by Tom Hunter
He gulped and his eyes were wide as he pleaded silently for Thomas to take the lead. In a low voice, he whispered, “I don’t know if I can do this,” he confessed his eyes darting from Thomas to his mother to Abby and back again.
Thomas looked up at Mochni and smiled. “You are a born leader. You know and understand your people well and their history. Though some rash decisions were made, the difference is that once you made the decision, you followed through. You help wherever and whenever can. Being a leader means caring about the wellbeing of others and taking responsibility for your actions. You have shown this since the first time you entered my tent. We had taken something which we thought might be lost to history. We did not know what it was. You did and tried to make it right.”
Mochni stood straighter as Thomas spoke and the fear in his eyes cleared. He started to turn toward his people, when Thomas held him back with a touch of his arm. “Remember two things, Mochni. Always. You called me a chieftain of the surface dwellers and have observed that I do what I must to see my people safe.”
Mochni nodded and Thomas directed his attention toward Robbie and the other humans. “And you have us to back you up. Robbie, your bleed brother, Alexia, Pediah, Abby, and me, of course. But, the most important person at your side?” Thomas pointed to Mochni’s mother. “That terribly brave woman is so proud of you. Know that and you cannot go wrong. The Woidnuk will follow you. After all, you are the blood to their chieftain, Lt. Whipkey.”
The Woidnuk youth who seemed to grow another few inches, nodded once, and pivoted to address his people in his own language. It wasn’t a long speech, Thomas thought, but it seemed to get the point across. Though Mochni continued speaking, Thomas assumed he was catching up and sharing his adventures as well as what was to come next. He turned to see Mochni’s mother puffed up and beaming with pride. Good, the boy was doing well. Mother and Thomas shared a look and smiled.
She leaned over and whispered. “He is explaining all that has happened and what the next steps will be.” Thomas nodded absently. He heard someone calling his name and turned to see Alexia motioning him for him to come to her. He cast a final look behind him as Mochni’s people gathered closer, then turned and strode toward a small huddled group of Alexia, Abby, Pediah, and Robbie.
“What’s up, guys?” he asked scanning their eager faces.
“We’re hashing out a plan,” Alexia explained. “But I need your input on one aspect of it. These guys,” she indicated the other three, “are working on another idea. We think together, these ideas might help us get the Kisgar under control, get the drum back in its rightful place, and get that thorny Noah Ashbridge out from our sides.”
Thirty-One
“Good. Good. What’s the plan so far?” Thomas asked only half listening. Sounds of Woidnuk rising and guttural voices permeated their conversation. He caught Alexia watching him. “Sorry,” he muttered in chagrin. He needed to be in two places at once. As usual.
“It’s okay,” Alexia assured him. “I was watching, too.” She smiled and jutted her chin toward the Mochni and his mother. “Listen. When we first came in here. I was so moved by the doors, I didn’t even see the other Woidnuk. But, I felt…” she pressed her lips together and rifled through her mind for the right word. “Oppressed,” she said, finally. “That’s not really the right word either,” she confessed. “But, there was…something in the air I couldn’t quite place. And when I saw them eating whatever they could forage down here, my heart broke and I saw the looks on their faces. They were beaten and downtrodden….but since Mochni’s been speaking,” she extended a hand and gestured at the scene below them.
“There’s an energy,” Thomas finished. “A renewed sense of purpose.” For what seemed like years, relief washed over him loosening the tension in his shoulders and jaw. In an almost celebratory gesture, he fished his beard comb out of his pocket and began to draw its fine teeth through his neatly trimmed beard. Mochni turned then and waved as Pediah approached.
He cast a wary gaze over the Woidnuk. “Now that he’s back with his own kind…do you think we can trust him?”
“Pediah!” Robbie chastised him sharply.
“What? He could go on to finish Ecknom’s work,” Pediah shot back.
“Right, that’s why he’s jumped in front of danger for us on any number of occasions. I can’t believe you would doubt him after all he’s done –“
“He’s done some stuff that wasn’t so kosher, either,” argued Pediah. “He’s been violent –“
“Like we haven’t,” snuffed Robbie haughtily.
“He’s been denied his revenge. More than once,” Pediah said leveling his gaze at Thomas.
“He’s also still a kid!” Robbie exclaimed and shot a glance to the band gathering around Mochni. “Correction. He was a kid. Now, it looks like he’s fully under the mantle of chieftain.”
Thomas stepped between them. “Enough.” He shook his head. “Listen, we are all under immense strain. But, the long and the short of it is this. Whether we trust him or not, we need him. And it’s too everyone’s advantage – the Woidnuk and the humans – to work together because like it or not, we’ve ALL got to deal with Noah. He’s threatened our world. “
Robbie opened his mouth to interrupt and Thomas held up a hand to stop him. “I realize that right now his demands were only to the states of California and Nevada. But, who’s to say his scheme doesn’t expand throughout the rest of the country, then the entire world? We simply don’t know how far he’s willing to go with this. And honestly, I don’t think Noah even knows how far he’ll go with this world dominion plan thing.”
Pediah hung his head. “I agree…” he ventured hesitantly. “But I just can’t shake this feeling that something is going to horribly, twisted wrong.” At the sound of footsteps, he clasped his hands together and turned as Mochni’s mother approached.
“They have agreed,” she announced beaming with pride. “Mochni spoke well and has convinced them to stand together, track this Noah down in our tunnels, and reclaim Ecknom’s Folly, so we can stop this…” she paused. “What did Whipkey call it? Oh yes. Stop this terror man from using the Folly and the Kisgar to gain monies and power. It will not happen again. Ever.” She finished, the easy motherly expression now dark and determined.
The old woman tapped a foot and crossed her arms as she considered the great doors of the temple once more. “Of course, our tunnels are vast. It may be difficult to find him. A clue, some hint, would be of great help.” She scanned the team. “Do we have something like this?” she asked. “To help us track him?”
“Funny you should ask,” Thomas quipped. He gestured to Alexia. “We were just working on the answer to that question.” He turned to Alexia. “Want to let ‘em know what we’ve got worked out, so far?”
She leaned in conspiratorially and revealed her idea. “Thankfully, I backup everything,” she began in a rush. “And that’s what gave me the idea. I remembered I still had data saved from our original dig site –“
“Original?” asked Mochni’s mother.
“Ramon burned the first one down,” quipped Robbie.
Alexia nodded. “Yep. But, anyway, the point is that I still have that backup data. Which gives us a starting point to locate Noah.”
“We figure, if Noah wanted to hide somewhere, he’d choose a place that had already been searched. How often do you hide something in the same place twice? Not often, right?”
Heads nodded in agreement and understanding and Thomas continued. “Of course, we have absolutely no way to confirm this theory. But, it’s a start!”
“As you say, it’s a good place to begin. Let us start. Mochni will explain it to our people.” She turned and called to Mochni who strode quickly toward her. They met with their heads bowed and she explained the plan as she understood it. “Now, you tell them,” she said pointing toward the waiting and listening Woidnuk.
Mochni nodded and turned to his people to translate. When he finished, he turn
ed back toward Thomas Knight and his team. “Is there more we should know?” he asked his big eyes wide at being the bearer of news in all its forms.
“Yes. Tell them this, too. We’ll show you how to read our geological data which will help to map an approximate location. If we can get you near where we think Noah might be, then it will be easier for you to pin him down,” Thomas explained. Mochni repeated what he’d been told to his people.
“Okay, everyone is…” he looked to Abby for confirmation. “On the same page.” She nodded and Mochni beamed.
“Excellent! Now, here’s the information Alexia had collected and saved.” Thomas pointed and drew a wide radius around a pinpointed location. Mochni nodded and pulled two Woidnuk from the larger group. He spoke to them quickly.
The three soon broke away and Mochni explained, “We will go to this location. Some of the others will follow, but others will be….”he furrowed his eyebrows. “Stationed at different locations throughout the tunnels. “Noah is slippery. We will plan for this.”
Thomas laughed. “If you still want to know whether or not you’re a leader, this is it, lad.” He slapped Mochni on the back.
The Woidnuk youth turned back toward the path they’d just descended and with two close Woidnuk warriors in tow as well as few others who’d joined the first group, the Woidnuk began the long trek toward the surface. They figured Noah had stayed closer to the surface so he could keep an eye on the Kisgar and kept the drum close at hand so the creatures could hear him well enough to do his bidding.
Thirty-Two
The wild-eyed child in full tantrum cursing the gods and raising his fists toward heaven evaporated into the calm, collected Noah Ashbridge. Ms. Welker stared at the seamless transformation and pressed her back against the wall as her fear melted into steely coolness.
He shook his head vigorously and checked his watch. One tap. His vitals were good, it reported. Two taps. The weather was fair, explained another app. A fingerprint password revealed the time had changed nearing his deadline, yet the only item unmoved was his bank account. It remained the same.
“My, my,” he sighed. “We are certainly taking our time.” He tapped a foot in quick staccato. “Did they think I was kidding? That this was some kind of RealityTV prank?” he asked swiveling his head to Ms. Welker as if she might have his answer. Noah stroked the drum beside him and shook his head at the government leaders dragging their feet.
Ms. Welker, who’d been studying her fingernails, looked up and returned Noah’s gaze. “I’m sure they do not take your demands for a joke,” she assured him. “Come on, Noah. This is the government. They’re not exactly known for springing in to action. First, they had to prove what you showed was real or as real as they could fathom. Then, they had to put together a committee, I’m sure, to decide whether or not to take you at word. And finally, they had to gather the funds for your demands. International money schemes notwithstanding, even that takes a little time,” she added.
“How do you know they’re just not going to pay any attention?” he asked quietly.
Twisting away from the doorframe, Ms. Welker stood with her hands on her hips and glared. “I have been doing this for a very long time,” she replied. “And you’re not my only client. Some of my clients have been government officials, ambassadors, foreign dignitaries, IMF officials…you name it, I’ve had some dealings with any manner of peoples. I just happened to stumble into the Ashbridge family while on another mission. Clark Ashbridge was supposed to be a one-off, but I was intrigued by his work, so I stayed.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed. “It sounds an awful lot you knew my father…well,” his voice dripping with innuendo.
Ms. Welker shrugged. “Part of the job.” Moss-green eyes met stormy dark ones, their bodies taut and wound as if ready to uncoil and spring. Then, just as quickly as the tension had mounted it dissolved in a sigh. “None of which is important right now,” Ms. Welker huffed, exasperated. “The better question is, what do you want…” she shook her head. “What will you do now?”
Without pausing to think, Noah answered. “Bury the nearest city. By my reckoning, we’re not too far from Carson City.” He rubbed a hand across his brow and shrugged. “Nevada has forced my hand.”
Ms. Welker pursed her lips and bobbed her head once. “Okay, we best get to it then. Don’t you think?”
In answer, Noah pointed toward a table stacked with equipment. “Start there,” he explained. “We’ll need to gather a few supplies. If this area’s going down, we don’t want to be anywhere near it. But, we also don’t want anyone to be able to track us either. We need to clear out of here.” He swiped his arm in an arc over the tables, shelves, and equipment. “Leave what you must. But leave no trace of us. Capische?”
Ms. Welker frowned. “I have done this before, you know.” She began to move around the room systematically gathering various items and putting them in a bag she’d tucked away. Folded it was little more than a square the size of travel tissues. But unfolded, it was surprisingly large and strong. Noah nodded at it in question and Ms. Welker smiled. “Oh, just a little something I picked up from Ramon,” she explained. Then, a noise made her turn her head sharply. “What was that?”
Noah paused to listen and shook his head. “Nothing.” Then, “Wait.” He held a finger up and they both froze in place mid-movement. Shuffling feet, nails scraping against the walls, a slight rumbling…not the Kisgar. Voices. Low voices. Ms. Welker was the first to move and darted to the door. The sounds echoing in the chambers came from a mass of shadowy figures heading toward them.
Ms. Welker was rooted to the spot where she stood as she watched overly large shadows bending low, peering into other chambers, and one or two dragging their fingers along a wall. She nodded, satisfied she’d picked out one sound correctly. But who or what was down there with them? She wondered.
She was mesmerized. Then a movement at her side. She saw Noah out of the corner of her eye and glimpse of light fell just so revealing the intruders. Woidnuk! They’d survived?! Ms. Welker turned to run and duck into a hiding space, but the glint of silver which lodged where her hand had been told her she was too late. She’d been spotted.
The long wooden and silver spear was still reeling from its delivery and missed its purchase by only scant inches, when Ms. Welker hopped forward into the chamber, screaming. “It’s the Woidnuk! They’ve found us!” she exclaimed. She tilted her head in surprise when Noah, instead of seeming rattled, snarled instead. He sounds like a rabid dog, she thought. Then, lifted her eyebrows in surprise at his next words.
He grabbed the nearest duffel which held the drum, Ecknom’s Folly, and the tantrum throwing wild-eyed child was back. “I am not going to die a pauper! Not in Death Valley!” He shook his head vigorously repeating, “No, no, no. The old man was a liar! I’ll show him.” And just as quickly as he’d slung the bag holding the drum onto his shoulder, he unslung it, unzipped it, and pulled the drum toward him. A wicked smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and a dark shadow mottled his features. “It’s ALL mine!” he exclaimed with glee as the flats of his palms pounded the animal skin taut against the circular frame. PA RUM! RUM PUM! PA RUM PUM! RUM PA PUM!
The Kisgar roared in answer to their call. Their feet and legs echoing the drums steady staccato beat. Instinctively, the Kisgar turned toward the area of the cave in which Noah, Ms. Welker, and the small band of Woidnuk had gathered. The rumbling grew louder with each step. The Woidnuk stood their ground as they looked first, warily at each other, then at Mochni as they waited for his command.
Thirty-Three
They raced through tunnels, down inclines, over land bridges, and across wide chambers once filled with Woidnuk. At the final bend, the tempered percussion of the drumbeats through stone walls reverberated and echoed louder with each step. Thomas and his team scanned the passageway as their legs pedaled faster up the incline. Their faces flush, their eyes wide at the Kisgar’s cries.
“Guess Noah heard us coming!”
quipped Thomas as he shouted for his team to race on ahead. Robbie’s speed and Pediah’s long legs spurred them onward and as the women passed, Thomas called out to them. They turned. “I think you guys should stay behind,” he advised Abby and Alexia who responded with twin frowns, hands on their hips, daring him to say another word.
Alexia opened her mouth to speak, but Abby stopped her with an arm out and a terse shake of the head. “Do you really think we’d be safer somewhere else, Thomas Knight?” she asked in a huff. “Noah has called the Kisgar and we already know what they can do. We’ve seen them up close and personal. So, have you.” She stepped closer. “If you haven’t figured it out, yet. Neither of us are the damsel-in-distress type. Besides, nowhere will be safe. For anyone. Until Noah is stopped.” She turned to go. Thomas was rooted to his spot.
Over her shoulder, Alexia called, “Come on!” she waved for him to follow them. “There’s no time to dilly dally. Let’s go!” A Kisgar burst forward blocking her and she dodged its claws as Thomas and Abby doubled their efforts to connect Mochni and the other Woidnuk.
His eyes scanned the area before him and battle raged. Rope from his rapelling gear was slung over his shoulder, a pistol in his hand. He pulled the trigger and shouted in frustration. The bullets only grazed the Kisgar and made them angrier and more violent. Tails slashed at legs. Claws groped and caught air, though at times, they’d leave marks in the wall and on the Woidnuk. The humans were too small and too quick jumping, dodging, and sliding underfoot. Woidnuk loosed long spears. Some had arrows and set them in an arc from higher ground.
Thomas had stood still too long and was flanked by two Kisgar who swatted at him. He ducked under a claw and through the creature’s wide stance. But the other had learned and had moved to be in front of him when he slid forward.