Chapter Five
Emily and her friend Sydni stood in the backyard. Sydni gazed warily at the garage.
“So are you sure he’s friendly?” Sydni asked.
Emily giggled, “Oh, totally. He is funny too. He shot an arrow through me.”
Sydni looked at Emily doubtfully. “An Arrow? Through you?”
“He did. The arrow went completely through me without hurting.” Emily grabbed Sydni’s hand and pulled her towards the garage. “We need to hurry. Mom will be calling us for dinner.”
Emily pulled Sydni into the garage and closed the door behind them. It was dark inside with only the light coming from the hole in the window. The garage was unusually dusty, and everything was coated thick with it.
“Hey!” Emily called. “Chief Floating Cloud. Are you here?”
Sydni clung to Emily’s arm and gazed into the darkness.
“How do you know when he's here?” Sydni asked, her voice echoed in the quiet garage.
“You’ll see,” Emily said. “It’s pretty cool.”
“Is it like a flash of light or something?” Sydni asked.
Just then, a tiny dust cloud in the middle of the floor began to form and spin. Emily smiled and pointed.
“Watch that,” she said. Sydni moved behind Emily; her eyes were as big as saucers.
The little dust cloud grew taller and whirled faster and faster and began to spread outward into the room.
“Emily! Sydni! It’s time for dinner!” Emily’s mom yelled from the house.
Emily glanced at the garage door. “Oh darn! We won’t get to talk to him.”
Sydni gasped, and Emily looked back at the swirling dust. It was moving very fast, and had grown quite large. In fact, it was larger than she had ever seen it. In moments, the cloud expanded and filled the entire room. The girls covered their faces as the cloud grew so large, it surrounded them. The whirling air shrieked in her ears, and Emily thought she could hear someone yelling. The air swirling around them became so intense that both girls fell to the floor. Emily squinted through the storm and saw boxes and paper whirling around the center of the tornado. The old couch flew by over her head, twisting violently in the storm. As the couch spun around the center of the twister, it dipped low and looked like it was going to land directly on them. She cried out and laid flat on the garage floor.
As quickly as it started, the wind stopped. Emily raised her head. She was lying next to Sydni in tall, green grass. The sun was shining and a gentle breeze blew rustling the grass. A tiny bird flew by and twittered. They rose to their knees and looked around.
“Where’s the garage?” Sydni asked. “The house? Where are we?”
There was a grove of trees nearby, and they could see a long line of trees where the creek must run. There were no houses, no cars, and no people anywhere. Somehow, the land seemed familiar, but it was different. In the distance were the mountains she always saw from her house, but the buildings of the small town where they lived were gone.
The girls stood and looked around. “Where is everything?” Emily asked.
“All the buildings are gone,” Sydni said. “The city has disappeared.”
“Oh my gosh,” Emily said and pointed towards the creek. “Those look like teepees!”
Sydni squinted in the direction Emily pointed. She could see the staggered poles and brown tips of what looked like teepees. Faint, white smoke wisped from their tops. “Where did those come from?”
“It looks like an Indian village,” Emily said. “Let’s go.” They began to walk through the grass in the direction of the village.
They crossed the small creek surrounded by a few trees and squealed when they spooked a deer that jumped out in front of them and splashed through the water. As they walked through the tall grass, the teepees of the Indian village became visible. They saw a scraggly dog running by with what looked like two small boys in pursuit. The village was partly sheltered by some tall trees, so they didn’t see anyone else until they reached them.
Dappled ponies stood in the trees surrounded by a fence made with rope and long poles. The ponies whinnied nervously at their approach. They attempted to feed them some grass, but the ponies shied away. From the trees, they had a better view of the village. They saw a few women sitting outside teepees cooking or cleaning and some children playing games.
“Is this where the Chief lives?” Sydni asked.
“I don’t know,” Emily said. “I think so, but I've never been here. He told me his village was near the dreaming place.”
“I wonder if this is like the Wizard of Oz where a tornado takes us to another land,” Sydni said.
“Or maybe it’s a dream, and we are both lying in the garage sleeping,” Emily said. “Let's go see if the Chief lives here.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Sydni said. “The Indians might attack us.”
“Oh no, if they are like the Chief, I’m sure they are friendly,” Emily said. They began walking towards the village.
They were half-way between the trees and the first teepee, when one of the Indian women looked up and yelled something. She dropped what she was doing, and ran into the nearest teepee. In a moment, she reemerged with an Indian warrior. In his hand was a tomahawk, and his face curled in a fierce snarl. The girls stopped and gazed wide-eyed as the warrior uttered a war cry and charged them with the raised tomahawk.
“Oh no!” Sydni screeched. She stepped behind Emily. “I told you they were going to attack us!”
Before the Indian reached them, there was a shout from the village, and the warrior stopped in front of the girls and lowered his weapon. Emily gazed at the warrior in terror while Sydni stood behind her hugging her tightly. He regarded them as if nothing had happened. Several more Indian men, women, and children emerged from their teepees and ran towards the girls and formed a half-circle of curious eyes. They muttered to one another and gestured towards the girls. Finally, the crowd parted and a tall Indian dressed in deer skins and a headdress of feathers emerged from the crowd. He stood in front of the girls and smiled at Sydni who peered at him through Emily's hair.
“What is your name?” he asked.
“S-s-s-s-ydni,” Sydni said.
The Chief extended his hand. “Nice to meet you S-s-s-s-ydni.”
Sydni gazed warily at the Chief’s hand.
“Her name is Sydni,” Emily said.
The Chief looked confused. “She does not know her own name?”
Emily giggled. “She’s just nervous.” She turned to Sydni. “This is Chief Floating Cloud.”
“N-n-n-ice to m-m-meet you, Mr. Floating Cloud,” Sydni said. She stepped out from behind Emily and took the Chief’s hand.
“Why does she speak so strangely?” he asked Emily. “Is she affected by the spirits of the dreaming place?”
Emily said, “No, she’s just scared of you.”
“Perhaps she thinks I will try to scalp her.” He touched her hair with his free hand. "You have very nice hair, Sydni."
Sydni took a step back from the Chief. The Indians behind him laughed. The Chief smiled. “Don’t worry. I have no need for scalps.”
Sydni relaxed and smiled back.
The Chief turned to his people. “We have guests tonight! We will build a great fire and dance and feast!” The tribe cheered, and several women ran back to the village to get ready for the celebration.
“Oh no,” Emily gasped and turned to Sydni. “Mom was calling us for dinner right before we came here. We'll be in big trouble if we don’t get back!”
The Chief frowned. “Who is this "Mom"? Is this your Chief?”
“Kinda like a Chief,” Emily said.
“Well, you must choose. Does Mom have much deer meat?”
“No, she gives us yucky food,” Sydni said.
“Does she build a great fire and let you dance about it until morning?”
“Nope,” Emily said. “She makes us do our homework and go to bed early.”
“
With spankings,” Sydni added.
Emily giggled. “Yeah, to bed with a spanking. But not before she makes me clean my room and do all the dishes and stuff.”
Chief Floating Cloud frowned and looked gravely at the girls. “Well, you must obey the wishes of your Chief, Emily.”
Emily glanced at Sydni who nodded her head. “Naaahhh,” Emily said. “We will stay here.”
“Very well.” The Chief smiled and spread his arms. “Welcome to my village.”