Wherever I Am

Chapter 6 - Part 2

We moved slowly away from the carnage, Ellie and Lord Boian limping along using yucca stalks as canes. Ellie wore her pack, though we transferred some of her gear to a smaller burlap bag I found in the saddlebags, and Oana was carrying that.

Lord Boian was pissed because I draped the saddlebags over my pack. He'd love to yell that he's supposed to protect me, but we've kept silent in case anything might hear us. Of course, as bloodstained as we are, the Sobecks could probably smell us a mile away.

Oana followed close behind me like some imprinted duckling. I wasn't sure whether it was because I stood between her and the Sobecks or so she could jump into the fray with Boian's knife if something happened. It had about a nine-inch blade and would be a two-handed grip for her, so probably some of both.

I wasn't scared shitless, but if a deer came crashing through the underbrush, that was probably exactly what would happen. I felt like I needed to drop a load from the moment we set off, but it was all in my mind.

We were taking animal trails rather than the more well-trodden ones. It was Boian's idea, but a good one. We tried to be careful crossing the more established paths not to leave evidence of our passing. So far, it was working. We were still alive.

I pointed out the thunderheads off to the southwest, and it was apparent they'd all seen them already. Boian said he had a spot in mind that we should be able to get to before those got to us. Both he and Oana were pretty sure we'd get wet otherwise, so I wasn't going to argue against the experts.

An hour later, I wondered if Boian was optimistic about getting to that location. With him and Ellie lame, we moved slowly, and the air temp had dropped with that pungent scent of rain—outflow boundary from a hefty thunderstorm. Then came noises. I waved the others back and down and joined them behind cover.

Two dozen Sobecks went by heading the other way, or so it seemed from the sounds. I waited five minutes before I stood, then squatted again as the sounds of more came along that trail. More than a dozen with that group. Oana's cheek was against my back, arms around my waist.

Maybe our saving grace was that outflow boundary, which shifted the wind to put us downwind of the wolf-people. Perhaps they would've missed us anyway. Either way, we were safe for the moment.

Another five minutes and Boian gestured us to follow him and took off on something no larger than a rabbit trail, angling away from where the Sobecks were coming from and into a ravine, then down it to a larger creek...not where I wanted to be when the deluge hit. I was next to last now, Oana still trailing me closely. We moved to yet another larger creek and followed a ledge until we could cluster together under a slight overhang.

"Not what I was planning on, but I wasn't expecting to have to hunker down like that," Boian said, then pointed. "That's not good. There's smoke in the air to the south." I could make out the dark band drifting east against the darkening sky. "The village of Barlad lies off that way. I'm afraid we're heading there rather than my estate once the storms are over."

Then the storms hit. Ellie and I pulled out ponchos and threw them over us to stay dry, wrapping them around Boian so his head stuck out, Oana sticking her head out from the bottom while crouching under my legs while I sat bent-legged. We weren't getting wet, but if the wind changed, we could be instantly soaked. My head, ribs, and hand throbbed while we waited.

This was a good time not to have a car outside, I thought a few minutes later, watching hail crash down. Softball-sized, some of them, and it was deafening. Then I thought of the town, probably attacked and burned, and the survivors. I hoped there were survivors.

As the hail subsided, Boian turned to Ellie. "So, Maid Elexus, tell me how it is you're still alive and not even a spot of blood on the back of your clothing."