FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
Ike's stomach churned when he saw Yellow Crane leer
at him and lick her lips. She was reveling in her power and he was determined
to stop it right now. Ike charged her. Don't stop, don't stop he repeated to
himself, keep going and destroy her. Just as he reached her though, he picked
his head up to look at her. She was staring into his very soul with her black
mirror less eyes.
Horrible visions suddenly assaulted him and he fell
to the floor. He saw his father and mother standing over him. Their clothes
were covered in blood and dirt. Their faces were sunken and their skin shriveled.
Ike realized that they had come back from the dead. They were angry with him
and accused him of betraying them. "You left us to die when you could have
gone for help. Why did you leave us? Ike, why did you leave us? Son, you left
us," they chanted over and over. Ike covered his ears and shut his eyes.
His nightmare had come to life. He fainted listening to his parents sing their
ghoulish song.
Yellow Crane cackled. She had done it. They were all gone. She felt a surge of power wash over her and she stepped out into the wind. She raised her arms to the sky and let loose a chilling cry of victory. Now she would deal with the one who she truly hated. Yes, now she had all the time in the world for a little fun.
When Yellow Crane left the room, Buck slipped to the floor and crawled over to Ike. His legs were not working right and he had to drag himself with his arms. When Buck got to Ike, he saw his friend was still breathing. Sweat glimmered on his skin and his eyes fluttered.
"Ike, don't leave me. You took care of me and
now I'm gonna do the same for you." Buck glanced around the room at his
fallen friends. "I'm gonna do the same for all of you."
He saw his knife still in its sheath by his bed.
He needed to get to it. He cursed himself for leaving it in the first place
because now he had to go back and waste precious time. Again, he made his painfully
slow way to the bed. He pulled himself up a little with his right hand and reached
for the knife with his left. Just as he almost had it, a rough hand grabbed
him by his hair and jerked his head back. He was on his stomach with his back
arched and he felt his muscles cry out in agony. Yellow Crane was standing over
him, her legs straddling his body.
"You dirty, no good little bastard!" He
felt hot breath on his cheek and he tried to flinch away. The hand held him
in a tight grip and pulled his hair hard while shaking him. He could feel handfuls
being torn from his scalp. He tried desperately to get away but he was so weak.
"I can see your thoughts Running Buck. Are
you scared of me? Scared of what I might do to you?" She seemed to calm
down and stopped shaking him. He thought maybe he could get away now. He was
terribly wrong. "What are you scared of the most?" Buck didn't answer
just grunted and tried to twist away. "I always thought it funny that you
cling to your Kiowa ways. All this long hair and an earring too." Buck
wrenched his body when her long fingers grabbed the earring and pulled it from
his ear. He could feel his flesh tearing and he grunted with the pain. "Now
that we got rid of the earring, let's see if we can do something about this
hair."
She reached for the knife. "Men are so lucky.
They always get to do the scalping." Yellow Crane paused to see what affect
her words had on Buck. She could feel him trembling and saw him close his eyes.
A tear escaped and she knew she had him. He wasn't going to fight anymore. Yellow
Crane could imagine wearing his scalp as an ornament on her dress. Maybe she
would even go see Red Bear and see how long it took him to recognize his little
brother's dark hair decorated with his earring. She took the knife and ran it
along the edge of his scalp just tickling him. She wanted him to know what was
coming. She steadily increased the pressure until she was cutting skin.
Buck felt the blade of the knife graze his head. He shuddered when he felt the
tip dig in a little more. He could feel hot blood running down his face and
he waited to hear the sickening pop that would tell him his scalp was no longer
attached to his head.
A loud thump suddenly interrupted Yellow Crane's
work. She looked up to see that Ike had regained consciousness and knocked a
chair over in an attempt to get up. He was on his knees now and had a hold of
the table. He was struggling to rise and Yellow Crane reluctantly let go of
Buck. His head fell forward and she stepped over him so she could finish off
his best friend. Anger consumed her. Her precious work was interrupted because
of another misfit. She would have no pity on him this time. She raised the knife
and slashed at Ike with uncontrolled rage.
Ike prayed that he could find the strength to fight
her. He grabbed her arm and blocked her thrust with as much power as he could
muster. He gritted his teeth as his arm began to shake. The two were locked
in a deadly battle that only one could hope to win. The knife edged closer to
his heart. The blade was pushing against his rib cage and he knew that shortly
he would feel it slip between his bones.
Buck lay gasping on the floor. His struggles to
move were futile. Blood ran into his eyes and he struggled to see Ike. He saw
his knife in Yellow Crane's hands. He knew Ike was going to die. He prayed with
all his heart for salvation from this hellish combat.
He ceased to move though when a sudden quiet descended
onto the room. Ike and Yellow Crane still struggled but he could no longer hear
the grunting and screams that came with the fight. All he could hear was his
own breathing and pounding heartbeat. He lay still when he felt a warm hand
on his back. It pulsed and throbbed. He thought maybe someone had come to help
him but he looked around the room and saw his friends still lying on the floor.
"Running Buck." Buck knew the voice. It belonged to the woman who took care of him after his mother died. Song Bird. He could not see her but he knew she was there. Red Bear had said trappers killed her more than a year ago. Perhaps he had already died and she had come to lead him home.
