Malik the Bard

by Moore, Scott

  When he woke up, his body hurt worse than it had ever hurt before. He tried to move but with every movement it felt like someone had kicked him all over the body. He could have sworn that each of his muscles was bruised from a physical beating. It took him several minutes to motivate himself to a seated position. There, he wished he had never moved.

  Mollie and Embre were no longer rowing. The oars sat on the raft beside them.

  “How far did you guys make it?” Malik asked.

  Mollie looked down at the oar.

  “Not very far,” she said with a shrug. “I rowed for a few hours, but I am not used to rowing. Embre couldn’t keep the oar going for more than a few minutes at a time. It is not her fault; it is just that she was not expected to do much training in her village.”

  Malik looked out around his surroundings. The water’s surface was such a deep blue that in the light it did look rather gray. Only the occasional ripples provided any color. Malik knew that just under the surface the waters were teeming with life. Fish, amphibians, plants, and who knew what else lived just below them. Their lives normal until the raft floated over them, disturbing everything they had ever known. Malik felt like a raft had floated over his own life. He had been a simple bard a mere few weeks ago. Then a roar from a monster had changed it all in an instant. Now he was chasing his oldest friend and a relic that was said to contain the souls of the Saints. Malik had absolutely no idea what he was doing and had no idea how to achieve it. Like the fish and the other water life, he would just have to keep moving.

  “The current has helped a little, I think,” Mollie added.

  Malik noticed that the current was pulling them gently in the direction they needed to go. At this pace, they would be on the water for days, and without food and water they would surely die just like those who had jumped into the water the night before.

  “Did you grab any supplies?” Malik asked Khris.

  Khris was stretching his own aches and pains from his muscles. With a groan he said, “I did not think about that.”

  Malik was not sure how you forgot the essentials of survival. There was no water, no food, and now there would be no way to survive.

  “We have to row, or we will just float to our death. We could probably do without food, but water may be a problem,” Malik said.

  “We are floating on water,” Embre answered.

  Malik looked down to the surface again. The sun’s rays bounced back at him, creating an almost mirror like surface.

  “This water is not going to be kind to our stomachs unless we had something to boil it clean. I have never drunk from a stream without cleaning the water first,” Malik said.

  Abrie had always instilled the need to be clean. He could hear him saying, “If you are dirty then you won’t be around to worry about it.” Malik had no intention of coming through all of this just to die from bad water.

  “I have never drunk from a body of water either, but what could really be the worst thing to happen?” Mollie asked.

  Malik shrugged. “Abrie claims that your insides will revolt and send everything you have ever known through your pooper,” Malik said.

  Mollie’s face contorted. “I suppose that we don’t want that,” she said.

  Malik laughed. “No I don’t suppose we do,” he said.

  The others joined in at the thought. It was a serious situation, but the thought of them all dying from diarrhea was a little humorous. Maybe it was the hot sun, or the delirium from lack of sleep, but they all laughed for a few minutes. Just floating down the Gray Waters to who knew where and laughing like madmen.

  Malik reached up wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The sun was rising to its afternoon peak by now. He supposed they had been on the water for almost a day and a half, but the slow floating of the raft would not account for much ground covered.

  “We will have to take shorter shift and row until we get to land. I took a raft once with Abrie, after we did a play in Gray Waters, and it took around four days. Those men were fit and used to rowing. We are lucky and got a full day on a boat, but none of us really know how to row. We have the current so maybe that will help, but it is still going to be hard going,” Malik said.

  Malik left out the part that he did not know if they would make it. His body was so sore that he doubted he could row for ten minutes; let alone the hours they would need him for. When the raft finally hit shore somewhere, he supposed the only one left alive would be Egg. He wondered if there would even be evidence left that there were four others on the raft. He tried not to think of that right now.

  “Hand me the oar,” he said, lifting his arm with shots of pain greeting him.

  “How long will you even be able to row for?” Mollie asked.

  Malik knew the answer was not very long, he was not lying to himself, “I will go as long as I am needed,” he lied to Mollie.

  “What if we used the sun to boil the water?” Khris asked. He had been quietly cupping water into his hands and inspecting it. Malik watched him as Khris let another handful pass across his outstretched fingers.

  “How would we do that?” Embre asked.

  Khris sat back up, drying his hands on his shirt. “I think we can use our shirts to catch the water, we just need something to put it in,” Khris said, looking around the raft.

  The raft was flat, there were no hidden compartments, and there was nothing sitting out just waiting to be filled with water

  “I don’t think we can magically make a can,” Malik said. There was that old irritation with Khris.

  Khris looked dejected, as he came to the same conclusion that there was nothing with them.

  “I messed up,” he said.

  “You saved us,” Mollie reminded him.

  “Just to let you die on a raft,” Khris said.

  “I don’t want to die, but if I had the choice, it would be to die out here in the open and not in confinement. We have hope out here,” Mollie answered back.

  Malik wished that he felt as confident as Mollie. He agreed that he did not want to die, but where they died mattered very little if the results were the same.

  “Let’s just row and find land,” he urged them again.

  Malik heard a splash, and he turned over his shoulder to look at the water. He half expected a giant fish, mouth gapping, to be behind him. Instead, it was just Egg deciding to take a mid-morning swim.

  “Egg get back on the raft!” Mollie said, reaching out a hand to help the creature.

  Egg was not interested in getting back on the raft, he swam around them twice and then used his feet to latch onto the wood. Malik had no idea what Egg was doing, but without warning, the raft picked up speed. Egg was using his arms as oars and swimming through the water without any apparent struggle. They may as well have had sails and oar men, as Egg paddled through the water like a sea creature.

  “He is pulling us,” Khris said, speaking the obvious out loud.

  Malik watched on in amazement. “How long do you think he can manage this?” Malik asked Mollie.

  Mollie shrugged her shoulders. Just because Egg had attached to her like an infant, did not mean she knew anything more about him than Malik. Malik turned back to Egg who was not showing any signs of slowing down. Malik looked at the oar and thought about trying to help Egg along, but at this speed, there would be no way Malik could keep up for more than a stroke or two.

  “I guess we just see how long it takes him to wear down,” Malik said.

  No one else had anything to add or argue about. Malik fell into a kind of lull watching Egg’s arms move up and down. It was mesmerizing to see the efficiency of the small creature. Malik thought about how not long ago he would have left the monster behind. Now Egg was invaluable. Malik was still afraid of him, deep down. There was still no proof that it would not someday eat them, but for now it was helping. Maybe Malik was not the best judge of character.

  “Thank you,” Malik said, turning toward Khris.

  “Huh?” Khris sa
id, looking up out of his own mesmerized daze.

  Malik did not want to say it again, but he swallowed his pride. “I just want to say thank you for getting us out of there,” he said.

  Khris looked just as shocked as Malik felt. “I wouldn’t leave you guys to die,” Khris said.

  Malik had not been so sure of that. Khris’ father was part of the Tempre, and he had killed many people, if Malum was to be believed. Then again, it was Malum, and there was no way to know if he was even telling the truth.

  “Still, all the same I am glad you were around to help,” Malik said.

  Khris let a genuine smile come across his face. Malik wondered if Khris had ever had a friend or someone to associate with. Vee, the tavern keeper, was the closest that Malik had seen anyone come, and even she would not stop a mob from killing them.

  Malik turned back toward Egg and watched his steady pace. There were worse things in the world, not many, but there were still worse.

  Throughout the rest of the day the group talked of food, their homes, and places they would love to see. It was a happy conversation, filled with laughter and joy. It brought Malik’s mind to a better place. A place where he was not thinking of the screaming pain in his muscles, or the pang of hunger in his belly. He was talking of food and drink, but the conversation kept him from merely droning on it. Thinking of Abrie was hard but telling stories of his and Abrie’s travels eased the pain. It was a simpler time that he longed for and Abrie had given him that simple life. Malik had never noticed how much he took it for granted until now. Abrie had kept him fed, hydrated, sheltered, and free from worry. He never even fully squashed his dreams of fighting the Tempre. Abrie just expertly guided him in the wrong direction. He owed the man more than he could ever repay. That made his travels now a bit easier. He was heading toward a higher purpose and he just had to keep going.

  Sometime around sunset Egg did slow down, but he had been going for so long and so quickly that Malik was sure they were not far from land. That night, when Malik curled up on the floating raft for sleep, he felt bettereven with the painthan he had felt in a very long time. When Malik woke up to the roars of Egg’s mother, he knew that the short lived peace was gone.

  Chapter 31

  On the Run Again

  They had reached land. That should have given them all a thrill. They should have been jumping for joy. Now they could find something to help them purify the water and drink. Maybe they could even find something to eat. They did not get the opportunity to feel good about it though. The distant, but far too close, roar let them know that they would soon have company joining them.

  Egg shot up off the raft and attached to Mollie’s arm. Mollie sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Malik was already standing, looking out into the darkness of the night. Malik did not know where they were. Abrie had always done most of the navigating. He could tell if he had been to a town before, but there was not much else he could do in terms of navigation.

  “Should we just push back into the water?” Khris asked.

  Malik thought of the merits to that suggestion. They could not see what was around them. Aside from the bank of the waters, the surrounding trees, and blackness beyond there was nothing there was only imagination. The roar sounded again.

  “If we push back out, we risk the monster holding us hostage on the water. If we go out onto the land, then we risk the monster catching us. I say we are not the Saint’s favorites at this moment in time,” Malik replied.

  Malik tried to peer out beyond the darkness of the trees. The bank they had washed up on was filled with muddy soil. Just beyond was a small shift in the landscape to a small ridge, and then more mud, as far as Malik could tell. Beyond that there were spotted trees here and there. The trees hung down like the hair of a giant into a gigantic bathtub. Malik did not look forward to navigating the terrain even without something chasing them.

  Then he looked back out toward the water. It was calm, peaceful even. It lulled him into an even state of mind, but he knew it shared its own risks. Pushing back out into the water meant they may never find shore again. They had to take a risk either way they chose.

  “Sitting here won’t help us,” Mollie said.

  She was right. Whatever route, they chose they needed to choose it before the monster stumbled over them.

  “What does everyone think?” Malik asked.

  Their faces all showed the concern that Malik’s mind was feeling. There seemed to be no great choice, only two bad ones.

  “I vote going back out into the water. At least there we won’t be eaten,” Khris said.

  Embre turned to Malik when she answered. “I think we take our chances on land. There, if we do get away, we can at least find the other things we need like food and water,” she said.

  Malik thought they both had points. Malik was in no hurry to get eaten by Egg’s mother, but he also was in no hurry to die on a raft in the middle of the Gray Waters.

  “What about you, Mollie?” Malik asked.

  She took a deep breath and looked back and forth between her two options. Malik wondered if she were waiting for some sign from the Saints to guide her. He doubted she would find any help. Malik knew they were alone out there. Well mostly alone, he thought, as the roar echoed through the trees.

  “I don’t know.” Mollie looked like she was being torn in half from the insides. “I don’t want to do either of them,” she said.

  Malik nodded. “I know how you feel,” he agreed.

  Either way was a risk he did not want to be the reason for taking.

  “We have to choose something, or the monster will choose for us,” Malik said.

  Mollie wrung her hands before her belt. She had strapped on her sword to her back, but no one was jumping at the bit to face the monster that was hunting them.

  “Why don’t you make the choice?” she asked.

  Malik had been afraid she would try to turn it back on him.

  “I shouldn’t be the one to choose,” he said in reply.

  Mollie stomped her foot, settling herself into the opinion. “I think you should,” she said.

  Malik knew then that Mollie was scared. Why else would she entrust her life to a coward? Malik had shown repeatedly that he was not a brave man. Maybe that was why she trusted him with the decision. She knew that he would try to take the coward’s way out. He would be the one to likely run for his life. Malik thought that she was probably right, but he did not know which way was the coward’s way this time. Both involved running and both involved potentially dying.

  Malik heard the roar again, closer this time. He imagined the monster ripping trees as it passed. Soon it would be ripping them if they did not act on a decision.

  “Come on, Malik,” Mollie urged him.

  Malik felt his skin crawling and wanted to curl up in a ball. That he decided was the coward’s way. This time the coward would just curl up and hope to die a quick and painless death. Instead, Malik took the first step off the raft onto the land and then turned holding out his hand to help Mollie and Egg.

  Mollie only hesitated a moment before extending her hand out. With a grunt and a squish, she stood next to him in the wet mud. Malik helped Embre and heard Khris jumping off the raft without assistance. All of them stood to their ankles in the soft earth.

  “We have to get to some dryer land. Then maybe we can use that trick Egg did the last time we saw his mother,” Malik said.

  There were no dissenting points of view. Malik took Mollie’s hand and made a few steps running into the small ridge. Malik tried to take it at a running start and slid back down, coming up with only muddy pants for his effort.

  “We are going to have to work together,” Malik called back to them.

  He looked at the small ridge again.

  “If we hoist up Embre and Mollie,” he said, turning to Khris, “then maybe they can steady us as we climb up.”

  Khris nodded and Malik waved Embre over to them.

  “We are goi
ng to hoist you up. You lean back out over the little ledge and help us get Mollie up next,” Malik instructed.

  With Khris’ help, Embre was hoisted easily onto the top of the embankment. Mollie went next, with Egg attached to her arm. Malik stood behind Khris and got him as far as halfway before Mollie and Embre extended their hands and pulled as Khris used his legs to climb. It was an effort, but with Malik behind him pushing Khris finally made the last lunge. Malik crawled as far as he could and jumped, Khris caught one wrist and Mollie the other. They hoisted him up far enough for him to use his elbows and forearms to crawl, covered in mud, up to the top.

  All Malik wanted to do was sit down and rest. His body did not feel any better than it had in days and now he was exhausted to go with it. The growl woke him up enough to sit back up.

  “Let’s keep going,” Malik said.

  With only a small amount of reluctance the others got to their feet, following Malik. It was impossible to run in the mud caked ground. It was almost impossible to walk. Malik’s foot got stuck every second step, and he had to wiggle and pry his foot out of the muck.

  “We are going to get eaten,” Khris said.

  Malik felt the same way, but it irritated him to hear it out loud.

  “Shut up,” Malik replied.

  “If we would have just stayed on the…” Khris did not finish before falling onto his face.

  Malik refrained from laughing. Mollie stopped and turned, reaching out her hand to help Khris back up. In the mud, it was an effort for him to regain his feet.

  “Why does it feel like we are walking on ice,” Khris said, spitting mud onto the ground.

  Malik noticed that his entire face was now covered in the deep black mud.

  “Just keep moving. When we get far enough away from the water, we will find some dry land,” Malik said.

  Malik at least hoped that was the truth. This mud could go on forever for all he knew. He would not be surprised if they got stuck and were found like flies in a trap for the monster. Malik would be the cause for their death. His decision had been the wrong one.

  Malik lifted his boot out of the slurping mud and took a long step, pushing it right back into the mud. Malik’s legs had been one of the few parts of his body not burning before the walk, now they felt like hundred-pound weights attached to his hips. He looked back to see the others falling further and further behind him. Mollie was carrying egg on her shoulders. Khris was slipping and sliding on in the slick mud and Embre was just not meant for physical activity. Malik had no other solution and now it would be pointless to return to the water. There was no way to know if the monster had already found the abandoned raft.