CHAPTER FOUR
THE BATTLES OF
CHAY ABAJ (El Chayal)
K’iin 12 - The Uinal of Yaxk’in’
Friday, May 11, 1973
Ix Chel had moved away some of the covers of the Chacs and was in her waxing first quarter, intermittent beams of her light reaching down to Chay Abaj where I lay awake. It had become absolutely quiet and there was no longer the chirp-chirp of the late xir. There were no almost silent sounds of the sotz’ in flight. Above the silence came the whistle of the baläm, quickly followed by Uwa-Uwa-Roarrr! Uwa-Uwa-Roarrr! and the war-whoops of our Warriors on the perimeter as they raced towards us.
We were on our feet as the first of Chay Abaj’s guards rushed into the shed. Once again, I felt the tremor of anticipation. Once again, my mind was whirled back to the battle at Ox Witz Ha and, more recently, at Xibalba. I felt the hesitation and confusion of the guards as they rushed us. They had expected to find us on the ground sleeping in the dark and we were not. Also, there were the war whoops of our Warriors coming in from the perimeter. Then the torches were aglow. A guard pressed towards me, holding his to’bal-rib to protect himself, his short bate’ leveled at my chest. I leaped to the side that faced his to’bal-rib and brought down my raised maquahuitl onto it. I felt bone crush as the maquahuitl smashed the to’bal-rib and his forearm. But the guard was strong and he raised his bate’ to sink it into my neck. I saw a short bate’ enter the warrior’s chest under his armpit and go deep into his body. He looked at me, no fear, no hate, no terror in his eyes as warm blood fountained from his mouth over me.
“Fight, Chiac,” shouted Yochi above the noise and rising smell of battle, as he pulled out his bate’ and the guard fell to the ground. And fight I did. Once I tasted the warmth and salt of the guard’s blood, I was, again, lost in the delirium that surrounded me. Sweat and blood filled my nostrils. The cries of agony, the frantic shouting, the war whoops were once again with me and I fought with a terror I did not know I had. I knew we were outnumbered and I, Eutimio Chiac, Waach, and the Maya Warrior called Fuck, fought until only the stench of the dead surrounded me.
“Come to the center of the shed,” shouted Kish, when there was no one else to fight. We all moved over towards him. “Yochi and Iztali. Quickly check how many have fallen?” He looked towards us. “How many of you are hurt. Don’t be brave. I need to know.” Hulse and Clarke stepped forward, Hulse holding his bloodied side, and Clarke supporting his left forearm. I stared at them, bloodied bodies, bloodied loincloths and knew that it was I who took them away from their lives, their love ones, giving them this life of violence and danger.
“How bad is it,” I asked.
“Just a flippin cloth-dog scratch,” grunted Hulse. “I’ll live.” I didn’t believe the “flippin cloth-dog scratch” bit.
“I think my forearm is broken,” grumbled Clarke, grimacing.
I could see that they were in pain. “I will look closer at your wound, Hulse, as soon as we can. We’ll splint your arm, Clarke.” They nodded.
“The guards that attacked numbered forty-two,” briefed Yochi, who had just returned. “Seven were not dead, but six of those we had to help to proceed on their way to Xibalba. I pierced their hearts with my bate’.” The Warriors immediately beat their chest once. “One will recover. Iztali is guarding him.”
“They fought bravely,” acknowledged Kish, “but they were not very skilled opponents. The Ajaw of Tulam Tzu did not expect a battle here.”
“What happens now?” I asked.
“I am sure a Runner is on his way to Tulam Tzu to inform them that we have taken Chay Abaj. He should arrive at Tulam Tzu along with Kinich Ahau. Better trained Warriors will be sent, but we will be long gone before they arrive,” stated Kish.
“The Batab received a Runner and sent off another while you chakuj tutuchci. Do you think he sent for reinforcements from then?” asked Yochi. “The Batab knew that the guards here were not very skilled and would probably lose to us in battle. He may have sent for reinforcements once the Runner had advised him that the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu wanted us dead.”
“And why did the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu want us dead, Yochi?” asked Kish.
Yochi hit his chest, momentarily looking downcast. “Because we have taken five of his slaves and two scholars, including Iccauhtli, the younger brother of Tlacaelel who stole his Nabeal Mial, Moyolehuani.”
Kish nodded. “That has convinced the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu that his daughter is in Ox Witz Ha. You do realize what you have done.” Yochi hit his chest in confirmation of his responsibility in the issue. “Tulam Tzu Warriors may already be advancing.”
“We are in deep kaka,112 I contributed.
“And our Warriors, Yochi. Have any fallen?” inquired Kish.
“My mate Quauhtli113 has fallen,” mumbled Choco. “He took a bate’ in his side for me.”
“My mate Huitzilli has fallen,” added Teul. “He took a ba’at in his back for me.”
I saw much pain in both their eyes.
“Five others have fallen,” Yochi informed us. “They are three of the artisans from Pusilhá and two of our Warriors. Our two Warriors were still alive, but are already on their way to Xibalba. I spoke to them as I slit their throats, giving them the death of Warriors.” He looked at his hand in disdain. “I carry the blood of my Warriors on my hands.”
“May their journey be quick,” said Kish, and we all hit our chests. “It is the Way of the Warrior.”
“What happens now?” I asked, again.
“We will change our plans. Iccauhtli! Guard the captive. Send Iztali to me.”
“Kaloonte’!” he shouted, leaving. Iztali was immediately with us.
“Yochi. You, Iztali, and Chiac. Each of you take three Warriors and search every house and shed. Yochi. You take the two work-sheds and the storage house in the east. No torches. In the dark.”
“How do you know that these buildings …?”
“Too many questions, Chiac,” he shouted. He looked at me shaking his head. “When will you learn, Chiac? I am Nabe Kaloonte’. If I say you don’t have a toon, only a t’ot’, then you don’t have a toon, only a t’ot’.” I hit my chest. Reprimanded again. He sighed. “When I went to Eme, it was not only to chakuj tutuchci. I wanted information about the buildings and I got it.”
“Eme!” I said, under my breath, a bit sarcastically.
I felt his eyes glaring into me, but he ignored me and continued giving instructions. “Iztali. You take the four houses in the southeast. Chiac. You take the kitchen and the two slave-sheds across from us in the west. Anyone you find, bring them here and have them sit in the courtyard in front of this shed. Take your weapons. The rest of us will remain here and guard those you bring. And Chiac, I like Eme. I will make her my woman.”
I hit my chest then selected Teul, Choco, and Yaotl for the recce. We went west to the kitchen which sat between two sheds, one for the female slaves and the other for the male slaves. I proceeded with all the stealth my training dictated, sending in Teul and Choco firstly. Once they signaled that all was clear, Yaotl and I joined them in the search. The kitchen was empty.
We went next to the male shed, using the protocol I used before. No one was asleep. They were all sitting in the semi-dark, no one talking. I ordered them to get up and, suddenly, we stood before about sixty men, frightened and therefore potentially dangerous. I ordered them outside, told them to go with us to the central courtyard of the worksite and that they would not be harmed. They moved in unison, but gave us no trouble.
“These are the male slaves. The kitchen is empty. We’re going back for the women,” I said to Kish. I turned and looked at the slaves. “Sit,” I ordered. They all sat.
We walked over to the second shed. That one was walled with kuhoon leaves and had several doorways and small windows. Teul and Choco went through the first doorway. The shed was completely empty.
“The women are gone,” I told Kish when I returned.”
He nodded.
“Why would the women go and the men stay?”
“The women have not gone far. They went into the jungle to escape the fighting and to hide from us. They thought we’d chakuj tutuchci with them once the battle was over and we had won. The men knew that regardless of the outcome of the battle, they couldn’t escape the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu even if they ran. Their only hope was that we didn’t kill them if we were the victors. If we decided to take them as slaves, it didn’t matter. They were already slaves.” It seemed so easy for Kish to explain that to me. His face showed no emotions as that was the Way of the Warrior.
Yochi, Iztali and their Warriors soon returned. “There’s no one,” Yochi told us. “The Batab and any overseers that were here have gone.”
“They’re either in hiding in the jungle or left earlier during the night for Tulam Tzu,” speculated Iztali. “The Batab knew that his guards could not be victorious against us.”
“Yet, he was willing to sacrifice them,” I said, feeling disgusted.
Kish looked at me. “Guards are Warriors. You live. You die. All that is important is that you live and you die as a Warrior. Is that too much for you, Chiac?”
“Kaloonte’!” I shouted, hitting my chest. I was getting fokin tired of the reprimands, but that didn’t really matter. What concerned me was how fokin confused I was getting. I was beginning to regard that world more and more as my own world. Yet, hidden somewhere, I was being reminded that was a world very foreign to me, a world that Molly would never live in. I shook my thoughts of Molly away.
“What happens now,” I asked for the third time that night. I heard Teul chuckle.
“When Kinich Ahau arrives, we leave,” continued Kish. “We’ll interrogate the slaves, note who wants to go with us and who wants to remain. If none of them want to go, we take enough of them to carry the cuxtals with our supplies and weapons. We take our dead with us and, later, place them and cover them with stones in a deep gorge where the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu cannot find them and dishonor them. The other guards, we lay them out in the main shed. The Ajaw of Tulam Tzu will bury them using their own rituals. The rest of the sheds and houses, we burn. There are twenty-one of us left. We’ll take turns guarding the captive guard and the slaves. Yochi, Iztali, and Chiac. Divide the Warriors among you and do the duty rota. The rest of us will sleep. There is very little time before Kinich Ahau arrives. That is the plan. It may change.”
I was given the last shift by Yochi and as he kicked me awake, I saw the beginnings of dawn, the aq’abil.114 I awakened Teul, Choco, Yaotl, and the three other guards I had chosen. We soon left the shed to monitor the perimeter and to guard the slaves and the one captive. I had wondered if he would try to escape, but when I saw him, I realized he couldn’t. His wrists and ankles were tightly bound with his loincloth.
Cha-cha-lac! Cha-cha-lac!115
Cha-cha-lac! Cha-cha-lac!
As I stood in the early morning, I was amazed by the beauty that surrounded me. I pushed everything else from my mind and saw only the white mists among the green of the mountain tops, wisps creeping silently through Chay Abaj, covering the dead and the violence of war. I heard the haunting whistle of the kolol116 and I was happily transported, once again, back to my youth in the jungle with Taat and Bas. It was the whistle of the kokol that awakened us in the early morning on our hunting trips. It was then we would light the fire and eat our breakfast of tz’aqom117 I tried not to, but I could not help wondering if Taat was safe. There were also Rhys, Choc, Robertson, Taylor, Parham, and Bas. I had pushed all thoughts of them from my mind as I had to keep my mind free of them, if I wanted to survive. Of course, one question did invade my mind from time to time, Should I have gone back to look for them? I knew, however, that if they had survived the mudflow and the síina’ans, they would pick up our trail and follow us. If they were dead, they were dead, probably buried in the mudflow. I had to remember my mission and, as a Warrior, let nothing come before it. I had to kill Sisimito, Mahanamatz as he was named in U Wach Ulew. I had to rescue Molly, Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’ as she was known in U Wach Ulew.
Teul, Choco, and Yaotl were talking as they walked around the sleeping slaves. The other three Warriors were doing the same. I felt suddenly alone, fokin alone.
Shortly after, Yochi and his Warriors came up to me. “We’re going by the kitchen to see what food there is. We’ll eat quickly as Kish wants us
to have a briefing, as soon as possible.” Yochi kicked up three of the sleeping slaves and took them with him.
Iztali came from under the shed. He pissed then came towards me. “I want Yaotl with me. Kish wants me to go back on the road to Tulam Tzu to see if there are any signs of Warriors approaching.” I nodded. “Yaotl,” I shouted. “Go with Iztali.” Iztali was already running towards Tulam Tzu and Yaotl rushed to catch up with him.
Teul and Choco came up to me. They were both grinning, unconvincingly. “How I missed that grinning. Yet, it seemed out of place in U Wach Ulew. Teul sighed and the grin disappeared. “Choco and I were just saying that things are just madafok, Chiac. We’re facing one madafok danger after the next and don’t know if we’re getting any closer to completing our mission.” I didn’t know what to say. I scratched my face, looking down. “Don’t do that,” rebuked Teul. “We need to know you are the same Sarge we left Santa Cruz with and that we will accomplish our mission with no casualties, if at all possible.”
I looked at Teul and Choco. How can anyone be the same going through what we are going through? Kish came up. “Kaloonte’,” I said, quietly. Teul and Choco nodded and left to continue guarding the sleeping slaves. Kish looked from Teul and Choco to me. “They’re concerned about the mission,” I acknowledged.
Kish nodded. “Don’t let them forget that you are Nacon and they are your Warriors. If you allow them to forget, you will fail your mission. There is still a lot ahead of us and only the disciplined Warriors have a chance to survive.”
“They will not forget, Kaloonte’. What happens now?”
Kish raised his eyebrows. “Iccauhtli has taken our dead Warriors to the northern end of the shed. From there we will take them on the northern trail until we find a place for them. He is now having the Chay Abaj guards laid out with their weapons beside them.”
“Won’t we take those weapons?”
“We will use what we need, Chiac, but also ensure that each dead Warrior has a weapon for his journey. A Warrior must enter Xibalba with a weapon or he will not be given the status he deserves.” I nodded.
Yochi, his Warriors, and the three slaves returned. “We have fruit, smoked meat, and pixtuns.118 Still no sign of the women.”
“Send two of the slaves in the jungle near the women’s shed,” said Kish. “Inform the women they have nothing to fear. Tell them to come back. See that food is distributed to everyone, including the slaves, then have the slaves begin packing for the journey to Quiriguá. It will take about three k’iins, if there are no problems, one k’iin to Ja’-nima’, and two k’iins to Quiriguá.” Yochi nodded and left.
I had not been relieved of guard duty, so I kept my vigilance. Teul, Choco and the other Warriors kept up their patrol around the slaves who were then stirring. I wanted to piss and was about to ask Teul to take over as I went to the jungle, but as I looked around, everyone was doing their morning piss wherever they stood. So, I did the same. It really didn’t matter for as the piss hit the small chay flakes that littered the ground, the piss just disappeared.
I was surprised when, shortly after, a woman brought me some boiled k’úum and a mug of q’utuj.119 I looked around and saw that the women had returned. I sat and began to eat, my hand and mouth still bloodied, while other women brought out food and drink for the slaves sitting before me.
Kish came and sat beside me and was soon served by the same woman he had chakuj tutuchci with the night before, the one he had called Eme. We didn’t talk much and I kept looking to the sacbeob to Tulam Tzu, wonderin
g when Iztali and Yaotl would return. It wasn’t until about half-hour later that they came running towards us. Yochi hurried over and sat down.
“We climbed a mountain adjacent to the sacbeob,” said Iztali, as he briefed us. “Although Kaán is still shadowed and drizzle falls, occasionally, Kinich Ahau sent his beams to show us a dust cloud approaching. About a hundred Warriors I would say. They will be here in two k’abs.120 Just behind them, about half k’ab, is another dust cloud. It is smaller and we could barely see it.”
“That changes everything and we don’t have much time,” warned Kish. He looked at us. “What do you suggest?” We did not answer. “Chiac? Iztali? Yochi? Yaotl, you are a scholar and a Warrior; you may give us your thoughts.”
Yaotl hit his chest. “We stay here and fight. If we leave now we’ll be running and they will be pursuing. That is not strategically sound,” offered Yaotl. Kish nodded. “We must make a stand,” he continued, looking at each of us in turn. “We can’t do it here, however, as we are in this small beya’121 and they will rain down ch’abs and bate’s on us.”
Sisimito III--Topoxte Page 7