To Reverse a Curse

Chapter 9

(Chris' POV)
     I stepped off of the bus, at the head of a long dirt road, Sam, Mike and Dr. Hill trailing behind me. I had received a letter from Josh a few days ago saying that he's fine and that he had been helped by a Cree shaman, and that we can visit him. He gave directions to the town, and that's what's led us to this dirt road.
  "Are you sure that Joshua will be in this town?" Hill asks me.
  "I'm sure," I say, "he said to ask for Mama Ostell once we reach town,"
  "Alright," Mike says, "Let's get going, then,"
  I nod, and we all start what will probably be a long trek down this dirt road.
---
(Meanwhile; Josh's POV)
  I'm slowly crawling along a branch of a large oak tree, using both hands and both feet to keep myself balanced as I approach the terrified kitten. "Don't worry," I whisper to it, slowly stretching out my right hand to grab it, "it's okay...". I lightly grab it, and I pick it up from the branch. I tuck it inside my shirt, and I hold it with one hand as I slowly drop and then hang by one hand on the branch I'm standing on. I lightly drop myself onto the ground.
  "Mittens!" a little girl cries, running up to me.
  I hand the little kitten to the girl.
    "Thank you, Askuwheteau," she says, holding the kitten like a baby.
  "You're welcome," I say smiling.
  The girl smiles back, and then runs away, to a woman waiting by the front porch of a nearby house. "See, mom!" the girl says, "I told you he would get her down!"
  The mother smiles at the little girl, then, keeping her smile, looks up at me. She nods.
  I nod back.
  Finn and two of his friends ran up to me. "Josh!" Finn says, grabbing my hand, "Do you want to play a game with us?"
  I smile. "Sure," I say, "What game?"
  "It's a game we made up, Askuwheteau, sir," one of his friends say, "we call it 'Wendigo',"
  I raise an eyebrow, smiling slightly.
  "It's like manhunt," Finn says, "and freeze tag. One person starts as the wendigo, and the others spread themselves out in a field, and stand as still as possible. They can stand in any position they want. Then the wendigo, after counting to seventy, goes around, looking for anyone that moves. If a person moves that's near them, they can tackle that person. Then, that person becomes a wendigo. Then, whichever group, wendigos or humans, have more people by sundown, they win,"
  I nod, slowly. "Do games usually last until sundown?" I ask.
  "If we start them at mid-day," another of Finn's friends says.
  "What time is it now?" I ask.
   Finn checks his watch. "About eleven thirty," he says, "which means we have half an hour to round up all the children who want to play,"
  I nod. "Sure," I say, "let's go,"
  Finn smiles wide, and grabs my hand. He pulls me after him. "All of the kids are going to want to play if you're playing, Josh," he says, happily.
  I smile, and we start to walk through the town, gathering up kids to play with us.
---
(Chris' POV)
  "Excuse me," I say, approaching the first house I see, "We're looking for Mama Ostell?"
  The woman glances up from her herb garden in front of her house. She looks from me, to Mike, to Sam, to Hill, then back to me. A slight smile flashes across her face. "You must be Josh's friends and psychiatrist," she says, wiping her hands on her apron, leaving dirt smudges on the tan canvas, "I am Mama Ostell," she says, "We've been expecting you. Josh was about to give up hope of seeing you,"
    I sigh. "Well, we're here now," I say, "Where is Josh?"
    "Probably playing with the children," she says, walking toward the front door of her house, "I'll take you to them. I believe they're playing in the back field of the town,"
    I smile. 'That does sound like something Josh would do.' I think, 'I'm glad that he found help.' I see Mama Ostell glance at my wrist, and she smiles.
"Ah..." she says, "you're the man who matches his bracelet..."
    I chuckle. My right hand brushes against the woven bracelet on my left wrist. I had made matching bracelets for me and Josh, since I left him alone a lot, due to jobs and classes. I had told him that, no matter how far away we are, the bracelets keep us connected. "Yeah," I say.
    She smiles at me, and leans inside the doorway of her house. She hangs up her apron, and comes back out of her house, holding a wide-brimmed sun-hat. She puts it on as she walks toward us. "Let's go, then," she says, and she leads us into the town.
---
(Josh's POV)
  "...68, 69, 70!" I call, hands still covering my eyes.
  "Now, crawl toward us, pretending to be a Wendigo!" Finn calls.
  "I don't have to pretend," I mutter to myself, but I drop onto all fours. I crawl over the boulder I was just sitting on, and I crawl toward where the children are, lightly growling.
  I hear a girl giggle near me, but I have to ignore her. I can't go after someone who doesn't move. I see someone take a step away from me, and I turn towards them, growling louder.
    They stop in their tracks, stifling laughter.
  I continue forward, to where I'm sure Finn is. I hear someone sneeze, and other kids shushing them.
  Finn stares at me, smiling wide, but frozen still. He's standing on one foot on a rock, the other bent behind him, one ankle resting on the inside of his other knee, arms outstretched.
  I look around, pretending that I don't see any of the other kids who aren't moving.
  Finn wobbles, losing his balance.
  I glance at him.
  He tries his best to stand still, but his foot slips. He falls backwards off of the rock.
  I leap toward him, catching him before he hits the ground.
  He starts laughing hysterically.
  "Well," I laugh, holding him in front of me under his arms, "I guess you're a wendigo now,"
  He continues laughing, and I start to laugh as well.
  I hold him under my arm, him going relatively limp from laughing so much. I start back toward the boulder that I was counting on, and I see something approaching us that makes me stop in my tracks.
---
(Chris' POV)
    "He's become quite the hero," Mama Ostell says, "the first day he was here, he saved an entire family from a burning house. Then, a day or two after that, he saved a group of children from an elk stampede. Two days ago, he even saved me and my grandchildren from a bear attack. He's earned a Cree name that way: Askuwheteau. It means 'he keeps watch',"
  I smile. "Wow," I say, but then my smile falters "so...he's still..."
  "...a wendigo?" Mama Ostell asks, "Yes, and he's taken the mantle in stride. He's used his abilities to his advantage to help the people in this town,"
  "Wow," Sam says, "that...that definitely sounds like something Josh would do..."
  "This experience sounds like it helped with his state of mind," I hear Hill mutter, "but I'll need to see him for myself to make a full assessment..."
  "Aren't you worried that Josh will give in to his hunger?" Mike says.
  "He hasn't yet," Mama Ostell says, "and he does say sometimes how hungry he is, and if he ever comes close to giving in, he comes and talks to me. I don't think he's ever going to give in,"
  We approach a large field where I see lots of children standing, spaced out, perfectly still.
    They all seem to be smiling, though.
  I furrow my eyebrows. "What's going on?" I ask.
  "They're playing a game that my grandson, Finn, made up," Mama Ostell says, scanning the field, "it's called 'Wendigo'. There he is," she points to a child standing on a rock, "that's Finn. If he's not the wendigo, I shouldn't doubt that he pulled Josh into the game to be the wendigo,"
  I nod, and then I noticed the figure crawling through the tall grass toward Finn. Shielding the sun from my eyes with my hand, I see that it's a human, crawling on all fours, and I can't help but think about when Flamethrower Guy was killed.
    How the wendigo moved.
    Panic starts to claw at me as I continue watching, and Finn falls backwards, and the figure pounces.
  Sam gasps, and she tries to run toward the field, but I stop her.
  Finn is laughing loud enough for us to hear, and the figure stands up, holding Finn under his armpits.
    He seems to say something, but Finn doesn't respond, and keeps laughing. The person tucks Finn under his arm, and turns toward us, walking toward a boulder that's right in front of us.
  I gasp. I take a step forward. I hear Mama Ostell chuckle. I drop my backpack on the ground as I start to run toward Josh, and I vault over the boulder.
  He smiles at me, face clear of any trace of wendigo fangs.
---
(Josh's POV)
     I smile at Chris, and I lightly place Finn on his feet on the ground next to me as Chris starts to run towards me. I run toward Chris, and I catch him mid-air as he vaults over the boulder. I hug him tight. "I thought you weren't going to show up, Cochise," I say, setting him on his feet.
  "I'm sorry," he says, face buried in my shoulder, "It took forever to convince Hill to come with, and I had to wait for spring break, so I didn't have to worry about missing any classes,"
  I chuckle.
  Chris stands up straight, looking me in the eyes. He smiles, and lightly touches the right side of my face. "Wow..." he says, "...not even a scar..."
  I let go of him. "Yeah," I say, "Mama Ostell is pretty good at what she does. I, personally, think that a scar would have looked cool, but..." I shrug.
Chris chuckles.
  I start to laugh as well.
  "So what's this I hear about you being the protector of this town?" he asks.
  "Oh, so..." I gesture to Mama Ostell, "...she told you? Do you like the name? Askuwheteau. It's not as cool as Cochise, but...not all of us can be badass, right?"
  Chris starts to laugh.
  'God, how I've missed his laugh...' I think to myself. I place my right hand on his elbow. I pull him closer to me, place my left hand on the side of his face, and, before he could protest, I kiss him. Just a quick kiss, but a kiss either way.
  He stares at me, eyes wide, mouth slightly open.
  I chuckle. "There," I say, quietly, "I've been wanting to do that for a while..."
  He smiles and chuckles. His face turns almost scarlet.
  "Ew..." Finn laughs.
  I turn to see him standing off to our right.
  "I mean, cute," he says, "but...ew," he scrunches his face slightly.
  I chuckle. "Thank's, Finn," I say, and he gives me a two-fingered salute, and a goofy smile.
  Both Chris and I start to laugh.
  "Do they want to play too?" Finn asks, gesturing to Chris and whoever is behind him.
  I look past Chris to see Mike, Sam, and Dr. Hill standing with Mama Ostell. "Uh...I think Mike and Sam might want to, but not Dr. Hill," I say, "Wanna go ask?"
  Finn smiles at me, and then dashes over to them. He says something to Mike and Sam, and Sam smiles.
  She always had a soft spot for kids. She says something to him, and he starts to hop up and down, excited.
  Mike crosses his arms, and says something to Sam. He doesn't look too sure about it.
"Can you hear what they're saying?" Chris asks, turning back toward them.
  "No," I say, "My super-hearing doesn't go that far,"
  "So..." he says, "...you...like being a wendigo?"
  "Certain parts, yeah," I say.
  "What parts?" he asks.
  "The stuff that helps me be like a hero," I say, "I like that,"
  He nods, but stays silent. He has a very uncertain look on his face.
  "Chris..." I say, "I'm still me. I'm just...well, I'm faster, I'm stronger...but it's still me,"
  "Do you remember when we first met?" he asks, like he's trying to see if I'm an imposter.
  "Third grade, right?" I ask, looking at Mike and Sam, "The kid next to me was messing with the girl in front of him. I had never seen a kid so hell bent on getting a girl's attention. Strap snapping wasn't the best way for him to go about it, but..." I shrug.
  "You were really quiet the first few days of the new seating," Chris says.
  "I was a shy kid," I admit, "but I opened up eventually,"
  "Yeah," Chris laughs, "but you just wanted answers to your homework..."
  I laugh. "Okay," I say, "I'll admit that may have been part of the reason I started talking to you, but...it worked out in the end, right?"
  He chuckles. "Yeah..." he says, "I guess..."
  Sam and Mike walk over to us, Sam smiling.
    "I'm glad to see you're okay, Josh," she says.
  "Thanks," I say, smiling, "So...you're gonna play with us?"
  Sam nods. "Finn explained it to us, and it seems fun," she says, "even though it may trigger some PTSD flashbacks..."
  I chuckle, knowing what she means. "Are you playing, Mike?" I ask.
  "Sure..." he shrugs.
  "Okay," Finn says, "'cause I'm a wendigo now. We'll count to twenty, and you guys go stand in the field and stay as still as you can,"
  "Got it," Sam says, smiling. She grabs Mike's arm, and pulls him into the field.
  I look at Chris, and nudge him. "Get going, Cochise," I say.
  Finn had already started counting.
  Chris nods, and he walks into the field.
  I close my eyes and start to count with Finn. "...eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty!"
  Finn tries his best at a growl and crawls on all fours towards the group of kids waiting in the field.
  I follow him, crawling as well, scanning for Chris. I see him in the far back of the field, in the stereotypical Bigfoot pose. I chuckle to myself. I see a kid move near me, and I jump at them.
  They squeal as I pick them up, and they start to laugh.
  "Okay," I say, "go back to the rock and count to twenty, then join the hunt,"
  They laugh as I put them down, and they run to the rock.
  I find Chris again, and I creep toward him.
  He sees me, and he's staring at me, smiling.
  I crawl toward him, slowly.
  He starts to laugh, and that makes him sway, about to lose balance.
  I pounced on him, and I tackle him to the ground.
  "Awe, c'mon dude!" he says as I have him pinned to the ground by his shoulders, "I barely moved!"
  "Even a tiny movement can set off a wendigo," I say, smiling.
He chuckles. "Guess I'm on your team now," he says.
  I quickly kiss him again. "Yep," I say. I stand up.
  He blushes again, and slowly sits then stands up. He walks toward the rock.
---
     By the end of the day, the wendigos ended up winning.
    Finn is now leading something that looks like a victory procession to the center of town, and when we get there, I notice that almost the entire town has gathered.
    There's a large bonfire in the center of town, and people have all gathered, making a path through the crowd. They all start to cheer when they see me.
  As I pass people, some throw handfuls of flower petals and feathers, others come up to me and put necklaces over my head.
  When I reach the fire, I see Mama Ostell in a festive dress. She smiles at me.
  "What is this?" I ask.
  "Happy Birthday, Askuwheteau," she says, placing her hands on my shoulders.
  I smile. "The...the entire town came together to...to throw me a birthday party?" I ask, near happy tears.
  She smiles. "You've turned twenty one, right?" she asks, "It's an important age. And this is the town's way of saying 'Thank you for all you've done',"
  There are happy tears in my eyes as I hug her. "Thank you..." I say.
  Mama Ostell chuckles and yells something in Cree. From what I could translate, something along the lines of "Let's Celebrate!".
  The entire town cried out in celebration, the collective voices combining in a harmonious cacophony.
---
    Later that night, I'm sitting against a tree, staring at the large bonfire, Chris laying on top of me, head resting on my chest. I have my arms around him, my chin resting on his head. I sigh. "This is awesome..." I say.
  "Yeah..." he says, "...this is...it's nice seeing you again..."
  I sigh. "I can't believe I'm 21 years old now..." I say, "hey, I can drink legally now..."
  Chris chuckles. "Not like that stopped you before..." he mutters.
  I laugh.
  We go silent, the only noise that can be heard is the crackle of the fire.
  Then, howl from a nearby roof pierces the silence.
  I freeze, and look in the direction of the noise. "Oh, shit..." I mutter.
  Chris looks as well, and he grabs my hand. "No...h-how?!" he says.
  I get up, making him stand up as well, never looking away from Hannah, not even for a second.
  She locks eyes with me and growls, crouching down.
  "Chris...don't move..." I say, crouching as well.
  Chris freezes.
  Hannah breaks into a run, and I do the same, running on all fours.
    The world fades to grey, any slight bit of movement turning orange, but I'm focused on Hannah.
  We leap at the same time, colliding in the air.
    Her claws rake across my chest, knocking me to the left.
    I land lightly on a roof, my chest stinging.
    Blood drips onto the roof underneath me.
    I'm breathing heavily, and I growl.
    She lands on a building opposite to me.
    I leap toward her, grabbing her by the throat. I pin her to the roof.
    She thrashes in my grip. She claws at my arms and back, but I don't let go. She tries to bite my hand, but it's nowhere close to her mouth.
    Tears rim my eyes. "I...I'm sorry, Hannah..." I sob.
    She roars at me, placing one of her feet on my stomach, trying to get leverage to push me off of her.
    I roar back at her.
    She freezes, almost amazed. She now seems afraid of me.
    I take a deep breath. "...goodbye..." I mutter. I rake my claws across her throat, nearly decapitating her, spraying myself with blood. I sit back on my haunches, sobbing. I bury my face in my hands, crying. I pick up Hannah's body, and I jump off of the roof.
    Everyone who was in the square had frozen, watching us.
    Mama Ostell walks up to me, and moans in despair. "I...I'm so sorry, Joshua..." she says, "...that must have been devastating..."
    I don't say anything. I walk Hannah over to the bonfire, and place her in. As I watch her body engulfed in flames, I start shaking. My knees give out, and I fall to the ground. Tears stream from my face.
    "Josh!" Chris says, running up to me. He kneels next to me. "You're hurt..." he says.
    I don't look at him. I feel numb. I feel like I'm just floating. I watch Hannah's body crumble to ash.
    Mama Ostell and Chris stand me up, and walk me to her house.
    The pain is starting to catch up with me, and I'm about to pass out as we enter her house.
    Finn and Cora are already in the house, and they help Mama Ostell and Chris get me to my room.
    Finn looks worried, and he's asking a million and one questions, leaving no time for anyone to answer them.
    They set me on the bed, and I almost instantly passed out.