by TM Toombs
"I think we have something to go on." He pointed at the large paw prints around the area. "It looks like they split up, though. I would have thought they'd have stuck together if one of them was injured."
"Well, from what Beau said, these things were man-made. So, no telling what sort of instincts they have. They may be confused. Or, they could be laying a trap. There's just no way for us to know."
"I hate to suggest this, but what if we split up?" Miriam suggested.
"Not a bad idea. We could cover more ground that way. And meet up at the other end of the valley," Jacob agreed.
"The wounded one should be easier to track. So, Hannah and I will follow the blood trail," Isaac plotted. "You two follow the other trail. It should take us no more than three hours to walk the length of the valley. If we aren't there in four hours, come back on this side. We'll do the same. If all else fails, head back home."
Jacob held out his hand. "Good luck, Isaac."
"You, too, Jacob. Happy hunting."
The girls hugged quickly, then they all set off
* * *
"What is that?" Miriam asked, pointing to the ground.
Jacob knelt down and stuck his index finger in the grayish-blue ooze. He rubbed it between his finger and thumb then sniffed it. Standing up, he wiped it on his pant-leg. "If I were to guess, I'd say it was blood from one of those Hazacks."
Miriam's eyes grew wide as she nervously scanned the thick tree line. "Do you think it's close?"
"Naw," Jacob rubbed her shoulder. "It’s cool and starting to coagulate. Fresh blood would be warm and sticky. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything unusual though."
Miriam nodded and slipped her hand into Jacob's, her eyes still scanning the valley’s forest to their left. Then he noticed a dark shadow in the cliff wall a few yards ahead.
"Hey, look over there. Do you see that? I think it's a cave." He started towards the cliff face, still holding her hand.
DEATH
"Do you hear that?" Isaac froze and cocked his head to the side, listening.
Somewhere in front of them, at the other end of the valley, they could just make out the sound of someone yelling Hannah's name. Hannah's eyes suddenly widened.
"That sounds like Miriam!" Hannah gasped and raced down the path towards her friend's cries.
"Hannah! Wait!" Isaac yelled then took off after her.
"Miriam! I'm here!" Hannah slipped off her backpack and dropped it on the side of the trail while running.
Isaac snatched up her pack and ran after her, the extra weight slowing him down. Up ahead of him, Hannah found her friend, bruised and bleeding from several scratches on her cheek, forehead and shoulder.
Hannah grabbed Miriam by her arms and looked into her tear-streaked face, "Miriam? What happened? Are you okay? Where’s Jacob?"
"He's dead!" Miriam sounded on the edge of hysteria.
Isaac dropped their packs, pulling Miriam out of Hannah's grasp. "What do you mean he's dead?"
"We," Miriam's lips trembled. "We found a cave. When we got close, it..." Miriam broke down.
"It what?" Isaac demanded. "Miriam? It what?"
"It jumped out of the trees behind us and landed on Jacob. The gods, his screaming!" Miriam reached for Hannah.
Isaac let her go and stood there, silently staring off into the distance, processing the information and the death of his best friend.
"I'm so scared. I want to go home, Hannah," Miriam sobbed into Hannah's hair as she clung to her.
Hannah stroked Miriam and tried to calm her. "It's okay. We'll get you home safely. We just need to go find the Hazack."
Miriam pulled back, her eyes wild with fear. "I'm not going near that thing. It's going to kill all of us."
"Not if I can help it," Beau announced, limping up the path and leaning on Ruth for support. "Thanks for leaving me behind."
"You are in no shape to be here," Hannah scolded him.
"And none of you are experienced enough to go up against one of those Hazacks," Beau shot back.
Hannah felt the sting of his words, as if she'd been slapped. Behind her, Isaac growled. She turned and was startled at the intense anger in his eyes as he surveyed the cliffs.
"We're going after it and we're going to kill it," Isaac said through clenched teeth.
"Hey, where is your other friend? I swore there were five of you last night." Beau looked around with a raised eyebrow.
"He and Miriam found a cave," Hannah informed him. "The Hazack attacked him. We had just found Miriam when you showed up."
"I am sorry to hear that." Beau sighed. "Miriam, can you show me where this cave is?"
Miriam, still clinging tightly to Hannah, shook her head. "No, I'm going home. I don't want to be here any more. Please, Hannah, take me home."
Hannah looked over at Ruth, who nodded and held out her free hand. "Miriam? I'll take you back to the ship and we can wait for Hannah there. How does that sound?"
Miriam released Hannah and scrambled over to Ruth. Beau leaned against the nearest tree as the whimpering Miriam hugged Ruth.
As the two girls turned to head back to the ship, Miriam looked over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Hannah."
Hannah nodded to her friends, as they started for the ship, then turned to Isaac.
"Do you think you can retrace her path and find that cave?"
He nodded, looked Beau up and down. "Think you can keep up?"
Beau pushed off from the tree. "Lead the way."
Isaac and Hannah hoisted their packs and headed down the path in the direction Miriam had been running. Beau took a deep, wheezing breath and followed in an uneven gait.
After several minutes, Isaac slowed to a stop, eying the ground. He pointed to some marks and trampled grass off the path. He whispered to Hannah, "I think this is where she ran onto the path. We'll follow this. But be ready. That thing could be anywhere around here and it may already know we're here."
Hannah scanned the surrounding forest while straining her hearing to pick up anything unusual. The only other sounds came from Beau's creaking Hyperbergeon and his labored breathing as he caught up with them. She gave him a worried look when he came within view. He shook his head while waggling his finger at her.
"Don't you even think that, young lady," he scolded. Isaac immediately shushed him and flashed him an angry scowl.
Beau lumbered up to them and studied the scuff marks in the dirt at Isaac's feet. "Came out here, did she? That should make finding the cave fairly easy. Shall we do this?"
Isaac quietly took off his pack and leaned it up against a tree, retrieving the pistol Beau had loaned him back at the ship. Hannah placed her pack next to his and pulled out the long knife Anath had gifted her. Beau looked at the two of them before flipping the helmet over his head and taking the lead. Hannah was surprised at how agile and quiet the wounded Ranger became when it was time for business.
Several hundred yards later, they came to an opening in the tree line and could make out the cave where Miriam and Jacob must have been attacked. Beau found cover behind some thick bushes as he surveyed the cave entrance. Hannah and Isaac joined him, both watching the cave and the surrounding landscape for signs of movement.
After they were certain nothing was moving around or stalking them, Beau lowered his voice, "Isaac? You think you can slink up to the mouth of that cave and check for movement inside?"
"I can. What do you have in mind?" Isaac never took his eyes off the opening.
"I'm thinking we start a fire in the front of that cave and either flush the bastard out or hope it chokes to death on the smoke."
"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Hannah breathed.
"Would you rather poke around in the dark and hope you find it before it finds you?"
"No, probably not," Hannah conceded.
Beau patted her on the shoulder. "Help me find fuel for our fire. Isaac, go scout out the mouth but be careful. Any sign it's in there, you get your ass back here."
Isaac ga
ve a quick nod before rising to a crouching position and working his way towards the cave. Keeping an eye on him, Beau and Hannah began gathering kindling and branches for their fire.
Many tense moments passed before Isaac crept back to their position. "Something in there alright, but it sounds like it's sleeping. And I saw fresh, red blood that is probably Jacob’s, as well as some blue ooze. I think Jacob may have wounded it.”
"Or just well fed now. Hopefully it'll keep sawing logs while we build our pyre. Shall we?" Beau began to carry the makings of a fire up the small, rocky incline to the mouth of the cave.
They worked in silence as they layered kindling then branches across the opening, returning several times to the surrounding woods to gather enough dry material to build a flammable wall three-foot-tall and four feet wide. When it was complete, Beau motioned to fall back to their packs.
"Okay, since I'm the better shot, I'm going to sit here and cover Isaac while he starts the fire. Hannah, I want you to keep a lookout behind me. I don't want nothing sneaking up my ass. You two ready for this?" Beau looked them both in the eyes and got a quick affirmative from each before Isaac lit a bundled branch.
Carefully making his way back to the entrance, Isaac tossed the torch onto the bonfire and raced back towards the others. But before he could make it five feet, a roar came from the cave and the Hazack hurdled the flames and landed on his back, sending him sprawling face first into the scree and dirt. Hannah jumped to her feet, screaming his name and charged the beast.
"Dammit!" Beau bellowed. "Get out of the way, you're blocking my shot!"
Concentrating only on Isaac, she didn't hear Beau's warning. Looking up from its prey, the Hazack focused on Hannah and spread its wings and attempted to take off with Isaac clutched in its clawed paws. Hannah lunged at it with her knife, slicing the wing closest to her. The Hazack screamed in pain and snapped at her, retracting its claws from Isaac's back, aiming them at her. Hannah darted, tripped and tumbled down the mound of loose rock and dirt, rolling into the bushes at the bottom, the Hazack snapping and clawing at her the whole way.
She gained her feet and turned in time to see Beau tackle the creature around its midsection. They collapsed into a snarling mass. Hannah raced back up the rocky slope and slid to her knees next to Isaac and rolled him over. Groaning, he opened his eyes. His face was covered in small, bleeding cuts from the sharp rocks. Off to their right, Beau yelped. Hannah jumped up and helped Isaac to his feet.
They stood there watching Beau wrestle with the creature. The beast rolled on top of the Ranger, but he managed to keep the sharp beak from tearing into his suit while clutching its throat and squeezing. The Hazack's movements began to slow, its eyes narrowed and closed before its head drooped, its whole body going limp.
"A little help?" Beau shouted from under the beast.
Hannah approached cautiously. "Is it dead?"
"Not yet, but I don't want to be under it if it comes to. Mind getting it off now?"
Isaac looked the beast up and down, then kicked at its side, wincing from the painful wounds on his back. It rolled a little but didn't clear the pinned Ranger. Hannah moved next to him and together they kicked at the creature, careful not to get stuck with the quills, until it finally rolled free from Beau.
Sitting up, he looked up at them and gave them a salute. "Much appreciated. It was getting a little toasty under that brute."
Next to him, the creature began to stir. Isaac staggered over to it, pulled the knife from his belt and thrust it through the beast's closed eye and into its brain. It shuttered, serpentine tail slapping the ground, and gave a final guttural moan before laying still.
Hannah came to his side and took his hand in hers. He turned to look at her, giving her a weak smile.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
HOME AGAIN
Hannah's stomach tightened as Rebecca's apothecary shop came into view. Isaac sensed her anxiety and put his arm around her shoulder.
"I'm sure he'll be fine once Rebecca has the venom," he reassured her.
She said nothing as she moved swiftly towards the house. Yards behind them, Ruth and Miriam assisted Beau, making sure he didn't overexert himself and bleed to death before they could get him some much-needed medical attention.
Finally making the front door, Hannah hesitated when her hand touched the doorknob. Had they made it in time? Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for what she'd find on the other side. She turned the knob and pushed it opened. Sunlight streamed in through all the opened windows, taking advantage of the pleasant afternoon breeze. Sarah sat in a chair next to Samuel’s bed, reading him a story. He looked so pale that Hannah's heart skipped a beat. His eyes slowly opened when she made her way across the room.
"Hannah?" his voice was raspy.
"Hey, kiddo," she smiled. "I promised I'd come back."
Sarah dropped her book and threw her arms around Hannah's neck. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you both, too." Hannah crushed her sister in a tight hug and grabbed Samuel's hand.
Isaac pulled a pouch out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Rebecca. "I think this is what you wanted."
She took it from him and immediately went to work at her cluttered bench.
"We have another patient for you," Isaac informed her as he sat down at the hand-hewn table. "He's a Ranger and he saved our lives. So, I'd be forever grateful to you if you could patch him up."
Rebecca half turned and smiled at him as she worked. "I do like having important people indebted to me."
The door opened as Miriam, Ruth and Beau made their way across the threshold and into the room. Without looking, Rebecca pointed to her exam table next to her work bench.
"Have a seat. Ruth, would you mind seeing to him while I work on this?" Rebecca said over her shoulder while mixing the venom with a putrid smelling liquid.
"Yes, ma'am." Ruth and Miriam helped Beau ease himself onto the table. Miriam excused herself to return to her family as Ruth began cleaning Beau’s wound.
Hannah sat in the chair with Sarah on her lap and a sleeping Samuel in the bed next to her. Rebecca walked across the room and came to a stop at the foot of Samuel's bed, holding a shallow bowl.
"Here," she held it out towards Hannah, "Get him to drink all of this."
Sarah slipped off of Hannah's lap. Hannah took the bowl from Rebecca and turned to her brother. He opened his eyes and looked around the room, confused.
"Hey, kiddo, I need you to drink this, okay?" Hannah showed him the bowl. He nodded, leaned up and took a sip then grimaced and turned away. "I know it must taste horrible, but it'll make you feel better. Can you drink it all? For me?"
He turned back and took another sip while making a horrible face. Hannah continued to coax him until he'd finished all of it. He laid back and closed his eyes.
"It'll be a little while before we know anything," Rebecca said quietly. "You look like something my cat would drag in. Why don't you go home and wash up and get some sleep? If anything happens, I'll send Ruth to fetch you. I’ll patch up Isaac in the meantime as well."
Hannah started to argue but changed her mind when Rebecca gave her a stern look. Hannah stood and looked from her brother to her sister. Sarah sat on the edge of the bed, holding Samuel's hand.
"It's okay. I'll be right here with him. And you do kinda smell," Sarah stated matter-of-factly.
Hannah grinned at her sister, turned from the bed and headed for the door. Isaac stood and went with her. She stopped and looked at him. “You need to get those claw marks tended to.”
"First, I'll go with you. Just in case that other Hazack turns up."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that one," Beau said from across the room where Ruth and Rebecca were now working on dressing his wounds. "When Ruth and I were tracking you to catch up with you, we came across the other Hazack. Looked like it succumbed to its wounds. It won't be bothering anyone in our lifetimes."
* * *
F
reshly bathed, Hannah sat down on her bed, rubbed her eyes and contemplated taking a nap. Down in the kitchen, she could hear Isaac whistling as he rummaged around in the cabinets, looking for something to eat. The thought of food caused her stomach to growl. She stood up and made her way down the stairs, joining him. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a frying pan when someone knocked at the front door. Isaac gave her a bewildered look and headed for the door. Hannah went about prepping for a meal.
"Hannah!" Isaac called to her, "Come quick."
She raced out of the kitchen to find Ruth standing in the doorway. "How is Samuel?"
"Rebecca sent me to get you and--"
Hannah charged past them, not waiting to hear more, and ran down the path to the dirt road towards town. She arrived at Rebecca's breathless, as she barged through the door in a panic. Inside, she found Samuel sitting up, still pale but smiling. She flew across the room and scooped him up in a powerful hug, tears falling freely down her cheeks.
"Hannah," he whimpered. "You're crushing me."
Setting him back down, she ran her hand over his cheek and looked into his eyes. "How do you feel?"
"Hungry."
Hannah laughed and wiped tears from her face. Rebecca appeared by her side and handed Samuel a cup of broth.
"This should help. Take it slow, though. I don't want you throwing up all over my shop."
He took the cup, sniffed it, then took a small sip making an 'mmm' sound. Smiling, she turned at the sound of the door opening and watched Isaac and Ruth enter. Ruth busied herself with chores as Isaac joined Hannah.
"It's good to see you looking better, buddy," Isaac ruffled Samuel's hair.
"Hannah?" Beau drew her attention away from her brother. "Can I have a moment?"
She crossed the room and sat on a stool next to the overstuffed chair Beau was resting in, minus his badly damaged armor. "How are you feeling, Beau?"
"I'll be good as new in no time. But that's not what I wanted to see you about." He winced as he repositioned himself to look at her directly.
"Is something wrong?"
"Not at all," he flashed her one of his beaming grins. "Ruth and Miriam told me what happened to your folks and how you have to look after your brother and sister. Have you thought about leaving New Goshen?"