by V. R. Janis
“You have to climb up to our cave. I know you are in pain, but you have to hurry. I saw Hanyetuwi turn the ship around; he probably heard you scream.”
“Just great,” I said.
“I will be right below you.”
“Oha’n, all right. I am going.”
I gritted my teeth and crawled up the face of the cliff. My shoulders screamed in protest and it was hard for me not to voice the pain. My legs and arms started to shake. My vision was fluttering in and out of focus. I had to make it to the cave, but my pauses to rest were getting longer and my body weaker.
“You are doing good, Wakangli. You are almost there.”
I did not look up to see. I was focused on the next place to put my hands and feet. The path we took to the cave was so familiar now, though, that I could probably climb the cliff blindfolded and still find it.
I finally flipped over the edge and into our small cave, falling into my temporary safe haven, and heaved in great breaths. I was nearly exhausted, but I made myself crawl to the back of the cave.
The opening was deceiving; it was very small, barely as wide as me and only twice as tall as me as I lay on my stomach. It opened into a bigger, smooth rounded chamber. As I crawled to the back I had to stay low to the floor, so I did not scrape my back on the jagged roof.
I looked back at Wi and saw my bloody hand prints on the floor. As I made it to the back he crawled over me so that I sat in front of him.
“My blood will lead them straight to us,” I said. “What is the use of hiding?”
“I saw the bloody prints, but we have to take care of you first. I will get rid of them in a minute. I promise. I am sorry, Wakangli, but I have to set your shoulder.”
I nodded and put our blanket in my mouth. I ground my teeth into the cover. I started shivering from the cold and also from the pain. He grabbed my arm and jerked it back up into place. I heard a loud pop and felt immense pain. I groaned, but the blanket muffled the noise. I let the tears run down my face.
The constant pain was gone now, turned into a dull ache. I had a hard time staying awake after he finished with my shoulder. He then grabbed my hands, trying to clean and bind them with our meager supplies.
“How’s my leg? Did I break it?”
He lifted the leg of my pants. “No, but there is a nasty scrape over most of your calf. And the rest of your leg just looks like one big bruise.”
“Isni’s, I was worried.”
I drifted toward sleep, my body having had enough. I felt Wi pull the blanket over me. I knew he left for a while, but my mind could not process for how long. I heard him shifting around in the cave and then, to my surprise, I felt Wi slide his arm under my head and pull me close.
Wi had this built-in heater system; he never seemed to get cold. He used his body heat to help me fight the chill that seeped into my bones. The heat that radiated from him was both physical and mental. As he wrapped his arms and legs around me and covered us with the blanket, I was able to relax and finally stop shivering. It felt like I had been sitting in the sun for hours, warm and glowing. I definitely did not feel cold anymore.
I tried to open my eyes as I felt him kiss my forehead, but my body did not respond. I let myself go into the sleep that called.
I gasped awake with the thought that Hanyetuwi had found me, but I was still lying in Wi’s arms. He jerked awake when he heard me. We were on constant alert for his brother and our other enemies.
I was still being hunted by Hanyetuwi and I knew he drew near to finding me. What would happen if he were able to kidnap me again? I would not endure hurt at his hands ever again.
Having his little brother with me did not help the situation, but if I was being honest, I knew I would not have survived this long without Wi.
I would reach my goal of getting home soon. I knew it. Nothing was going to stop me, not even Hanyetuwi. I was prepared to fight.
I had already suffered being kidnapped, beaten, starved and nearly drowned at his hands. I had escaped with the help of whales and polar bears. It was a miracle that I was out of his grasp.
Why didn’t he just give up? That was one question I could not answer and the one that plagued me endlessly. I could not stop myself from gulping for air at the thought of Hanyetuwi.
“Wi, I want to leave this place. I need to leave this place.”
“I understand that, but we can’t just walk off this continent. We need to find transportation. That takes patience and genius. Lucky I have both.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. I will make up where you lack. I have a plan.”
“Tell me the plan.”
He grinned. “No, it is a secret.”
I snarled at Wi. “I am leaving today, one way or another.”
“How? Swim? You know you would freeze if you stayed in the water for too long. Didn’t yesterday prove that?”
I shivered at the thought. “I’ll just have to call for help.”
“Okay, make that call. I can't wait to see. Come on. I am waiting.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Sometimes I could call animals or people to help me. I planned on trying to use that to my advantage.
I crawled out of the cave and carefully climbed down to the water’s edge. I put my hand on top of the water, barely letting my hand settle on it.
I flared my gift and my light as I sent my need through the currents. I had many gifts and I was still discovering more with the passing of time. I had the ability to turn invisible by bending my light. I could find lost things when others asked. Healing wounds was a new gift I wished I never had to use. The last gift felt like a pulse that I could send out, signaling for help. I could not control my light when I used this gift, but this felt like a breaking point: find help and leave this island or get captured again. I hoped someone heard my plea because I could not let myself fall into Hanyetuwi's hands again.
Wi grabbed me. “You did not say anything about using your light. Anyone could see that for miles. What were you thinking?”
I frowned. “How else did you think it was going to happen?”
He grinned. “Well, if that was the call, I don’t think it worked.” He looked around. “Nope, we're still stuck here.”
“Just wait, genius.”
We went to sleep in the cave, huddled together for warmth, and woke the next morning to shouting. I crept closer to the entrance.
This was not good.