In the Panther's Wake

Chapter 34

Straight ahead of me the sky is brimming with a bluer darkness and in front of that, a dark shape looms. Hunched low, it stands up and turns to face me, hits me with its eyes, bringing me up on to my feet.

I take a step towards the panther and it watches me. I break into a run as it turns away, and immediately I fall, straight onto my knees. I wail, knocked flat by the pain for a second, but I rise up on to all fours, stalking on like the beast I'm after.

I claw forwards in the sand. The panther keeps on moving, stalking over the dark, the warmth of its eyes hidden.

"Please, you have to help us!" My throat tears and scratches as I scream.

I scramble on, kicking up swirls, coughing and wheezing. I fall this way and that, delirium, my head repeatedly smacked with a tomahawk, burrowing deeper and deeper.

But still the panther continues to move away, skulking towards the east where the sun's glow grows over the horizon, dimly lighting the low edges of the sky, until the gold shimmer finally breaks.

The panther stops, turns and faces me. Eyes ablaze it roars, and I feel the power ripple and surge through me. Our eyes meet and the panther goes still, bows its head, before turning away again, breaking into a run and disappearing. Something tells me this is his goodbye, and I watch him charge into the light ahead and vanish.

I beat the sand and cry out. "Come back! We need you now, more than ever!"

My voice falls away into a croak, and the heat begins to rise. I crawl on, following the panther, his footprints in the sand. They lead me straight towards the sun, and I follow them half blind, half dead. I crawl on all fours, my arms and legs both giving way, my vision blurring and fading.

The trail of panther prints ends, and I search desperately for a path to follow. There is nothing to lead me, just rusty sand, smooth and untouched.

I beat the ground and claw at the final print, swiping it away. I punch the sand again, finally defeated and Death not far away. The sun has revealed half its face and I wait for the tap on my left shoulder, holding my breath, but it doesn't come. I glance back, expecting to see a shadow behind me, a masked face. But there is no one there. I turn all the way around to take a good look but I only see the stretcher lying in the sand, with Markus' still form on top of it a way back. Unconscious and waiting for the end. Finally it's here, so I stare at the spot where the footprints ended. I stare hard and then strangely, the sand appears to move, sinking away and falling into an invisible hole beneath the ground.

It makes me dizzy and I fall onto my stomach, holding my head as the tomahawk cracks on. I reach out, flailing at the sinking sand. I gather all my strength, raise my fist up and hammer down hard.

My hand breaks through.

The sand around me gives way, so that I'm up to my shoulders in the grains, my hand freely grasping at air underneath.

Adrenaline kicks in and I focus, pulling my arm up and out, before pushing up off the ground. I dig around the hole and the sand collapses, opening up a huge deep gap in the earth that delves far into the ground. I stare firmly, but my vision is failing, and I struggle to stop the swaying as I tremble. Something silver flutters down below, silver lines jingling and sparkling. My heart seems to freeze, a familiar glow returns, this time stronger than before. An emerald fire that will burn forever.

I race over to Markus and grab the stretcher by the handle. Something new flows through me, those flames, and they give me power when I have none. I pull the stretcher along to the hole and roll Markus onto the sand. I take the empty flask of water from the satchel and begin tying together strips of tarp, making the longest rope I can, tying the other end to the top of the flask with the lid pulled off. Lying in the sand, face down, I begin to lower it until I hear a gentle splash.