The Cascaders

by Glenn, L. M.

  Genèva swam toward her and handed her a round smooth stone. “Here, this is a piece of soapstone to wash with. A few of us set up a hut for you and your brother if you like or he is more than welcome to stay with Nigel.”

  “Thank you.” Desiree took the soap and used it vigorously scrubbing away the dirt and grime from her arms and legs.

  Genèva smiled shyly. “Come meet my sisters.”

  She followed Genèva as she swam over to a group of female cats, one a she-lion with a yellow tawny coat with a tuft tail and the other a tiger who was beautiful with large golden eyes. Her fur was orange and ran down her neck. Genèva introduced her as Rose and the other as Mead. Both were wearing a large jewel like the one Genèva wore.

  After her bath, Genèva handed her a shift to wear. She told her that some of them wore tops or shifts while others preferred not to. The shift was made out of leaves and what looked to be some kind of grass woven together. Desiree grimaced but it would have to do until her clothes dried. She had wrung them out and laid them on a boulder to dry. She braided her hair and tied it with the rubber band she had previously used for her ponytail.

  She leaned back and watched as the others swam and played in the pond. Soon she noticed the males joined them. She turned her face away when they took off their coverings. These animals weren’t modest at all.

  Above her head, vines were strung from tree to tree where more cats were seen. She watched them for a few more minutes before she deemed it time to go. She turned to walk back when Mihael came into view.

  “Are you leaving so soon?” he called out, then dropped his bottoms, and jumped into the pond. With flaming cheeks, she ran back to the village.

  It became dark quickly in the village. There were only six hours of daylight within twenty-four hours. All the fires were lit and kept that way until light. None of the animals was allowed to wander alone outside the village unless accompanied with another. The light kept the danger away. Although cats were able to see in the dark, she was not.

  Mihael insisted she be accompanied at all times since she was not familiar with their ways. A few in their village did not like the idea of her and Jayden being there. They were a threat to their existence. She was also told by Mihael he would do whatever he could to help in her search for a way home. He gave his word no harm would come to her while she was in their care, but still she felt threatened. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because she and Jayden were the only humans here in a land of misfits. Only one thing good came out of the fact that they were trapped. As Genèva stated, if she couldn’t get out, then others couldn’t get in, keeping them safe a bit longer.

  They were always on guard, worried their world would be shattered and cats killed if they were ever found out.

  She knew they were not welcome here. Not all the cats were kind. Some were downright hostile toward them. Rose being one of the hostile ones. She felt her eyes burning a hole in her back multiple times.

  The next morning Desiree asked Genèva if she could walk around the village. She was bored and wanted to explore. After a bit of hesitation, she relented but stated to please stay close to the huts.

  So she did. She wandered around the village, but that didn’t satisfy her long. A group of felines following a trail had her following them, but soon she lost interest when she found out it was just a garden. She decided to go back to the pond. Maybe a leisurely swim would help her melancholy.

  Rose passed her on the path and practically knocked her down as she smashed into her shoulder. She didn’t even apologize. Rose had lifted her chin and kept walking.

  When Desiree reached the pond, she spotted Mihael. He must have had the same idea. She sat down cross-legged on a boulder and watched him swim. He swam with strong even strokes

  “You can’t have him.” Startled by the voice, Desiree turned and found Rose staring out across the pond also.

  “I don’t want him.”

  “Of course, you don’t,” she sighed, “Isn’t he magnificent? We shall be mated one day.” She stretched her arms up, purred, and then walked down to the pond, discarding all of her clothes. Naked, she jumped into the pool.

  Desiree watched for a while until Rose whispered something in Mihael’s ear. He turned and looked at her, his eyes piercing. Desiree stood, her tranquility broken. It was time to search for Jayden and see what kind of trouble he had found.

  She chuckled to herself. Why would I want him? He was an animal. But if this was what she actually thought, then why did the thought of him make her blush?

  Desiree heard the shouting as soon as she cleared the village. Glancing around to see what direction it was coming from, she spotted a crowd gathering. Running, she scanned the area looking for Jayden. Just as she came upon the scene, Genèva grabbed her arm. “Have you seen my brother?” she asked worried.

  Desiree nodded. “Yes, he’s down at the bath. What it is?”

  “It is Nigel, he is hurt. I must hurry.”

  Desiree pushed past the crowd to where Nigel was lying. She quickly dropped to her knees. “What happened?” Nigel was crying, and tears smeared his cheeks.

  She felt a hand on her shoulder, glanced up, and noticed Jayden’s hand. “What happened?” she asked him, noticing the fear in his eyes. “Did you have anything to do with it?” She thought if there had been trouble, Jay would be involved, but not this time.

  “No!” He pursed his lips. “You’re so mean!” Jayden snatched at her hair and took off running.

  “Ow, you little brat.” Desiree called after him, “Jay, wait!”

  Her attention was swept to Mihael as he pushed his way through the throng of cats. He knelt down and picked up Nigel in his arms. He held him close to his chest. “Are you okay? What can I do to make you better?” he whispered, leaned in, and kissed Nigel’s cheek.

  Something akin to jealousy filled her at the way he coddled him. Their father never did that with Jayden. Desiree couldn’t remember a time her father ever kissed her, not even when she had broken her arm ice skating.

  She backed out, away from the crowd, as they hovered over Nigel. She walked slowly back to her hut. She opened the flap and found Jayden inside crying.

  “What’s wrong, Jay?” she asked.

  “I want to go home! I miss Mom.” He swiped at his cheeks.

  She sat down on the cot, picked up her feet, and wrapped her arms around her legs. She rested her chin on her knees. “Me too.”

  Chapter 12

  After Jayden had fallen asleep, she went outside and sat down. listening to the whispers in the distance. She didn’t understand these hybrids. They had nothing yet were happy. This whole village was a family who took care of each other.

  “Are you all right?” Mihael asked padding softly up and standing over her.

  She nodded her head. “I’m sorry about Nigel.”

  “He is fine, just a scrape.” He squatted down. “It wasn’t Jay’s fault. Nigel explained he fell. It was an accident.”

  “I know.”

  “You are sad. You miss your home?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Tell me.” He picked up a handful of dirt and sifted it though his fingers.

  “What?” she asked confused.

  “Tell me about your family. Your home.”

  “It’s a lot different, that’s for sure. We all wear clothes that cover our private parts.” She smiled.

  “Hmmm.” His brows rose. “I don’t think I like this place of yours already.” He laughed.

  “We don’t behave the same as you do. I mean …” She cleared her throat and looked down at her entwined hands. “Families don’t spend much time together. My father is never home. He works too much and my m-m-mother …” She let her voice drop. “Well, let’s just say they are n-n-never around.”

  “Who cares for your brother?”

  Frowning, she couldn’t recall who took care of Jayden when she wasn’t at home. “I’m not sure. Our home is big. We all sleep in the same, umm, hut? We cook in our
homes not outside.”

  “It must be lonely, yes?”

  “Yes, I mean, no, I have friends.”

  “And Jay.”

  “Jay? No, he’s more of a pain.” She gave him a quick crooked smile.

  “A pain?” He frowned.

  “Yes, he has a way of getting into mischief. “Was Genèva ever a pain?”

  His gaze focused on her. “No, I am glad to have her as my sister. It’s important to have family, Desiree. Family is what holds one together. You lose family, you lose yourself.”

  Then I must have lost myself a long time ago. Because my family care nothing about me. His dark gaze rested on her as if he was trying to read her mind. She continued nervously, “We have more light than you and only one moon.”

  He nodded. “Yes. We do not know much about this place, Desiree. We just survive.”

  “Have you ever seen other humans?” she asked curiously.

  He turned his head away avoiding her eyes. “Yes, one, a long time ago. When I was just a kitten still on my mother’s milk. A child like your Jay came.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He was very ill.” He sighed deeply.

  Desiree noted his discomfort and changed the subject. “Your turn, tell me something about you and this place.” She swung her arm out in an arc.

  He smiled and nodded his head, relief evident on his features. “Over a hundred years ago, my relatives were sent here from above. We were a mistake or a freak of nature, and like all mistakes, we were discarded.” He picked up more dirt and let it run through his fingers.

  “The human government wanted to build the perfect army. They injected genes from different cat species into their military personnel. The ones who were disciplined. The ones who could survive the transformation. But many were born dead, and others were born with deformities. They closed the project, and to cover up their malefactions, they took all the live children born from these genes and hid them away from the human race. They didn’t have the taste for killing, so instead they found a place to discard them where they might be able to survive. The few that lived grew, multiplied, and flourished. The poisons from the air killed most of the babies. The new ones born here survived; they were immune to the toxins.”

  “But how?” Desiree asked. “I mean, how did you all learn to speak and survive? How do you speak our language?” It still amazed her how they all seemed so human-like.

  “A young mother of one of the children couldn’t leave her child behind, so she volunteered to go with them. She was my great-great grandmother and a human who spoke your tongue. She taught the children how to speak, hunt, and survive. And what she couldn’t teach us, we learned the hard way. Over time, we adapted and learned. She grew ill and died before I was born but passed on her language and her human ways. Some time I will show you the written words she left as our inheritance.”

  “I noticed you all are from a cat species.”

  “Cats were the only breed who survived. We found out only the same could mate with same. If we integrated, the child would become stillborn or worse.”

  “So, you can’t marry, let’s say ... a lion?” she asked, thinking of Rose.

  He chuckled. “Yes, we just can’t have children.

  “But how do you stop it?” As soon as she said it, she felt her face flame. She couldn’t believe she asked him that. What an idiot he must think she was. With a heated face, she shook her head “Never mind, you don’t need to answer that.”

  He laughed. “It is okay to ask, Desiree.”

  “Many died here. Children burned from the magma pools. Some were taken by the Morgs. Most of them were taken ill. I lost my wife and my litter, except for Nigel, to the fever. Only the strong survive here.”

  “Mihael, what is a Morg? Genèva explained some, but I would like to hear it from you.”

  He shrugged. “Terrible creatures with long teeth and very long, thin, sword-like tails. They eat our kind. They come from the magma pools. You must stay away from there. It is very hot and dangerous.”

  “And what are the magma pools?”

  He grimaced. “Magma pools are hot, thick, liquid pools of fire.”

  She paled but said nothing. That’s why it’s so hot here.

  He straightened up. “You must get some rest,” he said after she yawned for the third time.

  “Thank you, Mihael, for talking with me.”

  An odd expression came over his face. “Good eve.” He turned and walked away. Desiree watched him until he disappeared inside his hut and then she too went into hers.

  Chapter 13

  The next day, Genèva taught her about the different foods and what plants were good to eat and the ones that were used for healing. The garden was for the whole village to tend to. They did everything together here. They shared the care of food and the children, hunting, and cleaning—everything except for their mates. They did not share them.

  Genèva told her she was in love with another’s mate so she would never marry. If she couldn’t have him, then she wanted no one else. She explained that Rose was in love with her brother, but he didn’t feel the same. He did not love the lioness. He had loved his deceased wife very much and he would not get over her quickly. However, she said, eventually Rose would succeed for she was persistent.

  Desiree found out that three of the larger huts were where they all gathered for meals and meetings, as well as where most of the supplies were kept.

  The village was scattered in a valley of sorts with hills and foliage surrounding the outside. Strange trees covered the hillside. Different paths led to different areas. While one path led to the bathing pool, another led to the gardens, and so on. There were many paths that led out. The village was much larger than she had first thought.

  Genèva and Desiree were pulling up some vegetables for dinner when Mihael interrupted them. He asked if Desiree would like to go out hunting. Glad to do something else, she agreed eagerly.

  Mihael carried a crude bow and some arrows on his back. He also had a knife tied to his side. He explained how dangerous it was and to pay close attention to what he said. Desiree went to look for Jayden but changed her mind knowing he was probably off with Nigel. It wasn’t as if he could go very far, not with Nigel close on his heels.

  They took a path toward the dark waters, but instead of going through the tunnels, they went the opposite direction. They walked around the pond to the other side and went deeper into the foliage. She followed closely behind as he directed. She was barefoot having discarded her shoes a long time ago as the others did. Only Mihael wore soft boots. The ground was soft to walk on and didn’t require shoes.

  He wasn’t scary to her anymore. He was actually beginning to grow on her. She liked his pointy ears and long tail. Speaking of which, it was swinging from side to side. She caught herself wanting to touch it. The muscles on his back contorted as he walked. His hair or fur, she wasn’t sure which to refer to it as, ran down his back in a long patch. She wondered what it would feel like to run her hands through it and if it was soft as it appeared to be.

  She almost ran into him when he suddenly halted. He threw his hand back touching her stomach.

  He motioned for her to crouch down and then to keep quiet. She looked to where he was pointing and covered her mouth to stop the gasp.

  It looked like a giant hairless rat with beady red-gold eyes. It was the size of a German shepherd or a Labrador.

  Mihael pulled an arrow out of its quiver and put it against the bow. Desiree watched fascinated as he pulled the arrow and string back. His muscles clenched and then loosened as he drove the arrow home.

  A horrible screeching rent the air. The arrow sliced through the giant rat knocking it down. The back legs twitched. Desiree grew nauseated. Between that and the heat, she was lightheaded.

  “The skin is poisonous so it must be boiled. We cut the meat and then clean and boil it. The bones can be used for tools.”

  Cleaned and boiled? Did he intend to eat
that? Her stomach rumbled at a thought she just had. The meat in the food she had been eating. It came from a giant rat?

  “Is that …was that?” She cleared her throat. “W-W-Was that a Morg?” She swallowed hard.

  He nodded. “You will not see many during the daylight hours, but the older ones wander about at all hours. Their meat is tender and often tastes better. These we can eat.”

  She turned her back toward him and waited until he had cleaned and cut the Morg. She heard a slight chuckle and turned around. He had already put the meat into his bag. He held out his hand toward her.

  “Come, I would like to show you something.”

  She took his hand and followed him farther into the brush. Soon the view changed and they came into another valley. This one was filled with wildflowers of all colors. Again these flowers were deep and vibrant—blood red, dark purple, deep blue, and sunny yellow. In the center was a small pond. Beautiful rocks surrounded it. The picture it presented was something out of a painting. The beauty took her breath away.

  Mihael led her to the edge of the pond. At her silent question, he smiled.

  “We can bathe in private here. This is my favorite place. I often come with Nigel.”

  Her eyes widened and her face turned a nice shade of pink as he laid his bag and bow down and shed his clothes and boots. His feet were actually paws like Nigel’s.

  She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but for some reason, she couldn’t turn away. From the waist down, he was all man. The strip of hair that led down to his manhood was sleek and black. She had never seen a man naked. Sure, she had seen her brother when he was little since she had to give him baths. She had even seen pictures of naked guys but never the real thing.