Spider, Part Nineteen
"Disorientation "
by Vega
When I awoke, it was cold.
I reached out to Kouga, wanting the warmth of his body, but felt nothing but gravelly stone.
I sat up slowly, stiff and chattering. I managed to pry my eyes open.
The cave was empty. The furs gone, the fires out, and daylight streaming in, grey and cool.
I got to my feet and pulled myself along the wall. I tripped over the pile of bones, blinded by the harsh sunlight that was cutting into the cave on an angle. I watched in horror as the bones crumbled to dust under my bare feet.
Silence fell, and my ears twitched.
Something was wrong.
Why was it so quiet? And so bright?
I looked up - the waterfall was gone.
It's absence was eerie and made my flesh crawl.
"Kouga?" I called out, and nothing but my own voice echoed back at me answered. "Kouga!"
I looked around wildly and saw no evidence that this cave had ever been occupied by the wolf tribe at all, except for the bones I had just banged into. Not even carbon stains where the three fires used to be.
"KOUGA!" I screamed, wrapping my arms around myself and falling to my knees.
My face started to grow hot, and felt my right arm start to throb. I looked at the wounds and saw that while I had slept I had rubbed the burn scars and scabs off... they had puffed up during the night, infection seeping out of the punctures...
"No, god, no..." I whispered as sweat popped out on my brow. "KOUGA...!"
"I heard a voice!" I heard another voice call out, somewhere outside of the cave. It was too high to be Naraku's, too low for Kohaku... none that I recognized.
"A voice? All the way up here?" answered another. "Why would someone be hiking up here?"
"Well, we are, aren't we?"
"Hello!?" I called out, the walls and floor trying to swim away from me. "Hello!?"
"In here!" the first voice called and I shaded my eyes as someone came into the cave's entrance. I looked up, expecting the rough kimono of a peasant farmer, maybe some straw sandals and a basket strapped to his back with canvas sashes.
Instead I saw a man in khakis and hiking boots, with a flak jacket and toque, an a thick-strapped hiking backpack. His gloves had the fingers cut off.
"I've been... hurt..." I whispered, reaching out to him, "... please..."
"Get in here!" the man screamed to his unseen hiking partner, "Take my cell! Call 911!"
I felt him grab my shoulders, his warm grip so like that of Kouga.
"Kouga, where's Kouga...?" I whispered, but the room was already starting to go black, spots of light dancing around, lookign like the silver hair of a hanyou, the white cloak of a demon, the bright blue eyes of a wolf prince.
"Check to see if there's another one around!" The man who held me said. "He's called Kouga!"
"I don't see anyone else."
"Kid, what's your name? Kid? Hey kid! Hey, don't pass out on me! KID!"
I think the last thing I whispered was Kouga's name, before the darkness swallowed me whole.
"Disorientation "
by Vega
When I awoke, it was cold.
I reached out to Kouga, wanting the warmth of his body, but felt nothing but gravelly stone.
I sat up slowly, stiff and chattering. I managed to pry my eyes open.
The cave was empty. The furs gone, the fires out, and daylight streaming in, grey and cool.
I got to my feet and pulled myself along the wall. I tripped over the pile of bones, blinded by the harsh sunlight that was cutting into the cave on an angle. I watched in horror as the bones crumbled to dust under my bare feet.
Silence fell, and my ears twitched.
Something was wrong.
Why was it so quiet? And so bright?
I looked up - the waterfall was gone.
It's absence was eerie and made my flesh crawl.
"Kouga?" I called out, and nothing but my own voice echoed back at me answered. "Kouga!"
I looked around wildly and saw no evidence that this cave had ever been occupied by the wolf tribe at all, except for the bones I had just banged into. Not even carbon stains where the three fires used to be.
"KOUGA!" I screamed, wrapping my arms around myself and falling to my knees.
My face started to grow hot, and felt my right arm start to throb. I looked at the wounds and saw that while I had slept I had rubbed the burn scars and scabs off... they had puffed up during the night, infection seeping out of the punctures...
"No, god, no..." I whispered as sweat popped out on my brow. "KOUGA...!"
"I heard a voice!" I heard another voice call out, somewhere outside of the cave. It was too high to be Naraku's, too low for Kohaku... none that I recognized.
"A voice? All the way up here?" answered another. "Why would someone be hiking up here?"
"Well, we are, aren't we?"
"Hello!?" I called out, the walls and floor trying to swim away from me. "Hello!?"
"In here!" the first voice called and I shaded my eyes as someone came into the cave's entrance. I looked up, expecting the rough kimono of a peasant farmer, maybe some straw sandals and a basket strapped to his back with canvas sashes.
Instead I saw a man in khakis and hiking boots, with a flak jacket and toque, an a thick-strapped hiking backpack. His gloves had the fingers cut off.
"I've been... hurt..." I whispered, reaching out to him, "... please..."
"Get in here!" the man screamed to his unseen hiking partner, "Take my cell! Call 911!"
I felt him grab my shoulders, his warm grip so like that of Kouga.
"Kouga, where's Kouga...?" I whispered, but the room was already starting to go black, spots of light dancing around, lookign like the silver hair of a hanyou, the white cloak of a demon, the bright blue eyes of a wolf prince.
"Check to see if there's another one around!" The man who held me said. "He's called Kouga!"
"I don't see anyone else."
"Kid, what's your name? Kid? Hey kid! Hey, don't pass out on me! KID!"
I think the last thing I whispered was Kouga's name, before the darkness swallowed me whole.