Darkness Echoes: A Spooky YA Short Story Collection

by L. A. Starkey

  When the sun hit their faces, they struggled with the unseeing of their eyes. Lina held up her hands to shade her eyes. “I have never been happier to see the sun.” The cave opening secured them from sight while they relished in the warmth.

  “What now?” Walking Bear’s question was directed to Lina.

  “We must keep moving. He can become an animal of the land or the sky or the water.”

  “The raven?” Nine Fingers raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes. I am sure it was him. There are certain animals he gravitates toward—coyotes, wolves, foxes, owls, or crows.”

  “Why those?” Walking Bear slid his back down the wall and sat cross-legged in the warmth as the others followed.

  “Skin Walkers are medicine men who have achieved some of the highest powers. Sometimes they don’t learn everything they need to know before they yearn to use their power to bring pain and death on others.”

  “He doesn’t know how to turn into other animals?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. He may have training from another in the time since I first encountered him.”

  “I thought you didn’t remember anything. How do you know this?” Nine Fingers furrowed his brow.

  “At times, I catch a glimpse of a memory.”

  “Sure you do.” Nine Fingers crossed his arms.

  “How long ago has that been? Since you last encountered him?” Walking Bear disregarded Nine Fingers’ comment.

  Lina paused, and several long moments went by as she concentrated on her fingers, finally raising them one-by-one as she spoke. “Leaves fall, no leaves, small leaves, green leaves. Leaves fall, no leaves, small leaves, green leaves. Leaves fall, no leaves, small leaves, green leaves. Leaves fall, no leaves, small leaves, green leaves. Leaves fall, no leaves, small leaves, green leaves.” She looked up at them.

  “From green leaves to green leaves that many times? You were a child?” Nine Fingers shook his head in disbelief. “How did you survive?”

  “I went far away from him. I found others like me. We had all lost our tribes. We united and became a family. I found happiness and believed the Skin Walker would never find me again.”

  “He found you.”

  “Yes, and once again he killed everyone around me. I escaped by hiding in a beaver lodge. I spend several days there until I knew he was gone, and I kept going toward the bear in the sky. Then you found me.”

  “Will he look for you? Even now that you have joined with us?” Walking Bear glared at Nine Fingers when he snorted.

  “Of course, he’s looking for her. She’s his partner. The one who rounds up people for him to kill.”

  “I do not! I do not! I don’t want anyone else to die!” Lina’s eyes darted between the two of them. “It won’t matter if I let him kill me. After he does, he will kill you and then your people and any others he can find, until there exists only him on this land.”

  “Why does he want to kill you? I need to know.” Walking Bear took her hand in his.

  “I am the only member of our tribe left. I must hold the answer to his survival. I hope the answer comes to me and I can kill him.”

  “Isn’t that convenient?” Nine Fingers challenged her. “What do you remember?”

  “I don’t remember...I don’t remember anything from before my father and mother were killed in front of me. I don’t know any of our history...sometimes a little bit. Like I remembered which animals and what the Skin Walker used to be. But even then I’m not sure it’s what I really remember or if it’s something I heard others talking about after I found my new tribe.”

  “He’s trying to kill you for a secret you don’t even remember? And tell me, Walking Bear, why are we getting involved in this? Remind me why we are lost to our tribe in order to help her?”

  “We can’t stop what we have already done.”

  “What you have already done!”

  Walking Bear laid his hand on Nine Fingers’ shoulder. “I’m sorry, my brother.”

  Chapter Three

  “Cut the horses free? Are you loco? We will die. How can we hunt?” The words ran together in a blur that sounded like an angry buzzing bee.

  “I agree with Nine Fingers, Lina. It’s certain death to be on foot.”

  “The only way to shake the Skin Walker is to set him after the horses. The horses make it easy for him to track us. They leave tracks and waste, and we can’t hide them once we get out of the trees. We can’t stay in the mountains. Each day gets shorter and the nights colder. He will follow the horses, and we can double back, hide out for a couple of weeks, and make sure we have lost him and slowly make our way back to your tribe. That is if you will let me. Let me...come to your tribe.”

  “I have no intention of starving. I will not leave the horses.” Nine Fingers walked to the edge of the clear pool of water and defiantly stood in the moonlight. Lina stopped Walking Bear as he went to follow him.

  “Let me try again.” Lina stood next to Nine Fingers watching him toss pebbles in the water. The golden harvest moon was reflected in her eyes as she scanned the sky and treetops.

  Nine Fingers followed her worried gaze. “Let him come. I’m not afraid of him.”

  Lina ignored what he said. “See those stars in the sky? They form a bear.”

  Nine Fingers looked up. “I don’t see it.”

  Lina leaned closer to him and drew her hand across the stars drawing the bear figure from dot–to-dot. “Now do you see it?”

  “I see it.” Nine Fingers was excited. “I wonder why I never noticed it before?”

  “You weren’t looking for it. Just like I wasn’t looking for you and Walking Bear when I found you. I was following the bear in the sky. The last thing my father ever said to me was to “follow the bear, he will protect you.”

  “You think the bear is Walking Bear. You think he can protect you.” Nine Fingers voice was emotionless.

  “I don’t know what or who the bear is, whether it is the one in the sky or if it is Walking Bear.”

  “Do you really think we can trick the Skin Walker into following the horses and escape forever back to our tribe?”

  “I think we can trick him, and the two of you can get away.” Nine Fingers dropped the stone in his hand and confronted her.

  “What? I thought you were going back to the tribe with us!”

  “I only said that so Walking Bear would return with you. If you agree to drive the horses off, I will slip away from the two of you long before you reach your people. You can return, and the Skin Walker will eventually come to find me. I will be far away from you when it happens. Do we have a deal?”

  “Yes. But you must keep your word and leave Walking Bear and me. No matter what he says or does, you must leave anyway.”

  “I promise I will go. The only way I would ever stay is if you, Nine Fingers, ask me to.”

  “I will not put our people in peril.”

  “I wouldn’t either if I had any people left.” Lina picked up a stick and threw it in the water, watching it float on the moon-bathed water.

  “I have no idea what you said to make him change his mind, but I’m glad he listened to you.” Walking Bear slid the sinew rope off of his horse’s neck and watched Nine Fingers caress the neck of his horse and lay his head on its head.

  “It is hard for him to let go of his horse. It was given to him by his wife’s father.”

  “He has a wife?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why doesn’t he talk about her? He’s never said anything in all the time we’ve been together.”

  “Talking about her makes him miss her. She was with child when we left.”

  “He has a child now.”

  “Yes, and he was hoping for a boy.”

  “What about you, Walking Bear, are you missing your wife?”

  “I have no wife.”

  “Have you thought about having a wife?”

  “Of course I have. I would like to have a wife and children someday.”

  “And you Li
na, did you marry?

  “No. To marry me would be certain death. I don’t want to put anyone through that.”

  “Even if they love you?”

  “Even then, Walking Bear. Even then. Leave me and let me tell the horses where to go.” Walking Bear and Nine Fingers didn’t dispute her ability to talk to the horses. They had seen her do it many times. She blew on her hands to warm them and then laid one hand on each horse’s neck and leaned in.

  “My dear and loyal friends. Walking Bear will miss you. Nine Fingers will miss you. You are loved and revered. You may return now to land of your ancestors to live out the rest of your days. Follow the brightest light in the sky past the mountains to the flatlands. There you will find others. Do not tarry, as the dark cold days are almost upon us, and the mountain passes will fill with snow.”

  As she stepped back the horses passed her and then turned around.

  “Go my friends. Do not worry for us.” They picked up speed and then were gone. Lina’s shoulders drooped, and her body shook with tears.

  “Lina.” Walking Bear reached out for her and for a second Lina wavered before she buried herself in his chest, his strong arms protecting her. The embrace met with a cold reception from Nine Fingers.

  “We should be the ones grieving, not you.” Lina wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

  “I’m sorry about your horse, Nine Fingers. I know it was a gift to you and meant a lot. I wish there was something else that we could have done. I’m truly sorry.”

  Nine Fingers mumbled something under his breath as he shouldered his pack. The wind that whipped around them was as icy as their mood.

  They settled on a route that would take them in reverse for the first few days. They would backtrack and then head farther west and stay there for as long as it took to make sure they weren’t followed. Once that was determined, they would move ever closer to the tribe, waiting and watching to see if they were spotted. Walking Bear hoped to have them back to the tribe before the coldest days of the winter.

  After a few days of carefully shadowing their own tracks, they veered off and spent many more days walking up and down the mountainsides. Food was scarce and consisted mostly of rabbit and small game. An open fire was out of the question, as smoke would point a hazy finger directly to them.

  It was Nine Fingers who found the vein of dark rock, coal, that they could use to cook their food. He chipped away at the rock, collecting it to take with them. Eventually they found a shallow cave to stay in.

  That night they woke to the howl of wolves. “Nine Fingers, get your bow, I have an idea.”

  “What are you planning?” Lina asked.

  “You’ll see. Stay here.” Lina paced nervously up and down the width of the narrow cave, missing the company of the horses. Her eyes watched the impenetrable trees in front of her as the wolves’ howling became more distant and then ended all together.

  “Lina...Lina.” Her name carried on the breeze. She flattened herself against the wall.

  “Lina...Hoot...Hoot...Lina.” An owl, the Skin Walker! She pressed her eyes shut. The hoot of the owl faded in and out until it too disappeared.

  “Walking Bear!” Lina slipped out of the protection of the cave and slid down the frosty slope. Her feet slid out from underneath her, and she staggered to stay upright. As she righted herself, she noticed the wolves. There were two of them coming straight at her! She turned to flee but slipped on a rock and fell into the wolves.

  Her mouth opened to scream, but nothing came out. “Lina, it’s me.”

  “Walking Bear! The Skin Walker he’s here!”

  “I know, we heard the owl and suspected it was him. My plan worked, Lina! Nine Fingers and I wore the skin of the wolves we killed, and the Skin Walker didn’t recognize us. We have a skin for you as well.”

  She shivered. “No, It’s not right to wear the headed-hide of an animal. It’s bad luck.”

  “It’s worse luck to be killed,” Nine Fingers said wryly.

  Lina changed the subject. “Do you think the Skin Walker really saw you? And thought you were wolves?”

  “Well the owl circled low over us, and we crouched to the ground. It flew low once more, and then off it went. We can get home now without being seen. Lina, we can go home!” Walking Bear in his wolf skin danced happily around her, picked her up, and kissed her on the lips. Lina’s lips hung on his, reluctant to break the beautiful thread that seemed to weave them together. Walking Bear pulled his lips from hers and jumped up in the air. “We can go home, Lina!”

  He ran up the bank to the cave. Nine Fingers hung back with Lina.

  “Remember your promise?”

  Lina’s shoulders drooped, and her head lowered to her chest. “Yes.” She breathed a whisper.

  “You need to leave soon. The closer you get to our people, the more danger you put them in.”

  “I understand.”

  “You and I will convince Walking Bear to stay around here for another day to make sure the Skin Walker doesn’t return and give us a day of rest before we head back. I will take him hunting with me. That will be your chance to leave. Take all the food in our packs and anything else you need. Take the opposite direction from our path. Hide your trail well, and I will do the same.”

  “Can we just have one more day and then I will leave?”

  “It won’t make it any easier to go. You might as well go now rather than prolong the pain.”

  “I love him. You know that don’t you?”

  “Yes. And you must not tell him. If he were to find out that you loved him as he loves you, he would not let you go.”

  “He loves me? Do you really think so?”

  “Yes, I have known Walking Bear since we were babies. Our birth was only a day apart. I know his heart.”

  “All my heart wants is to be with him,” Lina murmured.

  “And that will get him killed and all of my people killed. You must choose, Lina. Walk away and let him live, or stay and watch him die.”

  Nine Fingers strode the short distance back to the cave as Lina stood staring at the bear in the sky, begging for a miracle.

  Chapter Four

  “Lina! Where are you?” Walking Bear’s deep voice carried in the late afternoon stillness. “Where would she go?” He turned to Nine Fingers.

  “I don’t know.”

  “She didn’t say anything to you, Nine Fingers? You spoke to her last night as we walked back.”

  “No.” Nine Fingers lied. “Perhaps she is scouting out a way for us to get safely back.”

  “No. I don’t think so. Why would she take all of the food? And the wolf skin? She said she wouldn’t wear it, but it is gone. Why? Why would she leave?” Walking Bear buried his face in his hands and slid down the frigid wall of the cave.

  “My brother, we must go. To tarry invites the Skin Walker to find us.”

  “Go where?” Walking Bear said wearily.

  “Home. Back to our families.”

  “Lina was my family. I have no home without her. I can’t leave her. We have to find her! I need to tell her...I need to tell her...that I love her!”

  “It will not be easy to find her, Walking Bear. She is as good at hiding her tracks as we are.”

  “I have to try. We have to try.”

  “No we don’t. We don’t have to try. She left because she didn’t want us to find her. She wanted us to go back to our people.”

  “I can’t go back, not knowing what happened to her. What if the Skin Walker has her?”

  “Then she is dead anyway.”

  “You never liked her. You never gave her a chance. Did you run her off? If you did, you will be dead to me.”

  Nine Fingers cringed. “You are angry and saying things you do not mean.” He walked out into the frigid air, turning to look back at Walking Bear. “I will go with you for two days to search for her. If we do not find her, then you must return home with me.”

  Walking Bear leapt up and hastily rounded up their meager belong
ings. “Let’s go.” Nine Fingers stayed behind running small branches over the dirt, erasing all signs of their stay from the cave. He ran to catch up with Walking Bear, who was poring over the dead prairie grass.

  “She came this way. Hurry!”

  So it went for the next two days. Walking Bear following the track quickly and dragging Nine Fingers with him. At the end of the second day, Walking Bear sat dejectedly on a jutting rock, the chilly wind picking up the edges of his wolf pelt.

  “We are no closer now than we were when we started.”

  “You are correct, Walking Bear.”

  “I don’t want to stop looking for her. I have waited a lifetime to find the one who was meant for me. She was made for me, Nine Fingers. She was made to be my partner for this life and our life beyond. I feel it here.” Walking Bear patted his chest over his heart.

  “I believe you, Walking Bear. If the Great Spirit wills it, she can find her way home to you.”

  “Home.” Walking Bear said it wearily as if all desire to live had left his being.

  Lina watched the exchange between them from the safety of the trees, and tears dropped down her cheeks as she watched them turn and walk away.

  “Walking Bear.” Her breath made a puff in the air, and then it quickly disappeared.

  The days grew shorter and lengthened the travel time for Walking Bear and Nine Fingers. They reached the edge of the trees around the shortest days of winter. The snow had come and clung tenaciously to the ground, making every step twice as hard to manage. They traveled only a few miles each day, sometimes even less as blizzards raged around them and the cold chapped their exposed skin.

  “I estimate we are within a couple of weeks of reaching the winter camp.” Nine Fingers yelled the words as they floundered in the deep snow.

  “Might as well be another winter. We are losing strength.”

  Nine Fingers moved to stand in front of him. “Don’t you give up! Not when we are this close. I will carry you if I have to!”

  Walking Bear sank into the deep snow. “Go on without me. You have a child who needs you. I have nothing to return to.”