By late afternoon Cnāwan lead them around the side of a mountain. Fynn could tell they weren’t far from the top because, as she looked up, blue sky appeared through the trees. They followed a rock face and, as soon as they neared the end of it, Fynn heard the waterfall. The terrain became steeper; it was difficult to get a foot hold. At times, they had to grab hold of trees or shrubs to keep from sliding downward.
Fynn was grateful when a narrow grassy ledge formed. Her feet were sore from playing mountain goat. Misha called out to let Jon know she would wait in a nearby tree. The grass ledge then turned into a natural rock walkway which allowed them to proceed upright as they entered the large opening directly behind the falls. It was noisy but the spray of water on Fynn’s face was refreshing after the strenuous hike.
Once inside, Mel, Jon and Ben used flashlights to take them deeper into the cave where it was quieter. They all plopped to the ground in exhaustion. Cnāwan pawed at the ground, circled several times, and lay down. She fell right to sleep.
“I’m getting too old for this,” blurted Jon.
Ben eyed his friend. In between pants, he said, “You’re just out of shape. We all are. Maybe the trick is to do this more often.” He smiled playfully.
“If this adventure doesn’t kill me first, I’ll be happy to coordinate another one right away.” Jon let his arms fall out to the side as he toppled backwards. The coldness of the stone floor was a welcome change for his sweaty body. “Aaahh. That’s more like it.”
After resting a bit, Ben pulled a small battery operated lantern from his pack. He turned it on. “Fynn, walk with me.”
At first she wasn’t sure her body would move. He saw the hesitation and held out his hand to pull her up. As they walked, she realized just how large the cave was and was awed by its size. The cave angled slightly and, as soon as they followed it, any remote sounds from the waterfall were gone. It was like the darkness swallowed the noise.
Ben sat and leaned against the rock wall. Fynn did the same. She knew he wanted to talk. He rested his head against the rock and sighed. He was tired, as were the others.
“How are you holding up?” he asked.
“I’m ready for some sleep.”
“We’ll get a longer night’s rest here.” He looked at her and Fynn saw concern in his eyes. “How do you feel about having a half-brother?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it must come as a surprise to learn about a family member you didn’t know you had.”
“Yeah. A big surprise.”
“I imagine he’s been in your thoughts a bit.”
She didn’t respond. She had a sinking feeling about where the conversation was headed.
“The more you think about him, the easier it will be for him to continue following us.”
Fynn frowned in confusion, so he continued.
“Remember, everything is energy, even thoughts. Wærs are sensitive to energy. Even though Jimmy is only half-Wær, he obviously senses it.” He let her ponder it for a bit, hoping she would reach the conclusion on her own. He certainly didn’t want to tell her what to do but he wanted her to better understand the situation.
“Do you think I’m the only reason he’s able to track us?”
“No, not at all. Just the fact that he’s half-Wær makes him good.”
“But my thinking about him makes him more successful.”
Ben nodded.
“I know Mel said it’s important to keep Elione in our thoughts.”
“Yes, it is. It increases our ability to find the gate.”
She rested her elbows on her knees and let her head fall into her hands. Several minutes passed before she spoke. “I need to choose, don’t I? Jimmy or Elione.”
Ben appreciated that she saw the situation more clearly. He empathized with her - both her and Tibby - for they had clearly been through some tough situations in a short period of time. He didn’t doubt that it was forcing them to grow up more quickly than they might have otherwise.
He didn’t feel like he needed to offer any more insight. He simply put his hand around her back and squeezed her shoulder.
Chapter 35
_______________________
The rain came and washed everything. They woke to bright flashes that lit up the cave. At the same moment, a thunderous clap announced a lightning strike nearby. Jon, Ben and Mel were visibly happy about the cloudburst.
Once the storm subsided, sunlight trickled through an opening in the clouds. Tibby asked, “Won’t this slow us down?”
“Oh, I suppose a little,” said Jon.
He watched their faces for signs of disappointment but there were none. “And this makes you happy because…?”
“The storm helped us,” said Mel. “It recharged the atmosphere with fresh ozone, which means any traces of our energy leading to the cave have been wiped out.” She smiled.
“So this will help us increase the gap between us and the trackers,” offered Jon.
“Assuming,” Ben added, “that Jimmy didn’t recover too quickly from our fizzle ball and track us to this area before the rain came.”
Jon mocked a hurt look. “You question the strength of our fizzle ball? Awww, Ben. That one would have dropped a bear to its knees.”
He smirked at the humor. “Perhaps, but we’re talking about a half-Wær. Let’s just say I’d rather take the approach of being cautiously optimistic.”
While the others talked, Fynn watched Cnāwan walk to the cave opening. Her ears rotated as if they were searching for a signal. Her head rose and fell as she sniffed the air. She broke into a song, rather loudly, and the others stopped talking. Then suddenly, Cnāwan stopped singing. She jumped to her feet, arched her back and tossed her head back in excitement. “Meowwww!” They heard her say: We are getting close. I can feel it!!
“Really?” asked Jon.
“Mmmmmowfff,” was the reply.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Jon kicked up his feet. “Let’s get moving.”
“Easy there, Jon, we’re not out of the woods yet.” Ben thought about what he just said. “I guess that’s both literally and figuratively speaking.” He smiled at his own play of words.
They gathered their gear and followed Cnāwan to the opening, where the cat stopped and sniffed some more. The others watched and waited to see which way they were headed. After a few moments, Cnāwan walked to the right, which meant they were going out the opposite side from where they entered the cave.
The abrupt angle of the ground, combined with the wet vegetation from the rain, made it slippery. Even Cnāwan looked like she was struggling a bit but she certainly had an advantage over the others; four small legs were sturdier than two. The rock ledge that led them into the opening from the other side of the cave was above them on this side. Water trickled down its surface and crossed their path.
After her chat with Ben the night before, Fynn had been so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as they finished eating. She didn’t have the energy to think further about their conversation and the choice she faced. Now, knowing they were close to the gate, there was a sense of urgency to decide...Elione or Jimmy.
Both of them were unknowns. She didn’t know what Jimmy would be like as a brother or whether he would even want to be her brother. Was she just clinging to some old desire from the past to have a sibling?
Elione looked beautiful in the paintings but she didn’t know the place and wondered what she would do if she didn’t like it. Would she be able to return to this dimension? All she knew, in her short life, was where she grew up...and her mother. So, if she came back, what would she be coming back to? Her mother was gone. She hadn’t made any other friends and had no other family. It would only be for the remote possibility of developing a sibling relationship with Jimmy. The idea of it appealed to her...but would he want it?
She recalled Ben telling her about the archives, where she co
uld learn about her parents. She remembered the tingling in her body as she gazed at the painting and read the poem, like a call to her innermost being. She tuned in more deeply to that sense. As soon as she did, it became obvious what she needed to do.
She walked, with Ben behind and Tibby directly ahead of her. Mel and Jon were in front of Tibby, following Cnāwan’s lead. Fynn considered the events that had unfolded since she met these people – and the cat. She gazed at Tibby’s backside and appreciated how comfortable she was with him. She had never experienced that with anyone else. She was at ease with the whole group, for that matter.
She turned to look at Ben, walking behind. Their eyes met and he smiled. As she turned back to watch her footing, she noticed movement behind Ben. She raised her arm to point.
“Lookout! Porcupine!!” she shouted.
Chapter 36
_______________________
Misha swooped down from above at the same moment that Ben turned to see two of the rodents on their trail. The commotion was so close that it startled Fynn. Her foot slipped and she tumbled down the hill.
“Everyone, down!” shouted Ben.
Misha was on the ground in front of the first porcupine with her wings spread, squawking wildly. Jon and Mel dropped flat. Tibby followed suit, even though his first impulse was to run like crazy but it wasn’t exactly easy terrain for running. Cnāwan crouched behind a rock.
Ben lay on his side and took advantage of Misha stalling the porcupines. He formed a concentrated ball of energy. His hands molded and shaped it, like someone packing a snowball. It was so dense it looked solid and turned bright yellow.
Quills flew through the air overhead. Misha clawed at the first animal. Ben tried to gauge the distance to the second porcupine. He didn’t want to hit Misha. While on his side, he lobbed the yellow ball through the air. His aim was perfect and it came down directly on top of the critter. On contact, the yellow ball dissipated but the porcupine flopped over on its side. It was stunned, with eyes wide open.
Tibby looked down the hill and saw Fynn grasping a tree branch, struggling to pull herself up. He couldn’t see the lower half of her body and realized she was dangling over a ledge. She needed help, fast! He saw that Misha was still fighting with the porcupine.
Ben had formed another yellow ball and was ready to throw it. He gave the command for the hawk to fly. Misha appeared to have difficulty as she rose a few feet above the ground so he quickly threw it.
Tibby acted just as fast and slid down the hill on his butt. He bent one leg and kept the other straight to use as a break. His hands were at his sides, ready to grab hold of branches as needed. He dug the heel of his extended foot into the ground to slow himself as he approached Fynn.
Jon saw Tibby go over the side and thought he had fallen, until he saw Fynn farther below.
Ben hit the other porcupine just in time before Misha lost altitude. She dropped like a rock and landed on top of the stunned rodent. She flapped her wings awkwardly but one wing hardly moved. She was injured.
Jon took rope out of his pack, slung it over his shoulder, and used Tibby’s method of sliding down the hill. He knew the rope wasn’t long enough from their original spot so he slid down a short distance and tied it to a tree.
Tibby stopped himself just above Fynn and inched closer until he could reach her hands. He dug both heels into the wet ground and bent forward. Fynn let go of the branch with one hand and reached for Tibby. He took her hand in both of his and held tight.
“Can you swing your legs up?” he asked. He didn’t want to drag her over the sharp edges of the rocks. He also didn’t think his foothold was solid enough to support the effort but he pulled ever so slightly to help her momentum.
Fynn labored but the forward movement was just enough to get one leg up.
Jon slid toward them as he played out the length of the rope. He started thinking he tied it off too soon. It wasn’t going to reach. He slowed himself as he neared the end of the line and was still about fifteen feet from reaching them. He watched Tibby help Fynn get her legs up over the ledge but it appeared that one leg was injured.
Jon took off his rain jacket and tied the rope around the end of one sleeve. It gave him several more feet, so he lowered himself to the end of the other sleeve.
Tibby and Fynn were on hands and knees but Fynn was only on one knee. Her injured leg was extended. She couldn’t crawl. After several attempts, Tibby told her to climb onto his back. He started to slide under her weight but grabbed a branch.
“If you were any bigger,” he panted, “we’d be in trouble.”
He fought to stay on hands and knees while he dug his toes into the terrain and moved them upward, inch by inch.
Jon dangled from the end of the other jacket sleeve and extended his arm to reach for them. When Tibby got close enough for Jon to grab Fynn’s hand, he carefully rolled her off. She used her good leg to push herself closer to Jon while he pulled. Then he helped push her up to the rope while she pulled with her arms.
He did the same thing with Tibby. Once they got to the rope, he untied his jacket and put it back on. He tied the rope around Tibby and then tied the end of it around himself.
“Can you wrap your arms and legs around me if I walk up, using the rope?” he asked Fynn.
“I think so.” She climbed onto his back but couldn’t bend her injured leg so she held on with both arms and one leg. Everything ached from the fall, even her arms, but she tried not to think about it.
Jon slowly got to his feet but hunched forward because of the steep angle of the hill. Tibby did the same and they used the rope to climb.
It took much longer to climb back up than it did to slide down. At the top of the rope, they saw that a second rope had been thrown down from above. Ben was at the top, pulling up the slack, as they trudged the remaining distance.
They collapsed, breathlessly, at Ben’s feet. Jon gently rolled Fynn off his back. Her pant leg was torn; her knee, cut and bleeding.
Fynn saw Mel tending to Misha. The bird let out a soft cry.
“Sorry, Misha,” said Mel. She applied ointment to the areas where Misha took quills in the muscle tissue of her wing. Mel also had an eye dropper, which she used to give the hawk some tonic. “You’ll feel better soon,” she offered.
They asked Fynn if she could continue the hike. With their help, she stood but faltered on the first step. Her knee was already swollen.
Misha couldn’t fly and Fynn couldn’t hike. They decided the best thing to do was to return to the cave while they thought it through. At least, the water fall would hide their energy-trail from the trackers, for the moment.
“I’m sorry,” said Fynn.
“For what?” asked Ben.
“For causing trouble.”
He picked her up and started walking back to the cave. “If you hadn’t alerted us to those porcupines, it would have been much worse.”
Jon put his arm around Tibby’s shoulder. “That was very brave of you, Tibby. I’d hate to think of the consequences if you hadn’t acted so fast.”
Tibby grinned slightly as he looked at his fingernails, blackened with earth, but said nothing. He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten to her in time.
Chapter 37
_______________________
Ben and Jon left the cave to move the two porcupines to a different location. They didn’t want them anywhere near the path when they came to their senses.
Before leaving, Jon set Misha on a tree branch outside the cave so she could rest. He spoke softly to her and thanked her for the help. In response, the bird gently nuzzled his cheek. Since she was given the tonic, he knew she would be healed by the time they were ready to set out again.
Inside the cave, Fynn lay on her back with eyes closed, while Mel cleaned her wound. Tibby sat next to her and watched Mel work. He felt a hand on his and saw that Fynn’s eyes we
re open. She smiled faintly.
“Thank you,” she said as she squeezed his hand.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
She nodded. “It doesn’t matter whether your knee hits a rock or a rock hits your knee, the rock wins every time.” Then she closed her eyes again. After a moment, she added, “At least the pack stayed on my back.” She was grateful that she hadn’t lost the necklace.
Mel retrieved a small bottle from her pack and unscrewed the cap, which contained an eye dropper. She filled it with liquid.
“Here, Fynn. Take this.”
Fynn leaned up on her elbows. “What is it?”
“It’s an extract that will put you to sleep while it heals your leg.”
“I don’t want to go to sleep.”
“Fynn, we aren’t going anywhere until your leg is healed. It’s a strange feeling when it goes to work, like something is crawling on your skin, or in this case, your leg. There won’t be anything on your leg – it just feels like it. It’s important to remain totally still while it works. It’s better if you sleep. Trust me on this.”
Fynn was too spent to argue. She took the extract and lay back down. She reached for Tibby’s hand again and promptly drifted off to sleep.
~~~
Fynn woke to the sound of voices. The extract induced a deep sleep and she was disoriented at first. She had been moved farther into the cave, where it was quieter, and couldn’t figure out why there was such a weight on her stomach. Once she managed to fully open her eyes, she looked at her midsection and saw Cnāwan, lying on her gut, staring at her with a sideways glance. Fynn heard a faint “meow” come from the cat, like she was saying “hi.”
The others huddled nearby and appeared to be in a serious conversation. Fynn saw somber faces but couldn’t hear what they said.