Part 8 (1/2)

”Can you tell me where we're going or who Darius is? We've been climbing for an awfully long time and I have no idea where you're taking me,” I said.

He was back at attention now, stiff and serious. ”Sorry, strictest orders. I must take you to the appointed destination as quickly as possible. Important meeting tomorrow, very important mee --” He stopped short, turned!

85.

his cantaloupe-sized head to the left, and listened intently. In a flash he was through the bushes and scaling a nearby tree like a spooked squirrel. Seconds later, he was so high in the branches of the tree I lost sight of him. I looked back down the mountain and saw the thin, endless snakes of the walls far below. I imagined I could flick them with my finger and knock them all down.

When I turned back to the trail, Yipes was standing at attention, not winded in the slightest, with the same calm manner as before. ”So sorry. I thought I heard something in the bushes. Can't be too careful now, can we? Important cargo. Yes, very important cargo.” He led me to a stream where we drank. I began gulping and Yipes told me to drink only a little or I might become ill and weak. He gave me dried meat from his pouch and told me to sit and rest. Another sip of the icy water and a few minutes more rest, then we were off again.

”Not far now. Not far at all,” said Yipes as we meandered farther up the mountain, our pace much faster than it had been. The trees grew thick, but the heat remained stifling as we approached midafternoon. The minutes turned into another hour of treading time behind my stalwart companion. My feet ached with open blisters and my legs burned with every step, but I was determined to keep going without complaint.

The stream we had rested at earlier now ran alongside of us as we walked its bank. Only a few feet wide with a bright green underbelly, it offered the refres.h.i.+ng sound of

86.

water flowing over rocks. I saw flashes here and there in its depths -- fish moving and reflecting as they sensed our presence along the edge. I was so tired I thought I might pa.s.s out, and again I lost track of Yipes in my delirious wondering.

”Excuse me. You can stop now,” said Yipes. He was sitting on a large rock a few feet behind me, lacing his leather sandal, which had come undone. He looked annoyingly refreshed, as if the ma.s.sive trek we had just made was nothing more than a sightseeing stroll.

”I'm afraid this is as far as I can take you. The rest you have to do on your own,” said Yipes, now lapping up water from the stream, which had shrunk to only a couple of feet across.

I hobbled over to the stream, now quiet in its slow movement, and I drank in large gulps until I thought I would burst. Then I sat at the water's edge and felt it all coming back up again. Hunching over, soupy water poured out of my mouth. I fought off a sickly s.h.i.+ver, rinsed my mouth in the stream, and turned to face Yipes. Exhausted, I lurched forward and fell on my face.

Why am I out here in the dark? Something warm is beside me. Warvold, his mouth gaping, rotted teeth dripping yellow goo down his chin. He's grabbing me by the shoulder, shaking me hard. Run, Alexa, run! Get away!

”Wake up, Alexa, wake up now. You must get on with it.” Yipes was gently nudging my shoulder with his clam- sized hand. It was late afternoon, maybe four o'clock. I

87.

must have slept for at least an hour. I stretched, let out a painful sigh, pulled my knees to my chest, and sat breathing heavy sobs, tears rolling down my kneecaps, running a wet track to the top of my feet. My body ached all over, and my mind continued to struggle with the surroundings. I had an unfortunate dull throb in my head. It felt like a man, one even smaller than Yipes, was standing behind my eyeb.a.l.l.s with a club, swinging with all his might to bang his way out.

Bang, bang, bang! ”Sorry, Mr. Yipes, sir, she won't budge!” ”Put your back into it, man! Give it all you've got!” Bang, bang, bang!

”Alexa, stop that now! Pounding your head against your knees won't make you feel any better. On that, you can trust me,” Yipes insisted. ”Come on then, on your feet!” He was in the stream now, splas.h.i.+ng me with icy cold water. I jerked awake, jumping to a stand, and felt the shearing pain in my legs and feet. The open blisters were screaming back at me to sit down. Sit down or I'll send the club through your forehead! I fell to my knees; Yipes continued the chilling barrage of splashes until I finally screamed.

”Enough! I'm up! Just give me a second and I'll be ready to start walking again.”

He stopped splas.h.i.+ng and watched me as I wrung my hair out with my hands. Then he emerged from the stream and returned to his perch on the rock. I was back on my feet, gaining more confidence that I might have

88.

the strength to hobble my weary bones a few more steps into the mountains.

”I think I'm ready for another hour or two,” I said.

”You're going to have to slow down, though I've got some remarkable blisters.”

Yipes smiled and sat with his elbows on his knees, hands folded. He told me in a soft, slow voice, ”Young lady, as I told you before, we've arrived. You're an impressive climber. For a child, and such a small one at that, you did very well.

”Now,” he continued, ”it is my duty and my privilege to point you in the direction of your destiny. My work is done for now. I've brought you this far, but the next bit of effort is all yours, I'm afraid. What I need you to do is walk up this stream. Get right in the water and walk until you reach a pool. You'll know it when you see it, trust me on that one. This is a special place. You get only one chance to go there in all your life. I cannot tell you what to do when you get there. That you must figure out on your own.”

I looked up the stream with its bright green bed. It disappeared from view around a corner into the trees a hundred feet away. ”But how will I know when I've arrived in the right spot --” I turned back to look at Yipes and found the rock bare.

I removed my sandals and held them in my hand, dangling them from the straps with my fingers. My feet ached more than ever on the hot sandy dirt at the edge of

89.

the stream, so I immediately staggered into the water. The stream was only a few feet wide, and it came to my knees in the middle. It felt cold on my bare legs. My feet felt the heavenly touch of the soft, furry bottom. It was like walking on a perfect feathery pillow, only better because the mossy green came up between my toes and surrounded my feet with a delicate, squishy wrapper. I let out a thankful ahhhh and an unexpected smile sprouted on my face. In the heat of the day I dunked my head and body the rest of the way in and exploded out of the stream refreshed and walking, enjoying the velvet whisper of every step on my swollen feet.

The stream narrowed further as I rounded the corner, but it remained a foot deep. The water moved slowly and quietly. As I walked farther and rounded yet another corner, I saw a pool surrounded by rock walls on all sides except for the direction I was coming from. This was the place.

I reached the edge of the pool, which was about ten feet across on all sides. I looked down and found that the water had turned to a murky brown around my legs. Behind me, where I had been walking, an inky darkness inhabited the stream like a plague of locusts in a summer sky. The pool itself glowed in a strange hue I had never seen before. I moved to its center in three quick strides, and for a brief moment I could see the bottom, the water now at my chest. I saw the s.h.i.+mmering outline of a stone bursting with lavish green color. A moment later, my

90.