Part 99: Fleeing Cedars

Main story folder & table of contents: "Return To Manitou Island" 
Previous chapter: "Part 98: Fire-Juggler" 

PART NINETY-NINE:
Fleeing Cedars

SINGING CEDARS'S FEET were moving faster than he would have thought humanly possible, not that he was doing much thinking at the moment.

He reached a sloping trail and scrambled down it like a crab scrambling into the water, barely able to keep his balance the entire way. Every so often he winced and grabbed at his wounded shoulder, but then a fresh gust of wind or creaking of the tree limbs would set him to fleeing even faster yet again. He tried to keep himself under the trees, but there was only so much he could do, especially as he got closer to the settlement on the south shore. He sensed the presence of more people even before he saw it, and picked up his pace, willing to face them rather than the creature following after him.

He cast a brief glance over his shoulder and thought he spied the strange being hovering up over the treetops, but didn't wait long enough to be sure. He slipped and slid down the trail, and then up to the top of the little rise not far from the bluff overlooking the shore.

He halted so quickly that he nearly went falling all the way to the bottom, and pinwheeled his arms, gawking at the sight below. Instead of the small rough settlement he had expected to see, there was a wide muddy street lined with all sorts of mismatched houses, horses and people walking to and fro, carrying boxes, furs, packages, bottles, chattering as they went. Singing Cedars's eyes went round. It wasn't a camp, it was practically a city!

Without a second thought he whirled around and scrambled back down the little rise and out of sight. He paused to catch his breath, wondering wildly what to do.

A thumping noise caught his attention, and he glanced up. Pakwa landed on a nearby tree branch and cocked his head at an impossible angle, eyeing him as if he were smoked fish.

Singing Cedars let out a panicked yelp and turned once more, sprinting away down a side trail. He could tell from the direction it took that it was taking him just to the periphery of the town, but there was nowhere else left to go. He slipped and stumbled and staggered as the trail grew snowier and more unkempt, until his feet felt like hunks of ice and he couldn't even feel his toes anymore--he hadn't even worn snowshoes here--it was the middle of summer! A ramshackle cabin arose to his side and again without thinking he bolted for it, thrusting open the door and falling inside. He slammed it behind him and scampered into the main room, halting and looking around himself, his breath wheezing in his chest.

Traps and furs lined the walls. It looked just like a messier version of where he'd just come from!

Singing Cedars put his hands to his head and made a frustrated noise. A loud THUMP sounded on the roof just then, and his head jerked up with a gasp.

That thing again!

He bit back a whimper and looked around once more before his eyes fixed on a sort of trapdoor set in the floor. He blinked, then ran at it and strained to pull it open. He managed to lift the heavy door and started climbing down into the opening, looking around himself as he went. It appeared to be a small cellar of some sort; further investigation showed him shelves stocked with preserved food, as well as flasks and some dressed furs and guns and ammunition. Singing Cedars stared at all of this in awe before thudding noises above made him retreat into the furthest corner of the room, pulling one of the large furs over himself. He fought to keep himself from shaking, though it was nearly impossible and all of his muscles were screaming in pain by now. Not to mention the feeling was at last coming back to his toes, in the form of sharp stabbing needle pains. He bit his lip until it hurt, and tears flooded his eyes.

What sort of accursed place IS this!

The thumping noises came closer, then stopped, and a loud sniffing noise filled the air; he stiffened when he remembered that he hadn't shut the trapdoor! He peered out from under the edge of the fur, nervously watching as a shadow descended the little ladder and landed on the floor, still sniffing. The dim light glinted in its large yellow eyes and he recognized the same creature which had followed him all the way from the trapper's cabin, and he held his breath. The creature started stepping toward him on all fours, sniffing at the air, his ears quivering. He stepped right up before Singing Cedars's hiding place and halted, giving a big sniff which almost lifted the fur right off of his shoulders.

Singing Cedars winced to himself. It probably hadn't been a good idea to bring some of the meat along with him, after all.

The GeeBee leaned over him and sniffled at the fur. The scent of meat was stronger here...but then he lifted his head and turned slowly to the side. He spotted the shelves full of jars and flasks and all the dried meat hanging from the ceiling, and his eyes grew big. Without another glance at Singing Cedars's hiding place he turned around and started pacing toward the nearest shelf, halting before it and pushing himself up to inspect its contents. He sniffled at the foods and his face lit up, and he started to slaver.

Singing Cedars watched with furrowed brow as the creature promptly began hauling down every bit of food and drink he could find, hoarding them into a great pile in the middle of the room. Whatever he missed, he jumped up atop the shelf and consumed right there; then he jumped to the floor and set to work on his prize. Singing Cedars stared at him in awe as he ate, swallowing great hunks of meat and fish whole, tearing into blocks of cheese, gobbling down hunks of maple sugar, popping open flasks and guzzling their contents. The great pile of food quickly began to dwindle, and before Singing Cedars could think anything, the GeeBee was jumping atop another shelf, knocking all of the food to the ground and setting to work on it with just as much zeal as the first.

He watched the creature slurp and slobber over his cache for several moments before noticing that his back was turned to the trapdoor. A little square of light shone down onto the floor and there was a clean path to it, should he be able to make it without being spotted. He gingerly lifted the edge of the fur, then lowered it again; yet the GeeBee didn't even notice. He set to work tearing into a loaf of bread, gnawing on a strip of jerky and tilting a whiskey flask to his mouth with his foot, and didn't turn his head once as Singing Cedars very carefully eased himself out from under the fur and crept toward the ladder. The Iroquois kept his eyes on him the entire time, yet it looked as if the GeeBee were too far gone to bother with him by now. Just in case, he deposited the meat from his pouch upon the floor, and then hastily scrambled up the ladder. He strained to pull the trapdoor back into place and it let out a terrific racket closing, and he grimaced; yet after a pause, the gobbling sounds from downstairs didn't abate, so he didn't bother waiting around any longer. He turned and dashed from the cabin, making his way back toward the woods. He had left his canoe near the east shore, now seemingly so long ago. If he could just reach that...then surely he could get away from this awful place...

His stomach growled and his toes prickled and his shoulder throbbed the entire way, but he bit his lip and put up with it. As his feet scrambled awkwardly over the numerous bumps and hillocks in the woods he thought of what had nearly become of him, and grew perplexed.

That strange girl SAVED me! Why did she do that? Everyone here hates my people! The chief's people were her friends--I could tell it! So why did she bother SAVING me--?

And what was that she tried to DO to me--?

And why did she stop...?

He stumbled and did fall over this time, letting out a pained cry and tumbling down into a hollow. He grasped his shoulder and felt blood oozing out from underneath the bandage, and remembered how she had told him that she hoped his arm would fall off. He bit his lip. Surely she didn't have the power to curse people, too...?

As if on cue, faint voices echoed through the woods somewhere in the distance, and his skin prickled when he recognized one.

"...utter STUPIDITY of some people! When I get my hands on him I'm going to wring his stinking neck...!"

Singing Cedars's eyes goggled. She'd found him already! How had she even known--? Biting off another cry of panic, he rolled over and pushed himself to his feet, scurrying up the opposite side of the hollow. The sound of footfalls came somewhere behind him, but he didn't pause to see from where. He hurried back among the tree cover, jogging between them and grasping at their trunks for support as he went. He knew it wasn't a far run to the east shore, but his strength was sapped already, and his head was swimming from cold and lack of food.

The voices faded somewhat, and he saw the tree cover growing thinner ahead. He almost stopped in his tracks before remembering that he wanted to be going this way, and picked up his pace, staggering toward the creaking crashing sounds below. He recognized the sound of ice shifting against the shore; and though this didn't bode well for using his canoe, he figured that drowning in the lake was a better fate than letting that strange girl do something to him, or getting eaten by a cannibal, or...whatever other weird things happened in this place!

He came out over the bluff so abruptly that he yelped and grabbed onto a tree, his feet flying out from underneath him. He stared with wide eyes as a large gout of snow tumbled down the cliff, then he scrabbled back up to safety, gasping for breath. He stood shaking for a moment before distant shouting noises drew his attention, and he peered downwards again, his brow furrowing.

A large mass of small figures was gathering far down on the shore. From the way that they milled around, talking loudly, he could tell they were waiting for something, though what, he had no idea. He squinted and thought he recognized a few of them from the tribe he had been rescued from, and his fingers dug into the tree; what sort of lousy luck was this? He would never reach his canoe with half of the Island down there just waiting for him!

That was when he saw that they were not looking up the bluff for him, but rather glancing out over the lake, and he slowly lifted his head. His eyes grew wide.

Very far off, beyond the cracking shifting ice and out in the open water, a dozen or so tiny shapes drifted on the waves. Singing Cedars craned his neck, desperate for a better look; after a moment or two he recognized the canoes of his tribemates, and his heart leapt up into his throat.

They've come! They've finally come!!

He took a daring step forward to get a better look at them, his spirits instantly rising. From the way that the men on the shore continued talking, he could tell that they did not even see the canoes yet, so far out beyond the tall shards of ice. Excited, he poked and pulled at his pockets, then, finding nothing, pulled off his bandage with a wince and unraveled it. He held onto the tree and leaned out as far over the bluff as he dared, waving the bandage wildly at the air. It fluttered in the wind, white with a deep red spot; when his arm began to sting he yelled a halloo at the top of his lungs, hoping to capture their attention.

He did catch the attention of the men already on the shore, and they all glanced up at him. Singing Cedars paused--he'd known that they would notice him, yet even as they looked up he could tell that the canoes had picked up their pace, as well. And the men on the shore weren't even looking at them. Instead they all stared at him with open mouths, then began quickly running toward the bluff, climbing up among the trees with knives and axes drawn. Singing Cedars waited a moment, waved his flag a few more times and shouted another halloo, and then pushed himself away from the tree and scrambled back up into the woods. From what little he'd seen of this Island, he knew it was full of hiding places, and surely it wouldn't be too hard to keep out of sight until his comrades arrived. And now being chased didn't seem so bad, seeing as it was keeping them distracted from their real objective. He practically grinned to himself as he stumbled and ran, his eyes scanning the woods for any sign of decent shelter.

Rustling noises came from ahead, and he put out his arms and came to an abrupt stop when she popped out into the trail right in front of him. Charmian and Singing Cedars gawked at each other for a brief second before he pivoted on his heel and vaulted off into the woods beside him, and she gritted her teeth and followed.

"HEY!" she yelled. "GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE NOW!"

Singing Cedars didn't even justify this with a response--at least, not a spoken one. He glanced at her over his shoulder and made a rude gesture. He didn't know if her people would recognize it or not, but judging by the look that she got on her face, she was able to guess what it meant. Her face went crimson and she showed all of her teeth at once.

"I SAW THAT!!" She started pumping her arms and running faster, which was really something, seeing as she looked as if she'd just tumbled down the bluff a few times herself. "The least you could do is show some GRATITUDE for what I did!!" she screamed. "Making myself look all STUPID like that! STOP RUNNING AND GET YOUR FRIGGING ASS BACK HERE, MORON!!"

Being chased by a girl! He would never live this down once he got back home. He skidded sideways and turned down another trail, hoping to lose her, but she followed just as closely as ever. He spotted her two companions but they were so far off as to be almost left behind; how did she manage to keep up? The land started to slope downwards, and he splashed through a stream of water, nearly falling onto his face; they both struggled to keep their balance as they dashed over the shallow water. He could hear her growling in frustration and the sound nearly made him want to laugh--when he realized that wasn't the only growling he heard. Without thinking, Singing Cedars stumbled and tripped and skidded to a halt, gasping for breath and glancing around himself.

Charmian slowed as well, stopping several paces behind him, chest heaving. "St...stupid...idiot!" she panted, leaning on her knees. "I...told you...to stop...running...like a MORON...!"

She trailed off, her head lifting somewhat and her eyes darting to the side. He could tell that she had noticed the sound now as well--so it wasn't just him. They both slowly turned their heads to look deeper into the woods, from where the sound came. He clenched his fists and saw her do the same; she took a step back, just as something lit up among the trees, and Singing Cedars glanced ahead as the other two dashed up behind her.

He froze when he saw the wolf face staring back at him, tongue lolling out over immense white teeth, its yellow eyes glinting as if amused.

From beside him, the girl muttered, "I knew they'd be showing up again sometime..."

The Shadow Wolf grinned and stepped forward. Singing Cedars took a step back, and it began to run. He whirled around and sprinted toward the trees, Charmian jumping into his place and flinging up her hands--"FIRE!"--at which a fireball slammed into the Wolf and knocked it to the ground. Singing Cedars caught sight of this and gaped in astonishment before--WHAM!--something knocked him off his feet and he collapsed with a thud, wincing and rubbing at his chest. He blinked his eyes and saw something step over him. His focus cleared and he saw a man wielding a spear, which he had apparently whacked across Singing Cedars's chest; then two long glittering wings popped up from his back, and Singing Cedars let out a panicked shriek and scrambled to his feet. He saw the other man come jogging up nearby, but didn't even wait to see what he might do--he whirled around yet again, not caring which way he went, but now the woods filled with yellow glittering eyes, and he couldn't find any clear means of escape. He spun in circles, teeth chattering in terror.

"FIRE!" Charmian yelled again, and another Shadow Wolf went down. Singing Cedars glanced at her as she shot flames and water at the approaching Wolves, and though she didn't seem able to kill them, still, she was subduing them at least a little. The other Wolves bared their teeth and lunged, jumping at her from every direction; she fought them off, dodging and hurling her attacks, but it seemed as if there were more and more of them! A glance around himself showed him that they were heading after the other two as well, yet none of them came after him. He stood and stared at the spectacle in bewilderment, looking from one to another as they fought off the creatures, having no idea what was even going on anymore. Why weren't they attacking him--?

One of the Wolves leapt into the air, sailing down and clamping its jaws over Charmian's arm. She let out a cry and wrenched her arm forward but couldn't pull herself loose; the Wolf started shaking her violently, yanking her arm back and forth as she dug her feet into the snow and gritted her teeth, hitting it over the nose with her fist. The man with the wings tried to run toward her, but another Wolf blocked his path and snapped at his face; he pulled away just in time. The other man was barely able to hold them off either.

Singing Cedars watched the two of them fight when the girl's yelling drew his attention back. He saw the panic in her eyes as the Wolf started dragging her after it, and then another bounded into sight, leaping into the air and straight at her head.

Singing Cedars gawked for just a split second before clenching his teeth and scooping his hand through the snow--dislodging a buried rock--and hurling it at the Wolf's head without a second thought, letting out a furious yell as he did so. The rock knocked the Wolf on the muzzle and it landed some distance behind her, shaking its head dizzily. He found himself staring at a circle of them, their attention now focused on him, and his eyes widened and he took a step or two back, not knowing what to do. They snarled and bared their teeth, spittle dripping into the snow. He'd never seen such hideous creatures.

The man with the wings managed to shove one away and stumbled forward through the snow. "Charmian!"

"I'm--I'm okay!" Charmian cried, grasping her wounded arm with a grimace; the Wolf which had been biting her had likewise turned to growl at them along with the others. She sidled toward the other man, who was holding up his hand and giving the Wolves a venomous look; yet the creatures didn't make another move just yet. The four of them stood surrounded, their eyes warily shifting over the circle of Wolves.

Singing Cedars found himself nearly back to back with the girl, the other two taking up similar positions. "If they show up so sudden like this, it kind of makes me think they want something," she said out of the corner of her mouth.

"They've been quiet for a long time now," Moon Wolf said.

Charmian made a face. "TOO quiet! And THAT'S what bugs me! What do they want now--?" She gasped and stiffened when the Wolves began moving, darting in toward them and then back again, circling, snapping and retreating. The motions startled and frightened them at first and they lashed out at the creatures, before realizing that they weren't really attacking. This just confused them all the more, and they watched the strange behavior with furrowed brows.

"What're they doing--?" Charmian exclaimed.

"Trying to unsettle us," Niskigwun said, keeping his spear pointed in front of him. "They must not want to kill us, or hurt us--but this means there is something else they're after!"

"But what--? Which one of us is it they want--?" Charmian gasped and pulled her arm back from one, bumping into Singing Cedars, who likewise lashed out at another one which mock-snapped at him before retreating with a wolfen grin. He watched it turn and saunter back into the circle, and his unease grew when he noticed that their motions had a strange sort of symmetry to them, almost like a dance. The other three didn't appear to notice, but somehow he did.

Their movements! They are...coordinating something!

He fell still, all of his muscles tensed, and watched the Wolves carefully as they moved back and forth, occasionally snapping and growling. The other three shifted restlessly from foot to foot, too preoccupied with protecting themselves to notice what was going on; since the Wolves made no overly threatening moves toward him, Singing Cedars observed them even more closely, until the steps of the pattern began to fall into place. One by one the Wolves were turning and gravitating off to his right, their tails high and tongues lolling, and when he just barely turned his head he saw who it was they were turning toward. Just as he noticed the fur on their hackles prickle and their muscles tense to attack, he whirled inward toward the center of the circle, facing Niskigwun.

"You!" he screamed.

Niskigwun blinked. Then whirled his head around, gawking at the Wolf which leapt up over his head. Charmian spun around as well and flung up her hands--"WIND!"--and knocked the Wolf aside with a great icy gust. Moon Wolf grabbed hold of Niskigwun's arm and hauled him backwards so that he fell into the snow, another Wolf just missing him; Niskigwun, on to what was happening now, bared his teeth in panic and scrambled backwards like a crab before rolling himself over and stumbling to his feet. Before he could get very far, a pair of Wolves dashed at him, ramming their pointed muzzles into his legs and knocking him over with a pained cry. He collapsed with a thud and they started tearing at his waist, snarling and bristling.

Charmian gasped and whirled toward them. "No--! Niskigwun!"

Niskigwun managed to roll himself over again, taking his spear and smacking the Wolves over the head, but they did not let go of him. The terror on his face was plain to see as they wrested him back and forth. Singing Cedars hesitated, saw the way that he yelled and smacked at them, and then once more without thinking, sprinted forward.

* * * * *

Chakenapok smirked. "It seemed so terribly easy, didn't it--? Going to all that trouble to get it back? Did you really think that would be the end of that play? Keep in mind that one doesn't need to be part windling to gain a windling's power!" His smirk grew. "I did rather favor the idea of a half-human Wendigo terrorizing the Island...though I suppose in a pinch, humans will do just as well." He flicked his hand through the air and smiled.

"Switch!"

* * * * *

Singing Cedars came to an abrupt halt. Niskigwun let out a yelp when the Wolves stopped tearing at him, yanking one of his pouches free from his belt--Singing Cedars's brow furrowed, was that what they had been after all along?--and tossing it into the snow. One tore it open with its teeth and then flung the bag up into the air; he followed its progress until it should land, but it didn't land, at least, not in one piece. Before it could strike the ground it looked as if the bag exploded, and tiny fragments of light shot out in a great stream, disappearing toward the East Bluff. Singing Cedars turned to watch them go, mystified.

From behind him, Niskigwun let out a cry--"No!"

The Michinimakinong staggered to his feet, the Wolves retreating--indeed, all of them backed down now, turning and running away silently into the woods--and it was only Niskigwun's shout which echoed through the trees, as the Wendigo spirit stone shot into the air and burst into pieces.

Continue:

Part 100: Wood Run  (13+) Charmian, Singing Cedars, Black Elk Horn, and the others make a mad dash... #939059 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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