Dinotopia: Windchaser

by Ciencin, Scott;

  Raymond’s words echoed in Hugh’s mind. He knew how Raymond would have completed the statement.

  —the night my father was killed.

  Hugh stood on the ledge of the mountain, staring into the gray sky. He could not believe that he had lost his friend.

  Why had he agreed to any of this? he asked himself. Why had he not left Skybax Camp the other night, as he had planned?

  You know the answer, he thought.

  Hugh came because of what he had seen in Raymond’s eyes. He knew that look. He had seen it in the mirror enough times. Raymond was fiercely determined to see the Sky Galley Caves. Raymond would have gone anyway—with or without his friend.

  Hugh had come to keep Raymond safe. Besides, Hugh had his own unfinished business with Windchaser. Now it would remain unfinished forever.

  The downpour was letting up. Hugh could not move. He knew he had to begin the long journey back to camp, where he would try to explain what had happened. He had failed to keep his friend safe. Raymond was dead. They had come here—to the Forbidden Mountains…to Dinotopia—for nothing!

  Then he heard a sound. It came from just below the ledge.

  Crouching, Hugh looked out onto the ravine below. An impossible sight greeted him. The tree that had dragged Raymond over the edge had not fallen into the waters below. It was large enough so that it had become wedged between the cliffsides about fifty feet below the ledge.

  The remainder of the fallen debris had created a sort of bridge across the divide. Raymond lay cradled in the trees branches, horribly still. Hugh thought he could see blood upon the lad’s temple. His limbs were resting at odd angles.

  Was he dead? Or was he still alive?

  “Raymond!” Hugh called. “Raymond, can you hear me?”

  Hugh held his breath as he felt a strong updraft of wind against his cheek. There! He saw Raymond shift slightly.

  His friend was alive!

  Hugh’s elation was snatched away from him as he saw the entire structure holding Raymond sag sharply. The bridge fell half a foot, then stopped.

  The drop to the stream below was at least a thousand feet!

  “Steady,” Hugh said softly, worried to speak any louder. If Raymond continued to move about, he might bring the entire structure crashing down.

  Think, think, think, Hugh demanded of himself. There must be a way to get down to Raymond, to get him out.

  The slight break that had come in the storm abruptly ended. Rain began to fall again. It was much lighter this time, but still steady.

  In horror, Hugh saw the tree begin to slip again.

  A sound came from Hugh’s left. He turned sharply but could see nothing.

  It was a strange thumping and scratching sound. What could it be?

  Hugh was certain of only one thing—he had heard this sound last night, just before taking the watch. Some creature was following them. And it was closing in fast.

  He looked around for a weapon. A heavy branch was lying nearby. Hugh picked it up and brandished it, hoping he would look like enough of a threat to put off whatever was coming. Hoping, but not really believing.

  Suddenly, a voice within Hugh began shouting. He recognized it as a voice from his past. It was the voice of selfish survival—the one he’d always listened to back on the London streets. Save yourself! The clearing is fifteen feet away. You won’t be able to help Raymond if you bloody well get yourself eaten!

  But this was betrayal. It was no different from what that bloke did to Hugh back in London. He’d called himself Hugh’s friend, yet he had turned Hugh in for a reward.

  That was the way of things back there, thought Hugh. But not here. And not inside him. Not anymore.

  In a heartbeat, Hugh made his decision. If their positions were reversed, Raymond would never abandon him. No matter the danger, no matter the consequences, Hugh would not leave his friend.

  The sounds came again. Louder this time. Closer. A darkness fell directly before him, its shape obscured by the gray curtain of rain.

  Suddenly he heard an ear-piercing squall. He was so startled that he dropped the branch and nearly lost his balance. An alien shape moved in, pushing through the veil of rain as if it were parting curtains. Two reddish eyes immediately came into view, along with a beak the length of a man.

  Windchaser!

  The rain slowed again, allowing Hugh a better look at the Skybax. Now he knew what he’d been hearing—the sound of ten-foot-long Skybax legs trying to tiptoe closer!

  “Down there!” Hugh cried as he pointed toward Raymond.

  The Skybax looked over the ledge, then drew back in horror when he saw Raymond’s terrible situation.

  Windchaser’s head shook violently, then he hesitated, as if weighing his options. He looked down again, then back to Hugh, cocking his head to one side imploringly.

  “What are you waiting for?” Hugh asked. “Fly down there and save him!”

  The Skybax’s only movement was the agitated twisting of his long neck.

  “There isn’t much time! What’s holding him in place may slip!”

  With a violent shudder, Windchaser snapped, “Yessssss! I sssssseeeee thhhatttt!”

  Hugh was startled by the Skybax’s ability to speak. He had been told time and again that no Skybax possessed this skill.

  “Wwwwasssss folllowwwinngggg. Wwanntted to fffffrighttennnn yoouuuu bbbotthhhh. Mmmmake yoooouuu ttttturrm bbbbbackkkkk.”

  Hugh’s expression hardened. “You didn’t do a very good job of it, did you?”

  Suddenly, the shaky bridge beneath Raymond shifted again. More debris began to fall.

  Hugh felt his blood turn to ice.

  It wouldn’t be long now. The bridge would soon be crumbling!

  “I can’t get to Raymond,” Hugh cried. “All you’ve got to do is fly down and grab him!”

  “Nnnnnooooo!” Windchaser cried. “Cannnnnnot hollllld himmm. Youuuu mmmmusssst hellllp!”

  Hugh looked long and hard at the damaged membrane of the Skybax’s wings. Some places were so thin they appeared translucent. Others were ragged and frayed—scar tissue from the burns Windchaser had suffered. Part of the creature’s long right arm looked as if it had been broken and not reset before it knitted and the bones fused.

  Finally, Hugh understood. It was a miracle that Windchaser could fly at all. If the Skybax got too close to Raymond, he could easily pitch the boy into the abyss by accident.

  “We’ve got to do something!” Hugh said. He closed his eyes and tried to think. “If we had some rope, we could tie one end to you and the other to me. You could lower me down. I could grab Raymond. But what would we use?”

  Luckily, the rain had stopped completely. The Skybax was able to rise into the air and fly off.

  Hugh waited, staring down at Raymond.

  When a squall sounded from the clearing, Hugh made his way off the ledge. He saw Windchaser nodding toward a pile of vines before he flew off again.

  “Well, O’Donovan,” Hugh said as he examined the strength of the vines. “Just like the old days.

  Climbing down from rooftops, sneaking through windows.”

  Hugh drew the small blade he had packed and got to work cutting and interweaving the vines. Windchaser came back three times, dropping off more vines with each visit. But both of them soon realized that the vines were much too short. There was no way to quickly make a fifty-foot rope that would hold the weight of two boys.

  “Well,” said Hugh. “If we can’t use the vines to lower me to Raymond, then we’ll have to use them another way. I’ll lash myself to your back, like a rider. I’ve seen it done at camp. ’Course they have bleedin’ equipment for these matters. We’ll just have to make do.”

  Windchaser agreed to Hugh’s idea of lashing himself to the Skybax. Together they’d fly down and try to save Raymond.

  “These should hold,” he said, testing the strength of the vines he had already tied together. He guessed they were strong enough to support his weight, but he had
no way of knowing if they would be able to take the stress for long. Also, what if Raymond’s added weight was too much for them?

  You’ll “what if” yourself to death, O’Donovan, he thought. There’s no time!

  “All right,” Hugh said. “Now, you fly underneath and—”

  “Wwwwonnnnn’tttt rrrreachhhh hhhhhimmm!”

  Hugh thought about it and saw Windchaser’s point. Flying underneath the tree bridge would do little good. They would not be able to get at Raymond since he lay on top.

  “Yyyyourrr bbbackkkk to mmmmyyyy bbbellllyyyy,” Windchaser said.

  A chill raced through Hugh. He understood the Skybax’s plan. Hugh would be lashed to Windchaser’s underside, facing down into the abyss. His arms and legs would dangle, allowing him to snatch up Raymond as Windchaser glided through the gap.

  Of course, if the vines broke or simply came undone, Hugh would drop like a stone.

  “Let’s get started,” Hugh said, not wanting to think about what could happen.

  Windchaser said, “Nnnnottt llikkkee yyooouuu mmmuccchhhh.”

  “Gee thanks,” Hugh said dryly as he tied one end of the tangled vines around Windchaser’s thick neck. “I’ll try not to yank too hard and strangle you.”

  “Wwwasssss aaaffrrraiiddd yoooouuuu.”

  “You were afraid of me?” Hugh said. “Why would you be afraid of me?”

  “Aaaffrraidd tttaakkkke Rrrraaayyymmonnnd awwwwayyyyyy!!!” Windchaser said, his voice reflecting a genuine grief. “Llllikkke Ddddannnielllll.”

  “Take him away? Like Daniel?” Hugh asked.

  “Daniel’s dead. I saved Raymond’s life once! I would never hurt him.”

  “Nnnnnotttt unnnderrrstanndd!”

  “We have no time for this,” Hugh said as he finished his preparations. The harness he created fit loosely around the Skybax. Hugh slipped into the harness. He drew the vine ropes tight around his body.

  “All right,” Hugh said, “now give me some warning before—”

  Hugh’s words melted into a scream as Windchaser took a running jump and lifted him high into the air.

  CHAPTER 16

  Hugh watched in horror as the earth was snatched out from under him. He wanted to close his eyes, but he knew he had to quickly get used to this. For a moment he tried to imagine that he had sprouted wings and had been given the gift of flight.

  The soft ground twenty feet below suddenly gave way as they flew past the edge of the clearing. Any comfort that might have been within Hugh’s grasp raced away as he looked into the gap. The mountain walls on either side descended in a rush toward the churning waters waiting at the base of the great drop.

  Windchaser took them above the tree bridge holding Raymond in place. The Skybax struggled to maintain his position. He lurched from side to side, rising and falling dramatically.

  Hugh felt dizzy. “You’re not going to pass out, you’re not going to pass out,” he chanted.

  “Issssss yyooouuuu I’mmmm wormieddd abbbouttttt,” Windchaser said.

  Hugh did not have the strength to tell the Skybax that he was talking to himself. Suddenly, it occurred to him that the Skybax had a sense of humor as dark as his own.

  “Just fly straight,” Hugh muttered.

  If Windchaser heard, he gave no indication. Instead, he began his sporadic descent, falling a few feet at a time, rocking sharply. The vines bit into Hugh’s flesh, and he did his best to ignore the pain.

  “A sssstrrronggg Ssssskyyyyybaxxxxx cannnn carrrrryyyyyy wwwweighttttt of a mannnnnnn,” Windchaser said. “I’mmmm notttt ssssoooo sssstrrrronggg. Hhhhhope yyyyyyouuu hhhhhavvvennn’tttt bbbeeennnnn eattttinggg ttoooo mucccchhhhh!”

  “Bleedin hilarious,” Hugh groused, his stomach heaving at the Skybax’s jerky movements. “Just get down close enough so’s I can grab Raymond.”

  Hugh glanced down at Raymond. The boy was unconscious.

  “We can’t lose him. You know that, don’t you? Neither of us can bear to lose him.”

  The Skybax did not reply.

  The tree wedged between the cliffsides slipped again. This time it dropped on its right flank, where Raymond was nestled in a cradle of branches. The boy rolled over once, twice, then came to a stop.

  Hugh was breathing hard. This had to work! But what if it didn’t?

  Don’t think about that! he screamed to himself as thunder resounded through the mountains, and the clouds threatened to unleash yet another downpour.

  “A little faster, why don’t ya?” Hugh cried in frustration with Windchaser’s slow descent.

  Suddenly, they dove to within a few feet of Raymond. Hugh cried out in fear and felt one of the vines loosen slightly.

  “Slower, slower!” Hugh yelped. He reached out and could almost touch Raymond. He could see the gash on the boy’s forehead.

  Raymond will be all right, Hugh kept telling himself.

  “I can almost reach him,” Hugh said. “Just come down a little bit.”

  The strong updraft of mountain winds filled Windchaser’s wings. The Skybax adjusted his position and dropped dramatically. Hugh felt a bonelike finger of wood poke at his chest and suddenly he was on top of Raymond.

  The Skybax wailed. Its efforts to regain its balance made the situation worse. The heavy tree forming the bony skeleton of the makeshift bridge tilted from side to side and started to sag.

  Hugh reached out and flung his arms around Raymond, praying he had a firm enough grasp on his friend. They boy moaned slightly, his head dropping back.

  “I’ve got him! I’ve got him! Go, go, go!” Hugh shouted.

  Windchaser tried to pull up and failed. Instead, they crashed down into the tangle of branches. Hugh heard a sharp scraping. He looked to his left in time to see the shattered tree trunk lose its hold on the side of the mountain.

  Again, Hugh felt the world yanked out from under him. They were falling! Raymond’s shirt was caught on the branches. Hugh felt his friend being dragged from his arms!

  Within Hugh’s mind, an all-too-familiar voice screamed at him to let go of Raymond. He and the Skybax would surely die if he didn’t!

  Hugh held on tight.

  The Skybax wailed as all three plunged toward the icy waters below, dragged along by the remains of the fallen tree. The rest of the debris trapped in the network of branches was shaken loose. Bits of earth and stone flew toward the rapidly nearing waters.

  Windchaser flapped his wings in desperation, but his efforts were wasted.

  Hugh managed to control his panic long enough to move his hand to Raymond’s shirt and pull. A hole opened in the material. Widened. Began to tear.

  He yanked again, and tore through the seam. Raymond grunted as Hugh pulled him closer, hugging him tighter. The tear split through the remnants of Raymond’s shirt, and it fell from his body.

  The branch still held the shirt, but Raymond was free!

  The tree spun away and slammed against the left flank of the gap. It continued to fall as the Skybax’s frantic efforts slowed their descent.

  “Windchaser!” Hugh cried. “Get us out!”

  The Skybax attempted to regain its balance. Instead, its efforts dragged them into the opposite side of the crevasse. Hugh saw the wall approaching and feared that both he and Raymond would be crushed on impact.

  Somehow, Windchaser pirouetted, allowing his own back to slam against the stone wall.

  They hit twice more before the Skybax managed to arrest their flight for the barest of instants. Wobbling a small distance, they sailed toward the opposing wall.

  Hugh saw the stone wall approaching. He screamed, and a jarring impact ripped through him. Windchaser had extended his ten-foot-long legs, allowing them to take the impact’s brunt. Hugh and Raymorld stopped several yards short of colliding with the stone wall.

  Windchaser fell back, tried to fly, and struck the wall again with his feet.

  Hugh took every blow stoically, though his jaws clattered together and a jarring pain shot through his entire body
whenever they hit. His arm ached from clutching Raymond, but he did not let go as they fell again.

  They were close to thirty yards from the choppy waters of the canal below when Windchaser dove straight toward a small ledge on the cliffside. The Skybax came in for a landing. But the moment weight was placed on the ledge, it collapsed as if it had been made of chalk.

  They plunged the rest of the way to the waters, and Windchaser managed to right himself into a semicontrolled glide.

  “Donnnn’t lllllet Rrrrrayyymonnndddd gggggo!” Windchaser cried as he tried his best to slow them down. Yet they still slapped into the deep waters with a terrible force.

  Only a few feet away were a pair of jutting rocks that might have crushed them.

  The icy waters of the canal swept over Hugh and Raymond. All three were carried forward, the Skybax struggling to find footing and keep his chest high.

  Hugh managed to keep his and Raymond’s heads high against Windchaser’s upper chest and above the water. But Hugh’s torso was still strapped to the Skybax’s belly. Both he and Raymond might drown before a way to safety could be found.

  The waters carried them through a darkened tunnel. They were forced to twist sharply to the right. Suddenly an unexpected brilliance faced them. A white, churning wall of foam loomed.

  Hugh saw it first.

  “Waterfall!” he cried.

  And they were heading right toward it.

  CHAPTER 17

  Hugh closed his eyes. He held Raymond tight. The strong water currents were tugging at them with more and more force. Their speed seemed to double, then triple, as the roar of the waterfall became louder and louder.

  Suddenly there was an odd sensation. A sharp dip. Then they were away from the freezing waters, hanging in midair for a single fleeting instant.

  Hugh held his breath, waiting for the certain deadly drop.

  Any time now, he thought. Any time.

  Nothing happened. They were moving, yes, racing forward as if the currents still had hold of them, but they were not falling.

  Hugh opened his eyes and looked down. The waterfall was behind them. Its thunderous roar grew softer and softer. Below, he saw the waters branching off into several tributaries. Land was beneath them. Other mountainous rises loomed just ahead.