X'aaru waved his tail. "Further in!" he urged. "We can go way into the back of the cave. Nobody should see or hear us way back there!"

Charmian didn't offer a word of argument or agreement. Thomas and Stick-In-The-Dirt both helped her up and they made their way into the side tunnel and out of the little pool room. Tiiku, hovering in the path further ahead, turned and hurried on ahead of them, letting out a bark to announce their approach.

They made their way into a different cave from before, Khiieta joining them along the way; she and X'aaru shared an anxious look and Charmian could tell that they were communicating. After a moment they both lowered their heads and whined a little before continuing. Charmian put a hand up to her eyes and ground her teeth. The looks on everyone's faces told her that it must have really happened...but it simply didn't seem like it had...it felt just like something she would wake up from at any moment.

It happened so fast! How could that have happened--? WHAT happened--?

The demons turned slightly left and entered a large cavern which rivaled anything under Devil's Lake; several crystals had been set a bit awkwardly into the walls, doubtlessly by the demons themselves, and lit up half of the room in amber and the other half in blue-green. Charmian finally had a chance to see exactly where the three of them lived, and she saw how almost every little outcropping and ledge held some sort of trinket or bauble that had been picked up in various places--a geode here, a piece of colored glass there, a pinecone in yet another spot. At any other time she would have been amused over what counted as interior decorating among Ocryxes; as it was, all that she could do was make her way toward the pile of furs at the other side of the room, and sit down on the edge of it, rubbing her knuckles against her eyes. The others filtered into the cave and stopped in various locations, all looking as if they expected to be punished for something. Stick-In-The-Dirt and Niskigwun especially looked anxious, but none of them said anything.

"We have to get out of here," Charmian said after a moment, and all eyes turned toward her. She still didn't glance up at them. "Right now. I don't know what'll happen if we try staying." She finally lifted her head, and her eyes were red. "I need to get to Francois somehow," she said, just remembering, and feeling her heart twist in her chest. She'd heard the awful sound that Black Elk Horn had let out; no matter what her status with the tribe, she doubted that he would let her or Thomas or Barrington live, at least.

The others looked disconsolate. After a moment Marten leapt down from Puka's arms and scrambled toward her. He halted at her knees and drew himself up to his full height, eyes wide.

"I'll get him!" he offered. "They won't recognize me!" To prove his point, there was a little puff, and an instant later a red squirrel was standing before her, tail flicking.

Charmian bit her lip. "I know who he is! The hunter guy in the fur cap, right?" Marten added. "I hitched a ride on him the last time! You said he'd make me into a coat!" His tail flicked. "I'll bring him right back!"

"See if you can get Walks-On-The-Shore too," Charmian said dully. She reached to dig in her pack, pulled out the little snowglobe, and set it on a nearby empty ledge. "Francois will know him."

Marten bobbed his head, turning and scampering off out of the cave. Charmian's head lowered and the cave again fell silent; X'aaru crept toward the pile of furs and lay down upon it, his tail gingerly curling around Charmian's back just a little. After a moment or so several of the others sat down where they'd stood. Puka hunched in on himself; Niskigwun shuffled his wings, and Stick-In-The-Dirt and Moon Wolf both rubbed their Megis shells between their fingers.

Charmian's head lifted. "Are you happy now?" she demanded, and everyone--even Pakwa and Mani--jumped; they saw that her stare was focused on Barrington, who remained in the entryway to the cave, nearly out of sight; he winced and took another step back so he was in the shadows and the dim light couldn't reach him. Charmian's lip curled back. "I almost had Black Elk Horn at least tolerating me," she said, her voice pure venom, "but now, because of you, he'll probably want to KILL all of us! Do you know what they do to people who kill others here--?" she snapped, looking for all the world as if she were talking to the doorway itself, since Barrington was no longer visible. "They either ADOPT them, or they KILL them too! And Black Elk Horn doesn't ADOPT anybody!" She clenched her fists and stood up, her voice rising unpleasantly. "Do you feel happy now?"

Thomas stepped up beside her and took her arm. Stick-In-The-Dirt fiddled with his Megis a little bit before clasping it in his hand. "Maybe Silver Eagle Feather will speak with him," he murmured, not sounding in the least bit convinced. "She has always been the voice of reason..."

"She does not go against him when he's made up his mind absolutely," Moon Wolf said. He glanced at Barrington himself, his eyes dark. "You're in his tribe. Do you genuinely think he would let such a thing pass?"

Stick-In-The-Dirt's head lowering was answer enough. "I doubt there is anything we can do about this right now," Niskigwun ventured after another pause. "It is already done...and we have things to get to. Perhaps...after a little time has passed...it will be safe enough to return. Or at least, we will not have more important things to worry us."

Charmian bit the inside of her mouth, hating how White Coyote's shooting was being relegated to "less important" status, but knowing that it was true; he was only one Islander, and they were talking about the entire Island. She turned slightly to look at X'aaru; as soon as he noticed her attention he promptly got to his feet. "We need a way to get to the Fairy Realm," she said.

Niskigwun blinked, then his face went nearly white. "I--I forgot!" he cried. "The Fairy Arch--!"

"We'll have to find another way," Charmian said with a wince. She stared at the cave wall for a moment or two before biting her lip again. "I don't know if there is such a thing though. Maybe Apakwaanaajiin can help me." She shut her eyes, feeling that the effort would be futile--so far all that Apakwaanaajiin had done was help her find other people--but not knowing what else to try. She held up a hand as if to feel something beside her, and cast out her mental net. She immediately sensed everyone around her, then spread it out further; she felt cave walls, but they didn't resonate in the same way as living things. She sought further away, but belowground, there seemed to be relatively little to find.

She reached out so far that she at last sensed a few vague presences a great distance away, but she was fairly certain that they were those of Ocryx and Shadow Water and the various manitous who lived under the water, and she started to pull the net back with a frustrated sigh. Something seemed to grab hold of it, however, and she gasped and nearly fell over, the shock was so surprising. Thomas gripped her wrist before she could stumble and she reflexively pulled back.

Mainlander, a voice said, and she took in a breath. You're seeking a way out to the Sky Tree--?

Her eyes popped open, and she saw how everyone else stared in the general direction that the voice had come from, their jaws hanging. Charmian let up on pulling away from the sensation, and it grew somewhat stronger, at the same time letting up its own hold on her so that she relaxed slightly. "Chakenapok--?" she asked, somewhat stupidly; of course it was him, but she still wasn't used to running into him, without him trying to yank her spirit stone out. "You know a way?"

Remember what you came across in Scott's Cave? he asked, and she nodded. The Sky Mother must have told you what Weaver webs are good for. The Tree itself uses a similar medicine and so does the Arch, and Croghan Water itself. Many of these tunnels were once used by the Weavers before they moved to the north interior of the Island. I spoke with the Shadow Wolves and they told me there were once various ways to and from the Fairy Realm but long ago they fell into disuse and only the Arch was used.

Niskigwun frowned. "I have never heard of such openings," he protested.

This is because they were greatly forgotten even by the Michinimakinong, Chakenapok replied. The Shadow Wolves are older, and remember them better. But most of them are inaccessible now. Charmian's head started turning and she found herself staring at a small side tunnel out of the cave. They say that if you go that way, Chakenapok continued, you should eventually come to a dead end where the tunnel collapsed, and if you dig you will find just such a deserted opening. You'll know it when you see the glow of the Weavers' webs beneath the rocks. These were used to make the going safer.

Charmian let out a breath, her muscles relaxing a bit more. "Thanks, Chakenapok," she said, taking a step toward it. She glanced back at Khiieta and Tiiku, who were standing a little bit behind her. "Khi--you'll tell Francois we went this way?" she asked, and the demon nodded. She nodded in return, then gestured and went toward the tunnel. X'aaru touched noses with Khiieta, then Tiiku, then hurried after her; he managed to get ahead of her, glancing over his shoulder as he squeezed into the tunnel.

"I've been this way before," he said. "I know the dead end...I'll see if I can move a few of the rocks!"

Charmian nodded. Not bothering to look back to see if the others were following, she went in the same direction, having to duck her head; the others filtered in single file, Mani having to turn his head sideways and walk with it at an angle in order to fit his antlers through. They all had to keep their heads lowered, bent somewhat forward, the tunnel was so small; but at least they didn't have to squirm their way through it, she supposed. She didn't think about this long before remembering their circumstances, at which her curiosity died, and she hung her head.

I didn't even know him--so I know this is barely about him--but what about Black Elk Horn? I DO know him...I know he doesn't like me...but I was hoping that maybe someday, that could change...

What have we gotten into...?

She thought of Silver Eagle Feather then, and Laughing Lynx, and White Deer and all the rest of them--what would they think?--and put a hand to her eyes, wincing at the sting. Pakwa, behind her, put out a hand and took hold of her ankle to slow her down; X'aaru stood ahead, hunched over the pile of rubble ending the tunnel, digging furiously at the bottom of it like a terrier hunting a badger. Mani stood not far behind, head still cocked uncomfortably, nudging a rock away with his antler whenever one rolled past; he gave her an apologetic look and she could tell that he wanted to be digging as well. As soon as X'aaru stopped to catch a breath, Charmian waved at him and he blushed a little before squirming back and letting the manitou take over; Mani's antlers gouged the earth and stone away as if it were made of butter, and he shoveled it aside.

X'aaru rubbed his aching claws. "Once...once we get through, then what?" he asked meekly.

"Geezhigo-Quae should point us out which way to go," Charmian said, even though she had no clue. "Glooskap said to try east." She paused. "But we might need to split up--because Manabozho probably went west. We need to find him before he does something stupid."

"G-Geezhigo-Quae...?" Stick-In-The-Dirt echoed, nervously; she craned her neck to see back toward him and he was rubbing his hands together with a very anxious look.

"You don't have to be afraid of her," she said, wishing that she could get her voice to sound more sympathetic, but it came out dull and flat instead; she could tell that the others noticed, yet they said nothing. She turned back around when Mani whistled, and saw that the tips of his antler were glowing; she took a step toward him and touched one of the points, her finger coming back faintly sticky. She rubbed it against her thumb and could see tiny glowing threads breaking apart; she nodded at him.

"This is the place. See if we can find the hole still here."

Mani stepped back and X'aaru resumed digging, his claws better able to reach into the soil more precisely. The others had to avoid his tail as he dug. "I see it!" he exclaimed excitedly, tail now wagging. They shielded their eyes when he tossed a few handfuls of dirt, then his head popped up and he looked back at them. "It's small! But here it is!"

Charmian squeezed past him and just barely managed to step beside him and get a better look. She didn't like the look of this tunnel...it looked like nothing more than a giant rodent's hole leading straight into the ground...but decided that there was little choice, considering what must be going on aboveground by now. She winced and hoped that everyone outside would be all right. "Who'll stay behind to tell Marten where we went--?" she asked.

X'aaru's tail wagged. "I'll stay...I'll lead them right through once they get here!"

Charmian nodded and put one foot into the tunnel; it touched earth, so she knew that it sloped a little, at least at the beginning. She hoped X'aaru and Mani would be able to fit; Mani could always change into water if he needed to, but she wasn't sure about X'aaru. Still, he seemed confident enough staying behind to wait, so she squatted down to put her other foot in the hole and eased herself inside. She had to crabwalk down into it, it was so narrow, but at least it opened up a bit and looked like X'aaru would fit if he kept his wings scrunched against his back. She took a breath and pushed herself off, the little circle of light overhead disappearing, and rather wished that she'd gone headfirst so that she wouldn't feel so exposed on her back; then, thinking about falling headfirst into whatever lay below, she reconsidered, and started crawling, hoping that the tunnel wouldn't lead her out into open air like the entrance to Glooskap's world always seemed to do.

She crawled for a moment or so before the utter darkness around her began glowing again, and she opened her eyes to peer at the webs embedded in the rocky soil. She winced when her elbow banged against a rock, and would have rubbed at it had that not probably entailed banging her other elbow, when she noticed that her foot couldn't touch anything; she swirled it around in a circle and still felt nothing. When she fell still she thought she felt a cool breeze wafting against her ankle.

"I think it opens up just ahead," she called back to whoever had chosen to follow her first. "I don't know how it opens up though, so watch out. Here I go." She bit her lip, took a breath, and propelled herself forward again, wondering at last if it would be such a good idea to bring X'aaru along after all, with how small this space was.

She felt open air around her calves, then started sliding out. She thought to grab hold of roots that were now protruding from the walls, and so managed to avoid falling when she exited through what looked to be the steep edge of a riverbank or creek. She glanced at the low water flowing by beneath and wondered if it was the same river that Wabasso had drowned in, and bit her lip once more. A quick glance around showed her that she was at the edge of a meadow, trees and shrubs lining the water, the roots of which she now held onto; the way down toward the water wasn't very far at all, and her feet hovered only about two or three feet over it. She let out a breath of relief, steadied herself, and let go of the roots, pushing herself forward a bit so she wouldn't slide down the muddy embankment. She landed on her feet with a splash and the water only rose up to her knees. She turned to the hole in the embankment and cupped a hand to her mouth.

"It's safe!" she called out. "Just a little muddy and wet at the end. I'm heading to the Sky Tree to fill Geezhigo-Quae in!"

She didn't stop to wait and see who would come next, before splashing along through the water until the bank grew less steep, and climbing up again onto drier ground. She shook her feet off, checked her pack, and trudged through the tall grass, weaving around trees and peering around; she blinked when she saw the Sky Tree in the distance. This entrance had opened up behind it, and it was even further away than it was from the Fairy Arch entrance. Still, at least it was visible, even in the growing darkness, its trunk shimmering purple-blue and its leaves glittering like ebony laced with diamonds. The going wasn't so smooth from here and she had to wander over numerous hillocks and hollows, seeking the most navigable path.

Eventually she heard a call from far behind her, and slowed her step until the others started catching up, one by one; they then walked together, fireflies flickering about overhead as they neared the looming Sky Tree.

* * * * *

The strange female wolf-creature was too distracted to even notice the one remaining holdout who had not accompanied all of the others into the tunnel. The pup, perhaps it would have noticed him; but its mother was so busy fussing about that it didn't get the chance. Barrington was relieved for that.

It wasn't long before the strange furry child returned, three more people in tow; he made sure to keep himself fully in the shadows, as one of them was a native, dressed about as sparsely as the man with the rattle had been, his hair roached and befeathered; he peered around at the walls with great interest as the other adult, a Canadian from the looks of it, addressed the wolf-creature to find out what was going on. The third was a boy who looked like he might have been native himself, though he dressed like the Canadian. The Canadian seemed perplexed as they spoke, and gestured at the tunnel; the wolf-creature nodded emphatically. Barrington saw the gun he had slung over his shoulder and his face paled. He'd seen a gun exactly like that in the cabin he'd entered.

After a few moments the Canadian and the wolf-creature finished talking, and he nodded and reached out to pat her nose. He turned to gesture at the other three, shrugging as he did so as if puzzled by something; the native took one last glance in Barrington's direction, and for the briefest moment he could have sworn that he'd been noticed. But none of them said anything before vanishing into the tunnel. A moment or so later, the wolf-creature turned and left the cave, whuffing at the pup to follow; it narrowed its eyes in his direction, but obeyed, and the cave fell silent.

He waited long enough to make certain that they were all gone before daring to creep out, and peered into the tunnel. After another pause he stepped into it and crept along until he came to the blocked end, and the hole gouged in the ground; there was no sign of anyone else. He looked into the hole with furrowed brow and wondered how they all could have fit down there. What could they be looking for?

That voice said they were looking for a tree...why would they seek a tree underground--? What sort of madness is this--?

He blinked, then lifted his head. He had just seen a voyageur conversing with a giant winged wolf-thing. Right after he had seen a man with blue fire lighting his hand. Right after another giant winged wolf-thing had led them down into an underground cave in which lived an entire family of giant winged wolf-things.

His shoulders sank and he let out his breath. He stared at the little hole in the ground before putting one foot into it. He sat down on the edge and eased his legs in, starting to push himself down into it before he stopped. He glanced to the side and only now noticed the strange glowing webs lacing the tunnel's edge.

You'll know it when you see the glow of the Weavers' webs beneath the rocks. These were used to make the going safer...

Barrington stared at the strange webs for a good long while. At last he began pushing himself into the tunnel once more. But as he went he grasped at the delicate threads, clenching his fist around a handful of them before the tunnel swallowed him up.

Continue:

Part 25: Teached, Be Teacher  (13+) Geezhigo-Quae has an unusual request to make of Charmian, concerning Winter Born... #1214196 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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