Path of the Tiger

by J M Hemmings

  ‘How you f-, feelin’?’ he asked, knowing full well the futility of this question.

  Paola’s gaze lingered on Daekwon’s feet for a while, but she was looking through them, not at them. Even in the presence of her crush, she did not remove the gnawed fingernails from her lips; instead, the action of her teeth on their ragged edges grew even more frenetic. Not even the acuteness of teenage self-consciousness could override the pain of the weeping sore that was her grief.

  ‘Not good,’ she eventually murmured, her eyes still pinned on the dread of future memories.

  ‘I figured. There anything I c-, c-, can do?’

  Paola was torn, in this moment; her hormones stirred her blood with a sudden and unexpected boost of hungry desire and awkward self-awareness, all rolled into one tightly wound flutter of confusion, but then there was the sadness, its sickle-claws driven deep into her innards, its suffocating constrictor coils heavy and tight around her torso and throat. Both of these conflicting impulses battled fiercely for dominance, but neither could, for the moment, conclusively prevail.

  ‘I dunno,’ was the barely audible response, delivered in a choked-up voice.

  Daekwon swallowed slowly, beholding the sad spectacle with a similarly warring mess of emotions churning in his own core. Ever stoic and determined, though, he pushed through the emotional turmoil and forced himself, as he often did, to take action instead of navel gaze.

  ‘Let’s g-, go for a walk, huh?’ he suggested, his words gentle and supple, comforting as the warmth of a soft blanket. ‘Get some f-, f-, fresh air an’ shit, yeah? The woods round here, they real b-, beautiful. You been sittin’ in this room a long time by y-, yo’self, Paola. I know you hurtin’, believe me, I’m h-, hurtin’ too, an’ I know that you don’t wanna do n-, n-, nothin’ but sit an’ feel sad … an’ that’s okay, I mean, we b-, been through some crazy-ass shit. But uh, maybe, if you g-, g-, get a lil’ fresh air, an’ take in some a’ this b-, beautiful scenery, you’ll feel a lil’ better? I mean, no p-, pressure or nothin’, you can stay here by yo’self if you want, I just thought I’d a-, a-, ask, y’know?’

  Paola was silent for a while, but finally she looked up, forced a semblance of a smile onto her face, and nodded.

  ‘Sure,’ she said, drying her eyes and cheeks with her knuckles. ‘Yeah, why not. I guess I been cooped up in here a long time. I, um, yeah I could use some fresh air.’

  ‘Do you need a couple m-, minutes or anythin’?’

  ‘Um, yeah, gimme two minutes, okay? I just gotta, like, clean my face up.’

  ‘All right. I’ll go fill us up s-, some water bottles.’

  A short while later the two of them were strolling through the woods. Inside each teenager a tumult of chaotic emotions whirled in a raging tempest. On the outside, each stole the occasional glance at the other, exchanging shy smiles that were at once delightful and somewhat awkward, and they chatted lightly, with attempts at conversations fluttering abruptly up like flocks of startled birds from the undergrowth, and scattering into the sky just as quickly. In each of them a ferocious desire for the other snarled and paced, a caged wild thing in whose baleful eyes the sight of a great forest yawned so frustratingly close, just beyond the unmalleable iron bars of the cage of shyness and self-consciousness. Neither could push far enough through these bars to reach the other, in spite of the fact that they both ached for a touch, even the slightest brush of fingertip against hand.

  Despite this longing, it was enough to simply be alone in each other’s presence, unfettered by the bonds of silent eyes on them, watching and judging. In these primeval woods, in which titanic sequoias strained for the sky like living totem poles, the two teens felt as if they’d been shrunk, transmogrified via some primordial portal into the realm of insects. The distant waterfall provided an aural backdrop of continuous droning thunder, and ghostly hints of fast-moving wild things flitted through the shadows at the peripheries of their vision. Yet they did not feel vulnerable or afraid; perhaps it was the proximity of the beastwalkers nearby, in whose presence they always felt stronger, safer and braver than they were, or maybe it was simply the fact that there was an almost tangible energy in this place, an ancient power, far removed from the base good and evil of human beings, concerned only with balance and flow. At any rate, after hiking through the forest for some time, their feelings of anxiety, grief, sadness, stress and fear started to fade from the fore of their consciousnesses.

  Emboldened by the lightening mood, Daekwon, his every muscle suddenly tense with a chilly, throbbing anxiety, inched a little closer to Paola as they walked, until he was able to reach down and gently offer his hand to her. For a heart-stopping moment she froze, and her hand tensed up … but then the dozens of tiny muscles therein slackened, and she curled her fingers around his. Daekwon drew in a sharp breath, almost as if electricity had sparked from her skin to his, but the initial jolt gave way to a slow-spreading sensation of warm bliss.

  ‘You f-, feelin’ any better, Paola?’ he asked shyly.

  The corners of her mouth inched upward as sparkling delight, long absent from her eyes, made a triumphant return, its glittery brightness enhanced by the low rays of the late afternoon sun that blazed their tawny fire through gaps in the living pillars.

  ‘A little,’ she murmured, staring straight ahead but giving his hand a quick, playful squeeze. ‘Thank you for gettin’ me outta that room, I appreciate it. I really do. I was, like, losin’ my mind in there.’

  ‘It wasn’t d-, doin’ you no good, I could see that.’

  ‘I know. But … with everything that’s happened to us, I just couldn’t do nothin’ else. The whole country thinks we’re terrorists an’ school shooters. My own family must think that about me. An’, an’ I just can’t handle the thought a’ that. I miss ‘em, Daekwon, I miss ‘em so damn much, so damn much … an’ these people tell me I can’t never see ‘em again. I … I…’

  Grief came rushing back in, hissing with the vociferousness of air from a punctured balloon. Paola stumbled and almost fell, and great, heaving sobs began to rip through her body in violent spurts and spasms.

  ‘It’s gon’ be okay,’ Daekwon said, frozen in mid-movement, unsure as to whether he should embrace her gently or step back and give her some space. ‘I d-, don’ know how, but it’s g-, gon’ be okay. We got these guys on our side, they like … they like a-, a-, angels or somethin’.’

  ‘I, I know,’ Paola managed to murmur between sobs. ‘I know, an’ I’m happy we got ‘em on our side.’

  Encouraged by the fact that he seemed to be making progress, Daekwon persisted with this line of conversation, hoping that his enthusiasm would be infectious enough to pull Paola out of this slump.

  ‘They, they special, they real special, I mean, you s-, saw how Lightnin’ Bird healed Jun, how he b-, b-, brought him back from the edge a’ d-, death when he got shot! An’ how he d-, did that wid’ William too, an’ Zakaria. An’ the s-, stories Zakaria been tellin’ me, damn! I can’ even begin ta’ tell ya how, how c-, crazy it all is. He been alive fo’ over a th-, thousand years! But he ain’t even the oldest a’ these b-, beastwalkers. Hell, he told me many a’ them lived longer’n f-, five thousand years, some even longer’n that! Just think a’ that, Paola, think a’ that. Yeah, we g-, got these rich asshole Huntsmen fools on our asses, but look who we g-, got on our side! We got these amazin’, these, these g-, godlike beings helpin’ us! I’m sorry you feelin’ so sad, an’ I g-, get it, seriously, I get it, but just r, remember that not err’thing is as bad as it seems. There is a light at the end a’ this t-, tunnel.’

  Paola looked up at him, her lower lip quivering and the deep fire of the setting sun flashing beads of orange and red in the tears running down her cheeks. She could not yet speak, but she nodded, and then threw herself into his arms. Caught momentarily by surprise, all Daekwon could do was stand stock still, his arms thrown out to the sides like those of a crucified man, but, regaining his composure, he wrapped them around her
and held her tight, a strange cocktail of fierce arousal and gentle empathy heating the blood in his veins.

  They stood like this for some time, simply holding each other, providing the ancient, universal comfort and security of an embrace. Time seemed to slow down as they held each other in their arms, the moments trickling by like sap oozing from primeval trees. Eventually, though, they parted, and both took a few long, somewhat awkward sips of water from their glass bottles.

  ‘Thank you,’ Paola murmured, reaching down and curling her hands around Daekwon’s. ‘I needed that.’

  ‘I did too,’ he said, sincerity bolstering every breath. ‘I did too.’

  ‘Where’s the waterfall from here?’

  ‘You just g-, go all the way down this trail to the left here,’ Daekwon said, pointing to a path that forked off the main trail a couple of yards away. ‘It’s about a -, m-, mile. Come on, I’ll show ya.’

  ‘Um, is it okay if I go there by myself? I, um, I just want a few moments alone.’

  ‘Yeah, sure. You uh, you w-, want me to wait here?’

  ‘If you down with that.’

  ‘I’m down wid’ it.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Paola said, and she leaned forward and gave him another quick, tight hug before setting off down the trail. The passage was narrow and winding, and very overgrown, as so few people came out to this remote place. Nonetheless, it was easy enough for Paola to find and follow the path, and soon enough she found herself emerging from the trees onto a rocky ledge that overlooked the huge waterfall, which was both broad and tall. A cloud of fine mist hovered in the air, the late afternoon sun giving the billions of miniscule droplets an almost metallic shimmer; floating gold dust that glinted in places with a rainbow sheen. The deep, booming thunder of the tumbling water was a ceaseless roar that seemed to shake the very ground beneath her feet with its unrelenting fury, and the jagged white plumes of water that plunged fifty yards down into the churning pool below were restless writhing pillars, crowded together and ever hurrying.

  The sight was breathtaking, and for a few long moments Paola simply stood there, contemplating the magnificence of it in silent awe. As she was doing this, a sudden notion popped into her mind. She reached into her jeans pockets and pulled out the letter she had written. She had been planning to covertly slip it into the hands of some gas station clerk or truck stop waitress in the hope that they would be willing to help her, but she realised that the beastwalkers would never give her the opportunity to do such a thing. She had to do it, though; she couldn’t bear the thought of her family thinking that she was a terrorist and a school shooter, and whatever happened to her, she was desperate for them to know the truth. Feeling a sudden spurt of paranoia, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure that she was alone. When she was sure she was, she unfolded the letter and skimmed over it hastily.

  Whoever finds this letter, please copy this message and text it to 212 3911363. You can do it anonymously if you want, or call and leave a message. Please, just DO IT somehow!!! Thank you so much, you will literally be saving my life. XXX

  Dear Mama and Papa

  It’s me, P. To prove this is really me, just think of what happened at Disney World with me and Mateo on my 8th birthday after lunch! LOL! I just want you to know that I’m alive and well, and that I’m with some good people who are keeping me safe. I also want you to know that everything they’re saying about me and my friends on the news is lies. It’s all made up, it’s fake news! We’ve been framed, and they just made up all that “evidence”, it’s all 100% lies. Anyway, I’m okay and safe. I miss you both so much, and I miss Mateo, Nicolás and little Jimena too. I can’t see you guys now, even though I miss you all so much. I hope and pray that things get worked out sometime soon, so I can see you all again and clear my name.

  I love you all so much.

  P

  She glanced once more over her shoulder, and then poured the last of the water out of her glass bottle. She shook the bottle as vigorously as she could to try to get as much liquid out of it as possible, and then rolled the note up, popped it into the bottle, and screwed the cap on tight.

  ‘Here goes nothin’,’ she whispered, and then she flung the bottle out into the centre of the huge pool below.

  It hurtled through the air for a few drawn-out moments and then landed with a splash, disappearing for a moment below the surface of the choppy water, but after a second or two it emerged, bobbing cheerfully, and it was borne downstream by the surging current. Paola watched it go until it vanished from sight, whispering a silent prayer that somehow, against all odds, her message would fall into sympathetic hands. Once it was gone, she turned and headed back up the trail, and thereafter thought no more of the message in the bottle.

  33

  ESCAPE PART I

  7th October

  ‘The time has come to tell us what you’ve chosen to do,’ Zakaria said to the teenagers. He, the other beastwalkers and the teens were all gathered on the cabin porch. The morning air was bracingly crisp with the lingering chill of the dead night, but the sky above was a clear, cloudless bowl of deep azure, and the rays of the rising sun were growing steadily warmer with each passing minute. ‘You’ve all been given a few days to think about it, and we cannot linger here any longer; we’re moving on at first light tomorrow. Where each of you ends up going will depend on the decision you make today. You’ve all done well with your training, and you’re as ready as you can be for whatever choice you make next.’

  Since arriving at the mountain cabin, the beastwalkers had trained the teenagers daily in the basics of the arts of both armed an unarmed combat, survival skills, firearm handling and shooting, camouflage, and stealth. Despite being complete neophytes, the youngsters had all grasped the basics of the training, with some, like Daekwon, who was naturally athletically gifted, picking up these new skills with consummate ease, but also with others, like Chloe, who had always loathed sports, doing surprisingly well in many areas of training.

  ‘That,’ Zakaria continued, ‘gives you a whole day to think about what you want to do, but I must have a final answer from each of you by tonight. I just want to say again that no matter what each of you chooses to do, I will think of you as heroes. If you want to start a new life with a new identity on the other side of the world, and leave this business behind and try to live out the rest of your lives in peace, we will make that happen for you; it’s the least we can do, after everything you’ve been through.’

  ‘I wanna f-, fight for y’all,’ Daekwon declared, his jaw set and his eyes ablaze with determination. ‘I don’ need a’ th-, th-, think about it, I already made my mind up. I wanna s-, strike back at them assholes who tried to k-, kill y’all, an’ who tried to k-, kill us, an’ who made us four the most hated k-, kids in America. I d-, don’t just wanna clear my name, an’ my friends’ names … I wanna punish the assholes who d-, d-, did this shit to us.’

  He slammed a rocky fist into the palm of his right hand and rumbled out a low growl.

  ‘I wanna fight too,’ Chloe insisted. ‘I feel like … like this is what I was literally born to do. I can’t explain it, but this place, this situation, having met all of you and learned about the Great War … it’s like my entire life, everything about who I really am, everything I truly care about, everything I’m passionate about, has led me right here. I can’t think of any greater cause in all of human history that’s literally as important as the fight you’re – we’re – fighting for. Please Njinga, you have to let me fight. I’ve heard what you guys have been saying, and I’m not stupid. I know you’re seriously down on numbers, and that you need every last ally you can get.’

  ‘I am too small and weak to fight,’ Jun said, the expression on his face as inscrutable as ever, ‘but I want to do what I can to help you. If you need someone good with computers, I’m your man. And, from what the Huntsmen have shown us, with their lies about us on social media and on news websites, that have made us four some of the most hated people in Ame
rica, the pen can be far mightier than the sword. No weapons could have done what those keystrokes did. I know that your physical fight is important, but you need to fight them on that level as well. We need to open a new front of the War, a front in which words and data are our bullets and missiles. If we can turn the world against the Huntsmen like that, no more blood will need to be shed.’

  ‘You’re right, lad,’ William said, ‘you’re absolutely right. And I support what you’re saying one hundred percent. I’d rather be using words than bullets, that’s for sure.’

  ‘Damn straight,’ Njinga said. ‘An’ if you can do that, Jun, then you’re gon’ be fighting just as important a battle as we are – but it’ll be just as dangerous too.’

  ‘There is one of our kind,’ Zakaria said, ‘who would be perfect for you to work with, Jun … if we could only find him. But I thank you, nonetheless, for your offer of help. I suspect that we are going to need it.’

  It was obvious that Paola, who was chewing on her fingernails with even more manic fervour than usual, didn’t want any of this, but with every one of her friends’ declarations of commitment to fight for the Rebels’ cause, a mounting sense of peer pressure was wrapping her in thick cephalopod tentacles and squeezing her ever tighter. It felt like every pair of eyes in the room was on her, focused like a squad of snipers who had lined her up for a kill, and she shifted her soda-bottle spectacles up her nose, as if they could somehow serve as a shield to protect her against the multitude of perceived accusatory glares. There was only one thing she did want – to go home to her family and her old life – but that was the one thing she couldn’t have. Every other option seemed like nothing less than an agonising death to her, but she felt completely powerless to say as much, especially when all of her friends seemed so eager to join this fight. They were all she had left now, and she couldn’t bear to be separated from them, even if what they were stepping into was terrifying. She drew in a deep breath, and then popped her rough-edged fingertips out of her mouth to speak.