Puddles

Chapter 10: Your Name

Done! 

The girl and the tall, lean mean strode across the dirt path, he more leasurely, and she with all the speed and purpose she could muster. A slight breeze passed whisperingly through the trees, speaking of squirrels in the trees, birds on the air, and villages nestled deep in the hills. All the while, the man listened attentively, and though nothing seemed to change, the man sped up his pace. Finally, he grabbed the little girl's hand and ran into the woods encroaching on the dirt path.

"What are-"

"Shhh. They've finally caught up, but faster than I'd expected." He pointed to a heavy-set man, coming into view as his horse rounded the bend. "Notice his features: clean-shaven, high cheekbones, that scar running from his left ear to his nose." The tall man shook his head. "And they wonder why I didn't invite them to my party."

Vicky watched as the man stopped on the opposite side of the road and she followed his gaze back the way he'd come to watch several more men trot slowly to his post. They quickly built a fire and settled themselves comfortably.

"So then...they're the bad guys?"

"The bad guys..." This seemed to greatly amuse the tall man crouching in the trees. "Yes, I suppose that will do. They are certainly not the good guys. Well, it seems we shall have to find a better route through this forest. Apparently, I made a mistake in taking us this way."

"I thought you knew these woods. You said it was the right way."

"It is. If you'll remember, I did not turn left." He moved off to the right of the bushes to steal a quick glimpse at the men. Their fire danced across the lines in his face, pulling shadows at the corners of his mouth.

You think you're so funny.

The man crept back to Vicky and whispered, "I just remembered a path that can take us around to the village. Follow me." His breath smelled strongly of roasted something. Vicky wasn't sure she wanted to know what. But she snuck after him anyways.

Time seemed to creep along as slowly as the strang man, but Vicky's attention was directed elsewhere. She had noticed it from the start of their journey and had forgotten, but now.....she started to get the feeling again....shivers crawling up her spine like tiny spiders. Vicky brushed tentatively at her back, just to be sure. If there was one thing she thought the world could do without, it was spiders. She watched the deep forest to her right, staring pointedly at it as if to say, You just stay right where you are, cause I know how to kick really, really hard.

The trees stared back.

Ahead of her, the man had vanished. Vicky crushed the panic rising inside her chest and half walked, half ran to where she'd last seen him. And if someone had not yelled 'Stop!' just in time, Vicky would have tumbled straight over the cliff that now yawned mere inches from her feet. She backed up slowly before turning in circles to seek out the voice.

A man stood several feet from her left, his body paper-cut thin. Maybe he'd already fallen off the cliff once before. His neon orange shirt fought for attention with the puple and blue striped pants. Her eyes finally travelled up to his face, which, thankfully, was something resembling normal. A very rounded chin (or was it two?), a stubby  nose, and the bushiest eyebrows attempting to hide stone-cold eyes. They reminded Vicky of the eyes of a really evil bad guy she'd seen in one of her movies.

Now the hair wasn't much to boast about. Vicky imagined the little rust-colored hairs as soldiers, one by one falling down, as they screamed "HOLD THE LINE!"

"Ah you.....ah you staring at meh?" Vicky made no attempt to avert her curious gaze. "I'll noht hahve little gels staring aht meh!"

"I uh...ahem, no, I was noticing how--"

"AHA you were staring aht meh! Ah knew et. I ought to--"

"Excuse me!" Vicky used her squeakiest voice. " Interruption. Is. Very. Rude! Yes, I know I did it too, but only because you did it first!" The man, a bit miffed, opened his mouth as if to speak, but Vicky waved an authoritative, six year old hand. "Let me finish please, sir. I was going to say, I think orange is definately your color."

"Oh! Yes, well..." He paused, processing that her statement was a compliment. "It does bring out my hair folicles."

"If you had any, my friend. If you had any." Vicky's previous travelling partner stepped from behind the man and patted him on the back. The sound of Vicky's jaw dropping alerted the man to her presence. "Oh, there you are, Miss.....Miss....I just realized, you didn't tell me your name!" 

"No, I didn't." Vicky wasted no time in storming over to him, grabbing his arm, and pulling him in the direction of the woods. But the man wouldn't budge. 

"I need to talk to you!" She glanced suspiciously back at the colorful man. "In private."

But the man simply laughed. "Whatever you have to say, speak openly. Hue and I have no secrets." The man winked boyishly at Hue.

"Don't you ever, ever leave me like that again, do you understand? You agreed to help me in my search, and that means we stick together, no disappearing or not warning me about sudden cliffs, or any of that! If you won't pull yourself together and make an honest effort to help me, to actually SEEM concerned, I will find someone else who will. And believe me, I will; there's got to be some crazy dolt out there who's smarter than you."

The words boiled from Vicky in hot, sticky waves and imprinted themselves on the man's face, so that he blinked rapidly. Even the birds had stopped chirping. The minutes moved slowly through the hot mess of angry words. Finally, Hue broke the silence.

"I say, man, that was quite the burning you took just then. Maybe you should've talked in private, eh?" Hue stooped to Vicky's height and wiggled her cheek, just like her grandma always did. "Spot on, dear. Spot on." Vicky pulled away, but Hue only grinned.

"Why are you here anyway?" Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Don't tell me you're looking for someone too! Look sir, he's already helping me, so you'll need to get in line."

Hue's grin widened. "Yes." Hue chuckled, then stole a condescending look at the other man. "Yes, I can see he is. But what you must realize, dear, is that my search has recently ended." Something about the way he finished that sentence felt threatening.

"Great. Wonderful! Then we'll leave you to your business. We really must be moving on if we would have any success in our search."

"Ah. Then you don't understand. I have completed my mission because I have just found her."

And with that, something blocked out the sun and fell on top of her. Vicky hesitated too long before struggling to escape the heavy fabric. A strange, sweet smell filled her nostrils, and she felt the urge to take a nap. The other man's voice wafted in through her heavy thoughts.

"This has to be done, my dear. You'll wake up soon."