We buttoned down the proverbial hatch before the sun went down. We made great time getting to Fred’s Bait Shop and , if we left early enough, I was certain we could arrive at the gates of the Straits before the next dangerous time.
Snake was a “go with the flow” sort of guy and continuously carried on a conversation with me, and I found myself glad he came along. He sat in the chair, whittling a piece of wood, something he was quite good at, while spitting out tobacco into an old cup.
“Have you give much thought to what you’re gonna do when you get to the gate?” he asked.
“Tell them I want in.”
“I see. And what is your Rite of Passage?”
“Excuse me?”
“Everyone has to present a gift to get Rite of Passage. How are you gonna get it?”
“I’m sure they need a few more people.”
“It’s not easy.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t know for sure,” he shrugged. “Just what I heard. Vala’s mother had to give up her newborn son as a snack to be admitted inside.”
Hearing it, even though it was something I knew, made me shudder. “I don’t have a baby to give.”
“Obviously.”
“And I highly doubt everyone that goes there has a baby to offer up.”
“You don’t know. Maybe you can offer your blood.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Why?” Snake questioned. “Why is it so important to go there and get Vala?”
“She’s important to our fight.”
“I realize that. But you know, judging by what I am seeing and hearing, you seem to be taking the reins pretty good and coming up with a plan,” Snake said. “Reminds me of Davis years back. You’ve got the passion he lost. You found a pretty big Savage nest. Taking them out, will eventually push them away to seek food elsewhere.”
“I don’t want them to be able to find food anywhere.”
“Makes sense. May I ask why it is so important for you to go get Vala?”
“She doesn’t need to be there now. I don’t want her to get chosen or whatever they call it.”
“You like this girl.”
“Yeah, yeah I do.”
“Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.”
“She left because she thought you would die. She didn’t want another attack on us.”
“Exactly,” I said. “The Sybaris causing the threat is gone. Banished. So no threat to me or our people.”
“Vala knows this?”
“Of course she does, she told me.”
Snake nodded. “So if she knows this, why isn’t she coming back? Why hasn’t she reached out and said she’s on her way?”
“Are you insinuating she doesn’t want to come back?”
“Just making an observation.”
“Well, I think something happened and she is stuck there. I feel she needs my help and I want to go get her.”
“I’ll accept that.”
And Snake did stop talking about it, about Vala. He focused on that whistle he was making, getting wood shreds all over the floor. We ate and talked about other things. Snake was looking forward to seeing the Straits. He’d always wondered what it was like there.
I did too. Especially since all those who came from there were so odd.
He passed out long before I did. I paced the cabin, unable to sleep, hoping that Vala would reach out to me again. Although I was tired, I didn’t want to miss it or sleep through it. It had been days since I had a full night’s sleep.
Something kept me from sleeping and I knew what it was.
About two in the morning, I figured it out and just as I did, Snake woke up.
“What in blazes are you doing?”
I was standing in the middle of the room, looking up. “Listen.”
“To?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay.”
“Seriously, Snake, it’s prime time. Where are the Savages?”
“Just because you don’t hear them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
“They are always there. But they aren’t tonight.”
“They just aren’t attacking.”
“No, they aren’t there. I can sense it.”
“What the hell?” Snake sat up. “First you think a Day Stalker is trying to tell you something, now you sense the Savages?”
“Call me crazy but—”
“You’re crazy.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I walked over to the door.
“Tanner!” Snake shrieked. “What are you doing?”
Armed and ready, I opened the door.
Nothing.
It was silent except for the chirping of insects. I walked on to the porch and looked up at the star filled sky. “They aren’t here.”
“Get back inside, they’ll smell you.”
“I’m telling you they—”
Snake grabbed my arm, pulled me back in, and slammed the door. “Get it together.”
“I stepped out there, Snake. They didn’t come. They always come.”
“Okay.”
“Not okay. They aren’t here. So knowing they always attack, they’re always here, and now they’re not…” I said, “where did they go?”