Gentle Beast

by Margaret Afseth

  And Loki took it, as the gentle beast he was.

  For a second his image faded. When he reappeared, he nodded sheepishly.

  “I’ve been in here too long,” he excused. “My right and wrong has become switched. Anytime you see that in me, feel free to bring me back to Noor morality. Thank you.”

  At his praise, Tusha, felt a sudden warmth. She realized, her image had brightened and quickly returned to normal, apprehensively looking about to see if others had noticed. All eyes were on the ones above. Even those of Lana, who had chosen to ignore Loki’s displeasure.

  ****

  They had just gotten in through the hole with the three pregnant women, when Bom thundered into the kitchen with two of his sentries. Loki shooed the women on around the bend, and turned back to join Tusha, just out of sight at the opening. From above, holding their breath to keep from coughing in the acrid smoke, they watched what transpired below.

  “Darren!” shouted Bom irately. “Human beast! Where are you? Are you sleeping on the job?”

  Darren unhurriedly moved out from behind the dough mixer.

  “Here, master. What is your wish?”

  Appeased somewhat by the human’s submissive attitude, but nevertheless wishing not to appear to show weakness, the Roog/Feline warden bristled visibly.

  As if the human were to blame, Bom growled, “Some of the pens housing pregnant cows were left open. We are missing three heifers, one heavy with calf. They cannot have gone far in that condition; are they hiding in here? It will go hard on you, if you keep them from me.”

  Darren didn’t even contemplate his own danger. Truth be told, in his eyes, he’d never viewed humans as cows. Therefore, without a moment’s hesitation, he blatantly lied.

  “Haven’t seen any cows come through here, of any kind.”

  Bom growled, eying him suspiciously. After a brief interval, when Darren didn’t seem to waver, the giant overseer decided, this skinny human would not dare defy him. Not content with what he’d been told, he panned the kitchen with hooded sleep-deprived eyes, and spied the empty central area.

  “Where’s the Noor’s carcass?”

  As if surprised, and only just noticing, Darren replied, “Huh! The she must have dragged it from sight. Maybe she hid it in the storage rooms.”

  Again Bom growled, once more mistrustful of the human’s statement, his eyes boring Darren angrily, but the man held his ground bravely. Finally, the warden turned to his Roog companions.

  “Find the body! And bring to me the one marked with butterfly. She will not keep hidden from me!”

  Sighing with relief, as Bom left the kitchens below, the two above crawled away after the other runaways.

  ****

  Just as Tusha and Loki reached the other side of the ledge, leading passed the shadowy drop away abyss, one of the men from the meat cage came back to them. Before he ever reached them, the reek of him preceded, filling the confining tunnel with the fowl stench that clung to his body. The man’s mood, as he approached, was as lethal as his body odour, his stance accusatory.

  “There is no way out! It’s a dead end!” he shouted. “Norris sent me back to tell you.”

  The two Noor looked at one another, knowing what needed to be done, each aware also, Loki would never be able to do it, at anytime. Not yet healed properly, nor at full energy, and being only a physical, the deed needed the mind of a mental, which Loki had not.

  “I’ll stay here with the pregnant ones. You go,” Loki offered, for the benefit of those about them.

  Tusha slipped away silently, and as she left them, the human messenger made to follow after, back the way he had come, but Loki grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

  “No!” he hissed. “You stay with us! I don’t want you discouraging the others.”

  “We are trapped in here!” growled the man angrily. “Why did I think any of you could be trusted? I should have remained where I was.”

  “You think you were better off in the meat cells?” Loki exploded. “Then go on back!” Pointing behind, the Noor male felt a need to drive home the hopelessness of the past. “Be sure, when you pass through the kitchens, that you tell them how you want to die, as live meat or stew!”

  The man sank dejectedly to his knees, and Loki immediately regretted his harsh words. The confining space, the darkness; his still festering injuries, were all taking a toll on his sensibilities.

  “Forgive me,” he apologized. “I should not have been so cruel. I am not myself…”

  The man remained silent, and Loki again felt the desire to boost morale. “We are not trapped! You are better off than you were; no longer dog meat. She will discover a way out; she found the way up from the kitchens…”

  The other looked up at Loki almost hopefully, willing at last to give the benefit of the doubt. And Loki read the man’s thought:

  The little woman did free us from the cages.

  ****

  Loki felt extremely annoyed with himself; he hadn’t meant to lose it. Usually, he was more self-controlled, but it seemed, as Tusha left, his surroundings rushed in on him. It was like she’d been shielding him, and now, with the barrier she had provided gone, all negativity descended in a blast.

  From the moment the belt had been removed, his empathic sense had exploded, and now, he realized Tusha’s mental side had indeed protected. At present, she was out of range, and would be otherwise occupied, and as Loki had not built up resistance, all hell was upon him.

  He couldn’t cope. Darkness engulfed him, oppressed his spirit. For a Noor, a light needful being, it was like starvation. He had no source of energy. Yes, he’d stored limitedly from the meager lights in the kitchen, but it had not been adequate even there, to heal his body, let alone protect his mind.

  And it was not simply the lack of light that chaffed and bombarded him here in the enclosed tunnel, nor the narrow space his larger frame was forced to endure, but being an empath, the feelings of others were his to experience, tenfold: fear from the man beside him; suppressed anger and hatred in Lana; emptiness and brokenness from withdrawn Beth, and worst of all, Amara.

  That young teen was not only terrified, but in agony. Each time, he felt the excruciating hot pulse run along her sides, the intolerable cramping spread over the belly, the deep ache of the lower back, as if the very spine was about to crack, he could only be included, not give aid.

  This little female is just beginning the early stages of labor.

  Normally back home, he would cushion such a one, absorbing the majority of her pain, but here, without sufficient energy at his disposal, he could only share…and wait with her.

  To him this was more physically and emotionally draining than to actually give birth, and it left Loki near madness. It was all he could do not to lash out at those around him. With his size and untold strength, had he not been depleted, Loki had the potential for uncontrolled violence.

  To top that threat, he also suspected, the baby Amara was delivering, was caught up in the cord, and turned with feet against the back of its mother. Without proper assistance, the birthing would not only take days, but might well cost the life of the mother.

  Loki had never felt so helpless in his life. Depression bordered on madness, and all hinged on Tusha: his shield, his would be life companion, his soul mate…the forbidden lover he could not claim.

  If Tusha can’t make a way out, all will be doomed to die in these dank, confining, black tunnels. And most likely, I will be the first to go, because I lack a light source.

  Where will that leave my treasure? I refused to violate her further believing she needed the freedom of choice.

  Was it all for nothing? Should I have simply accepted, and given in? If there is no future, why did it matter?

  In the darkness, tears formed, slipped down the half Noor’s cheeks. He deeply regretted his lack of action, wished he’d done differently.

  But, he wasn’t one to give up easily.

  The Almighty governs our paths; each event
has a purpose!

  But does that plan include my early demise?

  CHAPTER 41

  When Tusha arrived at the end of the line, the bulk of the runaways were gathered together, while ten feet away, Norris stood by himself, enclosed on three sides by a closet-like dead end. In rejection of what his eyes told him, the man was still seeking the way through.

  Norris turned, when she approached.

  “I moved them back,” he explained. “Didn’t want a panic.”

  Tusha nodded, stepping around him to consider the condition of the barrier blocking their progress.

  “Go back, Norris. Sit and wait with them. Let me look on my own.”

  “I’ve examined every inch I can reach…”

  “A fresh eye, or…perhaps, I can feel something you’ve missed…”

  He hesitated, reluctant to leave his quest, or maybe to admit, she might find something another could not detect.

  “Please? Go back.”

  He looked at her searchingly, his face lit by the small lantern he held in his hand. It was as if he suspected she was something more than human. At last, seeming to think better of challenging, he set the light at her feet, and turned to join the others.

  “Take the lamp, Norris. I prefer to use feel.”

  Obediently, he picked up the small camp item, and moved away.

  ****

  With Norris out of sight and hearing, Tusha began to feel along the sheer surface. Over in one corner, she did find a small indiscernible crack, but no way was it big enough to pass through. Touching the fracture, she widened it, forcing a bend just big enough for someone such as Loki to pass into. Always, she had in mind; he needed more space than others.

  But though she had made a small escape hatch forward, the wall was too thick to continue in such a fashion.

  Her eyes turned upward.

  That smoke has to be going someplace; it does not sit in this space, and the air is not stale. There is a breeze coming in somehow.

  The shadows above hid what was up there from her sight.

  Might be to my advantage to climb this wall.

  And so she did. As she had in the kitchen, Tusha made her own hand holds; around the corner, out of sight of the humans behind, she ascended.

  Once again, as on the ceiling of the kitchen cavern, a small hole went through at the very top. She knew, if she were to find a way beyond, it would take time, and she did not need others watching.

  Tusha descended; went to Norris, drawing him aside.

  “There is a small hole at the very top.”

  Norris let out a sigh of relief.

  “I’ll need time to explore,” she cautioned. “I may be gone a while. Tell Loki.”

  He nodded, and turned to seek someone to send to those left behind.

  ****

  At the top again, Tusha realized the hole was too small even for her to pass through. A cool breeze entered this part of the tunnel, but she could also feel an extreme heat beneath that draft.

  That doesn't bode well.

  With her hand, Tusha touched the wall surrounding the escape hole. It shimmered, and widened, until it was large enough for Loki to fit through.

  But now, heat rushed it with vengeance, stiflingly so, like a vent from hell. Yet above it was the scent of fresh air.

  Two currents? One stream of intense heat, another of cooling vapors, one atop the other? The upper shaft beyond must have fresh air, while something hot ran beneath; a lava vent?

  Is what lies beyond more deadly to us, than what we left below?

  Tusha peered inside:

  A sheer drop…but light. Dimly lighted, and a glow far below.

  Also beneath, measuring at about a depth of some fourteen feet below, a ledge.

  The others will never get down there, especially the pregnant girls. How can I make an easy path to it?

  It won’t work to just use hand holds…especially for Amara, with her extended belly. She will lose her balance leaning out…she’d fall to her death.

  Then an idea struck her:

  A rope ladder! With that, one could swing out; it would give the needed equilibrium, and still leave enough space against the wall to accommodate.

  And with that thought, a rope ladder formed, complete with iron hooks, clamped to the lip of the entrance hole.

  Tusha made her way down easily, until at last she stood on the ledge beneath. It was larger than she’d anticipated, wide enough for three people to walk abreast.

  Dropping to her knees, and then to her belly, she peered over the edge. Thousands of feet below ran a river of red-hot steaming lava.

  She shivered; then stood up. The shelf extended out of sight to either side.

  Back to the left, the way we came seems unnecessarily back tracking. Surely to the right is the way out. But to check both will take far too long.

  Standing in indecision, her back to the ladder, she did not see the movement until Norris appeared at her side, materializing like a black shadow into light.

  Tusha spun on him, for an instant angry, not at Norris, but at herself, for not having sensed his nearness sooner.

  “What are you doing here? I told you to stay back!”

  “You are like Loki, aren’t you?” Norris stated quietly. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  Tusha chose to ignore his observation.

  Well, that knowledge is out, so what can I do? Erase his memory? Not a good idea!

  “Two ways to go,” Norris observed, after a moment, taking her silence in stride. “Will take a lot of time to explore…time we don’t have.”

  Tusha nodded, deciding to trust him.

  “Be silent, while I try something.”

  Stepping back to the wall, dropping to her knees, she leaned against it, and closed her eyes. Sending her mind down the shelf to the left, she ran in bodiless rapidity to its end.

  With a distant voice, she told Norris, “Dead end, about a mile away on the left. I’ll check the right.”

  He did not question, simply accepted what she’d said, choosing not to doubt. He waited.

  Once again, she travelled by mind to the end of the right fork. There, a dead end, as well.

  Tusha sighed, and rose to her feet.

  “Go back, Norris. I’ll go alone now.”

  “Someone needs to watch over you. I’ll send Loki.”

  “No! Loki is not well enough yet. Leave him rest with the others. I’ll come back soon. Go!”

  And so he went back, up the ladder, disappearing through the hole, trusting she would find the way out.

  ****

  The purpose for sending Norris back was just to have privacy to make the next section without prying eyes watching.

  Somewhere, there has to be a place to get through, and I'm going to find it, or carve all the way to the surface myself!

  CHAPTER 42

  At the far end of the ledge to the right, Tusha again went to mind search. Across the vast empty void, the deadly drop to death, the wall on the opposite side held some promise; no escape hole, but a thinner partition.

  In a bodiless state, she passed through the granite barrier, and came out in a cavern as cool as any dark night on the surface. At a farther distance she saw a sloping sand slide, and beyond that the roots of trees travelling up through the soil above.

  And there, between the roots, a yawning mouth swallowed the starlit sky!

  The way out! Maybe a mile’s distance, but…so out of our reach; to us, as far away as outer space.

  Or is it?

  In her body once again, pondering, Tusha searched for a means to cross the yawning chasm.

  She turned and gazed back the way she had come; two miles of treacherous ledge along the lava valley, with a drop off of immeasurable yards below, then the escape hole leading back to the others.

  I can’t ask them to return to their death sentence. Not when the way to freedom is so close. I'll have to make a way over the abyss.

  Returning her attention to the far wall, Tush
a considered the length of the space; by her judgment, at least thirty feet.

  It needs a bridge, but can I make something that large?

  Crawling to the very brink of the cliff, she looked down. Far below, a ribbon of luminous molten material travelled across the valley floor, eating up rock as it made its way along, and finally disappearing through the wall just under her.

  Tusha shivered with dread, as she gazed over the precipitous drop, envisioning falling to her death. Then resolutely, she turned her mind to the matter at hand.

  Closing her eyes, so the view below would not distract, she spread her arms to either side, touching the ledge beside her. Abruptly will took over, materializing her ideas, as she formed them in her head.

  Just beyond her fingertips, a base of rock took form, like the flat surface of a rail type bridge, only of transparent, clear stalagmite, yet solid enough to support multiple persons as they crossed. First one foot, then two; a filigreed structure inched across until it measured two yards across and five feet forward, where it again dropped off into space. By the time this was accomplished, Tusha was panting with the effort, and perspiration dotted her brow.

  She longed for just one swallow of water, but she had taken none with her.

  Tusha knew she must take a break; besides she realized she could not mind reach to build further without moving forward; this exercise just took too much effort. As a bonus, however, she was also aware, she could draw extra energy from the light source deep beneath her.

  After a short rest, the human Noor crept forward, until she was once more at the edge of her artificially formed pathway. Shutting her eyes once again, Tusha continued building the next five feet.

  A break, another span, and so on, until her body was not only covered in reeking sweat, but leaking cuts, as if she had deliberately sliced herself with a knife; also present were unexplained bruising, and small festering sores. It appeared extreme mental work took a visible, physical toll, as well.

  Half way across, oblivion took her.

  ****

  Her first awareness, when she came to, was that she was perilously suspended, her left foot and hip hanging out into space, over the edge. Lying on her belly had saved her, but the energy to roll over, and across to safety, was still not there.