Winter's Rising

by Mark Tufo

  “Yes, it is that Mennot is taking so long to get here. My arms will have lost all their strength if he does not move his immeasurable bulk just a little bit faster.”

  “It’s more than that. Dammit, Kinder! That hurts!”

  Every time I tried to think, Kinder would send a jolt of pain to some random part of my body. If I survived the day it would be weeks before all the marks and bruises had healed. I began to parry with him, praying that it would all work out like Haden had planned. My arms were beginning to burn from exertion. At this rate, I would be too tired to kill Mennot.

  “I am going to fall,” Kinder told me.

  “I’d rather it was me.”

  He smiled. “That will not do. I think that Mennot has made this journey for your sake.” He gave me no chance to argue as he collapsed to the ground. “Oh, this is much better.”

  “Dead men don’t talk, Kinder.” I smacked him hard on the thigh with my sword for good measure. “That’s payback.” He flinched but was still smiling. “And stop smiling,” I added.

  Before another “opponent" appeared in front of me, I had a moment to watch Mennot’s ungainly advance. “He has to have a weak spot somewhere. Maybe I’ll drive my sword though his viewing port.”

  The Hillians had reached the outermost Comanchokees. I had already “killed” six men, they weren’t supposed to keep falling; if one more did so I would be tempted to join him. My arms were soaked in sweat. I had to constantly wipe my eyes to keep the stinging salt from them. Mennot stood as a silent sentinel on the edge as his men moved forward. I wanted to kill him just for making me work so hard for it. My heartbeat suddenly bolted, it wasn’t fear, not of the enemy, anyway, this was acute anxiety. Something struck my conscience, trying to warn me all was not right.

  “It’ll be okay,” Tallow said reassuringly by my side. He must have noticed something in my stance.

  “They’re not advancing right, Tallow. They’re taking too long.”

  “That’s normal; it’s a battle. They’re being careful.”

  “I’m not sure that’s part of their doctrine.”

  All of the Hillians save Mennot and his personal mobility team were now crossing through the downed Comanchokees. All they needed to do was advance another twenty or thirty feet and Haden would give the signal for them to rise and for us to disengage.

  “Come on, come on,” I whispered, keeping one eye on my fight and one eye on the Hillians.

  Then they just stopped. In one horrifying moment I finally figured out what was really going on, what had been edging through my conscience for days. Now, I was powerless to stop it. The Hillians had maneuvered themselves so that for every one of their swords there was a prone, defenseless Comanchokee. I turned and ran toward them screaming as Mennot raised his sword hand and then brought it down. That was their signal. With swift and deadly precision his men stabbed, hacked and sliced at the Comanchokees on the ground.

  “Oh God, no!” My lips were pulled back in terror and anger. Screams of hundreds of bleeding men collided with and swept past me. He’d known! Mennot had known! Tallow and his men were racing to keep up. I could hear him behind me entreating me to stop. Mennot was laughing, the sound echoing throughout his armor and exiting across the field, mocking me even as I cut into the first of the Hillians I encountered. My strike had been so savage he’d nearly been cut in two. The screams in front had barely quieted before a second crescendo came from behind. The Comanchokees that were coming too late to the aid of their fallen were being hacked apart by the Klondikes to the rear.

  “Haden!” I screamed. He’d done this. He’d set all of us up and the Comanchokees were going to pay the ultimate price for his treachery. Two men were advancing on me. I swung wildly at them as they leered. I knew I had to remove myself from the rage I was feeling. Brody had taught me that my anger would be my undoing. I needed to detach and become one with my sword, to allow the world to slow down. Tallow and his five slammed into the two that were coming my way. Part of me, the part I needed to repress right then, wept as one of Tallow’s men died. A sword stroke to the neck had sent him to the dirt with a spray of blood his hands were powerless to stop.

  The Comanchokees had rallied, but now they found themselves outnumbered and surrounded, as Mennot and Haden closed the trap.

  “We need to get out of here!” Tallow had one hand behind him reaching out, making sure I was within arm’s distance.

  “We cannot leave them!”

  “They’re dead, Winter, and we will be soon.”

  He was right and I knew it. The problem now was we, too, were completely encircled by both forces. Whether he’d kept us backed into the cave or out here in the center, this had been Haden’s master plan. All was lost, I could only hope that Cedar had done her part and got the rest of the Dystancians out to safety. It was possible at some point Haden would figure out how they had escaped; I just had to pray they’d had the sense to move as far away from this desecrated ground as possible.

  Chapter 20

  Cedar’s Story

  “CATCHING FIREFLIES IS easier than this,” Cedar said as she tracked down another of her clan. “Any of you move from this spot and I will knock you out and drag you back by your hair,” she growled at them. She had collected half of the Dystancians in the tiny sleeping chambers and would have had them all if some hadn’t wandered back out. Many of them claimed to have forgotten something or left to go and look for their friends.

  “What about our swords, Cedar? I forgot mine,” Johnjon asked. He’d known Cedar nearly his entire life but the crippling shyness he suffered from made it impossible for him to look her in the eye.

  “We’re in the middle of a war, Johnjon, and you didn’t think to grab you sword? Lucky for you I should be able to replace it with something better.”

  He smiled wanly. Cedar headed back out. Next she found Tallow. “Winter and I found a way out. You need to come with me.”

  “What about Winter? I just saw her heading the other way.”

  Cedar didn’t say anything.

  “So let me get this straight. The two of you found a way out and now you’re rounding everybody up to get them out of here while she goes to battle?”

  “She always said you were a little thick; apparently she was wrong and you’re a lot thick. Come on and help me, for every two I grab one wanders off like a sick puppy.”

  “I’m not going.”

  “Tallow, this is what she wants.”

  “It’s not all about what Winter wants, Cedar. I will not leave her here to sacrifice herself.”

  “That’s sort of noble. When did you get all nice again?”

  Tallow sighed.

  “You know, maybe if you had just told her that we’d all be going. Now I have to leave my best friend behind while I take everyone else out of here.”

  “She’s not staying because of anything I have or haven’t said. Why doesn’t she just come with us?”

  “Haden has her followed night and day. If she leaves we’ll all be discovered.”

  “Dammit.” Tallow dashed off.

  “I take it you’re not coming?” Cedar shouted to his back.

  “Get out of the way,” a Klondike said as he pushed past her. “Worthless Dystancian.”

  “I’ll show you worthless.” She pulled her sword free.

  He snarled at her before leaving. Cedar did not like the animosity he displayed toward her. Technically they were fighting on the same side, at least for now. It was her first inkling that all might not be right, but she did not have time to dwell on it. “Johnjon, get your butt back there!” She pointed her sword at him and he scurried back whence he had come. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  She spent nearly an hour grabbing all the Dystancians she could find. Besides Winter and Tallow and his five friends, she came up two short. She went to the mouth of the cave. The Klondikes and the Comanchokees were in the throes of their fake dance with death. Winter, Tallow, and his men were smack dab in the middle.
Scanning the entire scene before her, she hoped to see the two she couldn’t find. When she caught sight of Mennot in his armor her blood ran cold. Time was running out, as was her window of escape.

  “I’m sorry,” were her words for those she could not find. “Be safe, Winter.” Tears blurred her vision as she raced back to her quarters.

  “Look at her running from the battle.” A Klondike laughed as he and his partner were hauling more weaponry outside.

  “What does it matter? They’ll all be slaves or worse by the end of the day. Knowing Mennot he’ll probably just eat that one.” They laughed and moved on.

  Cedar could barely fit back in her room it was so crowded. “Who’s afraid of tight spaces?” There were more than a few responses. “Raise your hand. I can’t tell who you are.” She counted. “Ten, really? Wonderful. Who can swim? Again with the murmuring! People, we’ve been through this. I cannot see you!” This time five raised their hands. “Okay, this is what is going to happen. I will lead my swimmers and a couple extra through that crevice, which leads to a small bathing area.”

  She was immediately peppered with questions. “How will we fit?” “Where are we going?” “Is it safe?”

  “SHUT UP!” she yelled. “A war is raging right outside this cave. People are going to die, then they will come for you! Winter and I have found a way to get us out of here. So you’re going to do exactly as I say, without question and without protest. Everybody got it?”

  “Who made you leader?” someone in the middle asked.

  “Leave,” Cedar told him. “I don’t have time for this. Grab your sword and get yourself killed. You’ll make my job that much easier.”

  “I umm...I was just asking. Through the crevice, you say?”

  Cedar smacked her palm on her forehead. “Let me through,” she said as she shoved to the far side. “Ok, those that can swim grab the ten that are afraid of tight spaces and follow me. That clear enough?” Cedar didn’t bother to watch the nodding heads. She watched as the first six squeezed along the passage, then she entered herself. The rest of the initial group began filing through behind her. “There is a hole inside this pool, just here,” she pointed, “and about three feet under. This hole is plenty big enough for any one of you; both Winter and I have been in it. Just relax as much as you can and pull yourself through. Remember, if you don’t keep swimming, I’m going to pull you through by your hair or whatever else I can grab on to. So if you want to avoid a fair measure of pain, I suggest you move along.” She stepped up on the lip of the rock. “Johnjon, go back through and watch the hallway that leads to the resting chamber. If you see anyone approaching, start coughing uncontrollably.”

  “M...me?”

  “Do it!”

  “Yup,” he said as he scurried back through the entryway.

  “Which one of you questioned my authority?” She could now see as four individuals pointed to the potential troublemaker. “What’s your name?”

  “Vindo.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right. You’re one of Tallow’s friends. Why aren’t you with him?”

  His head sagged down.

  “Don’t go feeling all ashamed and sorry for yourself about not going out to battle. We’re heading into the unknown and I have no idea what’s in store for us. Perhaps you will at some point wish you had died swiftly at the sharp blade of an enemy. But for now you are going to get in the pool and help me stuff people through this hole and across. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  Cedar dropped into the water. One more Dystancian popped through the wall into the cistern. “Are you kidding me?” she asked as she looked back. “Should have brought a book. At this pace I’d have plenty of time to read it. She climbed back out and searched the faces. “You! Blondie,” she spoke to a kid who looked about twelve years old and was just trying to keep a low profile. Go back through that crack and keep them moving through.

  “Yes ma’am,” he said obediently and wriggled back through.

  As the next one seemed stuck in the pass, Cedar reached in, found his head, stuck two of her fingers in his mouth and grabbed a hank of hair.

  “Hey!” her victim yelled. “Thaff furts!” He mumbled from between rock walls.

  “Don’t I know it. You should hurry.” She leaned back with all her weight. When he popped free she directed him where to stand. She poked her head in and addressed the next in line. “You should hurry up, pretty boy, or I’m going to give you a bald spot.”

  When the cistern could hold no more, she told her little crowd shepherd to hold. She grabbed Vindo, pulled him into the pool, and brought him down to show him the way through.

  “Whoa.”

  “No time to be amazed. You and I will alternate until they’re all through.” Cedar pointed to her first swimmer, a boy named Delton.

  “I can’t swim.” Another of the boys was crying.

  “Can you hold your breath?” Cedar asked.

  He nodded. “Great, you’re first,” she said. “Delton, wait here. No one, for any reason, goes back through that crack while I’m gone..

  “No, no, no…” the boy muttered as Cedar pulled him into the pool. She took his face with both hands. “Hold your breath or I’ll drag your carcass to the other side. He took a big enough gulp of air that his cheeks puffed out. Cedar pulled him down. He began to resist until she punched him in the side of the head.

  When they popped up on the other side he was so busy rubbing his head and protesting her abuse he didn’t realize that had emerged unscathed, at least for the time being. She helped him out of the water and shook her hand from the pain in her knuckles.

  Vindo came up a few seconds later with his charge.

  “You good?” she asked before going back under. Probably should have waited to see his response, she thought, smiling as she came back up through the pool. “Next.”

  Finally, Cedar and Vindo were escorting their final Dystancians through. Cedar estimated it had taken nearly two hours to get everyone across, but across they were. They’d only had one scare, about halfway through the process, when Johnjon had begun to cough. All eyes were on him, he turned beet red when he realized this.

  “Sorry, swallowed...swallowed a spider.” He was looking down.

  “I think I’m going to beat that kid,” Cedar said aloud, once her heart no longer threatened to emerge from her mouth.

  Most of the group had not traveled far from the lip of the pool once they’d emerged. Some had gone off to get out of their wet clothing and dry off. Others had tentatively started the exploration process. Cedar let them. Maybe they’d discover something she and Winter hadn’t, something that could help them with whatever happened next. She warned them that if something looked dangerous it probably was and to not mess with it. She’d also told them to stay away from the food. That hadn’t stopped one enterprising soul from giving it a go. He’d been in the throes of vomiting for nearly a half hour now.

  “Idiot,” Cedar said as she walked past. She grabbed five of the more trustworthy people she could find and showed them the basics of the M-16’s operation–how to load it and how to shoot it. Then they waited.

  “Please, Winter.” Cedar hoped beyond hope that Winter, and Tallow, too, would somehow have found a way to escape the battle.

  “It’s been hours, Cedar. How long should we wait?” Delton was sitting down next to her. “I know she’s your friend, but she wanted you to get us out of here. The longer we wait the more likely we are to be discovered.”

  Cedar nearly spat out the acid that was on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed it bitterly. This wasn’t supposed to be how it was. Winter was the natural leader, not herself. Cedar knew her role. She would support her leader in whatever endeavor they were placed in, but not this. She didn’t want to have the remnants of her clan following her. She didn’t know where to go or how to get there. Most of these people had no clue how to survive on their own. They’d been receiving handouts their entire lives. She briefly entertained the thought o
f just staying put. They had shelter and she could assign guards around the clock to monitor the pool.

  She thought better of it, though. They weren’t disciplined enough for one thing. Odds were that the guards would wander off or fall asleep and if Mennot’s or Haden’s men got the guns away from them it would be a short conflict. She wondered why she had thought of Haden as the enemy but then quickly let it go. The other, more pressing problem was food; they had precious little of it and there was none edible within the confines of these walls, as poor Fletcher’s stomach casing was attesting to.

  “One more hour and then we’ll go.” She hung her head. She knew it was one more wasted hour but she owed at least that much to her friend.

  CEDAR TURNED BACK one last time before she lost sight of the pool. She’d left one rifle behind and a hundred rounds, just in case. The rest she had her clan bring with them. Her plan was to hide them once they were out of the cavern. If anyone pursued she did not want them to have access to the powerful weapons. The one rifle was a calculable risk she thought worth taking.

  “Dammit, Winter.” She looked down the long corridor they had just emerged from.

  “Are we truly past the Pickets?” Delton asked, looking around. He was having difficulty understanding that a border no longer bound him.

  “We are. We’re free.” Cedar sighed. It should have been a momentously happy occasion, yet it wasn’t. She had no idea how Winter and Tallow were doing, along with Serrot. She’d developed deep feelings for him the past few days. She didn’t think she was in love, at least not like in the books, but she could have been, given enough time. That much she believed. Now she’d never know. In all honesty she hadn’t thought this was how it was all going to work out. Her fantasy involved getting the people out, where the victorious Winter would join them, along with Tallow and Serrot. They would then walk freely, hand in hand, off on this new adventure. Everyone would live happily ever after.

  Right now she felt more like a babysitter. She was younger than everyone else here, so why was it her they turned to with every inane question as if she had all the answers? Delton was about the only one she felt she could confide in and possibly share the burden with.