Escape From Manitou Island: Part 3

PART THREE:
Fire Yellow & Snow White

CHARMIAN STARED IN wide-eyed shock at the figure which stood to greet her, deep beneath Croghan Water, its yellow eyes glowing in the dimness.

"Ch--Chakenapok--?" she managed to whisper, and her heart started a staccato thumping, all of her memories of him from her last time here flooding back.

He had been the one who had taken Ocryana's place, as the force threatening the Island; the twin brother of Manabozho, the Great Rabbit, he had been taken over by the wicked Wolf Malsum and killed immediately after his birth. His spirit had remained, however, and sought his revenge against Manabozho and the Island...and much of this revenge had involved messing with Charmian's spirit stone. She remembered the great black crags that had lanced through the little glowing crystal, the pain she had felt, her terror of becoming just like that which she feared the most--Ocryana--the entire time that Chakenapok had laughed at her. He had resurrected Moon Wolf and pitted the medicine man against her; he had killed his own brother, Wabasso, just to get at Manabozho; and toward the end, he had even killed Thomas himself, something which had filled Charmian with more grief than she could've imagined. She hadn't known how much she could hate something, until that moment. And that had been exactly what he'd been looking for.

As she stared at the yellow-eyed figure her mind started racing as fast as her heartbeat, telling her that this couldn't be him--he'd been defeated--his body had been destroyed--he was a lost spirit again--he'd been given a new body, but he had looked just like an infant! This Chakenapok looked exactly like the one who had nearly torn her spirit stone out of her chest, more than once--the one who had laughed and laughed at all of her attempts to stop him, who had killed without remorse, who had considered his revenge a great game, and she and everyone else merely playpieces...

As if in response to her panicked thoughts, his eyes flared yellow again, then narrowed just slightly, and she saw the flames tattooed on his face and knew it was really him again. She felt her knees start to grow weak, getting ready to give out, as her heart thudded so hard that it hurt, the memory of the agony in her spirit stone returning in full force.

"I know you," Chakenapok said in an odd voice, and he frowned. He took a step toward her and she quailed, unable to move. His yellow eyes narrowed even further. "You are that mainlander."

Mainlander! This was what he had always called her, her last time here--even up to the point when he had disappeared in this form, he had called her that. Charmian's knees started shaking and she raised one hand to press it to her chest, quakingly holding out her other hand in front of her. Her attacks on him had always been practically useless--and she couldn't even get her voice to work, so she could call up a manitou--and so as he took several more steps toward her, she had no idea what to do.

He halted directly in front of her and his yellow eyes bored through hers. She saw her own hand shaking in front of her but couldn't move; after a moment his frown grew a bit, and she said one last little prayer to whoever might be listening, that at least the Spirit Road would be more hospitable to her this time around.

"You are the one who freed me," Chakenapok said.

Charmian blinked. Like that, the spell was broken; she let out a gust of breath, then sucked in another one, and nearly sank to the ground, her legs felt so weak. The look in Chakenapok's eyes wasn't anything at all like what she was used to, however; as soon as he said the words, his expression changed, his eyes growing softer, his frown fading. For the briefest moment, the look in his eyes reminded her of Wabasso--who had been renamed Chibiabos, after he had returned from the dead--strange and sad yet kind, somehow--and she thought she could just barely see a resemblance to Manabozho, somewhere in his face. She blinked again, confused, but the look didn't change. She could have sworn she even saw the faintest trace of a smile start to come to his mouth, and it wasn't even a gloating smirking smile like he'd always worn when facing her. She suddenly couldn't believe that he was really there. It had to be some sort of illusion, or hallucination, or--something.

She very slowly held out one hand, stretching out her finger; he looked down at it as she leaned closer, until her fingertip just barely touched him, then she whipped her hand back as if she'd just been burned. Only she hadn't been. She'd fully expected to feel fire, as that had always been his element of choice her last time here, yet he felt...normal...somehow.

"You..." She searched for her voice. "You're real." She started chewing her lip furiously. "What...what are you doing here...?"

"I had no place left to stay after you last left," Chakenapok said. "I could not go back to the Spirit Road, or to the Borderlands." He glanced up and gestured at the cave around them. "I thought that perhaps this would be a good place for me to stay...as it is not too far from the Spirit Land itself, or from the land of the living."

"The Shadow Wolves once lived here," Charmian said.

He nodded slightly, and his eyes shifted to the side; Charmian's did the same, and she saw little blue glowing dots in the darkness. "They still do." She felt her heart thud and he looked at her again as if sensing it, giving her the same odd look as before. "I do not control them as I once did, Mainlander," he said. "They act upon their own. I merely stay here, now."

"I didn't...I didn't say you did," Charmian stammered.

He tilted his head. "Your hand." When she blinked he gestured at her. "You're pressing it over your heart," he said, and she glanced down at it, feeling her ears grow warm. "Protecting your spirit stone."

Charmian flushed and pulled her hand away, albeit reluctantly. "I..." Her mind went blank and she mentally cursed herself.

The slight sad smile returned to Chakenapok's face. "I have no need of your spirit stone anymore, Mainlander. That game is long over." He held his own hand up and she saw a glow appear at his chest; the image of his own spirit stone, the same color as hers--fiery orange-red--appeared, and she could see not a trace of blackness in it. "You do not have to be afraid of me now."

Charmian let out her breath, still feeling uneasy, yet seeing that he seemed sincere...and hadn't he thanked her, right before he had last disappeared...? "So...this is your home, now...?" she asked, taking a hesitant step forward; he nodded and she looked up at the ceiling, which she couldn't see, then back down at him. "Your body! The last time I saw you...you were so little."

"Manabozho and my brothers gave me that body," Chakenapok said, his sad look lifting a little bit. "The moment they accepted me as their brother."

"You were just a baby," Charmian said.

He nodded. "That was the form my body was in...yet my spirit was much older, as my old body was destroyed so long ago. I grew...and I became this." He looked at his claws and tattoos as if not even knowing what they were, then looked back up at her and shrugged slightly.

"And Noko...?"

"She cared for me, until it was clear I could not remain with her." He gestured again at the cave. "I am used to living in between these worlds. This place felt safest. And the Wolves had no one left to watch over them." The sadness started to return to his face and he lowered his hand. "I feel I should apologize for this, somehow..."

Charmian blinked. "You--you didn't kill the Ogimah-Quae!" she hurried to exclaim.

His eyes lowered. "Yet I did kill Wabasso...and she gave her life to bring him back. And so her own death is also my fault."

"I know you aren't like that anymore," Charmian insisted. "Besides--" She hesitated again, fiddling with her vest. "...If the Ogimah-Quae hadn't been part of Wabasso...then he couldn't've saved Thomas." She blushed a little and fiddled with her vest again. "So it all worked out, in the end..."

Chakenapok gave her an odd look, as if puzzled by her comments, then smiled--and the sight was so strange that she had to blink a few times. "I detest the way that I went about doing them," he said, "but I am glad you think it all worked out."

Charmian offered a smile in return, though this entire situation struck her as beyond weird. "Believe me--it did! Oh!" She held up her dreamcatcher and frowned at it. "That's right...I think I took a wrong turn..."

Chakenapok looked at the dreamcatcher and his eyes widened. "You repaired it," he said in some surprise. When he reached out for it she almost held it back--remembering how he had scorched it to nothing more than an empty hoop the last time she had been here--but she forced herself to give it to him, and he held it up and looked it over, running his fingers along the webbing as she had done many times. "Weavers' webs," he murmured, and felt the feathers dangling from the bottom. "These...look as if they came from that Michinimakinong."

"Niskigwun," Charmian filled in; he lifted his head to meet her eyes and she smiled again. "A parting gift. Before he went back through the Fairy Arch." Her smile faded a little. "I don't know how long it's been since I was last here! Is he still around--? Has he ever come back?"

"I do not see much," Chakenapok admitted. "This was the Ogimah-Quae's power. Yet the Shadow Wolves still roam about the Island from time to time." He gestured at the ceiling. "They say that the Michinimakinong has returned, now and then; he never ventures far. They say he comes out of the Arch and stares across the water, before returning. As if he waits for something."

Waiting for something...? Charmian furrowed her brow a little. "And Stick-In-The-Dirt," she said, "and Moon Wolf and X'aaru and Francois and everybody--are they still up there, too--?"

Chakenapok nodded at each name. "They are still here, each of them."

Charmian's face began to light up. "I was so worried somebody else would be gone this time!" She adjusted her pack and turned away, then halted and peered back at him. "Um...Chakenapok..." He tilted his head and she bit her lip. "Nothing...weird...has been going on here, has it? I mean, like another Ocryana, or another--you--or anything...?"

He frowned a little, but shook his head. "No...the Island has been peaceful. At least, the Wolves haven't reported anything."

Charmian let out a breath. "Thank goodness...that means I can hang out in PEACE for a little bit!" Her smile returned in force and she made sure that he saw it. "Thanks, Chakenapok. I never really thought I'd say this--but it was good seeing you again!"

"Hold a moment," he called when she started to turn away. He furrowed his brow a little. "You plan on going up to the surface--?" When she nodded he pursed his lips. "You do remember how the way up was the last time...don't you?"

Charmian blinked, and then did remember. Back then, Augwak had had his full Wendigo powers, and the Island had been coated with snow and ice--and her swim up toward the surface of Croghan Water had literally been bonechilling. She started to shiver when she remembered how she had nearly drowned, until Thomas, Justin Dupries, and Moon Wolf had pulled her out. She'd never thought she would feel warm again. She peered uneasily at the black lake she would have to swim through just to get up to the Island, and made a face.

"There are other ways to reach there," Chakenapok suggested.

She blinked at him. "You mean--like Devil's Lake?" She grimaced. "It's the lesser of two evils, yeah, but still evil..."

"No, no." Chakenapok shook his head, looking amused. "Other ways." He gestured at the numerous tunnels and caves opening up around them. "Since I've been down here I have had time to explore. It seems many of these lead to different locations. Many lead to the demon's lake--some to the other caves. Some go out under the water and others go up to the surface."

"There's one that can get me up to the Island safely?"

He nodded. "Several. But the shortest one is some distance down that tunnel." He pointed at a large tunnel opening up behind her. "It forks within, and the main tunnel continues straight ahead. This leads out near a rock formation not too far from the home of the old manitou woman, in the other rock."

"Sugar Loaf?" Charmian looked back at the tunnel and rubbed her head. "That sounds pretty good...considering that's the direction I want to go in..." She glanced at him. "And it's safe to go that way?"

Chakenapok nodded once more. "I have had plenty of time to see to this place," he said, mouth twitching, "and so most of the tunnels are clear."

Charmian made another face. "If I'd known I'd run into you I'd've brought you a board game!" She smiled and waved at him. "Thanks again! For the help and everything! Maybe I'll see you again before I go this time."

Chakenapok smiled in return and waved as well. "I hope you have your chance to 'hang out,'" he said, and she turned away and started walking toward the tunnel.

That was nice! she thought as she went, leaving the main cavern behind. I never thought I'd be getting help from CHAKENAPOK of all people! It's amazing how some people can really change...

Her step slowed as she moved further along in the tunnel, and she started chewing on her lip. Now that she thought of it...maybe he had been a little too nice?

Chakenapok was never averse to tricking me, when it suited him...

She came to a stop and fiddled her fingers anxiously. The tunnel did indeed fork just ahead, a smaller tunnel leading off to the left, and she suddenly felt compelled to head that way...or else return to the underground lake, and take her chances with Croghan Water again.

She blinked, then scowled and shook her head. "Stupid! I saw his spirit stone! Why don't I trust him?"

No answer immediately came, so her scowl grew and she made herself keep heading forward. She had to drag her feet a little though, and fingered her dreamcatcher, the anxiety seeping all throughout her. She listened very carefully to her surroundings, in case any possessed Shadow Wolves were about to shoot out of the walls and bite her, but all that she heard was the perpetually dripping water, which grew fainter and fainter as the sound of birdsong echoed dimly overhead. She started to see the stone around herself a tiny bit better, and her spirits rose just a little.

Maybe I was right to trust him after all. I think I can hear the Island up there!

But...what if something bad IS going on...and he didn't tell me about it, so I would get trapped! What if he's got something waiting for me right when I come out of the tunnel...?

She ground her teeth. "You're getting stupid, Charmian," she muttered, and made herself pick up her pace. The tunnel began to narrow, just as she'd expected it would, and she ended up having to take off her backpack just to fit through, dragging it up behind her. She winced and spat out spiderwebs--regular old spiderwebs--as she clambered up into a little cavelet just below the surface, and had to dust dead leaves from her hair. By the time that she at last pulled herself up out of the ground, her arms were scraped and her hair was mussed, and she'd finally grown a little bit annoyed with being here.

"I guess 'clearing out' didn't include the caves themselves," she grumbled, but pulled her pack out just the same and got to her feet. She stretched herself with a grimace, her back aching, and rubbed the dirt and dust from her arms. She brushed a hand back through her hair and glanced around.

She stood in a clearing, trees rising off to all sides. Not too far away stood an odd rock formation which she'd never seen before. She frowned at it, picking up her pack and walking in circles around its base; it was nowhere near as big as Sugar Loaf Rock, which she knew must be in this area, but it was still taller than she was. She reached out and touched it, pushing against it before withdrawing her hand and frowning again.

"Another new rock?" She sighed to herself. "And here I thought you were done keeping your secrets from me, Island."

She slung her pack over her shoulders and looked around before figuring out the best way out of the clearing and in the direction of the Red Leaf Tribe, upon the East Bluff. She started walking through the tall grass, taking in a breath and enjoying the warm air breezing over her. At least it seemed to still be summer here, and at least no demons or GeeBees were attacking her...yet...

"Cripes," she groused. "Can't I think positive for ONE damn minute?"

She approached where the opening faded into the woods, and stepped in among the trees. She glanced at them as she walked, and smiled, holding out her hand to touch a few; more than once she thought she sensed their manitous greeting her back, and felt immediately at ease again. She had always felt more at home here than she had on the mainland, if only because the manitous here understood and responded to her; she had yet to learn how to speak to them in her own land. Manitous all spoke the same fundamental language...at least, according to what she'd been told...but apparently they all had to be asked things in different ways, and none of the manitous in Petoskey had ever replied to her, if they were even there.

"They're there," she reassured herself. "I just need to figure out how to talk to them. And that's what I'm here for, plus to say hello to everybody again. Like Stick, and Thomas..."

Her step slowed and her troubled feeling returned. He had said he would wait for her...but how long had passed since then? Another ten years? People aged oddly on the Island, so that every time she'd seen Stick-In-The-Dirt, and Silver Eagle Feather, and Red Bird so far, they'd always seemed the same...yet Justin had changed...and Mani had definitely changed...what about Thomas...?

What if he's ten years older than I am now? she thought, and chewed her lip. A fifteen year old and a twenty-five year old? There's no WAY my parents would ever understand THAT!

She let out a slight mumbling noise and lifted her foot to walk. It was only because she had stopped already that she even heard the soft rustle off to her side, and put her foot back down, peering to her left in puzzlement.

If it hadn't moved, she never would have seen it. Yet it did, when it noticed her looking at it, just slightly; and she saw one dark eye staring out from behind the bushes and undergrowth. She thought she saw something gleaming white as well, but couldn't be sure; perhaps it was just the sunlight hitting the leaves.

She stared at the eye for a moment, then slowly turned around and put her hands on her knees, looking into the woods. "It's okay," she called out softly, and the eye blinked. "I won't hurt you."

The eye continued staring at her for a moment, then something shifted, and slowly crept out. Charmian found herself staring at a young girl, probably around eleven or twelve years of age, adorned in the same deerskin dress as the rest of the native women of the Island; her feet however were bare, and Charmian saw that she was holding her moccasins in her hand, mud smudging her toes. She was ready to smile at this telling detail when her eyes fixed on the girl's hair, and then widened. For instead of being the same glossy black as that of just about every other native on the Island, it was snowy white, hanging in two glistening braids at the sides of her face. Charmian stared at her in surprise, and if it hadn't been for her small size and smooth childlike face, she'd have thought she was looking at an old woman, seeing that hair.

They stared at each other for a moment or two. After a pause the girl chewed on her lip, then took a tentative step forward, then another. Charmian held her place as the girl approached and stopped several feet away. She figured that she must look just as strange as the girl looked to her, and so tried not to mind her curious stare, and tried not to stare at her hair that much either.

"Are you a mainlander...?" the girl asked after another uncertain pause.

Charmian blinked, then nodded. She smiled. "I sure am."

The white-haired girl frowned a little and tilted her head. She looked Charmian up and down. "You don't look like any other mainlanders," she murmured.

"Oh." Charmian stood up straight and glanced at herself. "That's probably because I'm from a different mainland...I'm from one further ahead than theirs. Further in the future!"

"Future...?" The girl frowned, and Charmian's mood was dampened when she realized that the concept of "future" was probably unknown here. She opened her mouth to try to explain, but the girl interrupted her, seeing her backpack and the way she was dressed; she spotted Charmian's own hair, coppery red, and her eyes slowly lit up.

"Are you..." She craned her neck forward. "Are you the one called Charmian?"

Charmian blinked again, then let out a sigh of relief. At least they hadn't forgotten her here! "Uh-huh!" she exclaimed, smiling and nodding. "That's me!"

The girl's eyes grew so big that she was sure they were going to fall out. Then a huge smile spread across her face and she started hopping up and down excitedly, white braids flying.

"I can't believe it! It's really YOU!" she cried, and Charmian allowed herself to feel a tiny smidgen of pride at being thus greeted. "I've always wanted to see you! Mother told me all about you! What you did the last time you were here, and everything! And she said you were going to come back! And I waited, and hoped you would, and now you're HERE! Just like she said!"

Charmian's brow furrowed and she felt a distinct sense of déjà vu. "Your mom knows me...?"

The girl nodded wildly. "Uh-huh! And Father too!" She paused, and made a face. "He doesn't like to talk about you so much; he says everybody's 'over-esti-mated' you. But Mother and White Deer and Monsieur Francois told me about you and everything they said sounded alike! I can't believe I'm really LOOKING at you!"

Charmian's face screwed up. "What did your dad say about me--?" she exclaimed. "Because if that's what he thinks--!"

The girl dashed forward and snatched onto Charmian's hand, making her gasp; her grip was painfully tight, for such a young girl! "You HAVE to come back with me!" she cried. "So I can come walking into the camp with you! And then EVERYBODY'LL see us! Father said you weren't coming back, but I knew that you would! I can't believe I finally get to see you! I've been waiting FOREVER!"

She started tugging now, and Charmian was forced to stumble after her, afraid to pull away lest her fingers get torn off; she'd never felt a child's grip so incredibly strong before. As they hurried along she tried figuring out who this person could be, since the girl hadn't exactly provided many details.

Maybe--maybe she's one of Ocryx's kids--? Red Bird has red hair, so maybe another one would have white hair? But--he's with Shadow Water now--and their daughter--Khiieta--she looks just like a demon, not a human. Unless Ocryx paired up with somebody else--? I wouldn't put it past him, but still...maybe she's Justin's and Little Dove's daughter--? Justin's part Ocryx, so it might work out that way--but they already had a son, and--they were raising him like the white people do, not like a native--and Justin would never say such things about me!--would he?...maybe...?

She started running out of ideas. Which was just as well, seeing as they were just within sight of the camp, and she could hear people talking and moving about, performing their midday chores. "Hey! Everybody! Look who I found!" the girl yelled, making Charmian grimace; several of the people lifted their heads, and their eyes grew wide and they started dashing away to all corners of the camp as if spreading the word. Charmian's earlier pride now began to fade into embarrassment as a buzz arose, more people emerging from the wigwams to get a look at her. The white-haired girl jumped up and down and waved her free arm--not letting go of Charmian's hand--and grinned from ear to ear. "I told you! I told you she'd come back! Didn't I?" she exclaimed, and the chattering arose, reaching a nearly deafening level. Charmian winced and finally started trying to pull her hand free, to no avail; the girl was addressing everyone gathering around them now, as if Charmian were some sort of exotic animal long thought extinct, and now found again in the wild. She took a little comfort in the fact that most of the faces seemed friendlier this time, until she spotted one that wasn't, and then she wanted to dig a hole in the ground and disappear.

Her eyes grew wide and she tried hard to swallow. Oh...CRAP!

The flap of one of the wigwams had been pushed open, and one of the men had stepped out, and was now striding toward her. She fought hard not to make a face when she saw the way that he scowled already, his eyes and mouth and every part of him almost unwelcoming enough to negate all of the welcoming she'd been getting. Charmian started to fidget as Black Elk Horn made his way toward her, his head feathers flaring in the breeze, and she fully expected him to pull out a knife and cut off her hair just to spite her, judging by the look on his face. The ogimah of the Red Leaf Tribe had never cared for her, and he'd made that crystal clear her last time here.

He came to a halt just two or three feet away, fists clenched at his sides and the blackest look imaginable in his eyes; she started withering beneath that awful stare, and wished that she'd crept into the camp as quietly as a snail. To her surprise, she felt the girl's fingers curl around hers even more tightly, and peered at her from the corner of her eye. The girl's expression was as meek as she imagined hers must be, and Charmian blinked.

The white-haired girl scuffed one bare foot against the earth and chewed on her lip, speaking in a tiny voice. "Good morning...Father."