Chapter 3 scene
Trouble at the River
The sun was still not up when the trio reached the Nizhoni River, and Millicent was feeling hopeful. The water smacked against the bank washing up bits of leaves and debris. This time of year fish thrived on the things that the mountain thaw washed down into the mouth of the river and she was ready to catch some Weeders or Mudbass, those were the best eatin. Millicent loved fishing, her dad had taken her fishing plenty of times when she was young, and she had always looked forward to that, at least before the accident. Looking at her brother, who was staring at the sky and munching on a sweet roll, she once again began to wonder what was wrong with the kid. After all they were related and she didn't act that way. "What are you lookin at Sammy" Millicent asked her brother, "You’ve been staring at those Marsh Swallows way too long. What, are you suddenly worried about bird attacks?"
"No," Sam answered plainly, "I think some of them birds lived up the river a bit by the museum, they look sad." Millicent watched as her brother frowned up at the birds with a look of pity.
"That's a bunch of spittin nonsense you dork," Mills laughed, "Birds don't know about things like that, and if they did they wouldn't be flyin around down hear trying to get sympathy from a kid like you."
"I dunno sis, I think they..."
"Stop thinkin you birdbrain," she interrupted him and do somethin useful like huntin us up some grub worms!" She interrupted, "fish don't bite on sweet rolls ya know."
"Ya but some fish do like..."
"I said grub worms fish face!
Her reddish blonde hair blowing in the breeze and the stare of her deep green eyes, not to mention the fist she was shaking in his direction, must have done the trick because he gave a small squeak and started looking at the ground. Besides if he knew what was good for him, he'd do what she said or he'd get a good whoppin upside the noggin"
"Do you think Fergie really started that fire Tate?" Millicent asked a little later as they sat on a long log that hung out over the swift current.
"Hard tellin, I know he's done some pretty mean stuff, but burnin up a bunch of expensive stuff for the museum? Doesn't really sound like something even he would do."
"Ya, but I was talkin to your sister last night before she left from takin care of my pa and when I told her what Fergie and Damon had done to us, she said we were lucky. I guess Fergie has been hangin out with a bunch of street thugs from across the river. She nodded towards the opposite bank as she finished that last part.
"Maybe he did then I guess," Tate responded, "Jonie is older than us and she'd probably know, besides…well, you know, Damon and all."
"Where has that little sneak gotten off to now," Mills said suddenly, I'm out of grub's. You see where he went?"
"Nope." said Tate looking over his shoulder to where he had last seen her younger brother. Maybe he's fishin a bit farther down."
After a quick search of the immediate area Millicent began to get worried. Maybe he ran into one of those creatures from the fire last night she thought. Panic hit her and she began shouting her brother's name but the sound of the water slamming against the bank would make it hard to hear unless Sam was fairly close.
By now it was now the middle of the afternoon and the sun was reaching its full height for the day and it brought unusual heat for this time of year. Walking southward along the river bank Millicent began to wish that she hadn't been so hard on her brother. Perhaps he ran off cuz I was being so mean to him she thought. Maybe I hurt his feelings and he ran off to get away from me. I don't mean to be so hard on him; it's just that I've had so much responsibility since mom died. As she walked farther down the river in the direction she had seen Tate go, her worry began to swell up inside her bringing her close to tears. Why couldn't I just be nicer to him, she thought, It's not his fault he's so young. What if something bad has happened to him, I should have kept closer watch.
A half an hour had gone by with no sign of Sam, and now she hadn't seen Tate in quite a while either. Millicent noticed she was sobbing softly as she walked; her pace had slowed almost to a crawl. If I only I could find him safe I would be nicer to him. I can't lose him now...her thoughts were suddenly shattered as she looked up to see Tate about twenty five paces ahead of her smiling and waving for her to join him. Running like the wind Millicent raced along the water’s edge, hopping downed logs, small boulders and splashing water when she got too close to the surf. As she neared the spot where she had seen Tate she noticed that there was a fair sized fishing skiff pulled up on the rocky bank. Sammy stood next to it grinning right beside Tate who appeared to be staring into the boat his face a mask of deep thought. Slowing to a walk as she approached them, Sammy looked up and upon seeing his sister huffing and puffing from the run, red faced, his grin vanished and he promptly began sucking his thumb. Millicent opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind but it snapped shut. Her face showed a slight scowl that turned quickly to relief. "There you guys are," she said gaining her composure. "I’ve been looking for you two," she said as if her brother had never caused her any grief. Sammy looked up a bit dazed, probably from not getting an earful of his sister’s wrath like he had expected.
"I found a boat" Sammy told her enthusiastically.
"I see that," Millicent commented trying to hold back the urge to tell him, really I hadn't noticed. Instead she looked at her brother thoughtfully. "Funny that there isn't anyone around, I wonder who it belongs to." She said finally.
"Ya, and there is some strange stuff in here," said Tate still looking into the boat, with a worried look on his face.
"Tate says he thinks this belongs to Damon," Sammy chimed in holding up an old leather necklace with a small charm in the shape of a man holding a baby in his arms.
"Damon?" Millicent uttered in disbelief. "You think he really had something to do with last night and is planning to run off?"
Sammy shrugged looking at Tate who still had not moved. “Tate...Tate, hello...you in there? Millicent asked impatiently.
"Something isn't right about this," he answered slowly.
Millicent looked down into the skiff and saw that Tate was holding open a small cloth sack. "What’s in there?" she asked moving around to the other side of the boat to get a better look. "Spit and ashes!" she cursed, her eyes going wide.
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Sammy was leaning on the boat turning the strange necklace with the little man holding a baby over in his hands. The man is crying, Sammy thought, the baby must be sick or something. His eyes are definitely closed; he observed looking at the baby closer. Putting the necklace around his neck Sam walked over to a large rock and stared out at the river. I'll give this back to Damon when I see him, he decided as he tucked the little man inside of his shirt, He wouldn't wanna lose something like this. Turning back to the skiff where Tate and his sister were, he realized they were digging excitedly into a cloth sack.
"These have got to be from the museum," Tate was saying, "They look pretty expensive and it would make sense if Damon was involved.
"You think Damon stole these and then set the fire?" Sam’s sister asked Tate.
"More than likely, he might have thought he could get away in this boat and sell the stuff on one of the islands somewhere, city folk hardly ever go to the islands these days."
Sighing Sammy hopped off the rock and walked down the beach a few steps. That's big kid stuff he thought studying the ground looking for something interesting. Big kids hardly ever did anything interesting in Sam's mind. Well, one time Tate had showed him how to trap a live rabbit that was eating farmer Clem’s vegetables. They caught it and took it to the woods before the grumpy old man could have it for supper, but other than that, big kids were pretty much boring. He could barely hear Tate, but his sister’s big mouth seemed to get louder every ten seconds. She was babbling about gold or money or something, Sam wasn’t quite sure.
Why aren't there any animals around, he wondered noticing the area surrounding him. Now that they were away from the warehouse district, there were trees, rocks and plants, but still no animals. Something scared them off…Where did that thought come from? That had been happening a lot lately. Strange thoughts entering his mind were not uncommon but this was something else. Knowing magically what animals could think, well that would just be nuts. His sister had told him many times how silly thinking like that was. Almost instantly Sam had another thought, or maybe it was just a feeling, he wasn’t quite sure but he knew one thing for certain, they had to leave, and quickly. Sam had the feeling that someone or something knew he was there and was not happy about it. Fear crept over him and he let out a small squeak. Tate and Millicent turned and looked at him like he was a weirdo. He shuddered. Running to the boat, panic causing his voice to tremble slightly, he blurted out. "We need to get going sis...I think right now!"
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"I still think we need to tell someone at the watch about this," argued Tate.
“Maybe it's made of gold,” Millicent exclaimed excitedly, "I'll bet it's worth a whole lot of money!"
“It's not ours Mills and we'd be no better than Damon if we kept em,' he said holding a silver statue of a ship. Well it was a ship, but the oars protruding from the sides were covered with something that gave them the appearance of wings. It was completely ridiculous, at least to Tate, "Yeah he said studying the statue once more before putting it back into the cloth sack, "We need to return these, maybe you could get a reward or something Mill."
"Fine,” Mills finally agreed, "we may as well..."
Before she could finish what she was about to say, Sammy yelped from a few paces behind them.
Tuning about Tate was confused; Sam seemed to be fine but was running towards them upset about something.
"We need to get going sis...I think right now,” Sam said to his sister, looking around nervously, his voice shaking.
"What are you talking about?" Millicent replied back to her old self.
"I don't know, I think the people from the boat know we're here"
"Whoever was in this boat, Millicent stammered, putting her hands on her hips, "probably got scared and left because he knows he's in big trouble, and if Damon Ladd even thinks about coming back down here and running off with this stuff I'll whop him on the head so hard he'll think it's next week!"
"He may be right," Tate cut in slowly, pointing down the river bank, "and that is definitely not Damon."
From where he stood Tate could see three cloaked figures standing in a group with their heads together as if discussing something important. Suddenly the figure in front turned and pointed directly at the three friends. As the cloaked leader pointed, Tate heard an eerie howl from somewhere farther off toward the city, then another howl somewhere in front of them but closer. However, somehow the second howl seemed different to Tate, it was higher pitched and more...human!
"There, on higher up the bank," said Millicent pointing in the direction of the last howl.
Squinting against the sun where Millicent had indicated Tate saw another cloaked figure, A dark silhouette against the clear sky, arms flat against his side and slightly behind him, he appeared to be stretching forward trying to get a scent of the wind. Unlike the other three figures this one had his hood off and there was something strange about the man’s head. At second glance Tate was not even sure it was a man, or even human.
"Move" Tate said grabbing Millicent’s arm. She was still standing and staring as if in shock. Turning back the way they had come they saw Sammy staring at two more cloaked men not more than thirty feet away. Where had they come from? Tate wondered freezing in his tracks. A few minutes more and the cloaked figures would have been upon them. Tate watched in horror as the cloaked beings moved slowly forward. They crept on two legs but their bodies were low to the ground and their arms were hanging down in front of them swaying to and fro.
Blast it all! Tate cursed to himself; they are so quiet we would have never heard them. All at once he realized that he was standing and facing the three creatures alone, in the distance he could see what looked like snarling dogs running towards them.
Falling back into the skiff Tate became aware that Sammy’s hands had been tugging at him and Millicent was already pushing the boat into the water.
"What's the matter with you?" Millicent asked Tate. "You got a death wish or something?"
Snapping out of his daze Tate jumped from the skiff to help his struggling friend who was barely getting the large fishing boat to move.
"Get in Mills, NOW!" Tate yelled as he flung her into the boat and began pushing as hard as he could.
As he pushed Tate could hear the creature’s howls ringing in his head louder than ever. They were all around him and soon they would be overrun by the cursed things. As he gave one final shove he heard splashing behind him. They’re in the water! Looking at his friends he could almost smell the fear, their faces white, eyes wide with horror! The boat lurched forward and Tate fell almost toppling into the water. He felt long skinny hands ripping at his clothes from behind, trying to tear him free from the boat’s hull. He lost his grip with one hand as the skiff hit the current and started to rotate sideways. He could feel Millicent tugging at his shoulders as he hung there in the water being stretched out like a piece of rubber. They’re going to pull me apart like a wishbone! Tate fought to hold on and Millicent wasn’t strong enough to haul him in. The cloaked figures pulled in desperation at his feet, howling, tearing one of his boots off and grabbing in vain to keep Tate from the safety of the skiff.
Suddenly the fishing boat lurched to one side with a loud cracking noise and Millicent was nearly flung to the back of the boat. Tate fought for air as the water tried to rush into his lungs He floated there for what seemed like an eternity gripping the front of the skiff for all he was worth sinister hands still fighting to claim him from behind.
"I can't hold you Tater!" Mills said her eyes in tears. "I...I can't," she was sobbing, "I'm sorry,"
The sun was still not up when the trio reached the Nizhoni River, and Millicent was feeling hopeful. The water smacked against the bank washing up bits of leaves and debris. This time of year fish thrived on the things that the mountain thaw washed down into the mouth of the river and she was ready to catch some Weeders or Mudbass, those were the best eatin. Millicent loved fishing, her dad had taken her fishing plenty of times when she was young, and she had always looked forward to that, at least before the accident. Looking at her brother, who was staring at the sky and munching on a sweet roll, she once again began to wonder what was wrong with the kid. After all they were related and she didn't act that way. "What are you lookin at Sammy" Millicent asked her brother, "You’ve been staring at those Marsh Swallows way too long. What, are you suddenly worried about bird attacks?"
"No," Sam answered plainly, "I think some of them birds lived up the river a bit by the museum, they look sad." Millicent watched as her brother frowned up at the birds with a look of pity.
"That's a bunch of spittin nonsense you dork," Mills laughed, "Birds don't know about things like that, and if they did they wouldn't be flyin around down hear trying to get sympathy from a kid like you."
"I dunno sis, I think they..."
"Stop thinkin you birdbrain," she interrupted him and do somethin useful like huntin us up some grub worms!" She interrupted, "fish don't bite on sweet rolls ya know."
"Ya but some fish do like..."
"I said grub worms fish face!
Her reddish blonde hair blowing in the breeze and the stare of her deep green eyes, not to mention the fist she was shaking in his direction, must have done the trick because he gave a small squeak and started looking at the ground. Besides if he knew what was good for him, he'd do what she said or he'd get a good whoppin upside the noggin"
"Do you think Fergie really started that fire Tate?" Millicent asked a little later as they sat on a long log that hung out over the swift current.
"Hard tellin, I know he's done some pretty mean stuff, but burnin up a bunch of expensive stuff for the museum? Doesn't really sound like something even he would do."
"Ya, but I was talkin to your sister last night before she left from takin care of my pa and when I told her what Fergie and Damon had done to us, she said we were lucky. I guess Fergie has been hangin out with a bunch of street thugs from across the river. She nodded towards the opposite bank as she finished that last part.
"Maybe he did then I guess," Tate responded, "Jonie is older than us and she'd probably know, besides…well, you know, Damon and all."
"Where has that little sneak gotten off to now," Mills said suddenly, I'm out of grub's. You see where he went?"
"Nope." said Tate looking over his shoulder to where he had last seen her younger brother. Maybe he's fishin a bit farther down."
After a quick search of the immediate area Millicent began to get worried. Maybe he ran into one of those creatures from the fire last night she thought. Panic hit her and she began shouting her brother's name but the sound of the water slamming against the bank would make it hard to hear unless Sam was fairly close.
By now it was now the middle of the afternoon and the sun was reaching its full height for the day and it brought unusual heat for this time of year. Walking southward along the river bank Millicent began to wish that she hadn't been so hard on her brother. Perhaps he ran off cuz I was being so mean to him she thought. Maybe I hurt his feelings and he ran off to get away from me. I don't mean to be so hard on him; it's just that I've had so much responsibility since mom died. As she walked farther down the river in the direction she had seen Tate go, her worry began to swell up inside her bringing her close to tears. Why couldn't I just be nicer to him, she thought, It's not his fault he's so young. What if something bad has happened to him, I should have kept closer watch.
A half an hour had gone by with no sign of Sam, and now she hadn't seen Tate in quite a while either. Millicent noticed she was sobbing softly as she walked; her pace had slowed almost to a crawl. If I only I could find him safe I would be nicer to him. I can't lose him now...her thoughts were suddenly shattered as she looked up to see Tate about twenty five paces ahead of her smiling and waving for her to join him. Running like the wind Millicent raced along the water’s edge, hopping downed logs, small boulders and splashing water when she got too close to the surf. As she neared the spot where she had seen Tate she noticed that there was a fair sized fishing skiff pulled up on the rocky bank. Sammy stood next to it grinning right beside Tate who appeared to be staring into the boat his face a mask of deep thought. Slowing to a walk as she approached them, Sammy looked up and upon seeing his sister huffing and puffing from the run, red faced, his grin vanished and he promptly began sucking his thumb. Millicent opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind but it snapped shut. Her face showed a slight scowl that turned quickly to relief. "There you guys are," she said gaining her composure. "I’ve been looking for you two," she said as if her brother had never caused her any grief. Sammy looked up a bit dazed, probably from not getting an earful of his sister’s wrath like he had expected.
"I found a boat" Sammy told her enthusiastically.
"I see that," Millicent commented trying to hold back the urge to tell him, really I hadn't noticed. Instead she looked at her brother thoughtfully. "Funny that there isn't anyone around, I wonder who it belongs to." She said finally.
"Ya, and there is some strange stuff in here," said Tate still looking into the boat, with a worried look on his face.
"Tate says he thinks this belongs to Damon," Sammy chimed in holding up an old leather necklace with a small charm in the shape of a man holding a baby in his arms.
"Damon?" Millicent uttered in disbelief. "You think he really had something to do with last night and is planning to run off?"
Sammy shrugged looking at Tate who still had not moved. “Tate...Tate, hello...you in there? Millicent asked impatiently.
"Something isn't right about this," he answered slowly.
Millicent looked down into the skiff and saw that Tate was holding open a small cloth sack. "What’s in there?" she asked moving around to the other side of the boat to get a better look. "Spit and ashes!" she cursed, her eyes going wide.
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Sammy was leaning on the boat turning the strange necklace with the little man holding a baby over in his hands. The man is crying, Sammy thought, the baby must be sick or something. His eyes are definitely closed; he observed looking at the baby closer. Putting the necklace around his neck Sam walked over to a large rock and stared out at the river. I'll give this back to Damon when I see him, he decided as he tucked the little man inside of his shirt, He wouldn't wanna lose something like this. Turning back to the skiff where Tate and his sister were, he realized they were digging excitedly into a cloth sack.
"These have got to be from the museum," Tate was saying, "They look pretty expensive and it would make sense if Damon was involved.
"You think Damon stole these and then set the fire?" Sam’s sister asked Tate.
"More than likely, he might have thought he could get away in this boat and sell the stuff on one of the islands somewhere, city folk hardly ever go to the islands these days."
Sighing Sammy hopped off the rock and walked down the beach a few steps. That's big kid stuff he thought studying the ground looking for something interesting. Big kids hardly ever did anything interesting in Sam's mind. Well, one time Tate had showed him how to trap a live rabbit that was eating farmer Clem’s vegetables. They caught it and took it to the woods before the grumpy old man could have it for supper, but other than that, big kids were pretty much boring. He could barely hear Tate, but his sister’s big mouth seemed to get louder every ten seconds. She was babbling about gold or money or something, Sam wasn’t quite sure.
Why aren't there any animals around, he wondered noticing the area surrounding him. Now that they were away from the warehouse district, there were trees, rocks and plants, but still no animals. Something scared them off…Where did that thought come from? That had been happening a lot lately. Strange thoughts entering his mind were not uncommon but this was something else. Knowing magically what animals could think, well that would just be nuts. His sister had told him many times how silly thinking like that was. Almost instantly Sam had another thought, or maybe it was just a feeling, he wasn’t quite sure but he knew one thing for certain, they had to leave, and quickly. Sam had the feeling that someone or something knew he was there and was not happy about it. Fear crept over him and he let out a small squeak. Tate and Millicent turned and looked at him like he was a weirdo. He shuddered. Running to the boat, panic causing his voice to tremble slightly, he blurted out. "We need to get going sis...I think right now!"
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"I still think we need to tell someone at the watch about this," argued Tate.
“Maybe it's made of gold,” Millicent exclaimed excitedly, "I'll bet it's worth a whole lot of money!"
“It's not ours Mills and we'd be no better than Damon if we kept em,' he said holding a silver statue of a ship. Well it was a ship, but the oars protruding from the sides were covered with something that gave them the appearance of wings. It was completely ridiculous, at least to Tate, "Yeah he said studying the statue once more before putting it back into the cloth sack, "We need to return these, maybe you could get a reward or something Mill."
"Fine,” Mills finally agreed, "we may as well..."
Before she could finish what she was about to say, Sammy yelped from a few paces behind them.
Tuning about Tate was confused; Sam seemed to be fine but was running towards them upset about something.
"We need to get going sis...I think right now,” Sam said to his sister, looking around nervously, his voice shaking.
"What are you talking about?" Millicent replied back to her old self.
"I don't know, I think the people from the boat know we're here"
"Whoever was in this boat, Millicent stammered, putting her hands on her hips, "probably got scared and left because he knows he's in big trouble, and if Damon Ladd even thinks about coming back down here and running off with this stuff I'll whop him on the head so hard he'll think it's next week!"
"He may be right," Tate cut in slowly, pointing down the river bank, "and that is definitely not Damon."
From where he stood Tate could see three cloaked figures standing in a group with their heads together as if discussing something important. Suddenly the figure in front turned and pointed directly at the three friends. As the cloaked leader pointed, Tate heard an eerie howl from somewhere farther off toward the city, then another howl somewhere in front of them but closer. However, somehow the second howl seemed different to Tate, it was higher pitched and more...human!
"There, on higher up the bank," said Millicent pointing in the direction of the last howl.
Squinting against the sun where Millicent had indicated Tate saw another cloaked figure, A dark silhouette against the clear sky, arms flat against his side and slightly behind him, he appeared to be stretching forward trying to get a scent of the wind. Unlike the other three figures this one had his hood off and there was something strange about the man’s head. At second glance Tate was not even sure it was a man, or even human.
"Move" Tate said grabbing Millicent’s arm. She was still standing and staring as if in shock. Turning back the way they had come they saw Sammy staring at two more cloaked men not more than thirty feet away. Where had they come from? Tate wondered freezing in his tracks. A few minutes more and the cloaked figures would have been upon them. Tate watched in horror as the cloaked beings moved slowly forward. They crept on two legs but their bodies were low to the ground and their arms were hanging down in front of them swaying to and fro.
Blast it all! Tate cursed to himself; they are so quiet we would have never heard them. All at once he realized that he was standing and facing the three creatures alone, in the distance he could see what looked like snarling dogs running towards them.
Falling back into the skiff Tate became aware that Sammy’s hands had been tugging at him and Millicent was already pushing the boat into the water.
"What's the matter with you?" Millicent asked Tate. "You got a death wish or something?"
Snapping out of his daze Tate jumped from the skiff to help his struggling friend who was barely getting the large fishing boat to move.
"Get in Mills, NOW!" Tate yelled as he flung her into the boat and began pushing as hard as he could.
As he pushed Tate could hear the creature’s howls ringing in his head louder than ever. They were all around him and soon they would be overrun by the cursed things. As he gave one final shove he heard splashing behind him. They’re in the water! Looking at his friends he could almost smell the fear, their faces white, eyes wide with horror! The boat lurched forward and Tate fell almost toppling into the water. He felt long skinny hands ripping at his clothes from behind, trying to tear him free from the boat’s hull. He lost his grip with one hand as the skiff hit the current and started to rotate sideways. He could feel Millicent tugging at his shoulders as he hung there in the water being stretched out like a piece of rubber. They’re going to pull me apart like a wishbone! Tate fought to hold on and Millicent wasn’t strong enough to haul him in. The cloaked figures pulled in desperation at his feet, howling, tearing one of his boots off and grabbing in vain to keep Tate from the safety of the skiff.
Suddenly the fishing boat lurched to one side with a loud cracking noise and Millicent was nearly flung to the back of the boat. Tate fought for air as the water tried to rush into his lungs He floated there for what seemed like an eternity gripping the front of the skiff for all he was worth sinister hands still fighting to claim him from behind.
"I can't hold you Tater!" Mills said her eyes in tears. "I...I can't," she was sobbing, "I'm sorry,"
