by Amanda Rose
They refused to let each other go, like doves they were inseparable. Vince pulled his lips away, “Suako, I got this for you when you weren’t looking in Ryoko at the market. Here…” he pulled from his journal a small thin package which he handed to Suako. She looked from him to the package and back again. “Open it,” he whispered, a hint of excitement in his words. “Ok…” she slowly unwrapped the brown paper, and it crinkled as she did. From it she pulled an amethyst pendant. It was carved into a rose, which spoke of Vince’s artistic nature. “I’m sorry I couldn’t afford a chain for it, I…” Vince began to explain, but Suako rose her index finger to his apologetic lips to silence him. “It’s beautiful Vince. Thank you. Help me put it on my I.D. chain, ok?” she smiled. He did as she bid.
Vince undid the back of her chain and slid the amethyst pendant on. Latching it back together he shimmied the stone down, and it hung between her breasts and twinkled as it caught the light. Leaning forward she kissed him. Both of them back into a mesmerised state of being, their unified hearts beat as one. Love ebbed and demonstrated itself with every caress, gentle brush of hot lips, and bodily compression. Every single little executed touch, every single movement significant in its own special way. Delicate breathing became calls demanding for gratifying air to enhance the pattering of passionate hearts. It was an intoxication of overwhelming desire.
Too attached too notice they were anonymous to the sight high above them, the aurora of light started to wave like a flag in the wind. Hues of vibrant greens, pale blues, bright white and dusty purples graced the earth. A slight of the eyes grabbed Suako’s attention. Turning and looking on in awe, they absorbed the colours through the portals of their eyes. “Look at that… It’s so beautiful…” she said, carried away by the immense sight. It was breathtaking, and it only enhanced the night from its prior perfection-like state to an even higher level.
Mack, still awake at camp, caught glimpse of the tremendous display in the night sky. Looking over to the slump of tired bodies snoring soundly away, so innocently sleeping, he couldn’t bring himself to wake the crew. Turning his attention back to the northern lights, shinning like phosphorescent electric lights, he’d never seen such a thing before. Looking once again at the mound of sleeping bodies he found himself able the wake them from their peaceful slumber to witness such magnificence. With one loud whistle they all jolted awake, and Jenko’s snoring ceased. Stumbling out from under the tent they wobbled over to Mack. “What’s up boss?” Kato yawned. Mei rubbed her arms to heat herself after leaving the comfort of her warm spot under the blankets. “Yea, what’s so important?” Masumi pouted. “Look…” Mack said pointing upward.
Heads turned and jaws dropped. “Oh… uh… wow…” Mei was at a loss for words. Kairu inhaled the colours through his observant eyes, and Masumi’s youthful being was just as respectful of that of the elders. Yu-Lee saw through it the power of the Life Energy and felt an intense magickal vibe pulsate through her entire body. Kato stood behind Mei and wrapped his arms around her muscular torso, and held her close, staring up. She placed her hand on his forearm, eyes unwavering from the lights. “Hey, thanks Mack,” Jenko said tapping Mack on the shoulder. “Ha, of course!”
The next day was an easy hike, just as the day before had been, as they made their way towards the travelers’ cabin at the foot of the mountains. The wind had picked up a little, and scattered clouds decided to come out, but the day was other wise delightful. They meandered along the countryside, in no hurry. They took another leisure lunch break, and once again Kairu taught the girls some new moves. They picked at left over meat from the bird and sipped the broth they’d made the night before.
Love me tender and nothing shall get in my way.
Chapter 15: Mountain Climbing
“Psst! ‘ey Mack,” Kato whispered as he ran up from the flank. “We ain’t alone, sum ‘un ‘s following us,” he told him, as he looked around his perimeter. “I know,” Mack whispered back. “I heard them this morning after we started out. A few of the soldiers from the fight in Uwajima apparently didn’t flee,” he calmly told him. The rest of the group took notice of the whispering voice and decided it best to follow that lead. “So, what’s the’ plan?” Kato asked, looking in a paranoid manner, attempting to situate their followers. “I want you to discreetly inform everyone, and tell them to prep for battle, but not to be obvious about it. Alright?” Mack directed. “Gotch ‘ya boss,” Kato nodded.
Kato drew back to share the news. It spread like wildfire over dry bushes under a high summer blaze of the sun. Shifty eyes scouted the immediate area, and Kato returned to Mack for further instruction, “Right boss, everyone knows. Now what?” He lowly asked. “Everyone’s ready?” Mack asked. “Yea,” Kato replied. “You’re sure?” Mack confirmed, his voice serious. “Yes,” Kato told him, equally serious. “Alright then,” Mack stopped dead in his tracks and drew his shotgun from his hip holster. He spun around and aimed it between a gap through where Masumi and Yu-Lee stood. The others stopped walking, instantly assuming battle stances, and readying their hands on their weapons.
“Whoever you are come out! We don’t want any trouble!” Mack bellowed. The pursuers’ footsteps ceased to sound. They we very close, hidden within the shadows, the trees shielded them from sight. Only the bleak whistle of the wind made any sound. Nervously he waited for some sort of reply. Soon that answer came, like a crackle of thunder, a shot was fired, and it buzzed by Mack’s ear, just missing the skin. It was game on!
As if orchestrated they fled for cover behind the trees, and everyone armed prepped his or her piece. The minute sound of the clicking of metal objects simultaneous started and ended. Jesters for their game plan were going around as fast as children playing a game of hot potato. For now, they would hold position and wait. When the anonymous enemies advanced, the attack would begin.
Yu-Lee dragged Masumi too the side. “We’re not going to fight, alright?” she strictly told the young girl. Masumi went to talk back, Why can’t I fight? I’m not too young! She initially wanted to protest, but after some reconsideration she thought the better of it. She knew she may not be too young, but she was too inexperienced. Masumi sighed and then shook her head in agreement. “Good girl. We have to stay out of sight, stay with me, we’ll look out for each other, ok?” Yu-Lee attempted to give the girl some feeling of responsibility to help combat the feeling of being unworthy for battle. “Right,” Masumi agreed, taking the bait as Yu-Lee had hoped.
No sounds came; the enemy wasn’t advancing. They held their ground, staying on their toes. An hour must had passed, and it was becoming tiresome for mind and body to wait. More time passed. Still nothing sounded but the wind in the trees, but they continued to wait. Another agonisingly slow hour passed by; their followers were patient whoever they were.
“Yu-Lee,” Mack whispered from several feet away. “They’re just not coming. Can you do something to force them forward?” He’d come up with the idea after the long stretch of nothingness that left only room for thinking. Yu-Lee thought about it, and an idea suddenly inspired her. “I’ll try!” she replied. Turning to Masumi, who’d been sitting in the snow next to her, Yu-Lee said, “Now I need you to be very still, and stay quiet, ok?” Yu-Lee’s majestic face and lively eyes held something that peaked Masumi’s interest. “Ok,” she replied.
The older woman took a stance with her feet spread apart, and her arms stretched up tall. Her creamy white eyelids enclosed around her marvellous eyes, and her cherry red lips muttered chants to quiet for Masumi to hear. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Suako in a similar stance, only her palms were in direct alignment with the top of Yu-Lee’s hands.
Yu-Lee summoned all of her strength, her repeating words more powerful with each repetition. “Element of fire, I call ye forth! Bring our enemies out from where they hide!” again and again. She began to hear the spirits of old around her whisper the words. Like a choir of voices more and more joined in to help. Yu-Lee could feel the energy build
ing up between her curved hands; the life energy was responding to her will to call it forth, becoming stronger and stronger, and more physically composed with each passing second. Yu-Lee soon sensed Suako’s influence and thanked her within her mind. Echoing spirits regretted to simply whisper for her to try and hear them. They began to chant louder and louder. Tiny sensations of prickles on her fingertips vibrated vigorously, then throughout her evoking body. As the spirits grew louder, so did she, without even realising it.
It became evident to the others soon just how powerful Yu-Lee could truly be. Before they knew it, they could hear the spirits too! Utter disbelief, then acceptance swept over them like a thin veil revealing its treasures that seemed too good to be real. They looked up to Yu-Lee with the innocent eyes of children exploring something new for the first time.
The followers in the woods behind could be heard murmuring through the thick sounds of chanting spells. Their words were not clear, but the tone was; they were in a panic. The chanting was intimidating them, it was evident that they felt quite uncomfortable. Some obtrusive voices rose above the rest, which they assumed must have been that of some of the higher-ranking officers trying to keep their men in line.
Masumi hadn’t blinked the entire time. She was intent on seeing everything; but when she saw what she did she had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. At the centre of Yu-Lee’s forehead she could see and transparent vertical eye open, but not only that, from the pupil emerged a blossoming lotus flower, which sprouted open instantly. Masumi’s eyes fluttered away and then shot open to gaze at the miraculous spectacle.
An unexpected thing happened then, one that would never be forgotten until the end of their days. It was if billions of minute specks of red tinted flecks appeared in the air. They were more concentrated and bright near to Yu-Lee’s cupped palms. A long stretch of condensed energy specks created a visible line between Suako and Yu-Lee, like a river’s flow, the energies glided down to Yu-Lee where they pooled together. The swell grew larger and larger, and the voices became more, and louder. The red light was shinning consistently brighter, till it nearly blinded onlookers, and their elevated heart rates took a jump into overtime. Then the chant, one last time, enunciated firmly, and clear from Yu-Lee’s lips, the voices ceased, and Yu-Lee’s eyes shot open after the few seconds of silence. The last resonant sound was her words, “So mote it be!” The gathering power from Suako jolted from her, sending her stumbling backward. It then joined with Yu-Lee’s every gathering force. The red energies shone suddenly white light, and then… it happened!
Like a lightening bolt it left Yu-Lee, sending her flying backward several feet, and as if a cannon, it blasted forward into the trees. Boom! Like a bomb the exploded into flames. The energy moved, as if alive, only to where it was needed, then dispersing as if it had never been there. People fled from their positions, and most of the pursuers ran away, screaming, devastated with fright. The fire left almost as quickly as it had come, without having harmed anyone, nor leaving any trace behind of it’s existence. It had barely lasted a minute, but it had done the job.
Simply three men were all that were left after the others had fled. Those three came fleeing forward from their hidden locations to charge them, carrying powerful Gatling guns, and wearing navy blue uniforms which did up with a single gold button at the collar. “We don’t want a fight!” Mack yelled. But the men did not slow down, and they started screaming battle cries as they continued their frantic charge toward them. “Kato, Suako, Jenko, we’re on!” He issued them out, passing Jenko a handgun.
Mack tumbled out and took aim; he fired three shots, which took out the first man’s right knee. The blood squirted out and rained down in tiny droplets, staining the snow below. The man screamed, cringing, as he fell frontward onto the cushion of snow beneath him. The second man came at Mack, attempting to revenge his fallen companion. Mack took aim again. POW! The man fell as dead as a stone onto the ground, but not by Mack’s hand. Jenko had taken aim, like a sniper, from the tree he’d hidden himself behind.
“Ready?” Kato asked. “Yea, I got it! I got it! Go!” Suako exclaimed as the third man came at them. Kato stepped out from cover and raised his gun. The soldier pointed his gun to Kato, but then Suako hopped out and shot a bullet straight between his eyes. Kato took aim at the soldier with the shot knee cap, and swung his weapon up t point at the man’s head, who was in the midst of lifting his gun to take Mack out. POW! POW! Two shots ended that.
The crackle of the ammunition fired boomed and echoed in the valley, resounding again and again, more faintly with each reverberation. It was an utter mess lying before them. Blood and brain scattered the once clean white snow. Masumi ran and threw up in the bushes, remembering her parents’ recent brutal slaughter. Kairu went to her side to console her, and she shook vigorously.
“Fuck…” Mei sighed as she peered around the corner at the stomach churning sight. It was a royal disaster all right. “Why the hell couldn’t they have turned around?” Mack asked shaking his head, quite pissed off. “This sucks,” Kato tried to blur the images from his mind. Vince sighed, “Good job you guys,” he thanked them despite the unfortunate events having to happen.
Tears streaking across her young face, but Masumi managed to pull herself into a straight train of thought. “We… have to… we have to leave. The noise will attract the wolves,” she muttered as she wiped her cheeks clear. Yu-Lee went to question the girl’s wellness, but upon seeing her face she held her tongue. Masumi’s eyes had gone vacant; she put up a temporary brick wall to shield out the nasty world from her sights. Masumi walked off, and they followed. After they left it behind them, they never mentioned the upsetting scene again.
By twilight they had made it to the cabin. They entered the cabin, it guarded them from the wind, and once they started the fireplace it gathered a great deal of warmth within its walls. In the centre of the one room cabin there were two inward facing couches with a carpet laid between, by the walls several beds were set up. An armoire against the back wall beside the fireplace held linens. To the right of the entrance there was a mini kitchen with a small brick oven, an icebox, and cabinets filled with canned goods, flour, sugar and jarred fruit jellies.
Setting their items down it was time to relax into a comfy warm night. Masumi took to searching through the cabinets and baked them some new bread to replace that which they’d already devoured. They rested fully and restocked their packs; their stay would be short, but well enjoyed. Masumi went over the basics of rock climbing once again before they slept, and bedtime was early, for the next day bode the need of much energy and strength.
Vince lay holding his precious Suako. Her hair smelled of fresh mint. He stroked her hand with his fingers, and as she was falling to sleep he sang just loud enough for her to hear:
Ocean of crystal blue,
Drag me across to you.
Silvery moonlit sky,
Across it I would fly.
Anything to get to you,
Please love me when I finally do…
The melody dithered on in a blur as dreams swept Suako away.
In the morning they rose with the sun as usual, once it cracked its rays through the frosted windows and stirred Mack to rise. In turn he followed up by inducing his troop to wake up by making hot coffee, the strong smell couldn’t help but wake the others. They drank and munched on goods from the cabinets, which they hadn’t any room to carry further on. Then they dressed and left the cabin just as it had been when they’d arrived, despite a few missing items from the kitchen.
It couldn’t have been a better day had they constructed it themselves, it felt almost warm with the sun beating down on them, and the louds were scarce, and if seen only were as wisps. It was a simple mile hike to the base of the mountain ridge. There, Masumi explain they’d have to climb a quarter of the way up the mountain. At that point they’d reach a ridge a few feet wide which they’d use as a road to circle around to the other side. From there
they would need to decent about a hundred feet to reach a wooden bridge the connected to a mountain on the other side. After crossing the bridge, they would make their way around to the other side of that mountain and then finally climb down.
“…That’s all and we’ll be on the other side and back on the road to Tomakomai,” Masumi finished explaining, while securing her rope holster around her waist. “Ha! That’s all she says,” Kato laughed rolling his eyes. Suako joined and Vince helped each other suit up with their safety harnesses. Mei stood there staring upward, and Yu-Lee joined Mei, raising her hand to block the sun from her eyes. “Well it looks like we’ve got quite them climb ahead of us, hmm?” Jenko raised his brow as Masumi handed him his harness. “Yea, it’ll be a pretty long time. It’s a few days to the other side,” she informed, tying back her rich brown hair into a ponytail. “I see. Well Mack, hopefully this weather will hold fast for us,” Jenko said as he turned to look at Mack. “We can only hope my friend,” Mack agreed.
Kairu found himself right at home with manoeuvring his way up the rock wall. Mack, Jenko and Masumi helped Yu-Lee, who was struggling to find the upper body strength to pull herself up when she lacked footholds. Vince climbed beside Suako and both watched each other, to insure for their own consciousness that the other would be all right. Kato and Mei seemed to dart up the mountain like they’d done this all of their lives; they practically were racing Kairu to the top.
Every so often the disorienting pops of the bolting gun boomed through the otherwise still air. The noise swarmed through the sky, extending it’s reach far in all directions. Masumi kept her eyes on everyone, having been the only one to have ever done mountain climbing in the extreme before. Kairu was used to climbing a few feet up the rock walls in Ryoko from his childhood play, but was otherwise as new to it as everyone else.
Krrry! A screech from behind etched its way into their ears. Mei gasped and looked around herself, and everyone flung their heads around to site the maker of such a gut-wrenching noise. Suako lost her hold in the shock of the situation. “Ahhh!” she screamed as she fell. Vince turned only to see Suako’s pleading eyes fearfully focused on him. He reached his hand out as far as he could just in time to grab her hand. Fretfully Suako started hyperventilating. “Suako!” The others called, trying to get over to help her. “It was just an eagle, don’t worry, we’re not in danger!” Masumi yelled as she helped Mack to have a good hold on Yu-Lee. Masumi locked her eyes on her target, and then went up to offer her skills to help Suako out of her awkward predicament.