Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

57.) When the Spring Comes

Pale poked her head out of the door, looking at the three of us arguing outside. She trembled with fear. I placed myself a couple steps to the side to sheild her from view. The girls In my arms must have senced Gorzas animosity and began to squirm and fuss as well. 

"Red Eye will spread, must kill." Gorza said again. "Human child to."

"No." I said again.

"They are danger to tribe." Ortha said softly. Her yellow eyes expressed a  firm surness.

I looked back and forth between them. This was not how i expected today to go. Weren't we genuinely joyful to be reunited yesterday?

"We will leave when the spring comes." I told them. I stared deeply into Gorzas yellow eyes. " I'll take the girls and go south, the tribe will not be in any danger and you wont have to see us again."

"Red Eye could spread to Bait." Ortha disagreed. She took a step forward and i took a step back. There was hurt in her eyes.

"I have already carried them in me. They dont have it or it would have already spread to me." I disagreed.

Gorza seemed tense ready to pounce at any moment.

"They cant even move on their own. Much less go down the hill side. We will stay up here untill it warms." I told them. "Then we'll go."

Gorza and Ortha shared a look.

"Talk to Chief. He decides." Gorza said with a nod. Whether she was sad or hesitant she expressed no emotion.

"Thank you Gorza." I said bobbing my head.

The two promptly made their way down the hill with noisy steps. I watched them walk aways before dashing to the house.

I put the girls down on the bed and began packing hurriedly.

"Whats going on?" Pail asked.

"We have to leave now." I told her.

"But the Orcs left?" She said confused.

"They will come back and there will be more, the Orcs dont like what they dont understand and right now they dont like the babies or you. So we must go." I told her.

The Orcs had trouble accepting me because I was partially human, and they isolated even their chief when he had the possibility of becoming a Red Eye. There was no way they would accept two babies who they believed already had the disease. Gorza must know this, whether she intended to give us time to escape or if she just didn't want to be the one to finish us off, I didnt know but I wasn't letting go of this chance.

"Where are we going?" Pail asked.

"I know a place so dont worry." I told her.

I packed everything i could on my back. I got about half of the food from the over head storage and all of the bedding. Carrying it wasnt difficult due to the weight, it was nothing to me but the oddly shaped bundles were dificult to afix to my back. I carried the girls in slings on my front. Pail carried a small back with a portion of food and was wearing her old clothes under her new dress. She had a difficult time  keeping up but with everything on my back i could not carry her and whats more i couldnt leave her at the hut for fear that one of the Orcs would come back before I did.

The babies were also a concern. While they were snuggly bundled inside my clothes there was still the worry that being outside would make them sick. The path was slick. The small spots with snow made crunching sounds, leaving behind foot prints but mostly the terrain was muddy and icy. Pail began to slip in places dirtying her clothes and she struggled to climb hills even when holding on to the trees for stability. We had traveled only a short distance, by my calculations. Gorza and Ortha were probably just making it to the village now. We had to move faster. There was no other choice. I dropped my pack in the mud. I would have to come back for it later.

"Climb on my back." I told her.

"But..  the mud." She looked down at her clothes.

"Dont worry about it theres no time." I told her. I crouched down to give her my back.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around my neck. I moved as quickly as I could without slipping or jostling the girls. We headed west past the little spring where I used to get water and well into the rocky area. Most of my pelts had come from this area. The trees were more sparse and boulders and rocks were every where.

I found my way to a bear den I had hunted in before. There were lots of secret places on this slope. Some rocks were sturdy and immovable but others might be on the brink of falling down the hill side. This place was dangerous for Pail but the hut was worse. The girls and I had strong skin but I imagine we could still be crushed to death under the weight of a large boulder.

The cave wasn't very large. I could stand up in it but laying down would be cramped with the four of us. It would do at least tonight. I'd find a better place a little further away after bringing things here.

"Sit here." I told her, letting her down.

I took of my fur hide that I used as a cloak and sat it on the ground. She sat on it without arguing. I took the girls out of the sling and placed them on the fur as well. I had to be fast, i needed to be faster.

"I'll be back with the food. You stay here and watch the girls. If anything happens yell for me alright?" I asked. my hands were on her shoulders.

She nodded her head and I ran out. Without the kids I was much faster. I first grabbed the supplies i had left in the mud and then immediatly sprinted back to the den and dropped it roughly by the entrance. I turned around again and ran back towards the hut.

I stopped a distance away hiding in the woods. There was no stomping of Orc feet and no new smells. From what i had seen the only foot prints on the ground were the ones we had made earlier. I ran to the cabin and packed more. Grabbing more supplies, I wrapped them in more hides for carrying. The food cash underground was well hidden. So i didnt need to worry about it. I used all manner of tricks to cover my tracks. Leaves, rubbing out my foot prints, and running around the hut a few times to confuse the scent trail i left behind. I ran south and then back tracked carefully to the west.

This time was crucial and I had to do as much as i could. It was unfortunate that i couldnt take grandpa tree with me, especially when he had grown so tall but there were plenty more seeds to plant. Grandpa tree wanted to spread his seedlings across the continent so that he could see and experience everything. The more i spead the happier he would be.