Remi's Great Escape (Forestfolk Prequel)

Chapter 4a

In the morning, I found myself curled into a ball. My skin was chilled, but I was alive.

Climbing out of the hole proved easier than scooting feet-first into it. I spent several moments basking in the morning light. The wind had died down, and all around me the yellow grass stood, still as death.

My stomach grumbled.

Unless I developed an appetite for old coyote poop, I would just have to keep going.

I winced as my bare feet encountered burrs and sharp stones. Pa had said I would develop tough calluses on them if I stayed tough.

So I would stay tough. If not for me, then for Ma.

The sun rose higher, spreading its welcome warmth everywhere. But my throat was parched. I would reach the Zurbo tribe soon, investigate, and then hurry home, hopefully with news. I didn't want to spend another thirsty, bone-chilling night out here.

When I finally reached the river, I hurried to its bank and sucked in big greedy gulps. I drank until it felt like I'd ingested my entire body weight in water.

Sated, I rolled over onto my back and threw an arm over my eyes. I was close. The Zurbo compound was right by this river, so all I needed to do was follow it for a while.

I listened to the rushing water and rustling grass. If I wasn't starving, I might have actually enjoyed it here. Thoughts of having to scour the plains for another coyote den made me get up. I couldn't waste any more time.

***

There it was.

The Zurbo compound looked a lot like the one I lived in, with poles lining the outer edge of the tribe's mud huts to form a protective perimeter. Men and women came in and out through openings in the fence. I would have to sneak through one of them in broad daylight if I wanted to make it back home before nightfall.

When I was close enough to be seen, I concentrated on blending in with the yellowed grass around me. I'd jog as far as I could, then hide behind a bush to recover some strength. Staying camouflaged sapped my energy.

I stayed close to the river where the grass was taller, offering more hiding places. The closer I got, the harder my heart thumped. What would these people do if they caught me? Did they treat Aberrations the same way my tribe did?

A group of children ran around, shouting and screaming with whatever game they were playing. I envied them their innocence and joy. I wanted to quit this stupid mission and run with them.

A small boy about half my age came barreling straight at me, and I crouched by a boulder. The camouflage crawled across my skin, and I was soon dappled in gray and white. Instead of running past me, he hid behind the same boulder, giggling and peeking around it at his friends.

Why did he have to choose my hiding place?

I stayed still, maintaining my camouflage and hoping he would go away soon.

He didn't.

He opened the sack he carried and took out a piece of jerky as big as his arm.

I stared at it, and my stomach rumbled in response.

The boy looked in the direction of the noise, gripping the jerky like a weapon.

I held my breath.

Go away, I thought. And leave the jerky behind.

The boy settled onto the ground and tore a piece off with his teeth.

I began sweating from the effort it took to maintain the camouflage. I couldn't hold it much longer. Get out of here, kid!

The boy chewed slower than a toothless buffalo.

Unable to maintain my power any longer, I decided to do what I really wanted to do.

"RAH!" I slipped out of camouflage and jumped at the boy, raising my arms like a menacing beast.

My ears rang at the shriek he let out.

He dropped his jerky and kicked up dirt in his rush to flee. "Monster!" he screamed, flailing his arms. "River monster!"

I scooped the jerky off the ground and sprinted to a cluster of tall reeds. Gasping for breath and heart hammering, I ducked into them and listened for people to start hunting me.

"You're such a liar, Pimo," I heard an older boy say.

"Am not! It was right by the river! It was about to eat me! But I kicked it in the head and scared it away."

"Sure you did."

"Come on, I'll show you where it was."

I peeked out from the reeds.

The older boys were ignoring the small one, and I almost felt bad for him. But he decided to start pushing around an even smaller girl, and all my sympathy vaporized. Typical Plainsman bully in training.

I crept along the riverbank, keeping to the rocks and reeds to conserve as much energy as I could. I found a shaded crevice between two boulders and crawled into it to rest. I was practically drooling onto the jerky I'd picked up.

As I enjoyed my paltry meal, I watched the women washing clothes at the shallow part of the river. The way they laughed and chatted with each other, I imagined them to be nicer to Aberrations than my tribe was. What would they think if I sneaked my mother out and we came here to live with them? Would they accept us?

All chatter stopped, and I snapped to attention. They hadn't seen me, had they?

Their eyes were narrowed at an unusual girl who walked toward the river, lugging a clay pot in her arms. She looked to be close to my age, and her deerskin dress had seen better days. With willowy limbs and hair paler than the grass around us, she stood apart from the stouter, brown-haired Plainsmen. She was definitely not from around here.

"Blue-eyed freak," a woman closer to me muttered to her friend.

No one talked to the girl directly. She waded into the water and dipped the clay pot in. Her eyes avoided everyone. Her pallid face expressed such profound sadness, I immediately understood. This tribe was no better than mine.

Ooh, is that who I think it is?? Vote if you know the answer!