Returning, holding a duck, Millie's eyes were puffy, but she had regained her composure. Putting the duck down, she looked to the darkening horizon, "Looks like we are about to have some rain roll in."
"Let's get to it then - pitter-patter," Hermit said, slapping her on the ass. Laughing, he headed to the showy appaloosa mare. "I'll start loading up. You figure out which of the horses we need to take with us."
Nodding, Erika motioned to the blue roan, "Indigo goes. Let us leave the stallion and split the herd up." Pointing to the pretty little gelding Millie had been riding, "Take him and load him up too. I need to look over the others to see about one for Tanna. Hermit, you have any preferences?" He just shook his head, leaving the choice to Erika. It took her some sweet-talking, but shortly Erika was leading the hardy palomino quarter horse mare that she knew Hermit favored to the trailer.
Looking out in the field, she saw a momma horse grazing with her foal on the other end of the pasture by the wood line. "I think that little chestnut with the foal will be a good fit for Tanna," she told him and Millie, pointing out to the far pasture, "Not to mention, I would feel better taking the filly with us. She is too young to be out here with the… bear…"
The filly stood out even in the distance. She was almost entirely white, with one blue eye and one brown. She had a red chestnut patch covering the ears, and the top of the head, and a red chestnut shield that started on her neck that covered her chest and underbelly, but the rest of her was snow-white except her mane and tail which was mixed red and white. Erika knew horses had a special magic, and she had read that when they were colored like this foal that they were thought to have strong medicine that protected their riders from injury and death in battle. The legend stated that they can warn their riders of impending danger and could even help them find wild game. It was good luck to take her.
"Good choice," Millie nodded in agreement as she tried to put the nanny goat and her kids in the trailer. Grabbing a halter and rope from where it was hanging in the back of the rusted trailer, Erika put a bridle on one of the bay geldings they were not taking since Indigo already loaded. "I'll be right back," she told them as she gave the bay a swift kick and headed towards the grazing horses. Waving as she rode off, Hermit started loading some gardening equipment into the truck bed.
Approaching the filly and mare, Erika thought she heard a hurt puppy caught in the underbrush just beyond the fence. She dismounted in a graceful motion and began to sweet talk to the poor baby as she searched for it. She heard the unmistakable sound of rustling in the brush, but whatever it was sounded much more significant than a puppy. Fear overwhelmed her, and for a moment, she could not move. Her first thought was of the hairy giant and from there she recalled the dismembered body, headless and bloody left in the barn just days ago. Swiftly, she turned to run back to her horse, but whatever was making the noise had spooked the horses. Desperation and panic hit her as she watched the three horses gallop back towards the barn. Frantically, she started to reach for her pistol only to recall placing it on the trailer while she had put the bay horses’ bridle on. She heard a rustling behind her and was stunned to face the wolf from her dream. Only it was bigger. She watched in horror as it stood up on its back legs, joints cracking and popping as bones popped into place. She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
Looking across the field to Hermit and Millie, she was frozen in place as the beast's big raccoon-like clawed hand covered her mouth and dragged her back into the woods. Her last thoughts were of Ransom as the world went black around her.
Chapter 21
The sun was beginning to set when Hermit finished packing the truck bed. So far, he and Millie had been able to fill up the trailer’s cab and the inside of the double crew truck with everything from feed for the animals, gardening supplies, a diesel generator, and most of the solar panels. With a long whistle, he lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the setting sun whilst he surveyed the field below. His jaw clenched, “Hey, Mil - have you seen E?”
Millie finished tying the bungee cord to secure the load in the truck bed before following his gaze with her own into the field. She noticed the horse Erika had been riding was grazing by the trailer, “Maybe she went to the bathroom?” Seeing the horse was still saddled and Millie mused aloud, “Not like her to leave the horse saddled, though. She is usually pretty responsible about that sort of thing.”
Hermit figured it had been at least an hour since he and Millie had loaded that little chestnut mare and filly Erika had driven up from the lower pasture. Scratching his head, he realized he had not seen her then either.
As she finished up tying down the tarp, Millie frowned at Hermit, her hazel eyes full of concern, “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since…. Gosh… Not since she rode off to get the horses. You don’t think that bear...” At the same time, she and Hermit noticed Erika’s pistol lying on the wheel well of the horse trailer. Scrambling for the rifle he had left in the truck, Hermit yelled “Go check the house for her.” Unleashing a barking Gretel, Hermit looked the female shepherd in the face, “I need you to go find your mom.” Faster than a speeding bullet, the dog was gone. Looking after her he whispered, “Go find Erika, little girl.” He ran to mount the saddled horse, kicking the gelding into high gear he made off towards the sound of the barking dog.
Gretel was barking anxiously when he got there. Dismounting he found Erika’s backpack spilled out on the ground. Both the pack and his friend, missing. With her nose pressed to the ground working the scent, all 65 lbs. of the dog were trembling. As the dog began to paw at the ground, her barking ceased and turned to a whine. With a loud “Woof,” she sat and stared at Hermit.
Bending to look, he asked, “What did you find, girl?” With a silent prayer, he hoped it was anything but a big humanoid footprint. Letting go of the breath he did not know he was holding; he thanked his Gods that his prayers were half answered. Gretel had found a print in the soft earth. A wolf print that was double the size of his hand.
With a sick feeling in his stomach, he realized that it appeared the wolf had dragged an unsuspecting Erika into the woods towards the river. Hermit was confused. So far, no blood. As the trail went deeper into the thicket, he noticed the tracks change. It was odd but they appeared to go from four to two and then disappeared. There were human footprints in the mud by the river, but he realized they probably just belonged to some kayaker. Or maybe the Wolf Man took Erika. Strange things were happening around here.
Following the tracks, he did see signs where a pirogue had been pulled ashore. In the mud by the pirogue slide Hermit found a distinct boot print the size and shape of Erika’s. Looking out into the woods, Hermit suddenly felt a chill run up his spine and immediately put a leash on Gretel. He knew she would refuse to leave the hunt for her mistress if he did not. After a sasquatch sighting, werewolf tracks, and a missing Erika, he suddenly felt the overwhelming need to go make sure Millie was safe. Frustrated, scared, and a little afraid that upon hearing tell of what he found at the river that Millie Storm was going to think he had gone crazy, he mounted the gelding and rode back towards the house. Hermit did not know how much he should share with Millie, but knew he had to. He needed to get his thinking hat on and knew with her calming presence to help him focus, together they would be able to develop a plan.
====
“Drive faster,” Millie ordered Hermit while she riffled through her pack for the walkie talkie to call Tanna.
Millie, I want to find her too,” Hermit pointed out, “but I have livestock in the back, woman!”
“Well, Mr. A Werewolf Stole Our Sister, I did not say drive dangerously, I said ‘drive faster,” she specified, as she fished the two-way radio out of her pack. “We are currently in uncharted territory with sightings of swamp boogers, werewolves, and the kidnapping of one of our best friends happening all in one day. And don’t forget poor Erika has a brain injury!”
Hermit hit the steering wheel, “I know that bastard Preach is behind
this. I just can’t figure out how!”
“Tanna…. Tanna, 1-4,” Millie asked as she clicked on the radio, “What is your forty?”
Lifting his eyebrows, Hermit was not about to tell her she was doing it wrong. Since he told her about the sasquatch in the woods, the werewolf, and Erika being taken, Millie had been in a strange form. Little to nothing that she said was making a whole lot of sense. Looking at the dog with her head on the console between them, Hermit felt about as lost as Gretel since Erika had gone missing. He was normally a smart guy, but he was not equipped to deal with the highly emotional, and irrational Millie Storm.
There was a break in the static riddled channel as a feminine voice came in saying, “Penguin, over,” in response to Millie’s inquiry.
An audible sigh of relief escaped from both him and Gretel when they heard the code word Erika had set up for emergencies come in over the radio. Millie’s confused gaze met Hermit’s over the walkie, “Does that mean she has an emergency or knows we do?”
With a shake of his head, he responded politely, “It means you are not supposed to use our names on the walkie talkie.” He ignored the stormy look Millie gave him as he took the device from her grip. “Tin Man, this is Cowardly Lion. Come in. Over.”
“Tin Man, here. Over,” Tanna’s voice responded, sounding a small bit relieved to hear him on the other end.
“Tin Man - Scarecrow, Toto, and I are rolling hot. Meet you at the Wizards. Over,” Hermit told her using their pre-arranged call signs. He had always thought Ransom was a little gung-ho teaching Erika all the military stuff, but he had to admit, it was turning out to be pretty darn useful.
“Go again, Lion. I missed what you said about Dorothy. Over,” a confused Tanna replied.
Hermit explained, his voice tense with a sense of urgency to it, “Tin Man, Dorothy is MIA. Scarecrow, Toto, and I are rolling hot and in need of assistance. Go to Wizards’. Copy? Over.”
There was a long pause, “Roger that Lion. 10-4. Tin Man Over and out.”
Millie looked at Hermit for a hot second, her hazel eyes fuming, “Why do I have to be the Scarecrow?” Gretel whined as she put her head on her paws. Hermit just rolled his eyes, deciding this was not a battle he should choose, and focused instead on his driving.
With concern whoever took Erika, might be following them, Hermit had skirted the small towns and communities along the way. When they neared the turn off to the hunting camp, he had flashed the headlights twice, then three times. From her hiding spot in the underbrush next to the road, Tanna jumped out to open the iron gate. Once the truck and trailer had pulled through, she quickly retrieved some thick branches out to lay over the turn off from the main road and camouflage the gate. Quickly locking the gate, she jumped up on the diesel’s running board and tapped on the top of the truck for Hermit to drive to the cabin.
As soon as the truck came to a halt, the coppery-haired woman made haste to unload the supplies from the truck bed into two stacks—immediate needs and things that could be stored here. Impressed. Hermit tossed the keys to the root cellar to Millie who went to unlock it as he and Tanna began to carry them to the cellar. “Where is Erika,” Tanna croaked as they were moving things to the boat.
Ashen faced Hermit explained how Erika had gone missing. He went on to further explain to Tanna how he was convinced Preacher was responsible for her disappearance although he could not tell her why. It was just a nagging suspicion he could not shake. He explained to her that it was the wolf prints he could not make sense of. Werewolves? How could that even be possible? With that he laughed, “Of course, earlier today I saw a Sasquatch with my own eyes, and yesterday that didn’t seem possible either.”
Of course, nothing he said seemed to shake Tanna. He could not help but notice she did not look surprised or dubious about any of the news he had shared with her. She just took everything in stride. When he asked her about it, she just gave him a weary smile and said, “Friend, at this point you could tell me it was raining frogs and I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Hearing his concerns about Erika, Tanna decided it would be better if she helped Hermit lead the horses back to the camp since she was a better shot than both he and Millie. Millie would take the airboat back to camp with Gretel in tow. Without her momma’s firm hand, the dog was acting out and none of them could control her well enough to leave her off-leash. Fearful for what could happen, it had become obvious to all three that little Gretel was having separation anxiety. They had all agreed no one wanted to face Erika or Ransom should something happen to her and thought it best to get her back to her brother sooner rather than later.
As they were readying up the horses, Tanna asked Hermit to saddle the black appaloosa for her. Hermit scoffed, “You sure? That one is a little crazy.” He had to eat his words when the mare acted as docile as a kitten under Tanna’s gentle hand. When he pointed it out, she just gave him a wink and said, “Crazy knows crazy.”
Luckily for them, the days were getting longer, and they had made it back to the camp at Point Pleasant just as the last rays of the day were fading. The shadows were thick in the woods, so they did their best to stay on the levees leading the horses’ single file. With the heat of the day burning off, they were lucky the big gators were still in the water but the closer it got to dark the more weary they were the few times they had to get close to the water's edge. The two had stopped a few times, hearing hollow knocking following them but other than the feeling of being watched, and the hair on the backs of their necks standing up a few times, nothing was out of place.
When they finally pushed the horses out of the river bottoms through the swamp up to the old plantation grounds, it looked like Tanna had not wasted any time clearing out one of the dogtrots while they were gone. She had been able to take the chainsaw to make four stalls on each side using the sawdust to scatter on the floors.
The goose was already proving to be a better guard dog than either shepherd as it loudly announced Hermit and Tanna’s arrival before running after Tanna with hell in its eyes. Both dogs seemed to know Erika was missing and were underneath Millie while she tried to get enough of a signal to call Ransom on her cell. She explained to Tanna that she knew it was a long shot, but if anyone could help them find Erika, it was him. “I know he is likely out of the country right now but trust me - he would want to know.”
Hermit gently asked her if he could take over and suggested she get some rest. He knew she was taking the loss of Erika much harder than she wanted to let on. However, she looked even more lost than the dogs. Agreeing with him she piled the two shepherds up in her cot and tried to get some rest. Both Hermit and Tanna could hear her speaking softly as she petted and soothed the dogs.
Suddenly, without warning, Millie sat straight up and declared, “The bottles!” She startled Hermit and Tanna as she half fell out of the bed. Standing, she hurriedly went to the place Erika has stashed the soul bottles. Carefully she carried them to their makeshift table and looked to Hermit. “You were Professor Stewardsen’s protege, I know you can figure out what was done to remove these from us. I bet if you can unravel it, Erika’s raven will find her!”
“Now, Mil, you know that is a long-shot.” Hermit told her gently, “Not to mention - there is no way to know if I was successful. It could do more harm than good. When removed from one another’s essence - over time a Fylgja and its person will weaken and die. Their welfare is linked.”
She gave him a mortified look. “Well that is even more reason to hurry up and figure it out,” she declared.
Tanna looked at him, “Got to agree with Millie, on this one. If you are qualified, you are the only option.” She seemed to reconsider her words and quickly added, “Not that I know anything about this sort of stuff, it just makes sense.”
Giving his shoulder a squeeze, Millie offered, “Look, you can do mine first.” She looked at her jar and Erika’s before insisting, “Do mine and if nothing happens to me, then we can do hers.”
“I am not pr
omising anything, but I will try,” Hermit told the girl as he started pulling out his laptops and going through the thumb drives, he salvaged from his apartment. “It is probably going to take me some time but let me see what I can come up with. You two get some rest, I will stay up tonight looking over this. We can discuss it more in the morning. OK?”
Millie’s eyes were sparkling from unshed tears as she agreed, “Pitter-patter.”
Chapter 22
Dreamtime…
Erika found herself alone and wandering through a shadowy forest as an eerie scene unfolded around her. The woods were dark as a thick mist curled and twisted through the trees hugging the forest floor. The blue light of the moon broke through the branches illuminating a solitary figure sitting on a tree stump amidst the fog, weaving a great mass of fabric into a tapestry.
“Wren!” Erika squealed rushing forward as she recognized her friend. The black-haired girl soon discovered walking through the fog was like wading through deep water. Desperate she tried to move towards the spot where her friend sat in the moonlight but the harder, she tried the more she seemed stuck. Confused, she looked to Wren for help. By the light of the chilling moon, Wren’s red hair glowed and moved like fire. Obscured by the shadows of the tree sat two women next to a water well. Erika could not see their faces, but she knew who they were, “Urda and Skulda,” Erika whispered the names of two of the three Norns who weaved the fate of mankind. All three women’s lips were moving, whispering incantations as they spun the threads before them. While Wren weaved, Urda stood, holding out her arms as she pulled together different threads. At her side, Skulda made cuts alone the fabric that Wren had already woven.
Erika found it curious that unlike her companions, who were shrouded in black, Wren wore a gown of mauve linen with a forest green girdle-like vest. However, it was the tapestry laying at Wren’s feet that piqued her interest. Its folds spilled across the forest floor down under cover of the mists. But the bit she could see painted a terrifying scene of turbulent waters, great waves, volcanic eruptions, holes opening in the earth. The lush greens gave way to dark greys and blacks. Images of people being separated and then flayed by their shadows. Doom loomed upon a horizon that was split into ten separate scenes. The first nine scenes were beautifully detailed and dynamic but the tenth…an inky black void of hollowness that spread like black fire where it touched.
Tapestry of Worlds : Part One - The White Raven Awakens Page 14