Lost Valley: The Hunted

by J. T. Cross

  As a last resort, he had built a raised rack out of several longer branches and laid the small ones across the top so they could get more airflow and dry as soon as possible.

  Christie looked at her watch. She guessed the branches had been drying about four hours on Marcus’s rack. She walked over and felt them. “I think they’re getting drier,” she said to Marcus.

  He walked over and scraped a piece of bark off of one of the smaller branches. “It’s only dry on the outside. The inside is still too damp to burn. It might dry out by tomorrow afternoon, but by that time it could be too late.”

  “Once it does get dry enough to burn, we should store it inside the helicopter,” she said.

  “That’s for sure. How are you holding up?” he asked her.

  “I’m okay. The kids are doing fine. They don’t understand just how bad the situation really is.”

  “It’s probably better that way,” he said and began pacing in front of the drying branches.

  She watched him pacing back and forth for several minutes seemingly in deep thought. He finally stopped and came back over to her.

  “I have an idea,” he said. “I’m going to do some more extensive scouting around to see if I can locate a source of dry wood. I think it would be best if you waited here with your kids until I get back.”

  She suddenly felt afraid to be alone with just the kids. “Can’t we come along?”

  “I’m going to be moving pretty fast and you’d only slow me down. There’s a pistol in your backpack. Do you know how to use it?”

  “Yes, I used to do a little target practice with my ex-husband.” The words ex-husband caused her to feel a sudden emptiness in her chest.

  “You guys will be fine. Just stay inside the helicopter and keep the hatch locked. I think it’s important that we get another signal fire burning as soon as possible.”

  It didn’t appear she was going to be able to change his mind and maybe he was right anyway, she thought. “Can you do me a favor before you leave?”

  “Of course.”

  “Could you pull Lackland’s body out of the helicopter? I know it’s covered up, but it’s freaking me out. And it’s starting to smell.”

  “No problem.”

  He quickly walked across the clearing and climbed up into the helicopter. A moment later, he pulled Lackland’s body out the hatch door, and she saw it fall to the ground. She held the urge to cry back. She needed to be strong, if not for herself, for the children.

  She watched him struggle as he pulled the body across the clearing and into the trees. He ran back into the helicopter and hopped back out with the blanket. He disappeared back into the trees. A short time later, he came walked out from between the trees and over to her.

  “I rolled him up in the blanket. Hopefully, that will keep any curious animals away.”

  “Thanks for taking care that, Marcus,” she said, relieved to have the body out of the helicopter.

  “I know what you mean about creeping you out, it was kind of creeping me out, too.”

  By the way, if you’re going to hang around outside of the helicopter, keep your eyes open and stay alert,” he said.

  “I think we’ll probably stay inside,” she said. “I don’t want the children wandering off.”

  He went back inside helicopter and reappeared several seconds later with his backpack.

  “I’m taking one of the pistols, a couple of protein bars, and a water. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He looked up the hillside and took off.

  She watched him hike up the path the helicopter had slid down the day before. In a few minutes, he was at the top looking down at her. She waved up at him. He gave her a thumbs up and continued on.

  She saw him disappear behind several trees and felt her anxiety suddenly climb. She glanced around the clearing and saw that Kelly and Stuart had left the helicopter and were at the far end of the clearing beginning to venture into the trees. She wondered how they could have gotten out without her noticing it.

  She didn’t like the idea of them being outside but guessed they were tired of being cooped up. She called out to them, “Come on over here near me. Let’s check out the helicopter.”

  They quickly returned and stayed close as she walked around the helicopter and examined the damage. The main rotors were gone. She figured they must have broken off as the helicopter had slid between the two large trees.

  “Will it ever fly again?” Stuart asked.

  “No. This helicopter’s not going anywhere, but it’s going to be okay. I’m sure people are looking for us right now.”

  As they stood looking up at where the main rotor had been, she noticed the branches begin to shake at the nose of the helicopter. A loud bellow came out of the stand of trees.

  Her heart jumped up in her throat and she grabbed Stuart and Kelly’s hands. She ran with them back to the open hatch and helped them up into the helicopter. Climbing in after them, she pulled the hatch door closed and pushed the latch down.

  She pulled the children close and led them to the back of the helicopter. Once again she heard the bellowing sound from the front of the cabin. Stuart pulled away from her and moved slowly up to the cockpit and gazed through the branches.

  “Stuart, come back here now!”

  The bellowing sound came again, and she instantly regretted raising her voice. She could see the tree branches shaking at the front.

  Something struck the outside of the helicopter, and she screamed. A huge bellowing sound vibrated the entire inside of the cabin, and she felt the whole craft shake. Whatever was out there, it must’ve heard her. She forced herself to be quiet.

  Stuart stood with a glazed look on his face, not moving. She motioned him to come to the back, but he was frozen, his feet stuck to the floor by an invisible glue of fear.

  Again, the helicopter was jolted. The jolt was enough to break his feet free, and he took off running. He reached the back, dove onto the bench seat, and huddled next to her.

  She put her arms around him and Kelly.

  “It’s all right, I don’t think it can get us in here. I think were safe.”

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, but let’s pray that Marcus gets back soon,” she said, and pulled them closer.

  She realized she was shaking and was exhausted. She wanted to lay her head down on the table, but she was afraid to. She needed to stay alert in case things got worse.

  “I’m tired,” Kelly said.

  “Lay your head on my lap and rest,” she said and helped her stretch her legs out. Stuart looked up at her and then laid his head down, too.

  She held them close to her. “Everything’s going to be okay. Why don’t you try to take a nap until Marcus gets back?”

  Over a period of time, she noticed their breathing gradually change, slowing down and becoming more regular. Soon they were both asleep. She sat silently in the rear seat, listening for any hint of Marcus’s return.

  As the time passed, she noticed it was getting darker in the cabin. She looked out the window and saw that the sun had fallen behind the trees. A few more hours and it would start getting dark, she thought.

  Exhausted, she couldn’t resist the urge to lay her head on the conference table. Overwhelmed by fatigue, she fell asleep listening to the repetitive song of a bird.

  Chapter 11

  Luc looked around the area in front of Ishki’s cabin illuminated by beams of late afternoon sunlight filtering though the pine trees. The sweet and pungent smell of burning wood filled the cold air.

  He led the way up a split log stairway, cut and laid into the hillside that curved around and led up to her log cabin. A simple two-railed log fence surrounded the place and seemed to set it off from the rest of the world.

  Smoke rose slowly and curled off into the air from a stone chimney at the side of the cabin, weaving its way through the branches of the trees.

  They walked up to the cabin. A long porch made of wood planks stretched al
ong its front and was covered by a roof that jutted out over it and rested on four large rough-hewn posts.

  Strips of meat hung from wires strung between the posts. Running in front of the porch was a wall formed of split firewood and logs.

  They stepped up onto the porch and Luc knocked on the wooden door several times. They stood quietly and listened.

  From inside the cabin, Luc heard the voice of a woman humming an odd tune he didn’t recognize. It sounded alien to him, and for some reason, sent little chills down his spine. The sound of footsteps coming toward the front of the cabin escaped through the thin cabin door. He stepped in front of Kate as the door suddenly opened.

  In the doorway stood Ishki dressed in a multi-colored coarsely woven blouse and skirt. Long narrow leather tassels in browns and blacks were stitched at various points on the blouse and hung almost to her knees, making her look like she had been transported from another age.

  He immediately recognized her sun-beaten and wrinkled face. Her waist-length gray hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, and he couldn’t help but notice the necklace of small bones hanging around her neck. She hadn’t looked at all like that the last time he had seen her in the back room of the village center.

  “I need to talk with you,” he said.

  “I know, come in,” she said then turned and walked to a stone fireplace hearth on the far side of the room and began adjusting a log with a poker. Luc and Kate, somewhat hesitantly, walked through the door. Earthy and spicy smells filled the interior of the cabin.

  “Don’t take all night, you’re letting the heat out,” she said. “My old bones need the warmth. Lately, I’m always cold. But that’s another story.”

  He hurried in and shut the door. He didn’t intend to beat around the bush.

  “I didn’t return the objects back to the mountains where I found them,” he said in an almost apologetic tone.

  “And you want me to make it all better?” she said, derisively.

  “How were you able to draw the picture that led me to the boy?” Luc asked.

  “I felt the need to travel with my mind that night. I’m not sure why. I was drawn out to our village’s hunting grounds and sensed the boy’s presence. I was pulled to it. I saw the machine near the peaks. It was so vivid. I knew it was important. I drew what I saw when I returned.”

  “My children were in a helicopter that went down yesterday afternoon in the same area. They were looking for the source of the objects I found in the mountains. Can you do it again? Can you travel again and find them?”

  “I can’t do it because they’re not close to me, but you can, I think.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your grandfather has told me several times that he thought you had the heart of the hunter. If you possess that, you can drink the Traveler’s Tea and seek them out yourself.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” he said.

  “No, it isn’t, Luc. She obviously knows something we don’t. We need to listen to what she has to say,” Kate reasoned.

  He was beginning to wish he hadn’t come there.

  Ishki walked up in front of him and pointed her finger in his face. “You may not know it, but I’ve known you for a long time, Luc. I saw you the day you were born; in fact, I delivered you.”

  “You delivered me?”

  “Yes. That was before the doctors came to the village. You might say we go way back. Do you think you can trust me?”

  “My grandfather said I should.”

  “Matooska’s a good man. Hopefully, he won’t be one of those who die because of your foolishness.”

  Luc’s insides flinched like someone had slapped him. He felt Kate put her hand on his shoulder.

  “There’s no way I’m going to let anything happen to my grandfather. I’ll do anything you want that can bring me some answers help me get my children back.”

  “Good, then sit down at the table and let’s get started,” Ishki said.

  He sat down at a table in the middle of the room and Kate sat next to him. He watched Ishki walk over to the stone fireplace, pick up a potholder, and remove a kettle that was hanging over the fire.

  She opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a leather pouch and withdrew a few dried leaves. She broke the leaves into pieces and put them in the bottom of a cup. She filled the cup with boiling water and brought it over to the table, placing it in front of Luc.

  He smelled a spicy aromatic scent rising from the cup and realized it was what he had smelled when she had first opened the door.

  “We need to let it set for a little while,” she said. “When it’s ready, you must drink it all down.”

  A concerned look came over Kate’s face. “Is that stuff safe? It won’t hurt him, will it?”

  “Nothing is safe these days,” she said with a faraway look in her eyes. “It won’t kill him.”

  “What kind of tea is it?” Kate asked.

  “It’s the Traveler’s Tea. If a man has the Heart of the Hunter, and drinks it, he’ll never be the same again.”

  “Luc, I don’t think you should...”

  “The time is right, you can drink it now,” Ishki said, interrupting.

  “It’s all right,” he said giving her a reassuring look.

  He picked up the cup and blew on it, then took a sip. It had a bittersweet taste in his mouth, reminiscent of cinnamon, cloves, and almonds. Not bad, but not good either. He took another sip and noticed it made the inside of his mouth tingle, then feel strangely numb.

  “Are you going to have some, too?” he asked, feeling slightly different in a way that he couldn’t explain.

  “Of course, we’ll have some tea with you,” she said, and prepared two more cups and brought them back to the table.

  Kate picked up the cup and smelled it. “Smells like regular tea to me,” she said.

  “Ours is regular tea. Orange pekoe,” Ishki said, winking at her. “He’s the only one to be traveling this evening.”

  Luc drank a few more swallows of the tea. He decided it was kind of good.

  “Tell me what you taste,” she said.

  He took another swallow and enjoyed the way it went down. “It’s different,” he said.

  “You don’t know how different it is. You won’t find it at the market; I can guarantee you that. How do you feel?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said, looking around the room. Everything seemed to look a little different, disjointed, fractured in some strange way. In the corner he saw what looked like a mobile with different-sized bones hanging from leather thongs. They were moving slowly back and forth on their own.

  “Why are they moving like that?” he asked.

  “He’s being drawn to the bones,” Ishki said to Kate.

  “To what?” Kate asked in a whisper.

  “The Traveling Bones,” she said, and gestured toward the corner of the cabin where they hung and slowly moved back and forth.

  Underneath the bones, spread across the floor, was a large bearskin rug made from the hide of what looked to have been a very big grizzly.

  “Luc, why don’t you drink down the rest of your tea for old Ishki, it will make you feel so much better.”

  He didn’t feel like paying attention to Ishki anymore. He was too busy listening to a soft buzzing sound coming from somewhere in the room.

  “Drink the rest of the tea, Luc.”

  He picked up the cup and drank the rest in one swallow. “I’m feeling so...” He forgot what he was going to say.

  The buzzing was getting louder and he felt drawn to it. It reminded him of a far-away airplane, high in a summer sky, droning away, the sound undulating and echoing through the atmosphere.

  He realized Ishki was suddenly behind him with her hands under his arms.

  “Let me help you up. I think you should lie down over there on the bearskin rug. It’s so much more comfortable.”

  He stood up and then quickly grabbed the table. The room seemed to be moving all around him.

&
nbsp; “Are you all right, Luc?” he heard Kate ask.

  He looked at her and thought how beautiful she was.

  “I love you, Kate. You’re so beautiful,” he said, and then looked deep into her large, green eyes. He saw the most beautiful sparkles of light emanating from within the pupils.

  “He’s telling the truth,” Ishki said.

  For a moment, a small smile replaced Kate’s look of concern.

  “Help me get him over to the bearskin rug while he can still walk.”

  Together, they guided him to the corner of the room where he stretched out on the rug and began watching the slowly swaying bones. He looked to his side and saw Ishki kneeling next to him.

  “Picture your children’s faces. Will yourself to be drawn to them.”

  “How?”

  “Don’t ask me how, just do it.”

  He ran his hands through the deep fur and closed his eyes and pictured Kelly and Stuart. He loved them so much and wanted to be with them so badly.

  He noticed the buzzing was getting louder; it seemed to fill the whole room and his head. It was dark and relaxing with his eyes closed. Then he remembered he had to picture Kelly and Stuart. He pictured them standing in the distance and imagined himself moving toward them.

  The thought occurred to him that he needed to get up and start looking for the children. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn’t.

  “Ishki,” he called out. There was no answer.

  “Kate, are you there?” He tried to turn his head and look for her and realized he couldn’t move a muscle. He began to give into the buzzing sound and stopped trying to move.

  His mind was still, more quiet than it had ever been before. The thought occurred to him that it was time to go. He struggled for a moment to get up then realized with a shock that he wasn’t in the cabin any longer.

  Chapter 12

  Luc looked around the area in which he suddenly found himself. He realized he now stood outside the front of the cabin. A small window through which light exited caught his attention.