story18

       Dread clenched his throat as movement caught his attention in the tangle of vines. Heart pounding, chest restricting, silence grew loud and ominous as time inched along. No sounds, no rustling of vegetation was heard, only his rhythmic heart beat crescendoing. Firelight danced on the vines, creating deformed figures and distortions of reality. In one tangle the shape of Zan, a burden beast, was visible, struggling to break free of the vines dragging Zan into the dense tangle of vines. He ran to save her, rewp in hand, the long blade glinting in the firelight. Searing pain wrapped around his wrist, squeezing tightly. More pain came instantly, around his calf and neck. The cry of pain stopped short by the strangling grip, tightening slowly, and the silence continued. Looking down at his hand, he saw the small fingers releasing the blade, still glinting from the distant firelight.

                                                      *      *      *

          Starr woke with a startle, the nightmare still clear in his head, heart still pounding in his ears. Everyone else was still sleeping, resting serenely on their mats. Two rolls were empty. The light of the central fire put a gloomy glow on Dai’s sleeping roll in the corner, dust growing on it. Starr’s stomach dropped to his guts as he thought of the lose of Dai, and how the family’s bond was dissolving without her.
          Abandoning those thoughts Starr passed his gaze over to Barg’s empty mat. It was the boy’s first night for tending the fires. A warmth replaced the void inside as Starr remembered the boys look of pride when Starr had suggested he was mature enough to be honored with an adult responsibility. Barg had not been the same after Dai’s death, he didn’t laugh much any more. It seemed to Starr he was growing more like Mallion, their dower father.
          Grabbing his ballof, Starr left the hut, making sure to not disturb the slumber of the others. The night was still, not even a breeze, no rustling of leaves. The fires on the north side of the perimeter were growing dim. Walking on the outside of the perimeter, re-fueling fires as he went; Starr checked the storage huts to make sure Barg had not fallen asleep. Yet, no sleeping boy was found in any of the single person huts. Starr’s body grew tense, his stride swifter as he searched the perimeter again.
          He looked into the vines, the distortions of light and shadow making faces. Little illusions here and there showed creatures walking amongst the vines. They weren’t real; the illusions never made a noise or gave off a smell. One night, Starr had seen a figure like that of Dai, struggling in the vines. He knew it was not real, however; it had happened after her burial. Heart tearing still at the thought, he had wanted to save her from the vines as he couldn’t from her sickness.
          A glimmer of something caught Starr’s eyes. It laid outside safety of the perimeter amongst the vines. He stared into the darkness, his eyes trying to see past their ability. Movement caught his eye as he saw something struggling in the carnivorous plants. No sound carried to his ears, all in silence, like his dream.
          Moving closer, he saw Barg wrestling with the vines, wrapping tighter around him, dragging him deeper into the darkness. Paralyzed by the sight, Starr there for an instance. Baleful silence was thick in the air, burrowing into his ears, just like his dream.
          Retrieving a flaming torch by the pyre, ballof in hand, he ran to save the figure. Out of the corner of his eyes Starr saw more vines slithering toward the vibration of his feet. Time melted away from awareness as Starr concentrated on just reaching the figure. Pain flashed into the skin of his ankle, tripping him. The torch fell from his hand as he tumbled, the pain in his ankle growing stronger, moving up his leg. Recovering after the fall onto one foot, Starr slashed hard at the length of his leg, slicing the snaking vine. Rushing back onto his feet, Starr scooped up the fallen torch, pursuing his target once more. The fires of the perimeter disappeared as the vines encompassed their prey.
          Swinging wide, Starr continued to hue at the seeping vines that reached for him. Barg disappeared amongst the vines. Tears leaked silent down his cheeks, more vines reached out at him. Stinging sensations converged over his skin as thorns pricked through his clothes. Heart still pounding in his ears, Starr fell to his knees as his legs slowly continued to lose feeling. More vines slithered out from the darkness, wrapping around his numb legs to his waist and wrists, squeezing tight on his wrist to release what they held.
          Still struggling in a tangle of vegetation, panic screamed through his veins, adrenaline flowing, but nothing broke the vines’ grip. More pain clasped around his neck placing more poison into his blood stream as he lost control of his limbs. Laying limp at his sides, ballof still in his grip, he felt his arms pass over his head as the vines dragged him to its trunk.
          Sweat formed on his furrowed brow as he tried intensely to lift his arm with the ballof. Yet, with fingers white, a dead lock grip was all that Starr managed. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, teeth grinding, the blade ends of the ballof got stuck on dense dead vegetation.
          Mind whirling into vertigo, past memories of the long light season, with it’s green, brightness felt like a lost dream remembered. Everything was a dream now, events blurring, no longer dragging him to his death.
          Memories danced under his closed eyes, viewing Herria, Sillia, and Dai laughing at Barg impersonating the sour dispositions of the twins, Jaric and Cabaric. Laughter echoed in his ears as the memories melted to another.
          Clouds under a vibrant blue sky, feelings entangling through his numb body. Weightlessness of the memory tingled through his body, but faded slowly as pressure from his feet took the reality of that memory, giving away to another.
          Surrounded by scrolls and gourd jugs, clutter encompassed him in the small hut of Caso. The wrinkled face, peaceful in meditation, talked to Starr with his eyes closed of practicing the control of self. Caso’s voice clarity hazed, words becoming unintelligible, and Starr just sat listening to the tone under the stern voice, feeling the tenderness unintelligible when listening to the words spoken.
          Yet, the memory pressed on, pressure on moving up his body to his chest, Starr’s heart feeling the pressure of emotions. Caso’s face was visible again, only now the mouth was still, the face peaceful, eyes closed, but Caso’s skin no longer radiated heat, only coldness; only a void to the life that was once dwelling within.
          Head swimming fast in thoughts, the images spun to reveal another sight, Dai’s face surfaced. Another empty body, marks left from what was once inside it. Wrinkles, deep in the face, shadowed in the hollowness of how much the illness took from her in the end. Though, underneath all the characteristics of her life was once a beautiful face in its youth, before becoming tainted with age, life, and finally death.
          The pressure on Starr increased, rising up to his neck; aching pounding from his heart filled his ears. Mind still surging on its sporadic course, Starr now saw Barg with the same void expression, eyes no longer bright and lively. The scream in his mind escaped outward, filling his ears with the sound.
          Eyes shooting open, tears seeping down his dusty cheeks from his red and irritated eyes, he finally came back to the present. Soil covered his entire body standing erect, up to his neck, Starr swiveled his neck around as best as he could manage, seeing little other then meaningless forms in the darkness. Twisting his neck to look over his shoulder a patch of whiteness caught his attention. Concentrating, straining, he will his eyes to see the hand like form clearer. Stubby, youthful fingers curled upward, half cupping over the skyward palm, dark marks around the limp wrist of where the vines had squeezed. In the back of his mind, Starr remembered the dropping blade and the weakened hand from his dream; a hand that looked like Barg’s.
          “NO!” Starr’s scream surged with all worry within, then fell away, taking all his breath with it. Struggling against the heavy soil his muscles burned as they woke from the prolonged poisoned slumber. It was tight around his legs, but his arms were free enough to allow him to pull and shimmy his way from the soil. Free, he dived at the protruding hand, to free the person connected to it. The flesh was cold and clammy, small roots were already wrapping themselves around the flesh to feed on the rich source of nutrients and liquid. Digging with blind intent, Starr quickly uncovered the face of the body. It wasn’t Barg, but just some other victim of the carnivorous plant.
          Fire burned inside him, tears dried from the heat of his inside flame. Picking up his ballof, Starr walked eerily slow to the trunk of the plant, grown thick plentiful fertilizer for its roots. Chopping at the chest wide trunk with all his physical force, Starr felt the fire inside him jumping around with pleasure. Chunks of plant flew outward as Starr dug deeper and deeper to the center with every swing. Everything burned in him; his muscles, his eyes, his heart, each needing to be quenched. With one last full sweeping chop Starr flew fully around, losing balance on exhausted legs, as he severed the trunk completely in two.
          The foul smell of his dirt cover and perspiration soaked clothes finally broke into his attention; with a smirk he wiped his brow at his effort. Rising wearily to his feet, Starr looked at the sparkling sky diamonds above, trying to find his bearings. Only recognizing one constellation, he headed to its directing signs. Ballof in hand, he ran as fast as he could on wearily legs, occasionally slicing through the plants on his way. Starr quickly arrived at Caso’s abandoned hut. The air within stale, but still pungent from all the things in the gourd-bottles, still cluttered about. Wedging the hard clay door tightly into the small huts only exit Starr crumbled on to the cold stone floor, and fell into a dreamless sleep.