by B C Penling
For two years she sheltered herself from their eyes by hiding in the woods and exploring the mountains; hardening the soles of her feet into calloused pads. Her hands, too, had developed thick skin, making tree and rock climbing close to painless. During those two years she grew a tail, a thick, fluffy tail that was long enough to wipe the sweat from her brow if she was so inclined. Her peers, and former friends, teased her every chance they got, especially about the tail. Travelling by rooftop became the norm for her and her agility became unrivaled. Landing softly on her feet after jumping from high places was well practiced, especially when done from the perimeter wall to the ground on her daily excursion to the woods. Finding peace in solitude was her constant goal. Now she had it, but not in the most hospitable climates. She sighed and hugged her knees. She supposed it was all her fault that she was out there, although she didn’t entirely understand what happened.
She was in the woods, like any other day, but that time she wasn’t alone. She knew there were other people in the forest, their scent gave them away, but she didn’t expect them to be there for her. It began with a rock that whizzed by her head. She spun to look at its origin. Tommy, a skinny ginger that looked like he hit every freckle branch as he fell out of the genetic tree, had a mean grin on his stupid face. Of course, he’d miss her with the rock. He couldn’t do anything right even if his life depended on it. He failed at putting one foot in front of the other on a good day, yet felt the need to criticize others and, most of all, her. He was repulsive even before he started bullying. Now, she couldn’t bear to be around him, especially with his odor.
“Tommy! Leave me alone and go away!” she yelled at him.
His reply was to grin stupidly.
A rock smacked into the back of her head, sending a small explosion of stars in her sight. She should’ve known to expect more from the others she had smelled. She darted uphill, certain the weak-footed ginger couldn’t follow. Her steps were nimble but she couldn’t dodge a branch that swung out from behind a tree suddenly. It hit her in the stomach, causing her to double over. It was then that the rock assault began from all directions. She covered her head and ignored the pain the best she could. The rocks pelted her steadily until Tommy yelled for everyone to stop. They ceased their barrage.
“Watch this one,” Tommy sniggered. “This one is gonna hurt.”
The rock was larger than all the others and, as luck would have it, it struck her on the spine. Pain rocketed throughout her body. She had had enough. She let out a fierce, agonized yell that sounded like it came from a distressed animal. She rose to her feet, her glare locking Tommy’s eyes before she finished shouting. She stared into his dumbfounded face, hell-bent on defending herself.
She pointed at him, “You, Tommy Thomason, will learn to regret this day!”
From behind her, ran a feral dog. In a few, short leaps it reached him and sank its white teeth into his groin. The force of the impact sent him sprawling on the rocks. He yelped in suprise and screamed in pain.
His shrill cries made her cringe but she couldn't help but ponder the sudden appearance of the dog and its uniqueness. It was unlike any she had ever seen; its thick, black coat shone silvery in the sunlight and despite the small fact that it had attached itself to Tommy’s groin, it was quite pretty.
“Wolf!” one of the mean teenagers yelled. “It’s a wolf!”
The black wolf released Tommy and trotted half the distance to where she stood before it turned around to eyeball Tommy with intense blue eyes.
He scrambled for the closest tree, leg bleeding moderately, but stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the rear end of a skunk. His mouth dropped open in a silent scream, and in went the pungent anal fluids.
There wasn’t much time for his friends to retreat before a herd of mountain sheep stampeded down the hill. They ran around her and the wolf, cascading over the rocks like water, and chased each person who had thrown rocks. A couple got the ram’s horns in the rear and others tripped and got trampled.
“She’s a witch!” Layniel Parson yelled in terror. “Get out of here!”
“Witch! She’s a witch!” the other bullies echoed.
Tommy Thomason’s eyes billowed with tears and his enormous hawk nose flowed snot like a volcano erupting lava. He scrambled blindly over the rocks hoping he wouldn’t find himself going toe-to-toe, or face-to-butt as it would be, with the skunk again. He tripped numerous times and was certainly covered in bruises by the time he reached the woods. No skunk was in his path as he blindly barreled through the forest, over bushes, through branches, and into tree trunks on his way home. There was no doubt in her mind the entire city would know in short order what happened on the mountainside.
When she had returned to the gates of her home town, her worst fear came to fruition. She found the gates barred. In front of which were armed men and a horse drawn wagon.
“You, Saia, are denied entry to the city and exiled,” a guard she knew as Selwryn said nervously. Clearly, they viewed her as the evil one, not Thomason and his tyrant friends. She was bound, loaded into the wagon and hauled to the desert; denied the chance to launch a defense or say farewell to her family.
A musty potato sack covered her face, making it hard to breath. Shallowly she inhaled, cautious not to knock loose dirt that would cause her to cough and, subsequently, inhale more dirt to create an unpleasant cycle. The ride to the desert was relatively smooth along former well-trod roads, resonant of days where travel to a desert town frequently occurred. The mining town at the end of the road, once named Jadesoe, was abandoned after a terrible dust storm destroyed most of the buildings and half buried the settlement. It filled the well with so much sand that it wasn’t functional. Instead of rebuilding, there was an exodus to Ouris. Somewhere between Jadesoe and the city of Ouris, they removed the sack from her head and unbound her arms and legs. The men shoveled her off the wagon and onto the hot sand.
That was two days ago; two long, hot and dry days ago. She was sickened with thirst and desperate for the refreshing liquid of life. Water... Just the thought of it made her thirstier. She was slowly making her way toward the mountains sunwake in hopes to find a more hospitable climate and where she saw storm clouds the night prior. She stood and continued her trek across the desert to the line of trees in the distance.
Thankfully, she didn’t need to worry about sunburn since her coat provided protection. Overheating, on the other hand, was as real as her exile to the desert. The suns assaulted her back, blazing into her black stripes like fire brands in dry grass. For hours she walked in the assaulting heat until the suns fell behind the Bledsoe Mountains. The shadows that were cast helped cool the sand and made her long walk more bearable.
It was well into the night by the time she reached the forest edge. She was parched, starved and weary. The moon provided some light as she moved through the foliage. The woods smelled of fresh rainfall which maddened her into a desperate frenzy on her search for water. She inhaled the moist air. It revitalized her dry lungs and restored her hope of finding something to drink.
She searched the trees for any cuppania; a kind of macrofungi with a vase-shaped cap known for catching rainfall. She wasted no time looking on the perimeter of the forest for the fungi since it was likely too dry for them. Deeper in the forest she immediately spotted a few. Her heart beat irregularly with excitement. Already able to taste relief in her parched throat, she checked them for water. The first three were dry, dishearteningly, but deeper still she went, driven by the galling thirst. It wasn’t until she checked a few dozen cuppania did she find one half full. The cool liquid was ecstasy as it coursed its way through her lips, over her tongue, and down her throat. She hurried to the next one, found liquid held within, and bent the fungi toward her mouth. The liquid spilled in, filling her with more satisfaction. She released the cuppania and it sprang back to its original position alongside the tree’s trunk.
She methodically moved from tree to tree, drinking her fill with selfish
disregard to other creatures and their thirst. Eventually, she stumbled into a small clearing that housed a small pond, the origins of which was a deep spring. The moon shown into the depths of the cool water and beneath the surface were many brilliantly colored fish that darted around playfully.
She knelt beside the pool, whisked away the debris with her hands, then submerged her mouth and drank her fill. When her stomach could hold no more, when swallowing was laborious, she rocked back and sat on her heels. Contentedness overcame her. Water... The relief blanketed her like the darkness around the stars above. She breathed deeply, thankful for the respite from the desert.
She stood and, with sudden awareness of how sore her feet were, walked gingerly to a few boulders that she laid down beside. The ground was hard, cool, and slightly damp. Compared to the desert, it was luxurious accommodations. Her eyes closed almost immediately and she fell into a deep, undisturbed sleep.
It was midday when she awoke to a sprinkling of rain. Having no roof above her head made constructing a shelter the priority for the day. A small, deep alcove in the largest boulder was a hopeful location to expand with a roof. She began by searching for fallen tree branches to provide support for the structure. Lacking even the basic tools, she did her best to weave the branches together tightly and, in lieu of rope, she used the reeds around the pond to secure them collectively. After multiple trips into the forest she had an oversized pile of thick, oval leaves which she secured in the branches to lay like the wood shingles on the roof of her home in Ouris.
She had constructed the roof beside the boulder and, lacking the energy to make a shelter that resembled a house, she decided to wedge her roof between the boulder and the ground. A short lean-to was better than nothing. With the remaining twigs, weak branches, and leaves, she created a bed; upgrading the ground's comfort level.
She lay down, exhausted after working half the day. Having nothing to eat for a few days, coupled with the lack of water in the desert, made her muscles quiver with fatigue. Thankfully, though, she had plenty of water available for as long as she stayed there. As the dusk-strewn sky gave way to a vast blanket of blackness pinpricked by shimmering stars, the time for foraging drew to an end. Tomorrow, though, was another day and that meant a new priority; food. She fell asleep with an empty stomach that groaned its discontentedness and, despite her hunger, slept soundly throughout the night.
When Sunwake emerged from the horizon, Saia exited her lean-to and stretched. The soreness from the prior day’s work made her feel stiff and stultified any desire to improve her shelter. Her stomach pained her so she knelt beside the pond to temporarily satisfy her hunger with water. It didn’t work as well as she hoped so she ventured into the forest in search of whatever substantial meals it harbored.
Mushrooms littered the forest floor wherever they could find space. She broke off a large leaf from a bulbarra tree and placed it on the ground. The forest was abundant with a wide variety of edible flora. In addition to mushrooms, there were berries, bulbarra fruit, and yams. The yams made her excited and even hungrier. She could cook them without any seasonings and they would still taste delicious.
As she foraged, she ate bulbarra fruit. Normally it lacked a lot of flavor and sweetness but, after not eating for a few days, it tasted amazing. The round, pink fruit grew on thick stems from the center of the tree and when the fruit was ripe, the stem bowed to the ground. The lower it was, the riper the fruit. She folded the bulbarra leaf around the contents she collected and rolled the thick purple leaf to create a better handhold. She carried it back to camp along with a few stems full of fruit clusters.
Upon returning to her lean-to, she placed the leaf and stems on the ground beneath it before entering the forest to search for firewood and kindling. She found small branches, a few strong bows, and even a dead tree that she stripped bark and limbs from. It took numerous trips from the tree to her shelter but, upon completion, enough firewood was piled up to last her a few days at least. Next, she took to the forest to find sparking rocks. It proved to be more difficult than she anticipated; taking up the remainder of usable daylight and taxing her patience. With the last light of the day, she managed to find two tiny, but usable stones.
With the fire lit and the wood burning happily, Saia added a few decent sized rocks. The rocks, once heated, would then cook the yams in a shallow pit in the ground. She prepped the pit, then rolled the rocks into it and placed the yams, which were wrapped in bulbarra leaves, on top. They were buried to cook overnight in their underground oven for a quick breakfast in the morning.
She lay on her back over the top of the earthen oven and gazed at the open sky above. Clouds, outlined with silver from moonlight, drifted slowly past. Heat seeped through the soil below her and warmed her back. If the nights got too cold she knew she could heat rocks, burry them, and sleep over them for warmth. Not all the things in the world were difficult but, there in her little corner of the world, it was about to get that way.
The heat from the ground soothed her to sleep. The deepening night was speckled with stars that were like gateways to another world amongst the unfathomable darkness. They sparkled quietly in the shadowy ocean of the universe, withholding their secrets. If stars could warn the innocent of oncoming trouble, they would’ve told Saia of the large mountain bear that was drawn to the smell of the cooking yams.
It wasn’t long after midnight when Saia woke with a start and sat up to find herself face to face with a large bear. The bear, startled by her sudden movement, lashed out with its enormous paw, striking her on the side of her head. She fell forcefully into the dirt with a cry. That’s when she felt its teeth break into her flesh, making a sickening pop when her skin could no longer hold its strength.
She screamed and struggled to get away from the monstrous bear that had a hold of her leg. Groping in the darkness to find its frighteningly huge head, she grabbed at its hair and held on tight. She felt for the bear’s eye and, upon locating it, drove her thumb into it; unceasing until the bear bellowed in pain. It released her leg and reared onto its haunches.
Saia scrambled backwards and retreated into the shelter, wedging herself beneath the rock. The bear was shaking its head angrily and swiping at his eye with his paw. It huffed, went on all fours, shook its head, and stalked toward Saia’s shelter. Saia held her breath. The heartbeat in her ears throbbed forcefully like the pain in her leg. The bear approached, following the scent of her blood. Saia knew this was the end of her.
Exiled… Irrelevant… Unloved…
Nobody would know how her life ended and nobody would likely care enough to miss her.
The bear took one swipe at her lean-to, knocking it back. Saia sank deeper into the cavity beneath the rock. The bear tried to follow. Its putrid breath filled the small cave as it snapped its jaws in vain. Its immensely thick head was too wide and too round to fit more than a snout’s length into the crevice. A flicker of hope that formed quickly extinguished just as fast when the brute lay down and reached in with its arm. The bear’s thick shoulders and hunched back prevented it from reaching her entirely; its claws brushed against the skin on her arm. She held her breath; hopeful it would leave and forget about her.
The claws scraped the dirt as the bear withdrew. It swayed back and forth, and huffed as it thought; its legs an ominous silhouette against the moonlit clearing. In an unexpected move, the bear lunged at the ground. It poured its frustrations into the soil.
It was digging to get her. Its massive paws clawed the dirt like giant paddles on a boat at sea. They excavated the soil with strong sweeps, clearing away a foot of earth in a matter minutes. She screamed for help although she knew nobody could hear her. The bear closed in on her, the stink of its breath filled the crevice. It dragged a large pile of dirt out of the cave and then stood there breathing deeply as if it had been too sedentary throughout its life.
Behind it, barely a shadow in the clearing was a hulking silhouette. Saia saw its thick body approaching portentously. The end
had come for her, she knew, and it was frightening. The dark figure closed the gap on the bear and stopped on top of her earth oven. It lifted its paw and sniffed her blood that had stuck to it.
Suddenly, it roared a mighty roar that startled every creature close by. Birds that had roosted for the night, bats, rodents; all scurried and flew away. The bear turned around dumbly and bellowed back. The two animals sounded so different it was clear to Saia that the shadowy figure wasn’t a bear at all.
With a roar that was louder than the first, the unknown animal replied to the bear. The bear reacted by standing on its hind legs, a lumbering twelve-foot-tall giant, and bellowed again at the challenger. Bears, fierce about keeping their prey, don’t take challengers lightly. It was angry; angrier than when it lost its eye to Saia’s thumb.