Chapter Five – Big Sky Country
"Cyborg never mentioned you could do that." Thunder Horse shook the chill of that elsewhere feeling that everyone seemed to experience the first time they phased with her.
The grid started at elevation, which gave her a wide vista of the surrounding canyon. Pink and tan sandstone ribbons wound through the walls of the valley below. The air was dry and crisp. She had expected the desert to be bereft of life, but the area was teeming with it. With her eyes closed, she could feel the black-and-white heart murmurs of rabbits and foxes and the joy of flight in golden eagles. They radiated majesty for miles around them. The sun continued its climb into the sky.
"It'll wake you up in the mornin', boys," Garfield explained. "It feels funky, but you'll get used to it. I sure have. Handy way to travel. She's pulled our fat of more than one fire with her little escape hatch. Some days I don't know what we'd do without her."
She felt the older man stare again, but she felt that her friend had explained what he needed to know. "North?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. "This way . . . "
It was hot, tiring, grimy work. And almost fruitless. The detectors seemed more than happy to locate veins of ore beneath them on the ridge, but very little else. The rivers of metal would make it difficult to distinguish the true target. She sensed no one else nearby – even the other teammates that were on the far side of the search grid. There was some chatter on the radio from her distant friends, but they were having no luck either.
Thunder Horse pointed out the wonders of Twilight Canyon as they passed over the ridges, watching for their eventual descent into the valley. Juniper, mountain mahogany, gnarled trees twisted into knots, roots down deep to drink from whatever water the ground would yield. Millions of years of erosion had carved life out from the rock beds below them, leaving behind soft colors that reminded her of her beloved sunsets.
Reminders of childhood distracted her focus from her search. The colors were different, but the rocky keeps were so much like the arches and spires surrounding the city of her birth that her eyes ached. They resembled the country she would never see again. She would never see it again because her father had destroyed . ..
"Homesick, Raven?" Garfield's voice startled her out of her reverie.
She could only nod in reply.
"Are you from Utah, then?" Thunder Horse asked. "Is this like your hometown?"
She only looked at him, not knowing what to say. She was not yet ready to talk about herself with someone she had just met, potential relative or no.
"Let's just say the girl is definitely not from around here," Garfield replied for her.
He is still trying to make me smile.
She returned her focus to the task at hand. She shook off the sense of sad nostalgia. Duty calls.
As the day wore on, even Beast Boy began to complain of sore feet. Her own were gaining in fatigue, but groaning simply revealed too much beneath her mask. Soon, Garfield's whining became too much, even for her. Finally, without a word, she stopped and offered her wrist to him, her slim fingers curled into a fist. He morphed into a raven and landed on her slender arm. She deposited him on her shoulder so he could read her instruments with her. She tucked his communicator inside her jacket. Her own was clipped to her cloak, which she had draped about her despite the heat. The hood shaded her pale face from the golden light.
"What a gift!" Thunder Horse exclaimed. "Over there, see the sage? There is some greasewood as well. The canyon overflows with gifts of the Great Spirit."
Raven curled her mouth into a thoughtful frown. "Great Spirit?"
"For my people, the Great Spirit is the sacred in all life. The creator of all you see. Even the rocks that seem dead are filled with life if the Great Spirit wills it."
He continued in that vein for a while as they rested briefly in the sparse shade of another juniper.
"The Great Spirit gives us all many gifts." He gave her a hard, direct, listen-to-me look. Then he shifted his gaze to their companion. "Sometimes we have to open our eyes to see them."
The day waxed warmer. Beast Boy resumed human form to walk beside her again. When he asked her if she could "zip back for a soda," she handed him a canteen. Green muscle ebbed and flowed until an emerald camel loped beside her. She rolled her eyes.
Long after the sun passed its zenith, a dark song in her heart caused her to call a halt. She slipped away from her companions and started for the nearby ledge.
"What is it, Raven? Do you hear something?" the camel asked.
"Yes ... I hear . . .something . . . I'm not certain ... "
The great sea of rocky terrain flowed and ebbed before her. So like home.
With halting steps, she heard the song more clearly. It was a soft, distant low tone at first. She stood still, eyes closed and head bowed, listening with silent ears, shutting out the desert around her.
Then the droning was louder, harder, putting pressure on her ears, pushing, pushing, the odor of burning tires assaulting her lungs and watering her eyes. The droning was louder, becoming a screeching, higher and higher. She covered her ears to shut the throbbing out, but it swirled around and through her hands, impaling her brain.
She bent double, gravity pulling her down, down, down into herself while pushing her forward to the high ledge like a compass needle pointing north. The storm in her heart swallowed her mind. She lifted her hands above her head to push the heaviness away. The vortex sucked the very scream out of her. The screams of the others crowding inside of her drowned out any sound that might have escaped her.
Dark – hot – screams – heart hurt – so hot – my headSearing heat shot through her, riding every nerve like rapids from her head raging down her spine – and the rivers of grief burned her bones like lava.
The sun was gone. The warmth of the day threw off its gentle cloak and pressed against her, pushing against her like an iron maiden, like down into a yawning canyon in the sea. A veil fell over her darkened eyes.
Breathe – can't breathe – trapped – get out get out breathe can't breathe – down, down, falling
She pulled at her collar to create space for her throat. Sharp stones clawed at her legs as her knees buckled.
She barely felt the ledge catch her.
Raven was down.
She had walked away, that was all. He had turned to look at the doctor for just a moment. He looked back to find her down.
She hadn't made a sound.
Thunder Horse reached her first while Beast Boy's human form re-emerged mid-stride.
No, no, what hit her?She was curled up in a fetal position, hot tears streaming down a face no longer chiseled out of stone. The smell of sheer terror rolled off her like rain. Thunder Horse grabbed her wrist, checked her pulse, and looked in her unfocused eyes, all in rapid succession.
He looked up as Gar knelt beside him. "Hold her," he ordered. "Get her head off the ground. I've got something that will help." He ripped his backpack from his shoulders.
"What? Tell me what's happening! What's wrong with her?" Gar demanded, slipping his arm under her shoulders, resting her head in the crook of his elbow. He felt her trembling and heard her mumbling incoherent sounds. He brushed her hair back from her face. Sweat poured off her. Her rapid, shallow breathing made his pulse race. "Stay with me, Rave. Stay with me."
Thunder Horse knelt beside him again, opening the side pocket of his pack. He retrieved a syringe and began to prep it. Gar grabbed his wrist.
"What is THAT? Do you have any IDEA of what that can do to her?"
"This will stop the seizure. It's an overload." He pressed the plunger to purge the air from the needle.
"What?"
"Empathic overload. I had no idea she was so sensitive. This drug will suppress her empathy for a while. It's only temporary. Please." She was moaning. His eyes were wide with pleading. "She is suffering. A lot. Please."
Gar looked down at her pale face. Her lips drained of color. He released the doctor's wrist.
"It'll have to be in her hip. "
"Sorry, Rave," he whispered. He pushed up her shirt and turned his face away while Thunder Horse tugged at her waistband. "She's, um, modest."
Thunder Horse injected her smoothly and lightly massaged the site. "A rare quality, these days."
She gasped deeply, once, like she had been trapped under ice. She shuddered, and then she relaxed into Gar's lap.
"How's her breathing?"
"Better," Gar said. "I think . . . I think it's over."
"Do you know her well?"
"We're old friends."
"Then perhaps you have her trust. Hold her close to you. Let her hear your voice. The seizure is over, but we need to make her feel safe now. I promise I will tell you all of it later, but right now we've to got to take care of our girl, all right?"
"All right." He'd never had contact with her like this. She usually only touched or allowed touch when she was healing. He had embraced her once or twice before, but not like this. She looked so vulnerable, and he felt so helpless. "All right. Raven, it's your old buddy, Gar. You're ok. You rest. You're safe now. You're safe."
Her eyes fluttered for a moment.
"She's trying to wake up," said Thunder Horse. "We can't move her until she can stand on her own. That should not take too long."
Gar rocked her a little. He held her with firm but gentle arms, like he remembered his mother holding him when he was small. She was never held like that, I guess. Her people weren't exactly warm and fuzzy to her. How do you make up for something like that when you're older?
"You take care of me all the time. You carry enough of my scars," he whispered to her. "Let me take care of you for once." He brushed her hair back again and wiped the tears and sweat off her face. "She's not going into shock, is she?"
Thunder Horse repacked his kit. "No, my friend. I think we got to her in time. The worst is over. She'll wake up in a few minutes, although the full effect will be there for a few hours longer. She'll be fine. I'd like to get her back to the station, though. There is thunder coming tonight. This is not a place to be caught in when you are not in top form, in a storm, if you take my meaning."
"I really need to call this in. Cyborg will have to get someone else to cover this grid." He set his jaw. "I'm not leaving her like this."
A smile tugged at the corners of Thunder Horse's lips. He checked her pulse again. "Tell him she's recovering. I will explain what just happened to both of you."
With his free hand, Gar lifted his communicator out of Raven's jacket. He pressed CALL and waited. Her face rolled against his chest. Her shoulder twitched. He could feel her heartbeat through her back, steadier and stronger now, against his arm. If she weren't so sick, this would be kinda nice.
"Yeah, green-jeans, what's up?"
"Cyborg, Raven's down. We need some help."
"What kind of injury?" Vic's voice crackled on the radio. "What's the situation?"
"She's sick, not hurt. The doctor here can tell you more. He seems to know what happened better than I do." He handed the radio to Thunder Horse.
"Cyborg, this is Charlie. We're still in grid 42, on the main ridge."
"Go ahead – I'm on my way."
Thunder Horse switched the radio to VOX. "First of all, she will be absolutely fine in a little while. She got hit with what I call empathic overload. Something overwhelmed her senses . . . something most people would never detect."
"But what could affect her like that? We're the only ones here," Gar said. Her eyelids fluttered again as he spoke.
"Sometime places retain energies that very sensitive people can pick up. Some empaths can only sense people in real time, but a few of the others can sense people and events long after they're over. I've seen this before."
Cyborg responded. His signal was stronger this time. "I'm only two ridges away now. I'm coming in on your signal. So how did you know she was an empath? I never told you that."
Thunder Horse sighed. "It takes one to know one, friend. It runs in the family. My grandfather suffered attacks like this during his visits to Wounded Knee."
"Aaaaaaah. OK." A loud THUMP announced Cyborg's jump over a nearby ridge. He was moving in fast. "What exactly happened? I see you now. What's wrong with our girl?"
"It looked like a seizure. She may be bruised from her fall, but she is unharmed. I had to sedate her."
Cyborg landed a hundred yards away. The sun reflected off his silver skull. The sound of servos whirring filled the air as he ran to the grounded trio.
"Do you have her, BB? Good." He stepped between his friends and the doctor. "Sedate? What did you use? That wasn't –"
"I am not just an archaeologist, remember. I'm a psychiatrist. And an empath. I took care of her in a way no one else could."
"You never mentioned you were an empath before."
"It didn't seem important at the time."
"Does she know –"
"I am sure she does but has chosen to be quiet. It's not a thing you advertise."
"Guys, I think she's coming around." Her eyes were open but blinking strongly.
"Thirsty," she muttered. Her hand brushed her side. "Hurts."
"Give her just a little water, or she'll choke. Here." Thunder Horse wet a cloth from his canteen kit and handed it to Gar. "Squeeze a few drops into her mouth. Slowly. Drink, little sister."
Her lips parted, and Gar let a few drops fall into her mouth. She reminded him of a baby bird, reaching up for food from its mother. He wiped her forehead with the cloth. The others dropped to one knee beside them.
The massive man clad in metal took her tiny hand into his. "Welcome back to the land of the living, witch. You okay?"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Hip hurts me. Can't see. No, wait, I can see you . . . but . . ."
"You can't feel us?" Thunder Horse's voice was kind.
"Yes. I see you, but you are far away, at the end of a tunnel." She looked up at the young man holding her. "What happened?"
Thunder Horse answered her. "Something overloaded you. I gave you something to stop the reaction. I call it Compound 27. You were in a bad way, little sister. The pain in your hip is just the injection site. The drug is something I designed for my family when they get hit like this. I used a syringe because someone would choke on a pill in your situation. I used it on Grandfather Thunder Horse."
"Grandfather. .. Thunder Horse?"
"Yes, the man I am named after. I have his ability but not his sensitivity."
Cyborg nodded. "Which explains why you weren't affected like she was. How long does this Compound 27 last?"
"The effective time for it varies, but it usually lasts for several hours." He turned to Raven. "You'll feel groggy for a while, little one. You'll be able to walk, but the suppression of your empathy will disorient you."
She put her hand on Garfield's arm. "I can't feel you," she said, trembling again. "I feel your muscles under my hand, but you're not . . .not in my head." Panic started to shine in her eyes. Her grip on his arm tightened. "Like plugs in my ears. I can hear, but everything is muffled."
Thunder Horse brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "There is a veil between you and the world now. Your ability to jump from place to place may be affected, too. You may not be able to, um, navigate, as you described it. I am not sure, since I am not blessed with that ability."
It's a talent, not a power. And stop touching her! Gar gave him a look but kept his thoughts to himself. "How are you feeling now?"
"Better. Weak."
"Just rest. I've got you."
"May I. .. Water . .." She looked calmer, anyway.
"She's on the mend." Cyborg gazed on the doctor with his red eye. "Looks like you did the right thing. Any idea what caused this?"
"Under the ledge," she said before swallowing from the canteen Gar held for her.
"Sorry." He grimaced as some water splashed on her face.
"No, good. Hot."
Cyborg and Thunder Horse stood up and walked over to the ledge.
"Thank you," she said, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. "I could hear your voice. Thank you."
He smiled at her. "Do you feel like sitting up?"
"I can try." Her voice was stronger now.
"Slowly. You don't want to get any dizzier."
With his hand on the back of her neck, he guided her to a sitting position. He left his hand on her back to steady her. She grunted but did not complain. Her head bobbed slightly on her neck. She grasped his hand and closed her eyes.
"Queasy?"
"Yes," she replied through clenched teeth.
"Just park there for a second. She's sitting up, oil-breath!"
The others now stood over them. She released his hand.
"Let's make sure heat exhaustion doesn't finish her off. But I don't want to move her before she can stand on her own."
"Did you see anything?" she asked. Her eyes were still closed. He could feel her breath on his face. An emerald hand rubbed her back. She did not flinch but seemed to accept the comforting gesture.
"Not from up here, Raven. Are you sure . . . "
"Under the ledge. The sensation was strongest on the edge. There must be something underneath it." She opened her eyes and looked at Gar. "Can you take a look?"
"Vic?"
"I'll watch her, sprout. That's a good idea. Fly over and see what you spy."
He stood, feeling a bit light-headed himself. He leapt into the air, shaping himself into a falcon. He soared up and over the ledge. A small cave door was nestled in its shadow. He perched on the edge, and then morphed into an opossum to pierce the darkness. He whistled.
Mother Lode.
Her head was full of fog. She could stand, she could see, she could hear, but it was through a mist. She could felt he warmth of the sun but not the warmth of her companions. She couldn't smell or taste any feeling from them. They were like statues or images on a recording.
She stood up, first one leg, and then the other. Her knees were sore but uncut. The buckskin had protected her that much, at least. Her vision faded momentarily as she wobbled forward. A hand – she did not know whose – steadied her.
"Whoa, little sister," came Thunder Horse's voice through the fog. "Let your blood pressure adjust. You've been down a while. Go slowly."
Left foot, right foot. My feet won't touch the ground. Go slow, Raven, go slow.
The canyon was a true desert to her now. The juniper. The fox. The scorpions. Her friends. She couldn't even feel Thunder Horse reflecting them back at her. The rocks were as dry and as dead as Azarath.
A green falcon swooped bedside them. His chest rose up as his wings stretched to his sides. Suddenly, the white of his uniform was beside her.
"Search is over. You found it!"
"Gar?" Cyborg ran over to them. "You found the cache?"
"I don't know how you did it, gorgeous, but you pointed it right out. And before sundown!" He rested his hand on her shoulder. She knew it was there, but she barely felt it.
"The terror caused by such weapons may have created your attack, child." Thunder Horse's eyes studied her, but his thoughts were a mystery. "How are you now?"
The heat of the day was softening a little. Evening was coming.
"Disoriented. But mending."
"What a trooper!" Cyborg was satisfied. "We'll recall the team and get the ATF on the horn. We'll clear out the cache and get on home." He turned to Raven. "I never thought of using empathy as a weapons detector."
"It did not occur to me that the signature would be that strong," she replied. She stood up a little straighter. She tried to step back from under Beast Boy's hand but wobbled. He took her elbow.
"Patience," he whispered. "I won't bite you."
She said nothing but also decided not to move again unassisted. Her balance was off. She felt numb – maybe I won't hurt for a while, anyway. The fist around her heart relaxed. It was still resting in her chest, but it was relaxed.
"Just stay there, witch," Vic ordered. "You've done enough today. I'll handle the rest."
Using the radio, he recalled the team. He was muttering under his breath. "If he'd stop sightseeing, he'd be here by now." He turned to Beast Boy. "You're with me. Let's see how we can get these out. Then you can take her back to the station before tonight's storms hit. I don't think the ATF can spare a chopper for it. Doc, would you look out for our little lady, please?"
She was alone with her newfound relative, wondering what she should say. Or what questions of her own she might ask. She chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to decide what to tell him. He had a new family member, too. But not one he ever would have expected.
(break)
A/N: There is a very powerful illustration of this scene done by vampirecheetah over on deviantArt. The link is in my profile.