Ephemeral: Chapter 29

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

Despite the awful night before, Clara woke early just as Elpis beams colored the eastern horizon lavender. The first thing she noticed was her terribly stiff back; the second was that she was perched thirty feet from the ground. She squirmed at the restraining shirt's pressure under her arms, winced at the smell of her clothing, and wished above all else for something to drink.

“Aaric?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

“Down here,” he called up from below.

Clara looked downward through the branches. Aaric stood shirtless on the dewy grass looking up at her. She saw the contours of his bare chest, his broad shoulders, and well-toned arms and momentarily forgot her thirst.

“I was so parched, I woke up early,” Aaric said, completely unaware of Clara's thoughts. “Good news! I found the path! It's a little rocky, but straight as an arrow. And right beside it, I found a stream. Here's some water.” With his left hand, he held up a boxy cup made from a folded leaf.

Clara's thirst returned.

She quickly untied the shirtsleeves which held her fast against the tree bark, dropped the shirt to the ground, and shimmied down the tree – occasionally pausing from light-headedness. When she finally landed on the pokey grass below, she drained the offered cup of water and immediately craved another.

“Where's the stream?” she asked.

“Over there.” He pointed with his left hand while his dominant arm hung at an odd angle. It also had a nasty zig-zagging scar running from the top of his shoulder to the thumb of his right hand. He caught her inquiring eye and sighed. “This arm bore the brunt of the blast.”

“Does it hurt?” Clara asked.

“Not anymore ...” he trailed off and looked at his feet.

“That's good! But ..?”

Aaric's gray eyes practically rained with disappointment. “Look.” He held out both arms palms up in front of him. His left arm looked sound, but his upper right arm had bent into a “V” shape – not at his elbow. “I won't be able to throw straight until I get corrective surgery. I tried to hit some nuts from a branch earlier and missed the tree entirely.”

Now he throws like me! Clara tried not smile. “Sorry. It's not humerus,” she said.

Aaric's mouth twitched briefly. “Nice pun, but this isn't funny. If I can't aim properly, I won't be much help in a struggle – and it may be a bigger struggle to reach the Silvans than we think.”

“I'm sorry, Aaric,” Clara said.

Aaric's face softened. “Me too. I'm always touchy when I'm hungry.”

“I am hungry,” Clara said. “But I'm even more thirsty. And I smell like garbage.”

Aaric smiled. “Count your blessings, Clara Milton. I think that smell saved our skins last night.”

Clara raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“See this?” He pointed down to the grass.

The three-dimensional leaves stood ragged next to an impression of a paw print with long claws. Its diameter was longer than Clara's foot. She stepped back when she realized several such prints circled the tree in which they'd taken refuge. “The snarleks were here?! I didn't know they got that close!”

“I think they were following that other animal ...” Aaric said.

“The unicorn?”

“Antelope,” he corrected. “But we obviously drew their interest or they wouldn't have sniffed out our tree. Thankfully, we must have smelled like dead meat. Otherwise we would have been; snarleks are good climbers, but they're not scavengers.”

Clara shivered despite the warming morning air. “I still don't like smelling like a dead yak. And I'm still thirsty.”

“Why don't you get more to drink, then? There's also a small waterfall if you want to freshen up.”

“Really! That's wonderful!” Clara headed in the direction Aaric had indicated earlier. “Aren't you coming?” she asked when he didn't follow.

Aaric gave her a long look, a deep look that made her feel warm inside. Then he averted his gaze. “I've already washed – though if you wouldn't mind rinsing my shirt in the pool and laying it out to dry, I'd be much obliged. It’s better if I hunt for breakfast. Maybe I can find some nuts on the ground.”

“Good idea,” Clara said as she continued toward the stream. “I'll meet you back here in three degrees.”

“Just make sure you don't leave the path! It's our only lifeline to the Silva tribe.”

Clara waved in acknowledgment, hiked up the aforementioned path strewn with gray rocks, and spotted the stream. The “waterfall” — little more than a trickle, really — flowed over a large boulder against the mountain with a shallow pool about two feet deep at its base. Clara plunged both hands under the water's clear surface and brought the liquid to her mouth. It felt so rejuvenating to feel the coolness run down her dry throat. Then she peeled off her slimy clothing and let the water caress away the sweat, dirt, and grime from the dump. She rinsed her clothes (along with Aaric's shirt), wrung them out, and donned her outfit again in a shaft of warming Elpis light. At first her skin felt clammy against the damp cloth, but she knew she'd dry completely in no time. She raked her hands through her damp tresses which now hung below her shoulders and managed to braid them into some semblance of order, securing her work with an elastic she discovered in an out-turned pocket. She was about to return to Aaric when something flashed colorfully from the corner of her eye.

Clara turned in time to see an iridescent purple-green tail about the size of a pencil disappear to the left of the trail. She tensed. Is that a snake?!

A second flash of iridescent purple-green came from a nearby boulder rising from the midst of a small berry thicket. A lizard-like creature no longer than her forearm gazed at her with large emerald eyes.

Whew! Clara had never cared for reptiles. They’d always seemed so cold with their lidless dull stares. But this creature cocked its head curiously and looked Clara up and down with interest. And it wasn't a snake which gave it major points in its favor. The scaly creature extended a dorsal flap from its back like a small greenish-purple sail and let out a clicking sound as if in greeting.

“Are you talking to me?” Clara asked as she unconsciously stepped toward it.

Up, down, up, down went the flap.

Clara blinked. That’s funny. This creature couldn’t understand me. But then again … Clara felt sheepish, but she cleared her throat and addressed the lizard. “Do you know what I’m saying?”

The creature bobbed. Up, down, up, down, up went the flap.

Intrigued, she tested the creature with a negative question. “Am I a snarlek?”

The creature shook its head from side to side. Its dorsal fin remained flattened against its spine.

“Am I human?”

Again the dorsal fin flapped affirmatively.

Clara's stomach rumbled beseechingly. “Are these berries good to eat?” she asked, pointing to some blue orbs hanging from a nearby bush.

The creature shook its head from side to side, its dorsal fin flat against its back.

“Oh.” Disappointed, Clara withdrew her hand from a nearby cluster. “Do you like to eat berries?”

The reptile stuck out a forked, sticky tongue and caught an insect in mid-flight. It swallowed it whole, then cocked its head as if asking for another question.

A thought occurred to Clara. “Do you know the Silva tribe?”

Up, down, up down went the dorsal flap.

“Are we far from it?”

Side to side went the head, its dorsal fin flattened. Then the creature turned and stuck its nose in the air toward the left like a pointer signaling a scent. It clicked at her twice.

Clara’s heart leapt. It was about time she had some good luck! She made her way through the bushes to the boulder and tried to look in the direction which the reptile indicated. “Is there a shortcut to the tribe?”

Up, down, up, down went the flap. The creature bobbed its head.

Clara stood on tip toes. Sure enough, she spied a wide dirt walking path with nary a pebble – such a contrast to the rocky, uphill path Aaric had found. Clara sighed with relief.

Bad idea …

Clara's gut involuntarily tensed. Something was warning her.

She hesitated. Am I so far gone I'm starting to hear voices? She shook her head and let out a small laugh.

The beautiful lizard raced down the boulder with astonishing speed, scurried to a gentle bend in the the dirt path, and turned back toward Clara. It beckoned her to follow with three clicks, its dorsal flap slowly rising and falling. Then it scampered beyond her sight.

Shoot! Clara frowned. She didn’t want to lose the creature, but she also didn’t want to lose her way back to Aaric. She looked behind her; the uphill path lay only ten feet away. I won’t go so far I can’t see the path. I can always turn around.

Following the creature, she made her way through the berry bushes to the wider trail. She saw the beautiful creature waiting for her a few yards ahead. As soon as he saw her, he lifted his dorsal flap and scurried several yards, then clicked twice for her to follow before disappearing around another bend.

Clara looked behind her. True, she couldn’t exactly see the path anymore, but she had a clear view of the boulder beside it which was practically the same thing.

Click, click! The lizard beckoned.

Clara followed the sound, unaware that the path's downward slope increased her speed. She tromped after the lizard's clicks, but noticed that the path narrowed the further she went. Clara soon had to push bushes aside – bushes with thorns which scratched her arms. Clara also noticed with growing trepidation that the trees grew closer together in this part of the forest, blocking out nearly all Elpis’ light.

“Ouch!” she said as an unseen bug stung her on the arm. She slapped it and realized that this little detour had finally run out of charm. It was high time she got back to Aaric as he was probably wondering what was taking her so long at the shallow pool.

Clara turned around to retrace her steps, but realized with a sinking heart that she now stood at a crossroads where overgrown bushes obstructed each and every path. Was I just on that path? Or was it that one? She thought, looking one way, then the other.

Just as she was about to start shouting for help, the little lizard came to her feet and cocked its head toward her. Clara put her hands on her hips and frowned. “Where did you go off to? I thought I was lost!” She was surprised how stern she sounded.

The lizard backed away from her and clicked once.

“Sorry,” she said, taking a breath to steady herself. “Can you lead me back to the big rock?”

The lizard cocked its head and clicked twice as if to ask why.

“I want to go to my friend now. Which way to the rock?”

The lizard looked at each of the four possible paths, then darted down one, clicking as it went.

“Not so fast!” Clara called. She was too tall to dart under the bushes and got stuck in one. She beat her way out of it, caring little for the thorns. Doubt grew like a cancer, dulling every other sensation. “Where are you?!” she called.

Click, click! She heard a yard or two ahead.

“I’m coming. Wait!”

Click, click, click.

Clara stopped beating her way through the bush. Did that click come from behind me? She slowly turned, but could see nothing but branches.

Click, click, click.

Clara’s head whisked to the right.

Click, click, click!

Clara whirled around to the left and swallowed hard.

Click, click, click!

Click, click, click!

Click, click, click!

The clicks came from all directions — some distant, others disconcertingly near – all rendering the same effect as shark fins circling around a leaky raft. Clara's throat felt dry once more. She started running blindly through the bushes, stumbling here, scratching herself there. And the click, click, clicks seemed to follow at her heels. Now she was panicking.

“Aaric!” she called. “Aaric, help!” Thorns clung to her body like talons as she fought her way through the underbrush to the tune of the sickening click, click, clicks. How many creatures were there? Twenty? Fifty?

Then Clara yelped as she tripped over a hidden log and found herself falling, sliding, grating against small stones and knobby tree roots down a steep ravine. She hit the bottom on her side with a loud thump, her head narrowly missing a large group of sharp rocks pointing upwards like spears.

For a moment, all was silent but her gasps for breath. Is anything broken? She wiggled her toes. She bent her arms and winced at the pain of her bleeding scratches. I think we’re okay ... She pressed her hands against the dry dirt and lifted herself slowly to her feet. The ravine walls were about fifteen feet high on either side; she’d never be able to climb back the way she’d come. She squinted in the hazy light dappled with forest shadows. As the dust settled, Clara focused on the ground. Her eyes shot open in horror.

The ravine was filled with bones.

Skeletons of four-footed animals. Skeletons of winged animals. Skeletons of man.

Clara wanted to call for help, but her tongue clung to the roof of her mouth. Then she heard scurrying sounds overhead. She dreaded looking up, but look she did. There, lining the edge of the ravine stood dozens and dozens of ravenous purple-green lizards. Baring sharp, serrated teeth, they gazed greedily down at Clara with demonic faces and clicked triumphantly, bobbing their heads and flicking their dorsal flaps in frenzied anticipation of the imminent feast. Some whisked out their forked tongues in her direction, licking the air for the smell of her warm blood which would soon flow through their cold veins.

Clara’s knees gave out. She dropped into the dust, head bowed in defeat. I deserve this, she thought as she choked down a sob. Aaric told me not to leave the path! She did not bother praying for deliverance; she felt too ashamed.

The slithering river of a hundred reptiles surging toward her down the ravine walls brought burning tears to her closed eyes. One lizard – perhaps the one which had deceived her – climbed onto her shoulder and sank its dagger-like teeth into it. Clara felt a blazing sting as if someone had plunged a burning poker into her arm. She cried out in agony … and then lost consciousness.

So what do you think?

You okay with all the chase scenes lately? Or is it a little much? Let me know in the comments below!