Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money. I'm just playing.

Shadow Puppets

Chapter 16

Lula spotted the dark shadow in the distance first, when they were looking for a suitable spot to camp. She squinted into the sun and pointed. "What's that?"

The forest had petered out the day before and given way to a broad prairie that whispered in the breeze that ruffled the tall grass.

The grasses went on and on into the distance for as far as the eye could see, until they reached the shadow that she was pointing to. The narrow path of flattened grass that they were following headed straight for it.

They followed the path, and the shadow grew into a towering wall that sat on the landscape and drew all eyes toward it.

"I don't like it." Lula said. "I wanna go back."

"Lester." Tank nodded toward the wall. "Check it out. We'll wait here."

Lester nodded and jogged away towards the darkness.

* * *

The shadows were starting to lengthen when he returned. "Thorn wall. Looks completely impenetrable from this angle. No threat visible and there's water; a stream goes underneath it.

"And your intel is that it's safe?"

"The kids in the area dare each other to go through it. No threat, they just never get through."

"Let's get to the wall and make camp. We'll check it out in the morning."

* * *

The setting sun turned the grass to gold as they approached the thorn wall. Rabbits scattered before them as they reached the stream, some of them risking certain death to dodge between the horse's enormous feet. She ignored them, just whisking her long tail as they passed underneath her.

Evidence of previous camps lay littered around them. Circles of stones and bare, scorched earth pointed to previous campfires, and shards of pottery and broken tools lay scattered around. A battered cooking pot lay on its side. Lester picked up a length of curved blade that had snapped at one end. "Looks like some of these kids meant business. How hard is that hedge, for God's sake?"

"Quit poking around and get the fire started," Tank growled. "We'll investigate tomorrow."

* * *

In the morning, they started with a full circuit of the thorn wall to establish its extent and investigate the surrounding area. All the way around it was thick, dark and forbidding, a tight, densely woven thicket of thorn bushes that rose fifteen feet in the sky like a grim citadel of vegetable power. Every branch sported a collection of vicious, curved thorns. Ivy twined its way around the dark thorny skeleton, blocking any light that might have told them how thick it was. Blood red blooms of some unknown flower hung in giant swags from the higher branches.

The stream where they had started was the only thing that passed in or out of the wall.

"I guess that's that, then," Lester said. "Nothing out here to give us any information and no weak spots that I could see."

Tank pointed to the stream where it flowed under the wall. "This is as good as it gets."

"So who's gonna be Prince Charming?" Lula asked.

"Me, of course," Lester answered promptly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm pretty damn charming, that's why."

Lula put both hands on her hips and wagged her head. "Well, would you listen to him? Ladies and gentlemen, the ego has landed."

Edna cackled with laughter. "As long as he can back it up. Can you back it up, handsome?"

Lester looked pained. "Of course I can. Would I say so otherwise?"

Tank took charge. "That's enough. Lester, Morelli, you two go first. Once you're through, we'll widen the hole from both sides.

They both nodded and pulled their machetes from their packs. Lester stepped over to the hedge and took a swing at a large branch where it leaned towards the water. The hardened steel bit into the wood with ease. "This ain't so bad. This ain't gonna take long with real men doing it."

Lula and Edna exchanged glances and raised eyebrows.

Oblivious, Lester swung the machete again and severed the branch. "Yes! First blood."

Morelli took a position to the side and did the same thing. Together, they gradually hacked a small tunnel at the base of the thorn wall and edged forward.

Inside, the wall was a skeleton of bare branches and thorns, with all the leaves on the outside where they could reach the light. They took it in turns to worm into the narrow space and try to deepen it while the other dragged the cut branches out. Tank worked on enlarging the mouth of the tunnel. Thorns constantly ripped at their hands and clothing as they worked.

They were both in the tunnel with Lester in front when the thorn skeleton gave a sigh and sagged down into the tunnel, cutting them off from each other and from Tank, Lula and Edna. Morelli fell to the floor and pressed himself into the ground. He heard Lula scream and Tank shout as the light was cut off, leaving him buried under a tangle of branches and razor sharp thorns. He fought to control his breathing and stay calm in the darkness. "Shit. Lester? You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. You?" Lester's voice sounded muffled in the close confines of their vegetable prison.

"Can you move?"

"A little. Ow! Jesus! There's thorns everywhere. This is going to cut us to pieces."

"Why can't we hear the others any more?"

"I don't know, man. This is seriously weird." Lester was silent for a few moments. "I think I see some light up ahead. I might be near the other side."

Morelli heard a loud rustle and a mutter of "fuck," followed by the sharp thunk of steel biting into wood.

He lay in the darkness listening to rustles and thuds as time stretched out. Sweat dripped into his eyes in the still, airless space. A stray leaf stroked his cheek and tickled his nose. He wanted to brush it away, but didn't dare move in case the thorn that was pressed into his back dug in. All he could do was lay motionless and hope that Lester managed to cut them out before the thorn wall fought back again.

The thuds got closer and closer until a loud rustle was followed by a shaft of light that assaulted his eyes. He squeezed them shut and opened them again slowly to let them adjust.

Lester's voice murmured urgently close to his ear. "I don't know how long we've got. I'm going to pull you forward on the count of three. When I say go, push with your legs. You've got about eight feet to go, so don't stop, okay?"

"Got it."

They braced.

"One, two, three, go."

Morelli shoved hard with his legs as Lester pulled him by the arms. They scrambled towards the light and freedom.

The wall sighed again and moved down just as they cleared it.

Morelli lurched and stopped as the branches gripped his legs. "Fuck! It's got me!"

Lester heaved hard and dragged him clear with a rending of fabric and leaves. Tendrils of ivy gripped him and tore away as he kicked with his newly freed legs and reached the freedom of the other side.

Morelli flopped onto his back with a groan and lay on the ground looking up at the sky while he waited for his heart to stop beating its way out of his chest.

He heard Lester collapse next to him before losing everything else behind the rush of the blood in his ears.

* * *

When the shaking in his legs had subsided and his breathing had slowed, he took a good look at the other side of the thorn wall. This side was a mass of crimson flowers, vivid against the glossy dark green of the ivy.

"That is the scariest thing I've ever done," he muttered.

"Amen to that, man. And we still have to get out again."

"What next?"

"We need to tell Tank we're okay. My radio's in there somewhere. You still got yours?"

He rolled to the side to see Lester still flat on the ground next to him. He was covered in scrapes and lacerations. A dozen tiny trickles of blood were drying on his face and arms. "You look like hell."

"You haven't seen yourself yet. Dragging you out like that did some damage."

Morelli stood up slowly and looked down. His clothes were ripped to shreds and covered with blood from the mass of scratches and abrasions that covered his body. He could feel a stinging pain where the big thorn had ripped his skin and a warm trickle was running into his eyes. He put his hand to his face and pulled it back bloody. "Damn. Bad?"

"Bloody but superficial. You'll be pretty again soon."

"Fuck off, man."

Lester grinned as he pulled himself to his feet too. "We need to find you some pants. Go back to Trenton like that and the women will eat you alive."

Morelli shivered. "Scary thought."

"Chicken. So how about that radio?"

Morelli checked his clothes. "Gone. The gun too."

"Damn. We'll have to get as high as we can and try to call him over the wall." Lester started limping towards a large lodge in the middle of the deserted village.

Morelli followed him.

* * *

The lodge was cold and dark inside, with nobody to be seen in the rooms that they checked. They found a couple of tables and dragged them out to the front of the lodge, where they used them to clamber up onto the sagging, dusty thatch. They were closer to the top of the wall, but not high enough to see over it.

"You keep watch while I call Tank," Lester instructed.

"You think there's anybody alive in here?"

"Who knows? Best to be careful." Lester took a deep breath and yelled, "Tank!"

Tank's voice was faint as it came back over the wall. "I hear you."

"We're through. Banged up but okay. Don't try to get to us."

"Understood."

"We're gonna check out the location and look for anything that might help us and a way out."

"Do it quickly. Morelli's horse is going nuts out here."

Tank's words were accompanied by a frantic whinnying and the sound of heavy hoofbeats.

Morelli raised his eyebrows. "My horse?"

"Yep, can't you hear her? Your girl's missing you already."

"Do you ever stop?"

Lester grinned. "Where's the fun in that?"

* * *

They dropped down from the roof of the lodge and surveyed their surroundings. The lodge sat in the center of the village. Smaller houses huddled around it as though begging for protection from the shadow of the thorn wall.

"Any thoughts?" Lester asked.

"Let's start with the big one in the middle. That's the most likely one."

They walked back into the lodge to check the rest of the rooms.

Room after room was deserted. The kitchen was devoid of pots and knives, the storerooms were empty except for half a sack of moldering grain and an empty barrel with a broken stave. A thick layer of dust coated everything and muffled their footfalls as they moved through the lodge.

Finally Morelli found a room that wasn't empty. He stepped into the square of light cast onto the floor by the small, high window. "Lester, get over here."

Lester joined him. "Damn."

"Yeah."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking."

They both regarded the muslin-draped form that lay on the bed at the back of the room. The rest of the room was empty except for a heap of dust-covered rags by the door.

Lester moved closer and fingered the dusty gray fabric. "White under all this dust."

"We both know what's under there. Do it."

Lester pulled it off, throwing a cloud of dust up into the air. Dust motes danced in the shaft of light from the window. The young woman underneath was like a china doll with closed eyes, still and cold and perfect. A long, fawn dress covered her from her neck to her toes. "And there she is, just like the story goes."

Morelli pushed her blonde hair out of the way and pressed a finger to the pale skin of her neck. "Not quite the way the story says it. No pulse, and she's cold."

"She's dead?"

"If she is, there's been no decay in a hundred years. Embalmed maybe?"

"Wanna bet the farm on it after everything we've seen so far?"

"Not a chance. Time to do your stuff, Casanova. See if you can wake up Sleeping Beauty."

Lester glared at him. "I'm not a performing seal."

Morelli shrugged. "Thought taking one for the team was your speciality. Tank seemed to think so."

"Only if I want to." Lester didn't know why that was important, but it was. He leaned over the still form, then shuddered and stepped back. "What if she is dead?"

"What if she isn't? We haven't found anything else to help us."

"Jesus." Lester leaned forward again and tried to imagine that she was warm and breathing, just sleeping and ready to wake. It wasn't enough. He closed his eyes and tried to overlay another image over the one in front of him. A woman with warm skin and dark red hair. And angry, accusing blue eyes.

He shook his head violently and stepped away. "I can't."

"What?"

"You do it."

"I can't do it."

"Shit." Lester sagged back against the wall and let himself slide to the floor. Morelli sat on the floor next to him.

"I don't believe this," Lester muttered. "The two biggest players in Trenton and neither of us will kiss her."

Morelli dug deep into his single remaining unshredded pocket and pulled out a quarter. "Toss for it?"

"Heads."

Morelli flicked the coin. It spun in the air as it rose and fell again. Dust motes swirled and spiraled in its wake. "Tails it is. Damn."

He pulled himself up and walked over to the girl. "How the hell did I get into this mess?" he announced to the room. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and pecked the girl's lips.

Her eyes snapped open and she screamed a shrill, piercing scream. It went on and on as she threw herself backwards away from him.

Morelli stepped back immediately with his hands in the air. "It's okay. Don't panic, I won't hurt you."

She kept on screaming, huddling into the corner where the bed met the wall. Her eyes were wide and terrified.

"Shit." Lester cursed. "Let's back out slowly and let her calm down.

They backed away towards the door with their hands held out palms forward in front of them.

"Stop right there," a voice growled behind them, barely audible over the girl's screaming.

Lester froze as he felt something sharp press into the small of his back. "Company."

Morelli spun to face Lester and whoever was standing behind him. He raised his hands high. "We're not here to hurt her. We're looking for information."

The point in Lester's back didn't move, but the unknown man called over to the girl. "Belle, it's Garrick. I'm here."

The screaming stopped. "Garrick?" she faltered.

"The same. Just stay calm. Who are they?"

"Where is everybody? Why does everything look wrong?"

"I'll explain what I can in a moment. You two, up against that wall."

Lester complied and stood against the wall next to Morelli. He cast a slow look down at his gun before returning his eyes to Morelli's face.

Morelli fractionally shook his head and kept his eyes fixed on Garrick. Lester followed suit and assessed the newcomer.

Garrick brushed the dust from his grizzled face and short, graying hair without taking his eyes off them. The short sword pointing at them didn't waver for a second. More dust showered from his body as he moved to reveal a tan leather jerkin and pants covering lean, hard muscle. An intricate, twisting blue pattern was tattooed along the length of his arms from his fingers to his shoulders. He looked dangerous and he didn't look happy to see them there. He watched them carefully as he moved over to Belle.

She threw herself into his arms as he reached her and sobbed hysterically into his shoulder.

He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Shh, Belle, be calm."

She just sobbed harder.

Finally the flood of tears died away to a trickle. Garrick carefully detached her arms from around his neck and sat her on the bed. He stood protectively in front of her and fixed Lester and Morelli with a sharp glare. "Time to talk."

"What do you want to know?" Morelli asked, watching both him and the girl that sat pale and shaking behind him.

"Let's begin with who you are, why you are here, how much time has passed and how you woke us."

"My name is Joe Morelli, this is Lester Santos. We're new to the area. We're looking for the white witch."

Belle shrank into herself and Garrick's hand tightened on his sword. "Why?"

"We're looking for whoever cursed some friends of ours. The only person we've heard of with the power to do it is her. We want to talk to her."

"Find her and you may find yourself unable to talk."

Morelli shrugged. "Still."

"How much time has passed?"

"We've been told about a hundred years."

Belle whimpered behind Garrick.

"Shh, Belle," he muttered. "Let me think."

"Give her a break," Morelli interjected. "She's scared half to death."

Garrick glared at him. "Break what? Anyone that touches her dies. And how exactly did you wake her up?"

Morelli winced. "You have to understand, there's a story where we come from about a princess that was cursed to sleep for a hundred years. The story told us how she woke up. We… just did what the story said."

"Which was?" Garrick asked through gritted teeth.

"I had to kiss her."

Garrick took a step towards Morelli with a murderous look in his face. Lester pulled the gun from his belt and aimed it at his head. "Don't. I'm warning you."

Garrick stopped. "What's that?"

"A weapon. We aren't your enemies, but don't push your luck. We didn't like it either, but she's awake and unharmed."

Garrick stepped back slowly and lowered the sword. "Belle?" he said quietly without looking at Morelli.

"They didn't hurt me." Her voice shook. "I was just afraid when I woke up and saw him right there."

Garrick sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "I have no reason to trust you except that she's awake and so am I. It'll have to be enough." He put his sword away.

"What happened to you?"

"Ash happened to us."

"Ash?"

"Your white witch. She came in the summer, spent a lot of time looking around. Our people hid in their houses, and we watched her. I tried to keep my men between her and the rest of the village. Then she disappeared again.

"The next day, Belle didn't wake up. Her father tried everything, doctors, herbwomen. I thought she was dead, but he kept saying that it was magic and she was just asleep, and it wasn't my place to argue with the chief. After a few days I agreed, because she didn't start to…" He glanced at Belle where she sat shivering on the bed and changed what he was about to say.

"We tried for weeks. People started talking about curses and disease. They packed up and left in the middle of the night; there were a few people less every day, and the hedge started to grow. Soon it got to the point where we had to think about the people left. We were becoming sleepy and it was increasingly hard to do anything.

"Eventually the chief took the last few people away to safety. I volunteered to stay and watch over her. I was responsible; I should have just killed Ash the day she walked in and hang the risk." Garrick shrugged. "If that was a hundred years ago, then we did the right thing."

A sob caught his attention, and he turned back to Belle. She was rubbing her cheeks frantically, trying to conceal the tears that trickled down them.

Garrick looked at her helplessly. "Belle…" He raked his hand across his scalp again. "I'm a warrior, child, I don't know what to do."

Morelli moved across the room towards her. "She needs more than just protection right now."

Garrick put his hand to the hilt of his sword. "No closer to my ward until you're decently covered."

Belle looked up at Morelli and took in the rents in his clothes. Her eyes went wide and she choked back a giggle. "I can see his…"

"Stop right there," Garrick said firmly. "I don't want to know. You," he pointed to Morelli, "go to the next room and take some of my clothes." He turned to Lester. "You can show us the hedge while he changes."

Lester saluted. "Sure thing, man. Hedge isn't exactly the right word any more, though. We've got work ahead of us."

Garrick furrowed his brow. "Of course I'm sure. And of course I'm a man. Did you think I was a woman?"

"Never mind."

* * *

They were surveying the thorn wall when Morelli rejoined them, tugging at his black leather jerkin self-consciously.

Lester wolf whistled, and Morelli glared at him. "Knock it off. I mean be quiet," he amended, noticing Garrick's confused look.

Garrick nodded approvingly. "Those are better. Keep them. You can have my spare sword as well."

"I don't know how to use one."

Garrick waved at the wall. "Your friend tells me that your weapons are somewhere underneath this thing. Take the sword. You can learn to use it. Now help us to work out how we get out."

He nodded and stared at the wall of vegetation that stood between them and the outside world. The red flowers near the top nodded in the breeze. "We could try using the tables to stop it coming down on top of us again."

"Sounds like a plan," Lester said thoughtfully. "And if we go through in the same place we might be able to pick up the gun and the radios."