Chapter Nine
The Tarkata were milling about their camp angrily. They were arguing loudly over something, probably debating over what they were to do next now that their comrades had been so brutally defeated. A few hissed like animals at one another, but so far none had taken to violence.
Frost and Min had been dumped unceremoniously onto the ground with one Tarkatan keeping a lazy eye on them. They still hadn't been restrained in any way-a mistake no Lin Kuei would have ever made, Frost thought with a sneer. They were an afterthought at this point, lost in the confusion that was the camp. Clearly the beasts didn't think they were a threat.
She took the opportunity to reach inside of herself and tried to call up her kori abilities, but all she achieved was giving herself a raging headache. It seemed like the harder she tried the faster she lost her grip on the power. Refusing to give up, she looked inside herself again and again, but every time it slipped away from her, leaving her with nothing but intense frustration.
"What are you doing?" Min asked, shivering slightly. "Why is it so cold all of sudden?" He was watching the different factions of Tarkata nervously, one eye twitching when one strayed too close.
She smiled slightly…at least that was something. "Never mind. You just concentrate on what they are saying." Worse than being captured was the complete lack of information.
"I can't hear them from here," Min protested. "They are probably just fighting over whether or not to slit our throats."
"Well, what good are you?" Frost hissed. "Start planning our escape then."
"I've been trying. I haven't thought of anything that seems even remotely plausible. At least not without any sort of weapon."
"You supply the plan, and I'll come up with a weapon."
The largest Tarkatan was stomping over to them looking distinctly disgruntled. Its nostrils flared like a bull's and the two prisoners slunk back involuntarily. He smelled worse than an Amish farm during fertilizer season. He spoke in a gravelly, throaty voice in stumbling English-"What are you doing in Outworld?"
"Trying to leave," Frost shot back, trying not to shrink away, despite the twinge of danger she felt when it approached. If they were truly as animalistic as they seemed, they would consider any fear she showed as a weakness to exploit…and she was sick of that happening to her.
"No one enters the Wastelands without a reason," the spittle dripped from its teeth as it spoke and she flinched as it hit her in the face. She wasn't sure what was worse, his breath or the drool.
"We entered it in order to leave Outworld," she repeated, getting annoyed with the beast already. It was looking for an excuse to detain them.
"Why are you leaving Outworld?" it hissed, and Frost had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.
"Because this place is a shit hole!" She could sense the interrogation was going to go in circles. She wasn't going to give the answers he wanted to hear, and he wasn't going to let her go just because she didn't want to be there.
She hadn't expected the beast to get right in her face. "Why are you leaving Outworld?" it repeated with a snarl.
"Because this place is filled with shit heads like you," she smiled, refusing to be intimidated anymore. "Why did you kidnap us?"
"You trespass on our clan's lands," it growled at her.
"You can keep your shitty lands. We just want to go home." The beast wasn't going to be reasoned with, she could tell that already. None of the Tarkata seemed to be the sharpest sword in the arsenal. Likely they just wanted an excuse to cut them to ribbons.
One of the other Tarkata barked out a comment, setting off a long series of yelling on both sides of the camp. This leader's position was apparently quite perilous as he couldn't even keep the two rival factions from fighting while he was there. The noise was nearly deafening as the fight escalated and Frost chanted, 'Fight! Fight!' in her head, silently encouraging them to resort to violence. Beside her, Min was wringing his hands excitedly, apparently having the same idea she had.
One of the Tarkata's heads flew back like it had been punched, but no one had touched it. Blood poured from its nose and dripped off its lipless mouth. It screamed furiously and shoved the beast standing next to him in retaliation for the perceived offense.
That beast took offense to the unprovoked attack and unsheathed his arm blades with a scraping, metallic sound. Then the clearing was filled with the sounds of blades as the entire party did the same. Their leader turned to face them, and Frost leapt to her feet, pushing him right into the middle of the feuding Tarkata, impaling him on a set of blades.
Min was quick on his feet and was sprinting for the end of the clearing as soon as he saw Frost shove the leader. One of the Tarkata tried to chase him, but stumbled as it hit some sort of invisible force. Frost
took the opportunity to kick it hard where the kidneys would be in a human as she, too, dashed past. She hoped it hurt, a lot.
The attention of the Tarkata was divided between the escaping prisoners and the dueling clan members, and the bloodshed drew the attention of most. By the time they had reached the end of the clearing, the small fight had turned into an all-consuming brawl as the blood started pouring forth. Frost could hear the shrieking and howling as they fled.
They did not have to run far. Kenshi and LiXue were waiting not more than one hundred yards away, looking quite self-satisfied. LiXue was grinning like a maniac, watching the Tartaka tear each other to pieces behind them. Kenshi held up one hand to stop them, and they slowed to a halt in confusion.
"What are you doing?" Frost asked incredulously.
"We can pick off the survivors," Kenshi said. "We need their supplies."
"You think they'll kill each other?" Frost asked. A sickening slicing sound cut through the air and her stomach lurched. "Never mind."
"How did you set them going?" Min asked. "I didn't see any flying rocks."
"Nothing so philistine," Kenshi pointed his temple. " A little telekinesis goes a long way."
The sounds of the fight were fading away, and Frost strained her eyes to see the clearing. In the fading light it was becoming difficult to see much of anything. Half of their number lay dead, and another was decapitated as she watched. "I think they may be finishing up," she announced. "Who gets to lead the charge?"
LiXue grinned ferally and pulled out her steel-tipped whip, cracking it once for good measure. At least someone was eager for a good fight. Kenshi pulled his katana as well, and it shone brightly when it caught the moonlight. She wished she could unsheathe her own weapon, but her spear had been left with her pack amongst the rocks and her kori daggers were still only a memory.
"How many are left?" Kenshi asked. "I only hear three."
His hearing was right, and once again she was amazed at his other heightened sense. None of the three looked to be in good condition, but they appeared to be of the same group because there was no further fighting. They seemed to be surveying the carnage with great satisfaction but it could just have been their permanent fang filled smiles she was spying. "Do you think you can take one of them on unarmed?" Kenshi asked. It wasn't a mean spirited question, but she prickled slightly.
As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't sure she could. "No," she said quietly, shaking her head for LiXue's benefit. "I think I had better sit this one out."
Min translated for LiXue, who was signing with a smirk, "Good, more for me then."
"She's brutal, isn't she?" Kenshi commented, then turned to the tribal warrior. "Let's go!"
He and LiXue ran off to the remaining Tarkata at full speed, leaving Min and Frost with what was left of their goods. "My pack!" Min cried happily, spying the scrolls sticking out from the pockets of one bag. He looked as if he'd just won the lottery. "I can't believe they went back for it."
Frost tried to smile, but the pain of not being able to help still stung. It was hard to be happy when she was watching someone else fight for her. She hated letting someone else do the dirty work for her. It was her fault they were hanging around the Wastelands to be captured in the first place.
She sighed loudly and tried hard not to mope, but LiXue was trying to get their attention in the clearing. She picked up the other two packs and dragged them over to the other two warriors in the clearing. Body parts were strewn around the forest floor like some sort of gruesome confetti, and the ground was simply saturated with blood. It looked like some sort of demented butcher had gone through.
While Kenshi was ensuring that all the fallen were really dead by severing all their heads from their necks, LiXue started rifling through their few possessions. None of it looked particularly edible, but they did find a few skins filled with water amongst the various "trophies" of dried body parts and personal items. Frost wondered if she knew any of the people they had originally belonged to.
Kenshi finished his gruesome task and strode over, carefully wiping his blade off on a scrap of cloth before putting it away. "Did we find anything useful?"
"I don't know, how do you feel about dried, severed heads?" Frost asked sarcastically. "Why would anyone carry this stuff around?" She nudged a dried finger with her toe.
"To prove whomever they were sent to kill is dead." Min answered. "They must have been on the hunt for a while."
"Ugh," Frost said. "That's why the Lin Kuei cut off a lock of hair. It's a lot less messy. And a hell of a lot more sanitary."
LiXue was still digging through the bags, trying to find something they could eat. None of them trusted the forest enough to try and forage, it seemed likely that most of it would be poisonous, or at the very least inedible. She looked clearly disappointed in their find.
"Well, that is discouraging," Min said. "But at least we've got some water again."
"Oh yay. Moss stew," Frost said, sticking out her tongue. Eating dirt was beginning to sound more appealing.
"It's still better than eating it dry," Min pointed out.
"Hopefully we will find some sort of animal to hunt," Kenshi was trying hard to sound optimistic. "I've never been in a forest that didn't have some sort of native species."
Frost glanced around at the twisted faces of the trees and shivered, "I think I would rather not run into any native species; if it's all right with you." Somehow she didn't think Bambi and friends were the kind of animals that made their home underneath the dark canopy of leaves. If the trees were any indication, the fauna were big with nasty teeth. She tried to stop thinking about it.
Min agreed heartily. "I don't want to do anything that will delay our getting out of here. Maybe we can catch up with Sub-Zero if we hurry."
Kenshi's ears perked up. "You saw him?"
"No, but we found the place of his last battle, it only happened a few hours ago. We could hear the screaming," Frost reported. "It's not too far away from here."
"We had just gotten back when the Tarkata started fighting," Min added.
"Where was it?" Kenshi asked, excitedly.
"East," Frost said. She turned around a few times, unsure of where East really was. Without a clear view of the Outworld moon, her sense of direction was pitiful. LiXue watched her with a smile as she spun and finally pointed over her left shoulder. On a closer examination, the tracks leading off would have been a good clue.
It didn't take long at all to arrive at the scene of the earlier battle. A few sets of glistening eyes shone dimly at the edges as they approached, but aside from a few small bite marks on some of the farthest corpses, it looked like little had changed since they had last seen the battlefield. LiXue looked quite impressed and nodded her approval to no one in particular.
"Should we... should we check these bodies for supplies?" Min asked timidly, trying to avoid stepping in any puddles of blood.
"I don't see any packs," Frost said, but turned to LiXue. The warrior woman was nudging the nearest body, looking for all the world as if she was rolling it for loose change. She didn't seem too keen on the idea though, and Min let the matter drop.
"What do we do now?" Kenshi asked suddenly, startling them all.
"What do you mean?" Frost was confused. "I thought we were going to look for Sub-Zero."
"We are," Kenshi said, sighing. "I just don't think we're going to find him. At least not at the rate we're going."
"You think we should give up?" Min asked. He seemed to be just as confused as Frost. "We want to go the same way he is going."
"That's not what I mean." Kenshi sighed heavily again. "I don't think I even know what I mean."
LiXue surprised them all by placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezing it almost affectionately. With the other hand she signed to Min, who turned to begin translating to Kenshi.
"I don't think any of us know what we are doing anymore. I could have left you all for dead with the Tarkata and gone back to the village and no one would have known the difference. But I didn't. Min is wandering around in the wilderness with a group of insane warriors, chasing after someone he's never met, and trying to get somewhere he's never been. Frost is desperately chasing after someone she obviously doesn't want to catch up with and trying to help others when all she wants to do is just go home. And you are wandering around in the Living Forest, risking your life for people you barely know and helping loot the corpses of our enemies. None of us are doing the most obvious, beneficial or even logical things. None of this makes any sense, and I really don't know what I should be doing anymore, nor does anyone else."
Frost just stood staring as her tired brain tried to process what had happened. That had to be more words from LiXue than she had ever tried to communicate for the entire rest of the trip. The last thing she had expected was a speech from her. What's more, she did have a point. What were they really trying to accomplish?
All she had wanted from the moment she had woken up in the sarcophagus was to just get home and act like she had never joined the Lin Kuei and that none of this had ever happened. But now it felt like something bigger was drawing her.
She hadn't asked Min to come with her, but here he was, and she felt like it was her duty to protect him, even if it had been his choice to come along. Finding Kenshi was never part of the plan, yet she was trying to chase down Sub-Zero for him. Sometimes it felt like someone else was making the decisions for her.
It was her turn to sigh and wonder what they were doing. Did it really matter if they caught up with Sifu? What if they were running into so many Tarkata because they were following him? Was it really fair to put Min into so much danger because she felt guilty for putting Sub-Zero in danger?
Why did everything seem to rest on her shoulders?
She looked up at Kenshi's sad face and asked his question right back to him, "What are we going to do?"
Kenshi took a moment to really think about it. "We should continue to follow Sub-Zero's trail. I think he will lead us to the portal to Earthrealm, even if we never see him in person."
LiXue nodded once Min had translated for her. "I think we have a better chance of finding our destination if we follow his trail rather than wander aimlessly to the east," she signed.
Min swallowed and stared at his feet a minute before he answered. "I think we'll do better hoping that he's heading for the portal than if we spent our time trying to find our way on our own."
At least they were all together in their decision, no matter if they turned out to be right or wrong. It felt like a burden was lifted when she realized Min was choosing to follow them into danger willingly. "I think maybe you're right," she said, affirming it to herself more than to the rest of the tattered band.
LiXue took a long look at the array of bodies piled among the trees. "Before we do anything else, we should make camp...A long, long way away from here," she said through Min.
The rest couldn't agree more heartily.
The forest was bleaker than before, almost black without the sliver of moon. It had disappeared behind a rush of clouds, casting an eerie purple tone to the trees.
She was in constant fear of touching a trunk in the darkness, afraid of brushing a hand against the rough bark and drawing back only a stump. They were moaning for her, horrible faces twisting as their maws opened wide to swallow her in.
Otherwise the forest was silent, and the lack of ambient noise was more frightening than even the hideous trees. There were no hooting owls, no rodents rustling in the underbrush, no rustling of leaves…the forest may have itself been alive, but it was full of death.
The others were no longer behind her, and no matter how she squinted her eyes there was no sign of them. No matter how quiet LiXue and Kenshi were, Min couldn't sneak up on a dead man. He was always clomping around, disturbing leaf piles and stepping on every twig they passed. But the forest was dead silent.
"Min!" she called into the darkness, but there was no response. "Kenshi?" One of them should have heard her, there was no way she could have wandered that far from the group so quickly. LiXue would have spotted her, even in the pitch black of night. "Min!" she called again with her heart in her throat.
Surely she would have heard if they were in trouble, even if she could see little. There were no sounds of a skirmish, no calls for help except her own. There were no running feet, no scraping of weapons. It was like they had vanished completely.
She drew a deep breath and tried to keep her head clear. There must be a logical explanation for what was going on. No one truly disappeared without a trace, not even the best ninja. Perhaps they were playing some sort of cruel joke on her.
And then she saw the figure in the distance. Not any of her companions, but someone else, someone tall. "Hello!" she cried out, but no response came. She ran towards the receding figure, and cried out again.
She could just make out the armor now, silver arm plates and a strange, spiked helmet. It looked like tribal armor to her. "Sifu!" she screamed, hearing her own voice echo through the trees.
"Sifu, please!"
But he either could not hear her or chose not to. She ran faster, never seeming to gain any ground as he walked away. His footsteps were just audible in the distance. "Sifu!"
She awoke with a start and cursed. Her breath was coming in great gasps and she econcentrated on not hyperventilating. She hated these dreams with a passion.
"Again?" Kenshi asked over the dull crackle of their campfire. It had burned to mostly embers under his watch, he had no need of it for it wasn't cold, and she could just make him out where he sat.
She was glad he couldn't see her shaking. "Again what?" she tried to ask non-chalantly.
"You were having a nightmare," Kenshi said quietly. "You've had one every night, I can hear you calling in your sleep."
"Oh," her ears were burning. She had assumed that since no one had said anything since she had woken Min that night that she hadn't been talking in her sleep. "I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter, you can't control them," he said amicably.
"I just wish I would stop having them," she moaned. "I've been having them ever since I started on this trip."
"Anxiety dreams?"
"Right in one I think," she rubbed the back of her head bashfully. Most people had anxiety dreams of being naked in public-why were hers so brutal? "I guess I've got a lot on my mind."
Kenshi nodded, "I think we all do."
"But you're not all having screaming night terrors about them," she added ruefully. "All I ask for is just one night of peaceful sleep."
"Well, what are you dreaming about?" Kenshi seemed genuinely interested.
"Mostly about being alone, being lost, not being able to find anyone." It sounded a little silly when she said it aloud. But then again, anxiety dreams are rarely logical. How often do people really show up late for a performance while simultaneously forgetting to wear their
clothes, forgetting their lines and having their teeth fall out?
"It sounds like someone has some self-esteem issues." Without seeing his face she couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.
"It's more like I'm afraid of screwing up," she confessed. It was true.
"Isn't everyone afraid of that?" Kenshi asked philosophically. "Hell, many cultures would commit suicide rather than live with the shame after making a mistake. I'd be more worried about someone who always thought they were in the right."
"I know," she felt a little weird confessing her fears to someone she barely knew. But it wasn't as if anything about the trip was something she was comfortable with. "It's just that I've got a bit more experience with screwing up than most people."
Kenshi seemed to be considering something and for a moment she was afraid she had managed to offend him. But then he asked, "Can I tell you something?"
"...Okay."
"You have to promise to keep it to yourself though."
"Okay." She had no idea what he could possibly want to tell her. People weren't in the habit of confessing their secrets to her.
"When I was younger, and stupider, I had it in my head that I would be the best swordsman that ever walked the Realms. I traveled from place to place, challenging the other masters, slaying them to ensure that I would remain the best."
He paused for a breath and Frost realized he was telling her an intensely personal story. She tried to listen as respectfully as she could.
"I wasn't born blind. One day, I met a sorcerer named Song, who promised he would take me to find a sword worthy of my superior abilities. I was suspicious at first, but finally convinced myself in my arrogance that I clearly deserved such a fine sword, and agreed to go with him.
He took a small breath, then continued speaking. "He led me to a tomb and bade me to open it. But when I did, instead of finding my sword, all the souls of my ancestors were sucked, screaming, into the abyss known as Shang Tsung who had disguised himself. Meanwhile, I was left blind and nearly dead in the tomb, with nothing but the sword I found there."
A grim smirk then crossed his lips. "I think that qualifies as a pretty abysmal 'screw up'."
"But isn't Shang Tsung dead?" she asked. She hadn't been there for the final battle, but it looked as though Kung Lao would succeed in his quest for revenge before she tried to steal the Dragon Amulet.
"Yes, and now the souls of my ancestors reside in my sword to guide me."
"See, my story doesn't end happily. I just woke up in a coffin," Frost argued.
Kenshi looked thoughtful again and shrugged. "Maybe your story hasn't ended yet."
She didn't have a response to that and settled back to think about it, accidentally nudging Min where he lay.
"Hmmm?" he asked, half-awake. "Did you have another nightmare?"
"Go back to sleep, Min," she ordered, scratching his head affectionately.
Apparently pleased that she wasn't crying, he did. She followed him shortly thereafter.
