by KM Fortune
“Well Raven. I bet you’d really like to know, but I’m going to have to keep it a secret for right now,” Hector answered. “Let’s just enjoy a little hot food and warm shelter for the moment. I think we might be here awhile. A wicked looking storm is starting to roll over us. Might turn into a blizzard. So have a seat, and we can eat in a bit. What do you say?” Under the utterly bizarre circumstances, it sounded reasonable to Raven, and she nodded as she put her hands over the warm fire and waited to eat.
The smell of the cooking meat was what finally led Kit to where Raven and the cat mutant camped. Following them had proven to be a challenge even for Kit. The cat mutant was fast and took long strides on soft feet. His track was light and at times nearly impossible to find among the sandy dirt and thin snow. Using her nose for the last few yards, she had come over a rise to see a set of railroad tracks and a half dozen train cars scattered around it. The smell was coming from the one remaining upright car. In the growing gloom, firelight flickered through the open door, but from where Kit crouched, she could not see inside. She thought she heard the murmur of voices yet it was hard to tell for sure. A stiff wind carried it away. At least the sound gave her hope Raven was alive. She had reasoned with herself as she ran across the landscape that the cat mutant would not kill the woman because he obviously wanted her for some purpose. Kit could not imagine what, but then she knew nothing about mutants aside from their propensity to attack when they had the numbers and picked on the weak for fun. The ones who hunted and raised the most mischief on the plains were generally outcasts from the dens where the bulk of the mutant tribes congregated. By her reasoning, the cat mutant was an exile although, during their two encounters so far, he had proven to be smarter and faster than any mutant she ever crossed paths with on the high desert. It was these facts which worried her most. This is not some random decision on the beast’s part, she thought. As she recounted the past few days, she realized the cat mutant had been following them. He wanted Raven all along. But why? Regardless, Kit knew rescuing Raven and, with a little luck, killing the cat mutant needed to happen soon. Unfortunately, with them holed up together in the enclosed boxcar and a storm coming, an attempt was impossible. What she needed to do now was worry about her own survival. Darting to another of the cars, Kit climbed inside and settled in to wait.
CHAPTER 5
Blaze followed Willow through the blizzard. He had offered to help her as they struggled across the uneven ground covered with ever increasing snow, but she dismissed him. Even though she was walking in nothing but her thin shift, Blaze’s old coat, and wet socks on her feet, she plowed ahead with relentless determination. Regardless, he knew she could not go on much longer like this. Blood from where the metal cuff on her ankle bled colored the snow with her every step. Glancing back, he saw Twig helping his mother along. She too was leaving red prints from the growing wound on her left ankle. At least the falling snow is quickly covering our tracks, he thought. The Patrols will not be able to track us. Although he doubted they would try in the storm. Blaze and the others could only hope the small group was struggling to flee in the right direction and would not stumble into any soldiers.
The decision as to where to go was not an easy one. They needed shelter and hopefully some supplies yet everything they knew of was too close to where their enemy was possibly searching. Matthew had proposed they go back in the direction of the Patrol’s camp with the hope he could sneak in and steal clothing for the two women at least, but Blaze and Willow said no. Blaze could not be sure why Willow was against it, but he knew he would never listen to Matthew. The man was a member of the Patrols no matter what he said. Nothing would ever convince Blaze to trust him. In fact, the minute they could be rid of him, the more comfortable Blaze would feel. In the end, the group of five headed in the direction Willow chose. She knew of a clan which had once upon a time sheltered near a high mountain pass to the south. When Blaze asked her if she was sure they were still there, she only shrugged. “Who knows in these times?” she told him. “Besides, we have no other choice.” Blaze was not sure he agreed. When he was speaking with Raven, before the cat mutant attacked them, they were talking about the forbidden city to the north. A part of him wondered if perhaps it was time to go there and seek asylum. When he tried to bring it up though, Willow shut him down. Her mind was made up. So now as the weather pelted them, they slowly walked toward the mountains.
“Hold up,” Blaze heard Matthew say from where he brought up the end of their line. Willow stopped and came back while Blaze turned to see what was going on behind him. Dawn was down on her knees, and Twig crouched beside her. Matthew was standing over them, looking uncertain. He doesn’t know what to do, Blaze thought as he hurried to Dawn’s side. Smart that he holds back. Twig would be at his throat if he touched his mother.
“I just need a second,” Dawn said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Willow said as she came up to them and sank to the ground. Her exhaustion was clear, but there was something else there too. Desperation. It was a look Blaze had never seen on the woman’s face. As the leader of his clan since he was a teenager, she was always strong and brave. The sense of defeat coming off of her now scared him more than he dared to admit.
“I’ll make a fire,” Blaze said, anxious to do something.
“We can’t stay out here in the open,” Matthew declared. Blaze stood up and was in the other man’s face in a flash.
“Yeah? And what do you propose? Aren’t you supposed to be some smart scientist or something?” Blaze asked with his voice full of dark sarcasm. Matthew held Blaze’s stare and did not flinch.
“Actually I know of a place we can go,” he said quietly. “If I have my bearings correct, we are not far from an emergency colony outpost. I think.” Blaze blinked in surprise and then felt even more anger start to well up in his chest.
“Well when were you going to mention it?” he asked.
“Soon. After I was sure. The landmarks are not as familiar coming from this direction. The expeditions always started from the Eden, not from the wastelands,” Matthew explained. Eden? Wastelands? What is he talking about? Blaze thought. Before he could fire off another question, Willow was up and beside them.
“Step back, Blaze,” Willow said. “There is no time for this, and I want to hear what he has to say.” Blaze gritted his teeth but moved back while Willow continued. “Okay, Matthew, talk.”
“We have outposts for soldiers in case of sudden storms or accidents. Since I am new to the Patrols I have never used one, yet all the recruits were forced to memorize their locations,” he said. “I believe we are near one. It is hard without a compass, however, before the storm made seeing difficult I was able to judge our placement by our original direction, the peak to our immediate northwest, and that saddle in the ridge to our south. We are in the right vicinity by my best estimate.” He gave them a grim smile. “I was only waiting until we went a little further before I gave you any false hope.”
Blaze could not keep his jaw from dropping. This is crazy, he thought. Nobody could calculate that... could they? “You don’t expect us to trust you I hope,” Blaze said. “For all we know this outpost is manned by more of your kind and it is a trap.”
Matthew shook his head. “I assure you, I am sincere. It is not a trap,” he said. Blaze looked at Willow. The decision was up to her. She was thoughtful for a second.
“How far?” she asked Matthew. The man did not even hesitate although Blaze knew he had to be guessing.
“No more than two miles further south along this ridge toward where the saddle is located,” he answered. Willow nodded and then turned to Dawn.
“Dawn, can you keep going?” she asked. Dawn nodded and started to get up.
“I will,” she said. Twig put her arm back over his shoulders before shooting a glare at Matthew.
“You better be right,” Twig said. Blaze nodded in agreement.
“Yes, you better be right. All our lives depend on it.
Especially yours,” Blaze said and waited while Willow took up the lead again and together they continued their journey.
HECTOR THREW ANOTHER broken tree limb on the fire and settled back. Luckily a stand of acacia trees was nearby and he had been able to rip a few apart to use as firewood. During his last trip out, he was surprised at how bad the storm was becoming. He had hoped only to delay a few hours but now it looked like it could be a day or maybe even two. The last thing he wanted was a blizzard to deal with yet it appeared it was going to be the case. Luckily they were warm and dry in the boxcar. And maybe it will give me time to figure out how best to use this witch to my benefit, he thought as he looked across the fire at where the woman stared into the flames. So far she had said next to nothing and he was not sure it if was because she was terrified or just waiting things out. The silence was beginning to irritate him though. Hector thought at least the woman could thank him for saving her butt when the Patrols had the drop on her back at the camp. If he had not come out with guns blazing, she would be in shackles and headed back to the Great Cave for who knew what bad news. Finally, he had enough of the silent treatment.
“So, looks like we are going to be stuck here for a while. How about you tell me where the heck you come from exactly? Since you’ve never seen a cat mutant before,” Hector said. Raven lifted her eyes to look at him. He saw the firelight dance in the deep green of them and felt a trickle of unease. He reminded himself again she was a witch and who knew what her powers could involve. He watched her pause before answering him.
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” she answered and went back to looking at the fire. Hector frowned. There was not much on the high desert he did not know or had not seen. He was even one of the few who visited the forbidden city and walked away again.
“Try me,” he said.
She turned to look at him again. “Alright,” she said. “Since you insist. I’m from a different place altogether. Far from here. Very far and I am—”
Hector interrupted with a shrug. “Yeah, so? Over the mountains you mean? I’ve met a guy from there once. Not that impressive, lady.”
Raven narrowed her eyes. “You did not let me finish. What if I told you I am over a hundred years old? What if I told you I come from the past?”
CHAPTER 6
Matthew was losing hope. He believed he had read the landmarks correctly, but in reality, he was not even sure what he was looking for as they trudged through the ever deepening snow. Taking the lead, he plowed the best trail he could by stomping the path down for easier walking but the others, especially the women, were struggling badly. Pausing to not get too far ahead, else he lose sight of them all together, he watched as the one named Dawn stumbled and fell to her knees. Her son nearly went down with her, but recovered, and the two of them worked to get her back onto her feet. Matthew could barely stand to watch it knowing he was failing them. I am just a scientist. Even on expeditions I never went without seasoned guides, he thought. Wandering around in a growing blizzard, he was far out of his element. We are all going to die. Without finding the outpost, there was nothing he could do to change it.
Blaze struggled up to where Matthew waited. His beard was white with snow, and he shivered, having given up nearly all of his clothing to the women. The look of defeat and anger in his eyes hit Matthew hard. This young man had followed him, and now Matthew was going to have to stand there and tell him they were most likely lost. He could not figure out where the outpost was located. That he was a fraud after all. As if reading his thoughts, Blaze stopped in front of Matthew and shook his head. “You have no idea where we are, do you?” he asked. Matthew said nothing, unwilling to commit either way. Blaze threw his hands up into the air. “You lying piece of garbage,” Blaze shouted into the wind. “Why did I ever trust you? One of the Patrols! A murderer of my people.”
Matthew did not see the punch coming. In the blowing snow, the other man’s movements were masked, and the fist was moving toward his face before he could react. It connected hard with the side of his jaw and knocked him back. Lights popped in Matthew’s vision, and it was all he could do to keep his feet. He recovered just in time to put his hands up and catch Blaze as he plowed into him and sent them both sprawling end-over-end in the snow. Suddenly Matthew was face down, and the icy whiteness filled his mouth and nose. The other man held him by the back of the head and was pressing down with all his might. Matthew struggled to get free, but he could feel Blaze’s rage giving him strength. With one final push sending his arms plunging down into the snowbank, Matthew tried to get free. Something scraped the knuckles of his right hand, and he grabbed it, desperate for something to fight back with against Blaze’s attack. The object was hard and very cold. Instantly, Matthew realized it was a man-made object. He knew it was a handle. Now instead of pushing upward, he started to dig down. Flinging the snow aside, he quickly dug a gap and could only hope the man trying to kill him would see the trapdoor under them both.
RAVEN WATCHED AS THE part man and part cat beast across the fire from her laughed. He held his belly and shook from the force of his amusement. “That’s a good one,” he choked out between chuckles. “From the past.” The statement sent him into another round of laughter. It was not until he accidentally banged his cut paw on the floor that he stopped. With a curse, he held the wound to his chest. It was the first time Raven noticed how bad the injury looked. It was crusted and dirty. If she had to guess, it happened a while ago but was not tended to and now was festering.
“That’s only going to get worse,” she said as she motioned toward the wound. The cat mutant averted his eyes.
“It’s nothing,” Hector said. “But if I catch that tiny girl who cut me, I will make her pay for it.” It did not take Raven more than one guess to know who he must be speaking of and she smiled.
“I see you’ve met Kit,” she said. “About four feet tall? Quick with a knife?”
“Oh that’s right,” Hector said. “You know each other. Nice to have a name for her now. It will make it more personal when I rip her guts out.” Raven shook her head.
“Not if I can help it. Kit is not only my friend but saved my life when I was wandering lost and losing hope,” Raven declared. Obviously unhappy with her bold statement, Hector looked her way and growled low in his throat. Nonplused, Raven returned his look. A part of her knew she should be afraid considering her situation. However, she did not feel any real menace from him. Hector simply did not frighten her, growling or otherwise. If he wanted me dead, I would have been by now, she thought. There is another purpose here, and I need to be patient. Raven knew once she determined what he wanted, she would have a better chance of working out a way to escape and hopefully go find her friends. So she sat still and let the beast make the next move. She watched as his face went from threatening to puzzlement.
“I don’t know what to make of you, human,” he said at last. “But if you think I’m stupid enough to believe you’re from another time, you will be in for a surprise. Now, for real this time, where are you from?”
Raven sighed. I should have known this wouldn’t work, she thought. So what do I tell him? Not knowing of a better approach, she resorted to simply starting at the beginning as she remembered it. “Let me try again,” she said. “You know about the underground colony in the mountains, right?” Hector nodded.
“I’ve heard about it. Not a place you want to end up although they tend to leave us cat mutants alone,” he said. Raven tilted her head. Now why would the brotherhood in the mountain not hunt the cat mutants? she thought. By her thinking, the mutants would be just the kind of abomination they would hate and want to destroy.
“I’m not trying to change the subject necessarily,” Raven said. “But why don’t the Patrols hunt your people?” The cat mutant did not answer her immediately. Instead, he stirred the fire and looked almost wistfully at the sparks which rose up.
“It’s complicated,” he said finally. “Think of it as a truce, of sorts.” Th
e statement intrigued Raven. If one of the groups on the high desert plains could have an arrangement with the Patrols, why not the nomads like Willow and Blaze, she wondered. She started to ask, but he waved her off with his paw before she could start. “Don’t waste your breath asking a bunch of questions. I told you. It is complicated,” he said and kept stirring the fire. The motion appeared to sting his paw again because he hissed in a breath and clutched it to his chest. Raven looked at where he rested it, and she was torn. It needed cleaning at least. But this beast is my enemy, isn’t he? He is keeping me against my will so I should not care if he hurts. Yet Raven did not feel the hate in her heart. Although right at that moment she wished she was not, she was compassionate to all of the creatures in the universe. Even ones with long claws and sharp teeth. She continued to study the cut and considered their options. He saw where she was looking and growled again. “It’s fine,” he said.
“It’s not fine,” Raven snapped back. “And stop growling at me. You’re the one who made me come with you. I’d be happy to leave, but you need to clean that cut or else it will start hurting worse and worse.” The cat mutant blinked at her for a moment and then laughed.
“Leave? Yeah, good luck with that,” he said. “It’s a blizzard out there. But okay, I’ll hold off on the growling and don’t worry about my paw. It will heal. They always do.”
“It’s infected,” Raven said. “It won’t heal on its own.”
“It’s fine,” Hector insisted.
“Let me clean it at least,” Raven said. “We can boil some water and—-“
“It’s fine!” Hector said with a growl.
“You’re growling again,” Raven said as she got up from where she sat by the fire and started to rummage through the heap of discarded trash in one of the corners of the boxcar. “We need to find something we can melt snow in.”