The Little Shaman

Chapter 12 - Don't Look Back

River was shaking so hard that Tibby was getting nauseated from the movement. With no time to think, the human dropped the child to the ground as gently and swiftly as he could. Their eyes met briefly, both pairs full of fear and sadness. Tibby didn't want to be left behind. He wanted to stay with River and ride off to save Boo.

"Tibby, if you see anything happen to either one of us, you start running, do you understand? Run and don't look back."

The sound of thundering hooves engulfed Tibby's ears as River sped off. What was he going to do? Fight off a line of soldiers by himself? Not that Tibby staying with him would have made things better. Besides, there was no way he'd be able to reach Boo in time. His horse wasn't fast enough.

The soldiers had stopped charging and formed a line. One of them was a little ahead of the others with his arm in the air. He barked indecipherable words at the armored humans, his voice aggressive and biting. Was that the governor? Tibby hadn't seen the man before so he wasn't certain, but his attitude sure seemed to fit the villain he'd heard the others talk about. As the words ceased, a handful of the soldiers lifted long sticks off their backs and pointed them towards the approaching Boo. Were they going to throw the sticks at him when he got closer?

"Tibby!" Deemo shouted, out of breath as she landed on the ground in front of him. "Tibby, turn around. I don't want you to see this."

"See what?" he asked, confused and alarmed. Now he couldn't take his eyes away.

"Those are muskets, Tibby. They shoot tiny balls of metal faster than you can blink."

"Muskets?" Tibby repeated, his voice going quiet.

"Yes, they're going to-"

A staccato shout caused Tibby's body to go cold. Even as far away as he was, he knew it was the command to fire. What followed was an ear-piercing sound like snapping trees. Flinching and closing his eyes from the shock of it, Tibby reopened them quickly and sought his friend. Boo was still on his horse, and he and the steed were bobbing and weaving as he kept on riding. Nothing seemed to have happened to him.

"They missed?" Deemo asked, her voice full of surprise and relief. "Thank goodness." She flew up unto the sky and turned to face Tibby, her tiny hands pulling on his arm. "Tibby, we have to go. Start running!"

He couldn't move. His eyes were fixed on Boo, on River, and on the soldiers. He wanted everything to stop. For the bad humans to leave and for his friends to come back to him. He wanted to see Da again, and Ma. Where was she? Had she found the tribe? Were they coming to rescue Da?

Tears streamed down his face. With his small hands squeezed into balled fists, he began to shake with the anger and frustration of a child powerless to affect the world. River was not that far from Boo, but Boo was only a few hundred feet from the soldiers. They were fiddling with their weapons and a few of them were lifting them up again. Another round of musket fire was coming. Enraged at what that might mean, Tibby slammed his fists into his thighs and screamed with all the strength his lungs could muster.

A violent shaking motion began at his feet. The shaking was not from his own body, but from the ground. The earth itself was moving, shimmying this way and that. The quaking didn't matter. He continued screaming, letting out all of his sadness and anger. His bloodshot eyes were focused on the soldiers. He imagined them blowing away from the force of his scream, as if his lungs were able to produce a storm. Instead, the shaking of the ground caused their horses to buck and spin in circles.

Panicked, the animals ignored the commands of their humans and sprang away in terror. Every one of the soldiers fell to the ground, thrown off by their steeds. Some were even being dragged across the ground, their heads slamming against the dry grass as their horses fled. And the one human in charge, the one that was undoubtedly the governor, was kicked by an enraged horse in his right shoulder and thrown backwards into the air. The blow wouldn't be enough to kill him, but Tibby knew a kick like that was going to leave him in a great deal of pain.