Chapter Fifteen
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Morning comes like it always does. Although the temperature is stable, the sky is gloomy. Ewar takes a good, long look around. Everything (excluding us) is covered in snow. He aims a finger at the skyline, looks at me, and says one word.
"Go."
It is time for us to leave this barren plain and find our way back to the relative safety of his village.
After indulging in a humble breakfast of leftover ptarmigan, we focus on packing. We have very little, so it doesn't take long. But not having the sledge is seriously screwing us over. These baskets don't have handles. We can only hold so much. Ewar rolls up the tent and stuffs it underneath his armpit. He also takes charge of the water basket and his spear. I'm responsible for carrying my basket filled with my personal belongings plus a blanket. But that still leaves his blanket and two more baskets. We've both run out of arms to hold anything else.
How on earth are we going to carry what we need out of here? Think, damn it. Think!
Every so often, my brain wakes up from its stupor and surprises me. I have an idea! I gather together all of the cord and scraps of fabric we have left. Ewar watches in bafflement as I tie two short lengths of fabric to my basket, forming rudimentary straps. Once they are properly secured, I slip my arms through and hoist the basket on my back.
And, voilà. Eat your heart out, Alistair. I just invented the backpack.
Ewar wanders over to give my creation a thorough inspection. He touches it reverently, as though I just created the Holy Grail out of thin air. I hope he doesn't start thinking I'm a goddess again.
"Would you like for me to do this to your basket too?" I ask him. "It should make carrying it easier."
He says nothing. My question was too difficult, I suppose. The only choice I have is to convert his basket like mine and hope he approves the end result. Since the water container is heavier than our other baskets, I seek out the strongest rope to construct the straps. The basket morphs into what I envisioned in minutes. We manage to heave it on his back without spilling a drop. On a roll, I wind rope around the rolled-up tent, creating yet another strap design. He can now carry it on his shoulder instead of lugging it around underneath his armpit.
His ear-to-ear grin is the reward for all of my hard work.
He contributes by cramming his blanket in with the tent. This leaves only two baskets stuffed with odds and ends for us to deal with. I add handles to the baskets and slide them up to my elbows. I look at my creations and laugh.
"I guess I'll be 'handling' these baskets today! Get it? Handling?"
He gives a vacant stare in response.
My smile droops. "I see that I'll have to teach you word play in conjunction with your English lessons. If we have to spend more than half a year together, you're going to have to learn to laugh at my lame jokes. It's called stroking my ego. Ok?"
He nods along with me, agreeing without knowing exactly what he is signing up for. His complete trust in me just so happens to stroke my ego, too. But to be honest, he probably trusts me a little too much. Will I ever tell him this? Nope.
Our supplies are packed. We resume our journey to the village. Carrying most of the load on our backs helps a lot, but we're still having a tough time walking. Wallowing through knee-deep snow is exhausting. Can you say "resistance training"? It's below freezing today and I'm sweating! Ewar gives me a pro-tip: step only where he has already been. His compacted footprints are more stable than the undisturbed snow. It takes less energy for me to walk, but it still isn't easy.
We stop for a water break. The top has already formed a layer of ice. Ewar smashes through it with a stick. As we drink, a flock of birds fly overhead. I watch their flight out of curiosity. Ewar, however, appears to have a different reason. He adjusts the direction we have been walking to match the birds' trajectory. At first, I think it's an odd thing to do. They're too high up to hunt, so why follow them? Then, the answer hits me.
The sun isn't out today.
There's no such thing as a compass or GPS yet, so the sun is the next best thing in helping you find your way around. But what do you do when it's cloudy, like it is today? Follow the birds heading south for winter, I guess.
Well, let's hope that's where they're going. Heaven help us if they are flying in a more northerly direction.
Daylight hours are fading. Ewar decides to stop for the night. Instead of taking a well-deserved rest, however, he immediately starts digging like a dog in the snow. I have to fight off the urge to check the man's forehead. Thankfully, it turns out he isn't in a fever-induced mental breakdown. He's building us a shelter out of the snow. I pitch in too, though I mostly just follow his lead. The snow will act as insulation, trapping our body heat. He constructs walls and a roof. The tent is our floor covering. The structure reminds me of a child's snow fort. But who cares? We have a snug place to sleep inside tonight.
Harsh reality comes back to play much too soon. Our evening meal is lean. A few bites of this and that is all we can afford to eat. We must conserve our meager rations until we find another food source. We go to bed with nearly empty stomachs.
Sleep is fleeting. We force ourselves to rise the next morning. Our spirits are lowered significantly by the dual forces of exhaustion and hunger. The tons of snow we must struggle through has slowed us down to a crawl. If the blizzard hadn't come along, we would have arrived at Ewar's village yesterday. How long will it take us to get to the village now? We can't even say for certain that we are heading in the right direction. We might be walking in circles as far as I know. If we're lucky, someone might find our frozen carcasses next spring.
My mind is so occupied by these macabre thoughts, I don't notice that Ewar stopped moving until I crash into his back.
"Ouch!" I say while rubbing my sore nose.
"Shh!"
We've come upon a quiet, partially frozen stream. He points at a large clump sitting along the edge of the waterway. It looks to be comprised of dried grass and cattail stalks. A small hole rests just above the water line.
I nod my head in understanding. There could be an animal, like another ptarmigan, in that hole. If there is, we will eat well today.
He sets down the things he's been carrying, motioning for me to stand guard over them. Next, he finds a coil of rope and mouths a single word to me.
"Stay."
I watch as he slides carefully down the steep embankment. He treads lightly through the frozen mud, holding only his spear and the rope. Once he reaches the hole, he surprises me. Instead of using his weapon to hunt, he drives the spear into the mud. He tries wiggling it. He gives a nod of satisfaction when the spear barely moves. The rope becomes his next focus. His fingers move quickly to form a loop. The loop is placed outside of the hole while the other end of the rope is tied securely around the spear.
He made a snare. Hopefully, it will catch something before we die of starvation.
We find a spot far enough away where our potential prey won't be scared away by our scent. Once again we construct a shelter of snow. He carries back piles of dried cattail stalks to be used as fire tender. A warm fire burns bright as dusk approaches. He insists I tend to the flames so he can check the trap. I agree. A handful of minutes later, I hear his returning footsteps.
Just as we had hoped, he caught something!
He drops his catch and begins sharpening his stone knife in preparation for butchering it. The body of the animal is bigger than I expected. The light from the fire proves it sure isn't a yummy ptarmigan.
"Ewar," I say warily. "What is that thing?"
"Kapart-harranz."
His response - although well-meaning - wasn't exactly satisfying. I crawl closer to seek the answer for myself. I see coarse fur, a weird tail, and a whiskered face not even a mother could love. It looks like Master Splinter and a random beaver had a baby together.
Heaven help me. He's getting ready to cook a muskrat.
With a skilled flick of a wrist, he slits the animal's belly open. I see far more than I ever wanted of this creature. And the smell, ugh. I cover my mouth and nose, but the stench still seeps through. It's a good thing I haven't eaten anything today, or else I would have thrown up.
Ewar goes about the task of butchering the muskrat, unaware of my distress. He guts it, chops off the head, and sorts through the organs while it roasts over the flames. How he knows what to keep and what to dispose of is beyond my understanding. It all looks like a big pile of nope to me.
The dreaded time has arrived. Medium-rare rodent is served, plus all the innards a bait shop could want. A large portion has been placed in a basket and covered with a thick layer of snow to be kept for future meals. What's left is our dinner tonight. Or his dinner, if you want to get technical about it. Because I'm sure as hell not eating any of it.
He tries serving me my portion first. I shake my head. "No thanks."
"Take," he says.
"No."
"Take."
"No."
He sighs. "Eat. No horse."
"I already know it's not a horse. That's called muskrat. Subtract the musk and what are you left with? Hairy, nasty rat. And guess what? Bella no eat rat." I cross my arms over my chest and tilt my nose up in the air. Maybe he will understand my body language since my words aren't doing the trick.
Undaunted, he dangles a piece of meat in front of my face. I turn my head, utilizing the strategy of a picky toddler. His gaze hardens to flint, hinting that his patience has finally given out. Instinct tells me I should retreat before he snaps. Slowly, I start backing away. But before I make much progress in escaping, he pounces. I fall backwards. He lands on top, pinning me to the ground. I try wiggling out from underneath him without success.
Fuck, he's heavy. What did his mother feed him as an infant - mammoth milk?
His face appears above my own. "Eat, Bella."
"No," I grit out.
"Eat."
"I said, no!"
He brushes the meat across my lips, leaving behind a light coating of grease. I see what he's doing. Trying to force-feed me, Ewar? Ha! Not gonna happen. I stare stubbornly into his eyes. He can't make me open my mouth!
One of his hands disappears from view. I'm not too worried about it until I detect my clothing being disturbed. My tunic inches its way up with deliberate care. At first, only the night air touches my exposed abdomen. It gets serious when a set of rough fingertips makes their presence known. They travel lightly across my skin in exploration. I stop breathing, staring wide-eyed. I don't know where his fingers are headed or what they're going to do once they get there. Their owner, however, bears a narrowed-eyed look of determination. Quite frankly, it scares the ever-living shit out of me.
He knows exactly what he's going to do.
His fingers eventually crawl to my waist, at approximately where my right kidney rests. Upon arriving at one particularly vulnerable spot, I inhale sharply. He probes this tender area again, but this time, with slightly more pressure.
One traitorous laugh escapes before I can clamp my mouth shut. To this, he gives a wicked smile. He has found my weakness.
Yup. I am screwed.
Holding nothing back, his fingers tickle my side. Tears prick at my eyes. I try to fight it, but it's physically impossible. I burst out laughing. The instant my mouth opens, he slips the muskrat meat inside. I should have spit it out, but I don't. My body doesn't care about my stance on not eating animals that resemble giant rats. I chew and swallow the meat like a starving animal. And, worst of all, I don't regret it.
Yes, Bella Swan ate a barbecued rodent... and enjoyed it to a certain degree. An army of little green aliens from the planet Zorcan could attack Earth in the future but I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now.
Ewar is ready to place another piece of meat in my mouth. Evidently, he is prepared to feed me like a mother bird until I eat my share. I take the offering without delay this time, but his weight makes it difficult to swallow.
I push at him a little. "All right, all right. You can get off me now."
"Bella eat?"
"Yes. Bella eat."
He rolls off and stands in one fluid motion. He offers me a hand up, and I humbly accept the help. With as much dignity as I can muster (which is approximately zero at this point), I join him by the fire. He eats his meal cheerfully, with lots of lip smacking and smiles. I imagine the Continental soldiers were in a similar mood after the British surrendered at Yorktown.
We continue with our travel plans the next morning. Again, walking through the snow delays us, but at least we have more energy today. Another night goes by. And then another day and night. The following morning, we find four-legged animal tracks. By the gleam in Ewar's eyes, I think they may be fresh. We come to a rise in the land. A deer is bent over eating a stone's throw away. Our presence has gone unnoticed.
Ewar and I exchange excited glances. Venison!
He disposes of the load he's carrying and focuses on hunting. The spear is raised and aimed at its target. Suddenly, the wind blows from behind. The deer snaps its head up, eyes on us. With a grunt, Ewar sends the spear sailing through the air.
It lands in the snow, where the deer had once stood. The deer is gone in moments.
Ewar's posture slumps as he retrieves his weapon. After he pulls it from the snow, he waves for me to come closer. Now we know what the deer was munching on: berries. It's the same kind Ewar fed me the day we first met. They look similar to blueberries but are virtually tasteless. Seeing as how we're beggars now, we can't pick and choose what we eat. We pluck every last berry from the bushes and are thrilled to do it. We score at least two cupfuls.
That evening we make a small fire and consume the rest of the muskrat. I don't even try to put up a fight when he gives me an unidentifiable organ to eat. Hunger has made me rethink my aversion to strange food. The muskrat fat he saved from days ago is melted and mixed with the berries we picked. The batter cools and congeals. Eventually, he breaks it into bite-sized pieces. It looks like granola bars only Bear Grylls would dare eat. And me. I eat that shit up, no problem.
We receive a treat of a different nature before we prepare for bed. The clouds thin for the first time in several days. More stars than I ever had the pleasure of viewing in Forks appear in the sky. Ewar's head twists and turns, his eyes slightly squinted. His gaze stops on one of the brightest stars. To this, he nods and makes a mark in the snow.
Our travels resume at daybreak. I notice he has changed our direction slightly. It now matches the mark he left in the snow last night. I've heard you can use the North Star to guide you, but Ewar wasn't looking anywhere near it. The North Star was on the opposite side of the sky.
Weird.
There is no time to ponder such things. I ignore it and concentrate on walking. Another day of very little importance drags by. Evening comes, so we stop to rest. Our food is being eaten up quicker than we can replace it. We barely speak to one another. Morale is fading fast. I lie down but my mind won't shut off. Ewar must believe that I am asleep, though. Looking through my eyelid slits, I see him clutching his Damara pendant. His eyes are shut but his lips move, as if giving a silent prayer. I know why. The temperature has begun to drop again. Winds are blowing from the Arctic and are growing stronger. The signs point to only one thing.
A storm is coming.
If another blizzard were to strike us, it might succeed in killing us this time.
On the eleventh day since we left Alistair and the Cave of Life settlement, we spot a streak of smoke on the horizon. Is it a wildfire or something man-made? And if it is from a human settlement, does it belong to a potential foe? If that's the Soul Eaters over there, Ewar and I would be better off sleeping in the snow and licking lichen off rocks to survive.
We move forward cautiously, trying our hardest to keep sound to a minimum. As we reach a point where we can make out multiple structures as well as movement, Ewar motions for me to get low to the ground. Once I do as he wants, he says the word I have begun to despise.
"Stay."
I grab him by the arm. "Oh no you don't. You're not leaving me here alone while you go check things out. I'm coming with you."
My body language conveys my demand. I point to myself and then at the settlement near us. He knows what I am saying, and he is not happy about it. Even if he insists that I stay put, he knows I'll follow him anyway. So, he should accept that I'm going on the spy mission too instead of arguing about it. And he does. Smart move, Ewar.
We leave our things behind to belly crawl through the snow. It is not fun. What would take only a few minutes of walking takes much longer when you're wiggling around like a snake. After approximately half of forever, we get close enough to discern voices and faces. Ewar breathes out a puff of misty air. When he reopens his eyes, they shine with an inner light that wasn't there before.
"Kuwaās." He scrunches his brow. "Uh. Wolf?"
"Wolf! You mean Wolf People, don't you?"
He nods quickly. "Yes. Wolf Pee-ple."
We grin at one another, our spirits soaring. We're saved! I can't believe how lucky we are to have found a friendly tribe in all this vast nothingness. I'm half convinced I should start worshipping that Damara pendant around Ewar's neck.
The Wolf People settlement is made up of several tents of varying size. Ilium, their leader, greets us with a mixture of excitement and confusion. I take it that visits between tribes are rare during the winter months. Whatever explanation Ewar gives concerning our presence appears to satisfy his curiosity, however. He ushers us out of the cold and into the warmth of his home. I think he has invited us to stay with him. Although it's a tent, it is more spacious than I expected. Ewar can stand without having to stoop. A fire burns in the center, giving the scene a cozy ambience.
And snoozing by that same fire is my former suitor, Akob.
Ilium barks his son's name. Akob opens his eyes and does a double take upon seeing Ewar and me. Then, he grins like it's Christmas morning. Jumping up, he comes closer to talk. And talk, and talk. His every word flies way over my head. It's a little awkward meeting someone who once-upon-a-time wanted to marry me (and who I turned down). But I put on an act, making it seem like it's great seeing him again. He is the son of the leader and our host, so it's a good idea to keep a civil relationship going between us. Ewar, on the other hand, isn't quite as good at acting as I am. His smile fades the more Akob yaps.
After we settle in, Ilium throws a miniature dinner party. Several people are invited. The tent is crowded but festive. A bowl of various meats and roasted nuts is passed around. The guy sitting to my left eyes one particularly fine cut of meat. However, before he can pick it up with his fingers, another hand snatches the bowl away. A hushed argument begins between himself and the culprit, Akob. Akob wins. He delivers the confiscated bowl to me with a flourish, insisting I take nothing less than the best. I do what he wants just to keep the peace. Akob watches me chew every bite, as though viewing me eat is a form of entertainment. I glance at Ewar, hopeful he will have an explanation for this strange behavior.
Ewar is no help at all. He only glares at Akob.
Just as we feared, it begins to snow later in the night. The party guests rush to their homes. Ilium adds more fuel to the fire to combat the chill. I snuggle underneath my borrowed blankets, thankful that Ewar and I found refuge before the bad weather hit.
It snows for two days straight.
The four of us are stuck indoors until it decides to stop. It is late evening. We have spent a long, boring day together. Ilium goes to bed straight after dinner. Ewar wiles away the time by doing some flint-knapping work for our host. I draw my knees up to my chest and watch. The clacking sound is soothing on an otherwise dead-quiet night. Akob is up as well. He plays a game of flicking dry grass into the fire and watching it burn.
Ewar's eyes get heavy. He puts away his tools and points to himself. "Sleep."
I acknowledge him with a single head nod. He moves over to his designated sleeping area and lies down. As for me, I'm not tired at all. My thoughts wander as I watch the flames of the fire dance. Absentmindedly, I wind and unfurl a lock of hair around my finger.
I close my eyes a moment, enjoying my relaxed state, only to find another set of fingers stroking my head.
I jerk back. Akob chuckles at my reaction, then he holds up a piece of straw that he pulled from my hair. I let down my guard slightly but continue keeping an eye on him. He goes to sit in the spot Ewar recently vacated, the one next to me. There he begins a one-sided conversation. His voice is kept to a whisper so as to not disturb those who are asleep.
Finally, he pauses for breath and reaches for a bag at his side. No warning whatsoever, he whips out the same phallic statue he showed me weeks earlier and lays it on the palm of his outstretched hand. When I don't do or say anything in response, he lifts his eyebrows and glances repeatedly at the statue.
He wants me to take it.
"Oh!" I slap on an uneasy smile. "No thanks. I don't need any more dick statues. I've already got the battery-operated version of this in the bedside drawer back home."
I shake my head to go along with my statement. But instead of putting his fertility statue away, he drops it on my lap. His suggestive smile starts ringing alarm bells inside my head. I can't help but compare Akob to his father. Ilium is a kind and thoughtful man. He and Ewar have enjoyed long conversations these last couple of days. And since we lost much of our things during the journey, he even offered me clothing that once belonged to his long-dead wife. Ilium's generosity touched me greatly. His son, however, is a different story. I have a sneaking suspicion that he wants to touch me with something other than his "generosity" tonight.
I flick the statue off my lap. He puts it back, as though I hadn't outright rejected it. This is nuts. Has he forgotten I am technically married? My kinda, sorta husband is five feet away! Akob must have noticed the lack of affection between Ewar and me, and now he thinks shooting his shot tonight would be a good idea. I suppose he expects that I will leave Ewar, shack up with him, and start pumping out babies ASAP.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that ain't happening.
"No," I say definitively.
He creeps closer, still wearing that dopey smile. I move away, but he follows. What is he saying? If I had to guess, he's probably cooing sweet nothings to me, like how he'll shower me with more homemade dick statues once we're an item. This dude seriously needs to get laid - with someone other than me, of course.
"Bella."
Akob and I look towards the voice. Ewar is sitting up now. The fire reflecting in his eyes gives him the look of a vengeful Greek god. But Akob doesn't respond in a rational way. He puffs up like a rooster and glares back.
There's going to be a fight in three, two, one...
I stretch and do a fake yawn. "Goodness, look at the time! I better get some shut-eye. Nice talking to you, Akob."
I scurry over to where Ewar is and pull my blankets over myself. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be so close to him. But I figure having a horny bachelor under the same roof as the object of his desire (aka, me) constitutes as an emergency.
Ewar and Akob continue to stare daggers at one another. I shake his shoulder to break their connection. "Sleep, Ewar," I whisper.
My pleading eyes convinces him to back down. Or maybe he remembered that it might offend Ilium if his son ends up with a black eye.
The next day is... awkward. Akob keeps staring at me, and Ewar keeps scowling at Akob. Ilium is confused by the tension but doesn't do anything about it. So when the snow stops suddenly, I rush outside to breathe in the fresh air. Being trapped inside a small space with three other people for several days is as horrible as it sounds.
The following morning we are presented with a precious gift: The sun is out. I walk a short distance away from the settlement to stand on a hill overlooking a flat plain. Say what you want about the Ice Age, but it sure is beautiful. Not a single cloud blemishes the big blue sky. And the white blanket of snow seems to stretch on forever. It makes me feel so very small and insignificant.
Footsteps crunch through the snow. Ewar has joined me. We greet one another but he has trouble meeting my eyes.
He nods toward the skyline and taps his chest. "Ewar go." Then, he looks directly at me, worry lines embedded in his forehead. "Bella stay?"
I lift my eyebrows. "You think I might want to stay here? Screw that! There's no universe where that sounds even remotely tempting. I'm ready to leave whenever you are."
"Bella go?"
"Yes! Bella go. Now, if you want."
The smile on his face outshines the big ball of light in the sky.
Ewar notifies Ilium of our plans. The leader of the Wolf People comes to our aid again. He asks each household in the settlement if they would donate something to go towards our paltry supplies. He even tried donating a sledge, but Ewar refused it. I guess he prefers carrying our supplies on his back over having to drag a heavy sledge through the snow.
He and I manage to stuff everything we need in our baskets. Our grateful farewells to the community at large is done quickly. Akob somehow connives to be last in line. He gives Ewar a curt but respectful nod. For me, he indicates he would like a hug. He isn't the only one to have offered one as a goodbye gesture, so I don't think much of it. I try to make it a quick one-arm hug, but he has other ideas. He draws me in for a full-body embrace. It goes on and on... and on some more. Not even my subtle push at his chest clues him in that I'm ready for the hug to end. One of the ladies of the settlement comes to my rescue. She smacks him in the back of the head and spouts a harsh reprimand. He releases me, albeit reluctantly.
Thank the stars I didn't accidentally end up with Akob as my temporary husband. I don't think he fully understands the concept of consent.
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A/N-
Ewar will force-feed you if you don't review.
On second thought, that's not much of a threat. A majority of you out there would probably enjoy the experience. Oh well. I tried.
Thanks for reading. :-)