The Darkly Stranger

The torrent of water picked up speed. It was going impossibly fast. I tried to think of a plan, an idea what to do next, but holding onto the raft was taking all my strength and logical thinking was just as far away as my old, beautiful farmhouse on Earth.

The river barreled down a hill. I closed my eyes for a second to protect them from the barrage of water that was splashing up, and when I open them, the land leveled out. I wanted to cry. Was Tan alive? Marie's family? Oh shit, Marie! How was she going to get back across the dam to shut off the water if the walkway was washed out? I prayed that the walkway held, or she'd find a way, or... then I didn't have any more time to think about it because the water soared through the last few feet of forest, and dumped me out into the huge lake that used to be our village.

I took stock of the battleground before me. The water had put out all fires. The Bumonths were zipping from one small skirmish to another, working together, to take the sloggy, barely mobile Zorkuts down. It was obvious that the water had made a huge difference; it turned the tide of the war. Now the Bumonths were winning.

I narrowly missed a Zorkut wildly swinging a heavy broadsword and shield. I paddled furiously with my hands across the way until I came to the large boulder that blocked the cave where Marie's sons were. The gap between the boulder and cave wall seemed a little smaller, but I thought it would be just big enough for me to squeeze through.

The raft rushed away as soon as I let go of it. I grabbed on to the side of the boulder and took another minute to look around. Many of the houses were black from smoke. Some houses were only rubble. Branches of different colors floated in the water. The Bumonths were still fighting the Zorkuts, but now it was frequently two on one, and none of the explosions I heard before I left.

I squeezed myself into the crack between the boulder and the cave wall, and while my breasts smushed against me, and flattened considerably, I struggled. I tried to make myself as small as possible. I pushed and shoved and wiggled. I still couldn't get all the way through.

"Hey, help me out," I called.

I couldn't see the boys, but I knew they must be in there. "Peter! Hey. Help."

Peter came running to the front of the cave. He tried to hide a smile when he saw me stuck, somewhat like Winnie the Pooh, who had gotten stuck in the hole of a tree, half in half out. Peter gave the boulder a shove and I fell in.

I looked into the cave and saw the middle boy, what was his name? Josh? Carrying the baby toward me.

"Where's my mom?" he asked.

"She's closing off the water at the dam. She'll be back soon. Are you all okay?"

Peter nodded. "The water was a big help. You must be very smart. Now that you're back, are you going to help us win?"

I wasn't feeling very smart but I said, "We'll think of something."

We all stared out at the slice of the battlefield we could see through the opening.

There was another awful scream. "That's Quizclocknnah. He's my uncle," Peter said. The sad mourning tone in his voice hurt my heart.

The baby started to cry.

Unbidden, the Grimoire popped into my head. I remembered the first page with its ornate, old English looking writing, 'Beware'. Is this what it meant?

The writing made me think of centuries old battles, and a saying that was probably just as old. 'Cut off the head of the snake...' I struggled to remember the rest of the quote, although I immediately remembered the meaning. "Cut off the head of the snake and the rest of the body is just a rope," I whispered.

"Huh?" one of the boys asked from behind me. "What does that mean?"

"It means if you kill the leader the rest of the army falls apart." I pulled Peter closer to the entrance. "Peter, who looks like the leader to you?"

We both saw him the same time. He was standing on top of one of the houses, shouting orders. This helmet had bright red pieces of metal on both sides, and his armor had dark purple pieces over the shoulders.

"Him," Peterson pointed.

"I think so too." I paused for minute. "Okay, I have an idea." I looked at Peter. "I need your help."

"I want to help too," Josh said.

"No," I said as firmly as I could. "You need to stay here and take care of the baby."

"I don't need anybody to take care of me," the baby said. I didn't think I would ever get over a small baby talking. Freaky. Two sets of teeth, tails, skin that opens to reveal storage, floating pink trees sure. Okay. Talking babies. No. That's where I draw the line.

"Besides, I need you to wait for your mother."

Josh nodded; I turned my attention to Peter. "Okay," I said, and leaned in closer towards him. "This is the plan."

I whispered in his ear and when I was done, he smiled.

He nodded, and for a second he sounded just like any American boy when he said, "Let's do it."

Peter gathered up the spears and the plank of wood. We said a quick goodbye to the other two boys. I reminded Peter that I wasn't going to be nearly as fast as he was. He nodded again, and almost quicker than I could blink he was out of the cave and swimming toward the Zorkut leader.

The water was draining from the field pretty quickly. For me it was right below chest level. I stayed as far away from the battles I could. It was hard going; the water seemed thicker than I expected and I pushed through, half swimming and half walking. I kept behind houses and huts whenever possible. I tried to make myself invisible by blending with plants, chimneys and large outdoor stoves, anything I could.

A little more water drained, and that made it easier for me. I caught a quick glance of Peter, defiantly looking up at the Zorkut general, who was still standing on top of the same house surveying the war. If the leader saw Peter, he ignored him. Peter threw the first spear. Peter waited a second, threw another, and the Zorkut looked down at him and growled but gave him no more attention as if he were an annoying insect. Peter's third spear hit the giant Zorkut square in the chest.

The giant Zorkut looked away until Peter started yelling insults at him saying he was a coward leaving his troops to get slaughtered while he stood safe out of the way like someone with no honor.

I crawled up the back of the house, but the side was slicker than I had expected and I kept slipping, struggling and scrambling. I fell back down and floated to side. Peter threw another spear and barely missed as the general easily stepped out of the way. Peter threw his last spear, and the Zorkut caught it easily. He turned it around and aimed it Peter.

Damn. Hurry. I pulled myself up on top of a barrel on the side of the house, climbed up, digging my nails in hard. I hoped against hoped Peter was distracting him enough for me to get close without us both getting killed.

"You're barely worth my—"

The Zorkut didn't get to finish his sentence because I plunged the large crystal into the back of his neck into a small space between his helmet and his torso armor. The diamond-hard stalactite went most of the way through him and got stuck. With a huge primal scream and a violent surge of strength I pushed the shard all the way through. A wet gurgling sound cut his sentence in half. His body went stiff as a board and his knees buckled slightly but he didn't fall. I sawed the crystal in and out although it was lodged in so tightly for a few seconds it barely moved. My heartbeat was thundering in my ears. I yanked my makeshift dagger out. I placed my foot in the middle of his back and with a huge shove and hard kick I sent him hurling off the roof.

"Everyone!" I yelled, before I remembered that many of the people below me didn't speak English. "Peter," I called, "Come up here. I need your help."

Peter anchored the plank of wood in the mud, placed one end on the lip of the roof, and proved he was just as fast as his father as he ran up the beam until he was at my side.

"I need you to translate for me," I said.

Peter nodded solemnly.

"Everyone," I said. I looked down and saw everyone had stopped fighting and were staring at me. "There has been enough fighting. This is over." I waited for Peter to translate. I wasn't sure if they would listen to me, but I had to try.

"We can't have war over something that happened generations ago. These two groups were friends. No matter the planet, people are always better together."

I looked around and saw Tan. He was leaning against a house not too far away.

"We have all lost love ones today. Mothers, brothers, sons, daughters. And why? For what? For nothing. Never again. We haven't just damaged ourselves, our plants, our homes, traveled far, and expended precious resources..." I paused. "We've let go of our goodness, our hope."

I had to pause as a surge of anger pulsed through me.

"This was a waste! It was wrong!" I thought of how meek I had been. To hell with that. I was not going to be mild now. "I have slain the biggest and the strongest of you. Your leader. So I am leader now." I pounded my chest and then gestured wide. "And you are going to listen to me!" My voice got louder and louder and as Peter translated for me, his voice too got louder, and he mimicked my inflection.

"No one leaves here today until we come to an agreement of peace. Until we make a promise, a contract that will last for generations, a contract of logic and heart and honor that says that we will work together. Right now we are going to make a clear and absolute commitment that we will not fight each other or ourselves for any reason, under any circumstances. We will mark this day. We will remember the tragedy in this day forever because we will have learned from it. We will agree and swear to never do it again."

I looked over to the front of the cave and saw Marie standing next to John.

"That's it," I said softly to Peter.

He ran down the plank and was at his parents' side in an instant. I looked around to see how everyone on the ground had taken what I'd said. No one had their weapons up. Many of the Zorkuts had taken off their helmets, and I could see that most of the faces were dark green, although they were changing to a lighter color as I watched.

I didn't have anything else to say. I looked at Tan again and realized he was hurt. I couldn't hurry down the way Peter had. I decided to climb down the side of the house instead of trying to walk the plank.

By the time I got to the cave John, Marie, Tan, Tan, Peter, and two of the Elders were there. Tan had a major wound in his thigh and what looked like a superficial slice in his side. John had a nasty looking burn on his left shoulder. The Elders appeared unhurt.

The head Elder said something to me in native language, and I managed to pick out the words grateful, thank you, and blessed. He said something else and looked at Tan to translate.

"He said he would be honored to...lead over your feast to become one of us and celebrate your love for me and for all of us, and your family to me permanently."

Tan took my hand and brought my fingers to his mouth and kissed each one.

"Would you like that, marret, my love?"

"Sounds like the best thing ever," I said. "Besides, it will give me something to write in my journal about."

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