by K MacBurn
A creepy suspicion tickled the back of her neck. Taylor turned around and was shocked to see the rocky outcrop was now closer than ever.
It looked as though two massive sheets of bedrock had collided and pushed each other up through the dirt. Between the two slabs was a dark cave entrance.
“Oh, hell no,” Taylor said out loud, “I have seen too many horror movies to know I am not walking in some dirty, dank hole just because I am curious or some bullshit like that!!”
For the next twenty minutes, Taylor tried every direction to get away from whatever this was. Every time she thought she found the right way, she would walk back out in front of the cave.
With no other options Taylor turned and looked at the opening. With a scowl, she folded her arms across her chest and plopped down cross legged on the ground.
“Not happening.”
Time crept by as a battle of wills commenced.
Nothing about the opening changed, it didn’t speak to her or glow all of a sudden, but it still seemed to urge her inside. A feeling like she needed to be in there.
Taylor couldn’t explain it, nor did she even try.
The woods got colder, and the air stirred. From the corner of her eye Taylor could see a wall of rain coming from the west.
“You obviously don’t know what snow is,” Taylor sneered as she hunched her shoulders against the sudden monsoon. “Because no little rain storm will compare to the blizzards of Northern Ontario!”
The wind whipped the branches around and threw light debris.
This went on for several moments. It soaked Taylor to the skin making her shiver, but she remained planted to the spot.
A flash of blue white exploded across the sky; the electricity was enough to make the rocks hum. The boom that followed was deafening. Another flash struck close enough to made her fingers tingle.
Whatever was at work, it was getting serious when Taylor still refused to move. The lightning struck the tree to her right, shattering a large branch and sending a hail of splinters down.
This time there was no choice; she had to throw herself forward to avoid being struck by the massive limb.
The teen looked up in time to see another tree falling right towards her. She scrambled to her feet and just avoided death by a mere foot. Taylor back peddled a few steps when her heel caught a protruding root.
She fell back and gasped when the dark cave seemed to leap out to swallow her whole.
Everything turned pitch black as she hit the hard ground. The opening to the outside was no longer there; it appeared to have shut as soon as she was across the threshold.
The air was damp and smelt of fresh-turned earth. A distant trickle of water was somewhere up ahead, but, other than that, there was a lot of nothing.
Taylor felt her way along the wall, checking to see if there was anywhere to go besides forward, but there was not. Resigned to the fact she was being herded, she picked her way forward; on occasion she would stop to listen.
With all her senses on heightened alert, she didn’t think it was possible for anything to sneak up on her. Still she kept getting the sensation there was someone right there: watching, and waiting.
At long last, after what seemed like hours, the tunnel curved and there was a faint green light ahead. Having her eyesight back might have made her a little too hasty. Her feet kicked a few stray pebbles across the stone floor and the sound might as well have been a shotgun.
If there was something down there, it now knew there was an intruder.
Forgetting stealth, she opted for some speed and jogged.
The light got closer.
It wasn’t the radiance that would come from a fire or the sun, but more like the ambiance of a glow stick.
As she turned the corner, a large cavern lit by thousands of little green worms that hung from the ceiling greeted her.
She could have found this kind of cool, but, at that moment, a little camp drew her eyes to the ground. There was a bed made of old leaves and grass, along with a large cast-iron pot sitting on a doused fire. Different herbs were hung from the walls to dry, and a large stone table sat in the middle with a few glass bottles scattered on top.
From a dark corner of the cavern a wheezy voice broke the silence.
“Little stubborn one, shame for making an old lady wait.”
Taylor faced the voice, but it was too dark to make out any details.
“Is my home not good enough to take refuge in? It is so dark and cozy, yes?”
“I am not a fan of the dark,” Taylor countered.
“Tut tut, the stubborn one doesn’t know what she is talking about. Dark is safe. Dark is life.” The form scuttled out into the glow, and Taylor could see the woman was old, hunched over with skinny arms and legs.
Only when she turned her head towards Taylor did she get a good look at the things face.
Pink skin covered her in layers, some folded over her eyes and down her jowls. Her nose and mouth came out to a point with two little holes for a nose, and two large, orange teeth protruded right down the front of her face, with no lips to speak of.
The sight revolted Taylor, but then she had never been a fan of the “naked” animals, even in her world. Hairless rats and cats always freaked her out.
This “lady”, was a species of hairless mole. Taylor was sure of that.
The thing skittered forward a little more.
“Stubborn one smells of a different place.”
“Yes. The outside, and I would like to go back. Please show me the way out.”
“No. Not just outside. But a different place.” It wheezed again, and went about moving things on the stone table. She grabbed a large cup and shook it before dumping its contents out on the surface.
Curiosity made the teen move little closer, to get a better look at what the thing was doing.
The Mole ran her hands over the spilled bones and sticks whilst mumbling to herself. She shrieked and pulled her hands back as if she was burnt.
“Human scourge,” she accused. “Blood of fire!”
Taylor took a step back as the mole whipped around facing her.
“You are searched for, you are wanted! You will bleed power to whom ever catches you. Power!” A long silver needle appeared in its hands. “Mustn’t let you move, cuts must be precise. I need the heart. The heart is the key.”
The conversation was hard to follow, but the beast’s intent was not. Taylor wasn’t about to let a blind, crazy, mole rat, cut out her heart.
Taylor couldn’t see another way out, so she bolted back the way she came. The wall had to be an illusion or something, at least that’s what she hoped.
She plunged back into the darkness in a blind hurry. Rocks tumbled away, and she stubbed her toe a few times in her haste. With only her hands on the cave wall to guide her, nothing could be done about it
“Stubborn one come back, nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. I can hear your breathing. I can hear your heart. The heart is the key.”
The creepy voice followed her as she twisted and turned. This wasn’t the way she came; she should have been at the dead end by now. As she kept going, she noticed a familiar soft glow ahead of her.
Like the cave entrance up top, every time she turned around to go the other way the glow always found its way in front of her.
When she turned again, the glow was back, but this time there was the silhouette of the old crone in it.
“Stubborn one, I am losing patience.” There was a flash of the silver needle. “Be still and let it be done.”
Taylor tried turning back again, but when she looked the Crone was even closer. It laughed as it inched forward.
Scared, Taylor did the only thing she could think of. She faced the oncoming danger so she might stand a chance and screamed. She yelled for some one, anyone that might hear her.
The Crone had disappeared from her view, and that was much more disconcerting than seeing the old hag scuttling forward.
Taylor stood in the
pitch black with her ears straining to pick up any hint of the threat she knew was lurking there.
With ragged breaths she looked around. Tripping over a rock and falling to her knees might have just saved her life, as she felt the whoosh of air above her head as something whipped by her.
Sticking to her hands and knees, she scampered a good twenty feet before lunging to her feet again and trying to run in the dark.
Taylor screamed.
“Taylor?” she heard, “Where are you?”
“Tarak! Tarak please help, I am in some cave and I can’t find my way out. Please!”
She heard a steady hammering on the rocks somewhere ahead of her. Instead of worrying about what she could feel around her ,she used the sound and ran towards it.
“Taylor, I am coming!” She heard Tarak yell.
“No! Stubborn one is mine. I shall have the heart!” The mole squealed somewhere to her left.
Taylor ignored it and kept running towards the pounding on the stone.
The dark was shattered by a beam of sunlight far ahead of her.
With a renewed focus, Taylor ran, stumbling into the stone floor occasionally. The cackle of laughter was close but with hope right in front of her, she didn’t even want to look back.
She could see Tarak’s hands pulling down more and more of the rocks, enlarging the entrance. He looked up to see her running and as she jumped, he reached out and grabbed her hand.
The teens fingers closed around his wrist. He pulled her forward hard enough she scraped across the rough rock before he hugged her into his chest, arms wrapped around protectively.
In that second the mole came into the light with the needle poised to strike. It squealed in pain from the sudden brightness but still embedded the metal into Tarak’s shoulder before scurrying back into the cave.
The Tiger grunted and grabbed the metal before tearing it from his flesh and throwing it to the ground. One of his arms still shielded Taylor from any farther attacks.
“Come on, we have to get out of here, that Mole Rat won’t come out in the day time, but it will be night soon.” Tarak said.
Taylor gave a weak nod before the two started off.
She walked in silence, not sure what to say to the Tiger, knowing her attitude was inexcusable, especially when she wound up screaming for his help anyway, and he still answered.
They were only walking for about twenty minutes before she noticed him sweating and stumble a little.
“Tarak, what’s wrong?”
“The metal in my shoulder,” he tried to hide his grimace, “I’m sure they covered it in a toxin.”
“What kind of toxin?” She grabbed his shoulders and made him stop. “You need to sit and rest, if you keep moving around you will spread it even faster!”
“It doesn’t matter. My metabolism will break it down in a bit. We must keep going. I’ll be fine.”
Taylor had already argued with the Tiger so much, and it was her ego that got him hurt in the first place, so she said nothing. She walked beside him and watched him struggle for a few more minutes before grabbing his arm and throwing it across her shoulders to help him walk.
They made it another half an hour before Tarak could go no farther. From head to toe cold sweat soaked him; his limbs trembled, and his body would randomly convulse.
Taylor helped him into a sitting position below a huge tree.
Tarak mumbled something about just needing to rest as he closed his eyes.
His body convulsed again, and Taylor eased him the rest of the way down to the ground letting his head rest in her lap as she spread her cloak over top of him.
“I am so sorry,” she whispered, “It is my fault you got hurt. It was stupid of me to think I could do this without you.”
Her fingers stroked his hair as she leaned forward to rest her forehead against his.
After several moments of self-pity, she decided there were better uses for her time. She put his satchel under his head and rearranged the cloak to keep him covered.
In waning light, the rugby captain navigated the woods well enough to find wood for a fire. The rain soaked everything on the ground but a few of the dead trees that were still standing could work once the damp outer bark got stripped away.
Taylor had a fire going in no time thanks to the flint the Tiger had in his pouch. She welcomed its warmth, and its ability to keep the creepy crawlies away.
Her next step was to take the snare wire Tarak had and set it up on a small game trail she noticed near the camp. The food the Tiger had packed was great but fresh meat would be ideal for when he woke up. Her skills were rusty but after some trial and error she got it rigged.
She sat down to take watch with the hunting knife in her lap. The last thing they needed was to be caught unaware as Tarak slept off the toxin.
It would be a long night.
Chapter 6
Tarak’s body calmed just before day break thanks to the metabolism he spoke of. The breaths came easier, and the sweat stopped running down his face, though he remained unconscious.
Come sunrise, they caught a break with the snare having been successful in producing a rabbit.
With hunting skills that were rusty, and skinning and gutting skills that were non-existent, it took trial and error for Taylor to prepare the meal. Once the rabbit was on a stick and over the fire, she sat down by the Tiger’s head and eased it onto her leg.
Testing his forehead with the back of her hand she felt nothing but relief when she realised the fever had dropped away in the night leaving the skin cool to the touch. Her fingers curled around the black and orange strands of hair as her mind wandered into thought.
Tarak opened his eyes and looked around. The ground was hard and cold under him, but the cloak wrapped around his torso kept the chill at bay, as did the soft warm, thigh under his head. It took a moment to register he was laying in the human's lap, her fingers running through his hair and her heart beating in his ear.
Startled, he sat up. Too quickly, in fact. Dizziness forced the Tiger to pause in his movement and to take several deep breaths to keep from passing back out.
The sudden reaction had the teen confused for a moment before she registered the bright pink spots on the Tiger’s cheeks.
“Are you blushing?” The last thing she had expected from the big cat was for him to be shy.
“No.”
They sat in awkward silence for a moment, both knowing it was a lie. There was a moment she considered teasing him about it but decided against it, at least for now. Her actions had already caused enough problems.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better.” came the muttered reply.
“Look, Tarak, I wanted to apologize to you. It was my stupid pride that got you hurt, and I am sorry I was acting so foolishly. You are trying to help me and that’s more than anyone else has even offered. I promise I will listen to you from now on. I am sorry.”
It came out quick, and a little strung together but Tarak got the gist. There were bound to be differences in cultures that were going to lead to some misunderstanding.
“Thank you for realizing that,” He then looked around taking in the fire, and the roasting rabbit. “It seems I might owe you an apology as well. You might not be as helpless as I first assumed.”
“That is true. I try not to be the damsel in distress too much, but I do appreciate the save. Plus, I can help with some day-to-day stuff.”
With the awkward part out of the way, they sat to enjoy their meal before breaking camp.
The heat was already becoming close to unbearable for the Canadian, but she kept her mouth shut about her discomfort around the injured Tiger.
Tarak was slow to get going since all his muscles felt on fire from the involuntary convulsions, but, with her help, he was able to move, and they resumed their trek.
Taylor glanced out the corner of her eye at the stiff stride of the Tiger. At first she wasn’t going to bother him with questions, but it turned out
her self restraint wasn’t what it should be.
“Umm, so, that Thing back there,” She started, unsure how she was going to ask the question without knowing what to call everything.
“The Mole Rat,” he offered.
“Yes. That’s what I thought it was. Anyway, the Mole Rat, why was it trying to cut my heart out? And how did it get me down there? And how did you find me??” She spewed out all at once.
The Tiger cocked an eyebrow and looked at her.
“Is there no magic in your world?” He countered.
“No. At least nothing like that. I mean, I’ve seen some pretty good card tricks, and a guy on the street once made a dove appear …” She trailed off when she saw the Tiger staring at her as if she had three heads. “No. No magic.”
“The Mole-Rat is a mage of sorts. She is a master of illusions and trickery. When dealing with one of her kinds you must use more then just sight or sound. As for why she wanted your heart, you would have to ask Jarden on the specifics but supposedly the human heart can be used to enhance magical abilities much like your blood would increase physical strengths.”
“Well, I guess that’s not the strangest thing I have heard. Some human tribes think that eating the heart of the animals they kill give them that animals abilities.”
They walked long into the day before stopping to rest again.
Exhausted, Taylor flopped down on the ground and groaned.
“I have blisters on my blisters,” she whined a little, despite saying she wasn’t going to. Tarak gave her a sympathetic smile.
“It’s best to take those off and let your feet dry,” he suggested as he looked at her sneakers.
Most of the Animen didn’t wear boots; bare paws or hooves were the norm. Tarak was odd in the fact he sported a pair of soft leather hunting boots, though he could have gone without just as easily.
Taylor was weary of taking her shoes off; the memory of the last time she did and the hand sized tarantula that had taken up residence was still fresh. The threat of infection though was too real, so she had to agree with the Tiger.