Mni wiconi - Water is life

Chapter 9

The trip to the activists' camp was surprisingly peaceful. There was no comment about him and his grandfather joining the protests. Leo took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. At the same time, he kept his eyes fixed on the street, which was bathed in an orange light as dusk fell. The sky was slowly turning dark. They were only a few miles from camp and there was a chance that some Lakota were out on their ponies for a ride.

Drumbeats, soft at first, then steadily growing louder, reached his ears. Was he the only one to hear them? He quickly glanced at Emily. The woman was looking outside, lost in thought, hardly seeming to notice the landscape they were whizzing past.

He moved his attention back to the road and took in a sharp breath. A huge black shadow slid across the car, which began to sway. With painfully cramped fingers, he gripped the steering wheel and gently stepped on the brakes. Nevertheless, he was unable to prevent the Plymouth from landing in the grass. The car bumped a few more feet before coming to an abrupt halt. The sound it made turned Leo's stomach. Metal scraping over rock. He prayed fervently that no important components had been affected, such as the oil pan.

"What happened?" Emily clung to the passenger seat. Her otherwise pale face had frozen into a chalky white mask.

"I thought I saw something." He already had his hand on the door handle when he paused pensively. "Do you mind if I go and have a look? You are welcome to stay put." As soon as she nodded, he got out and turned in the direction they had come from.

A few tall trees stood out against the steadily darkening sky. The call of a night bird echoed across the plain. "Couldn't you wait until I'd passed before flying?" Leo grumbled. Quietly cursing the culprit for the near accident, he ran back to his vehicle. He crouched down next to the driver's door and breathed in the air through his nose. Did he smell oil? Then he would not be driving home today. Resignedly, he opened the door and pulled the key out of the ignition. "I am sorry, but we have to walk the remaining part of the way. I don't feel the slightest desire for the Plymouth to start burning under my ass."

The white woman fiddled with her seatbelt. For a moment it seemed to Leo as if she would not manage to unbuckle herself, but then he heard the relieving click. Just in time, before he could offer his help. Emily got out with awkward movements. She looked uncertainly at the road. "Did we hit an animal?"

"No, but a Great Horned Owl almost rammed into us." The largest eagle owl species in North America.

Even his companion seemed to know that, as she whistled softly through her teeth. "I did not even know these birds were living here." She turned once in a circle. She absentmindedly stroked her hair. "How far is it to the camp?"

"It is doable on foot," Leo grumbled and marched off. Either the white woman followed him, or she could watch as she found her way to the activists.

"Wait, I have an idea."

The back of his neck began to itch again. What did Emily want now? Irritated, he turned to her and saw her fishing her smartphone out of her handbag.

She glanced at the display and sighed heavily. "Crap, no signal. Otherwise, I would have called Sammy to pick us up."

He stifled a grin. "You will have to walk for better or worse. You probably don't know that from a big city where public transport comes by every few minutes."

"You have no idea," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear. "I regularly get off there a few stops earlier if it is too crowded," she continued. "Contrary to what you might think, I am not an avid city dweller. My parents owned a house in a suburb of Washington. It was beautiful there. So peaceful." She broke off.