The Shaman

by Shannon Lee Martin

ain=t lyin=, nigga,@ said Leon. AWish we had somethin= to carry some of this shit in. . .@ His eyes drooped down in sadness. ANot that it=ll matter much longer. . .@ His sigh was deeply profound, but he soon replaced it with his eager, indomitable optimism.

  AI=m ready to walk a hundred miles without stoppin=!@ he said, with a delighted light in his eyes.

  I was about to cup another swallow full of water into my hands when an overpowering wave of dizziness rushed over my senses, and my eyes began to water. A sharp jolt of pain shot through the back of my head, and I began to mumble. Words came with an feeling of elusiveness, from somewhere other than myself, almost.

  I held my head in my hands. AWe must leave now. We cannot dawdle. We=ve gotta find the place we=re goin= before it gets too dark, and we can=t be sure those white monkeys>ll let us stay in Odinvale, so we=ve gotta go. Now!@ Leon looked at me like I=d just insulted his momma, and Joseph=s eyes rolled back in his head.

  Leon began, almost imperceptibly, to shake his head back and forth, blinking his eyes. Then with a disgusted sneer, he said, AWhat in the living South Central are you talkin= about, bead head? Man, you wiggin= out. You startin= to loooose yoe shit, holmes.@ Joseph was making an effort to look interested in something in the water. The pain in the back of my head was growing so intense, I was beginning to have convulsions.

  AWe must. . .go. . .now! Can=t. . .explain it. Goddammit, listen to me! What part of now don=t you understand? I=m-fucking-serious!@ My head suddenly cleared. Just as quickly as the pain had come, it flooded from me in a wash of refreshing, almost energizing relief. I rose to my feet, and began marching with purposeful strides on up the dusty road.

  AWould it kill you ta wait just a couple more minutes? I=d at least like ta get my fill of water before we leave.@ I knew by the way he said it that Joseph was smiling. I stopped and turned, and he was standing there, hands on hips, smiling just as broadly as he ever has.

  I spread my arms in supplication, and returned his smile with a nod of my head. Suddenly Leon let out a snort of laughter, his hand going to his face as a gesture to try and stifle it.

  AYou niggas is trippin=! Shit man, what we got to lose that we ain=t gonna anyway? I=ll follow you, mad man, but I ain=t gonna get in too much of a hurry. My feets is killin= me, and besides, there=s only one road to follow anyway, fool. I think I=m gonna get some moe of this water, too, and nigga, the next time you -- @

  ANiggers! Hey niggers! It=s time to be movin= on! You niggers want another shit kickin=? I said move! Run nigger run!@ This was followed by a bunch of childish laughter, and a volley of arrows that flew over our heads.

  ALooks like we don=t have much choice in da matter ta begin with,@ said Joseph, hocking a fat loogey in the direction of the Aryans. In seconds, our bare feet were once again pounding the hard dirt road, becoming quickly caked with mud. The mud was cool. It led me to a thought that made me swear.

  AShit! If I=d thought about it,@ I said with disgust, AWe could=ve really cut down on this heat by covering ourselves with mud. Damn!@

  AToo late now, Mr. >We gots to go now. Now!@ Leon said with a mocking whiney voice. AWhy don=t we try going back?@ His sarcasm had grown a few extra teeth.

  AHa ha,@ I said without enthusiasm. Joseph began whistling a jolly little tune, and Leon and I soon joined him.

  We were walkin= along for about an hour when we heard the distinctive whump-thumping of a helicopter in the distance.

  AIs that. . .? asked Leon with hopeful wonder.

  ATook dose bastards long enough,@ said Joseph with a slowly spreading grin.

  AKeep walkin= fellas,@ I said. AWe don=t want >em to start shootin= those damn arrows at us just yet. Aw hell. . .@ I should=ve been happy, but something just didn=t seem quite right. . .

  The one-man recon helicopter coming in low over the road was one of the piecemeal types that was typical of the armies of New Africa. The man in the small bubble cockpit looked splendid in his shiny black flightsuit, the symbol of New Africa standing out boldly, with its black fist thrust in the air over a round field of white. . .

  A whistling trail of smoke streaked out from the forest toward our fleeting hope. The sound of the exploding >copter was deafening.

  AOw,@ I said as I wiggled my finger around in my ear, in a vain attempt to clear the ringing.

  AOh, well,@ said Joseph. ADat=s dat. Just when we given up our last hope, we get ta see it shattered inta itty bitty pieces right before our very eyes..@

  ADon=t say that,@ said Leon wistfully. AWe have the rest of today, a night of rest, and at least another half day to keep on breathing, at least. The rest of us>ll have even moe than that -- @

  AGive it up, Leon. Lets face it. We=re as doomed as doomed gets.@ It hurt me deeply, after all these days, to see Joseph finally hang his head in defeat.

  AGoddammit, goddammit!@ I screeched. AMadman or not, I=ve been growing more and more certain of what=s in Odinvale the closer we get. It ain=t much, but it=s the closest thing to a chance we have. I know exactly where the place is, how to get there, how to get in, everything. What=s the worst that can happen? I can be wrong, and in a couple of days or so we=ll all be shot dead. Besides, what choice do we have?@

  Joseph snorted. ALike I said, we=re doomed, and dis nappy-headed fool done went and lost his nappy-headed mind,@ he said, gesturing at me sharply.

  My hand went almost instinctively to my head of beaded braids. Self-consciousness and all that.

  AThat shit you got ain=t holdin= up much better, Treetop. You got somethin= up on yoe head that goes along with that Jolly Green Lurch you got goin= on. . .@ Laughter certainly can be good for the spirits.

  All of our eyes casually went to the chunks of >copter debris as we dodged through the pieces. I guess it's an understatement to say that if that made our laughter die away, the smoking cooked corpse of the roasted pilot and his scattered parts, took us on the rest of the way to the melancholy end of the mood spectrum. At least until Leon said, AHmn, kinda smells like chicken,@ and that brought us all back at least a small, grim smile.

  I=d say about an hour passed before we saw the first run-down gas station that marked the outskirts of Odinvale. It was another half hour or so before we came across the rickety, barely legible sign that told us that we were now entering Odinvale, and that we were happily welcome. The sign read, AWelcome to the peaceful town of Odinvale, population 1,423. We=re happy to have ya!@ It had Whitey written all over it, or maybe I was just being bitter.

  AWell, here we are, ole mighty visionary one of the cracked head,@ said Leon, in the way of a serious story narrator. ANow what?@

  AFollow me,@ I said. I really wasn=t exactly sure myself what it was I was looking for, I just knew I=d know what it was when I saw it. The Devils were now approaching us from all sides, to give us instructions, as they had at the last town we=d been though. A skinny gangly one approached us.

  He said, AJust like before, you=ll follow some of us on the road ahead of ya, and others of us >ll be around ya, and ya might see us, you might not, but if ya try to run, you=ll be dead before yer time. Got it niggers?@ We just stood there, refusing to acknowledge, as usual, until he pulled back on his compound bow, and the arrowhead was pointed directly between my eyes. AWell?@

  I nodded my head, my bare feet shuffling around on the hot pavement we=d been walkin= on for about a mile. He turned and trotted off on up the road to join the others of his herd.

  ANow what?@ asked Joseph after the Devil was out of hearing range. AI know it=s a rhetorical question, and I=ve asked it of myself a million times, but I just keep asking: Why do dey bother? But dere is no answer. Anyway, what are we goin= ta do?@

  AWhen I say run, just follow me as fast as I can go, and don=t look back, and fight your way through any of those Devils that get in your way, and pray.@

  ADamn you Tumoc, you know I can=t run that fast. Punk.@ said Leon.

  ADon=t worry. It won=t be that far from the main road once we get there. It=s on the other side of town, anyway. It=ll be a whi
le.@

  AYou just makin= this shit up as you go along, ain=t ya,@ said Leon. AHow far from the road is it anyway?@

  ANot too far. I suggest that when I say run, though, you haul your hefty ass like your life depended on it, or somethin= like that,@ I smiled.

  AOr somethin= like that, huh? Shee-it,@ he said with a lop-sided grin. AI can=t believe I=m startin= to go along with this bullshit. My punk-ass must be startin= to have one of them starvin= prophetic delusions or visions, or some crazy-assed shit. Nothin= to lose, death to gain,@ he began like an exaggerated sports announcer, Athe three starving adventurers trek onward into the bloody teeth of the vast unknown, following their madly insane leader to a startling wonderland of endless ganja, and a big ole bowl of chunky chili. Well heidi heidi ho ho hoe, will there also be thick-assed bitches there? I must know!@

  AWell," said Joseph, AYou can always go off somewhere alone and use your imagination, and a bit of spit, and conjure yourself up a rough, dry, tight piece of ass.@

  AKeep on talkin=. I=ll climb up yoe Jolly Green Giant ass, and knock you smooth the fuck out! You=ll wake up and wonder why yoe ass is soe and sticky. Just keep on wid yoe shit, nigga. Think I won=t.@

  Joseph just smiled, but it seemed that every time since earlier, his smile had just a touch of sadness in it. Then I remembered that it hadn=t been too long ago that he=d gotten married. That was easy to