“I am also Nabe Nacon of the sk’op fireteam,” continued Iztali. Ikan is Ukab Nacon. Although the Warriors I selected are all assigned to other sections, when we need the sk’op fireteam, you will come together. Chicahua will be Nabe Nimal, and Huehue, Ukab Nimal. The other Warriors are Necalli, Mazatl, Manauia, Cuauhtemoc, Iuitl, and Iccauhtle.” The Warriors named hit their chests.
“Ichik!”
“I have chosen Rhys and his mate Mazatl,145 Hulse, Chino, Bas, and the trained Warrior Manauia.146 Of the former slaves, the two women Nenetl147 and Zeltzin148 and the three men Ichtaca,149 Matlal,150 and Cipactli.151 They have selected their weapons. Mazatl and Manauia will also carry sk’ops. My Ukab Nacon is Bas.” I nodded.
“Ikan!”
“I have chosen Choc and his mate Chicahua, Robertson, Taylor, Parham, and the trained Warrior Cuauhtemoc.152 Of the former slaves, the two women Necahual153 and Ohtli154 and the three men Ahuiliztli,155 Eleuia,156 and Mecatl.157 They have selected their weapons. Cuauhtemoc, Chicahua, and I will carry sk’ops as well. My Ukab Nacon is Chicahua.” I nodded.
“Teul!”
“I have chosen Taat and his mate Iuitl,158 Iccauhtle, Yaotl, and Chimalli the former captive. Of the former slaves the woman Yoloxochitl159 and the five men Zolin,160 Mahuizoh,161 Nochehuatl,162 Momoztli,163 and Chipahua.164 They have selected their weapons. Yaotl, Iuitl and Iccauhtle will be armed with sk’ops also. My Ukab Nacon is Yaotl.” I nodded.
“Now we are an army,” I shouted. I raised a fist in the air. “Forward to Quiriguá.” My army responded with continuous drumming of their chests and Uwa-Uwa-Roarrr! Uwa-Uwa-Roarrr!
The march to Quiriguá was not supposed to be as difficult as what we had done before, even though we were walking through the jungle. Yochi told me that the march would take about ten k’abs. That meant that the distance was about fifteen miles as the crow flies. After reaching the summit of North Hill on the outskirts of the once existent Chay Abaj, we descended into a valley that led towards the Ja’-nima’ that flowed to the Nohoch Atz’am Ja’, Caribbean Sea as Bas had reminded me. We soon came to a flooded stream, a tributary, and followed its path and so avoided climbing over mountains, staying away from the dense riverbanks. The jungle canopy became less as we descended, but as a result the jungle floor’s undergrowth became thicker and more difficult to pass through. As our bodies were unprotected, prickles and thorns continuously pierced our skin. Even for those of us who had loincloths, they offered little protection. Fortunately, we all wore lej-xajäbs as we had taken them from the dead at Chay Abaj. I had ordered we do that, but had also ordered that the blood of the dead Warriors be cleaned off. As Nabe Kaloonte’, the Warriors had expected me to take a loincloth, but as there were only about twenty-five unbloodied ones, I had them distributed between the Warriors. I noted that the more highly trained Warriors did not take any. Yochi, the Nabe Nacons and their Ukabs also did not. I was glad for the Nacons action as I wanted to reassure the Warriors that in Ox Witz Ha, under the rule of K’an II, things were different. I noted that Chimalli also did not take a loincloth.
The march was not as easy as we had supposed it would be. Other than the increasingly dense undergrowth, the jungle floor was wet and muddy from the recent heavy rains. As we followed the brown flooded tributary, we often walked on the mountain sides, and we often slipped into the muck. That slowed us down tremendously and I knew that we would not reach the Ja’-nima’ until the next day. Water was not a problem even though the streams and creeks we passed were dirty. It was easy to locate bamboo, or the vines with rough bark having shoots about an inch thick. Those contained water and we only had to cut the stems to get it out. If it became necessary, we would strain the muddy water through the loincloths. I hoped that when we reached the Ja’-nima’ it would not be flooded, but I thought it would be. Food was not yet an issue as we had brought what we found at Chay Abaj and there were the cuxtals we had been given at Tulam Tzu. I had forty-nine Warriors, however, and our supplies would be good for probably only two meals. I did not see any game and a platoon of Warriors moving through the jungle, not on alert, made enough noise to scare away any game. There were birds like the ah-cox,165 k’ambul,166 and ix-oop in the canopy, but it was almost impossible to bring them down with ch’abs. Even if we did, it would have been difficult to get a fire going to cook the meat as everything was wet. Of course, we could eat the meat raw to sustain ourselves. I wasn’t too worried, however, as Warriors were used to going a day or two without eating and we would get food at any village we found, by force if necessary.
Nightfall approached quickly and Teul and his section, who were leading at that time, started clearing an area of undergrowth with maquahuitl and ba’at. As Kinich Ahau descended behind the mountains, scourges of chan-koxols, batlaas,167 and shaat-jekits168 descended upon us, biting our exposed bodies. We covered ourselves with the wet mud and prepared to settle down for the night. As I had plastered on the mud, I realized, with some relief, that my golden hue had disappeared. I hoped it stayed that way.
We bedded down as individual sections, but we were so close together that we slept as a single platoon. The night guard duty was shared by four Warriors, one from each section. They were Huehue, Bas, Chicahua, and Yaotl, each doing two hours. I didn’t schedule more, as my perception told me we were alone.
I was exhausted and fell asleep, immediately, even before the guard duty had begun. Many of the other Warriors were already asleep, other formed small groups and quietly talked. But my sleep was troubled. It was not only that the jungle floor was wet, cold, and muddy, and there were insects, worms, and spiders crawling over me. I didn’t mind that. What kept me restless was that I kept seeing Molly’s face. Her eyes were always pleading and her lips spoke to me, giving me a message, crying for help. I wanted to touch her, hold her in my arms, feel her naked body beneath mine, but she was always too far away, beyond my reach, so far that I could not hear her message, only see her pleading eyes and moving lips. I kept twisting and turning then must have fallen into a deep sleep until I head Bas’s voice above me, and felt him kicking me into alertness. I sat up immediately.
“Listen,” he said. “In the distance, the kos is calling and Xwáay Chikoop is answering.” I listened.
Wah-co!-Wah-co!-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
Skinny, skinny, yu no know me?
I felt koal seed cover my body. I jumped up in the darkness.
“Go back to sleep,” ordered Bas. “If Xwáay Chikoop wanted to attack, she would have done that already. You need your sleep. This platoon does not want a tired Nabe Kaloonte’ in the morning.”
“But… then why did you wake me?”
“I have everything under control. Ichik and I have the section up and we have formed a perimeter about the sleeping Warriors. Now get to fok to sleep. I only woke you because it is my fokin duty to do so. You insisted to be kept informed and I thought that if I reassured you all was well, you’d sleep better. You’ve been twisting and turning. I’ll get you up at first light.” He chuckled. “Maybe I just fokin missed you.”
Bas didn’t cuss much, so I got down on my wet, cold, and muddy bed, as ordered, curled up as tightly as my naked body could, held onto Bas’ Green Scapular, and promptly fell into a calm sleep to the distant cries of Wah-co!-Wah-co! ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Skinny, skinny, yu no know me?
CHAPTER SIX
MARCH TO QUIRIGUA - DAY TWO
THE
FLOODED JA’-NIMA’ (Montagua River)
K’iin 14 - The Uinal of Yaxk’in’
Sunday, May 13, 1973
I slept deeply with no more thoughts of Molly until I felt Bas kicking me as promised. “It’s still dark,” I grumbled.
“It is, but I have already heard the haunting whistle of the kolol. It will soon be daybreak. The Nacons are waking up the Warriors. Get up or we will leave you behind. We leave at daybreak.”
I knew that Bas was smiling as he ordered me about. I said nothing, but stood up slowly, ever
y bone in my body hurting.
“Be careful how you walk. It’s early morning and everyone wants to piss. There’re many tutuchcis around and you wouldn’t want to bump into one.” I heard Bas chuckle as he walked away.
I could barely see a fok as the beams from the waxing Ix Chel were struggling to get through the hardly broken canopy. I remembered that I had slept about ten feet from the makeshift perimeter so I walked a few paces towards it in the dark. I felt around me and didn’t feel anyone or any tutuchci, as Bas had jokingly warned about, so I pissed. I heard a bit of commotion behind me as men bumped into each other, pissed on each other, and cussed in the dark. It didn’t take long, however, for the early dawn to begin filtering down through the canopy.
Cha-cha-lac! Cha-cha-lac!
Cha-cha-lac! Cha-cha-lac!
I called the platoon together, waiting on some that had taken a walk outside the perimeter. When everyone was gathered in their sections, I assessed my platoon, some in loincloths, some naked, all of us covered in mud, all holding their weapons with the strength of a Warrior, a few cuxtals on the ground.
“I had expected to reach the Ja’-nima’ that runs to the Nohoch Atz’am Ja’ yesterday. Yochi has advised me that we covered only about half the distance. Today, we must reach the Ja’-nima’.”
“Kaloonte’!” they shouted.
“I am not sure what we will meet ahead, if the jungle floor will still be wet and muddy, or drier. Regardless, I want no accidents.”
“Kaloonte’!”
“Ukab Kaloonte’ Yochi will decide how the sections will march.”
Yochi nodded then gave his instructions. “Iztali will lead, followed by Ichik, then Ikan.
Teul will cover the rear.”
“Kaloonte’!”
“Ko’one’ex,” ordered Yochi, and we began moving through the wet jungle.
The mountains were not as high as before and, at times, we crossed them rather than taking the longer walk around them. The smaller creeks, those higher in the mountains, were almost clear, but those that were in the valleys were dark, swollen, and brown, with a lot of debris. Thankfully, there was no more rain and it didn’t seem that there would be any for Kinich sent down his hot beams mercilessly on the jungle. We continued to the north, hacking with our weapons. I longed for my machete as our weapons were made for fighting, not cutting at the jungle. The undergrowth had become much less hospitable as the canopy had become more broken and more sunlight was reaching the jungle floor. That, combined with the high humidity from the recent rains, increased the heat to uncomfortable levels. We sweated. The flies from the evening before still swarmed around us and fierce dakta-flais169 had joined in the biting torment. I hated dakta-flais as they were the only ones that made me really itch and swell. It was odd that the swarm biting us didn’t know that they were supposed to be active only in the afternoons. I couldn’t help but wonder what the afternoon would bring. To ward off the flies, we kept plastering ourselves with the wet mud; unfortunately, the mud did not protect us from the thorns and branches that continuously clawed us.
We had not eaten much for over a day and the marching was strenuous as we kept sliding and falling on the mountainsides. We were able to stop most of those falls by grabbing onto small shrubs, but at times our weapons got in the way and to the jungle floor we went. We did not see any game and I didn’t want to stop advancing in order to hunt. As had occurred the day before, the high humidity and wetness prevailed, so, even if a hunt was successful, it still wasn’t possible to start a fire to smoke meat. I hoped and prayed that by the end of that day we would reach the villages along the Ja’-nima’.
Even in that difficult march the jungle not only had its dangers, but also its beauty. We had reached the peak of a mountain that was covered with stunted trees, brown and green mosses hanging in clumps, many ferns, blooming orchids and bromeliads. Leading up to the summit from the ridgeline, the ground was covered with mosses of different green hues. Rabbles of butterflies were everywhere. There were large Blue Morphos, I knew that one by name. Others were white, some a beautiful gold with brown ribs. A black with large blue markings caught my interest for as it rose into the air, it showed grey and white underneath. There was a dusty looking moth, and another that was grey with snake skin patterns. There were hundreds of beautiful black, orange, and white Monarchs flitting among us and I soon realized that it was not only me that was mesmerized by the mountain170 and its elfin forest. The Warriors were as well.
But we had to descend and we did to sharp rocks breaking the surface of the jungle floor and, even with our lej-xajäbs, several of the Warriors received jagged cuts to their feet. I never heard one cry out. I never saw one pause in his march. Because of the wet jungle floor, snakes were more numerous than before. Most were boa constrictors, known as wowla in Kriol or chiwekox by my people, but, occasionally, there was the Fer-De-Lance or Yellow-Jawed Tommygoff, the sachoj.171 There were also numerous síina’ans, and many of the Warriors were stung. Those were not poisonous, but the stings burned and the wounds became swollen. We’d take care of all those problems once we reached the Ja’-nima’.
We had marched about seven k’abs, hours, and Kinich was mid-way, in all his glory, on his journey across the sky. We were out of the higher mountains and stood on a hill where we cleared an area so that we could see to the north. We were above a wide plain that had a group of rolling smaller hills to the northwest. Our difficulties were far from over, however, as the plain was anything but fully green as it should have been. The deep brown of the flooded Ja’-nima’ covered the entire plain and surrounded the cluster of hills. From one of the more distant hilltops, light columns of smoke rose.
“Madafok!” exclaimed Teul, who stood beside me grinning.
“Why are you grinning?” I asked him.
“I didn’t know. It’s better than scowling.”
I shook my head. “The Ja’-nima’ is really in spate.”
“In spate?”
“Flooded,” I explained.
“Speak simple English, Chiac. I haven’t had much schooling, but even I know that the simplest English is the best English. No pomposity.” He sighed, loudly, supposedly in frustration.
“Fok you, Teul. Fok you!” He laughed boisterously and then it was my time to sigh. “Crossing that will be fokin difficult. The Ja’-nima’ must be flooded very high in order to cover the entire plain. I should have thought about that. All that rain is now pouring into the Ja’-nima’ and is travelling down to Quiriguá.”
“Well! That’s a big madafok problem you got there, Chiac. Nabe Kaloonte’!” He looked at me, grinning even more, then back at the flooded plain below us. “Well, there’s one good thing. I don’t think Warriors from Tulam Tzu will follow us through that.” Teul looked up. “Even Great Kinich Ahau will have to spend many k’iins to dry up that mess.”
“Inform Yochi to call the Warriors together”
“Kaloonte’!”
When the Warriors were gathered I spoke. “The Ja’-nima’ and its beya’ are flooded from the heavy rains the Chacs blessed us with. Look to the north-northwest and you will see smoke plumes rising from the most distant hill. Villagers must have taken refuge on that hill and, from its position, I believe it is near the Ja’-nima’. We need canoes to travel to Quiriguá and I assume the villagers would have used their canoes to get to the hill, once the flooding began. If each canoe can carry seven or eight Warriors and their weapons, we need at least seven canoes; eight would be better.” I looked at my Warriors. “We will be vigilant. Going through flooded waters is dangerous and I do not want any of my Warriors to start the journey to Xibalba today.”
“Kaloonte’!” they shouted.
“We now journey to the hill with the smoke plumes. There may be no food there, but we are Warriors,” I said, raising my voice. “If there is food, but too little, we do not eat. That is the Way of the Warrior of Ox Witz Ha.”
“Kaloonte’!” they replied
, beating their chests once.
“Kaloonte’?”
I turned. It was Robertson. I stared at him, covered with mud, his loin cloth so dirty that there was no difference between it and his skin. How different was he from the Superintendent I knew in Toledo? Yet, I saw strength in his eyes, in his body that was now lean and muscular. “Yes, Medic?”
“What is the plan, should the water be too deep for walking?”
“Then we swim,” I answered.
“And the weapons?”
I deliberated. “Yochi,” I called out, wanting to involve him as much as possible in any decisions I made. He was immediately beside me. “If we have to swim, how do you suggest we carry the weapons and any remaining cuxtals.”
He pondered then answered. “Each section will build a small raft for their weapons. It cannot be too big as we will have to maneuver it through the trees. Also, if it is large, we will have to fight the current. At times, we will have to carry the rafts over the areas barely covered by the flood.”
I nodded. “Instruct the Warriors. Are there any more questions?” I asked. No one answered. “Then ko’one’ex.”
“Kaloonte’!” they shouted.
The advance downhill was as precarious as before for, even though the heavy rain had stopped about three days ago, the jungle floor was still wet, muddy, and slippery. The Warriors were loud, yet I saw a congregation of paaps staring down at us, unusually absolutely quiet. Even under the harsh conditions I was facing, I smiled noting that even the paaps had no choice but to quietly listen, having lost the competition to the numerous cuss words that were coming out the mouths of the Warriors. Regardless of what happened, and nothing too serious did, we kept on moving and finally reached the level of the flooded Ja’-nima’. I walked into it and, after a few feet, the dark water came to my chest. I walked further, stepping on shrubs and bushes, uneven ground, and, sometimes, there was no ground beneath my feet. I turned and came back onto the slope.
Sisimito III--Topoxte Page 11