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Keme explored the area on a sunny day. He kept careful track of where he was going and how to get back to his shelter, but struggled to be sure of the way back to the old camp. If Leotie was dead, it would be difficult to recognize her body by now. There were other possibilities. Maybe she had been captured and longed to be rescued.
The scent of smoke caught his attention. Keme looked down the river. Smoke rose up from between the trees. His heart raced. Any sort of people could be trouble, unless it was Leotie. Keme shook his head and tried not to let false hope well up.
He slowly moved through the brush, checking in all directions. Soon he reached a cabin and ducked down near a thick area of vines. A couple of soldiers sat around a fire with a large pot over it near a cabin. They wore the same sort of blue coats as Clawson’s men. Keme felt lucky not to have drifted farther down the river and right in front of the cabin.
One sat down and cleaned a musket. He wanted that musket, knowing he could use it to kill Chapa.
Asking them to trade for it was impossible. They would most likely kill him. He knew it would be a full moon tonight, so Keme stayed hidden until it was night and watched them the entire time, observing, trying to figure out their language and anything else he could learn. He concluded there were only four men.
They laughed and drank around the fire for two hours before stumbling into the cabin for the night. One man left his musket behind. The door shut and all was quiet. Keme crept, staying low to the ground, over to the musket. He took it, along with a small bag of loading supplies, and slunk back into the brush.
The musket wasn’t loaded. Keme hurried back to his shelter with it, walking several miles. He lit the fire. The soldiers wouldn’t be able to see it at night and he was on the other side of a slope. He organized some supplies, including a finished bow, and planned to start work on a canoe tomorrow.
Keme lay down on the bed he’d tossed together. It made him long for his cot with the bear skin blanket. There were so many things he needed, he couldn’t stop thinking about all the work that had to be done if he wanted to find Leotie. After that, he would deal with Chapa. The only thing that helped calm him enough to sleep was pretending Leotie was lying next to him. As he dozed off, he heard her voice.
“I’m sorry about going into the battle.” She massaged his back as he lay on his side.
“No, Leotie, I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t do enough to protect you. If only I wasn’t lost.”
“I know we’ll be together again.”
“Please tell me what way to go. I miss you so much.” He reached for her, longing to hold her in his arms again, but as he almost touched her, she drifted away and disappeared.
He opened his eyes. Was that Leotie or just a dream? Some believed spirits communicated to people when they slept. She had looked so real in every detail.
Then something crackled. Keme lifted his head, unable to see much in the dark. Wind whistled through the trees. A few short flames remained in the fire pit, flickering and looking about to go out at any moment. He lay back down and wondered how far into the night it was. Then a twig snapped. Keme sat up.
If it was a wolf or a bear, he needed to increase the fire, but if it was a human that would be a mistake. He listened hard as more leaves crunched. Had the soldiers found him? Something was heading his way. He tossed dirt on the fire and it went out. All he had wanted was a little warmth and now he would pay for it. Keme grabbed his spear.
A sliver of sun appeared in the east, breaking through the mist and giving him a hint of the time of day. Somehow he had slept through the night. Maybe Leotie had really been with him, keeping him company from the afterlife.
Keme considered loading the musket, but he had only tried once before. Now was not the time to be fumbling with it. He gripped the spear, ready to lunge it into the first thing that moved. He wasn’t going to be their amusement this time. Voices whispered ahead. Nobody would be walking through the woods unless they were after him. He peered out, able to see shadows moving across the tree trunks.
He prepared to throw the spear.
“Keme?” called a woman’s voice. “Keme, are you here? It’s me, your friend.”
His heart leaping into his throat. “Enola?” He lowered his spear.
She appeared several feet before him with a few others. Some of them held burning sticks that had been wound with twine and dipped in fish oil.
“Enola!” he raced over to her, stumbling on a root and almost falling before reaching her.
Enola and Sakoya chuckled, along with Hinto and Lusio. Keme almost asked how they had found him, but didn’t bother. Enola’s parents had trained her to be an expert tracker.
“How did you get here?” he asked.
“We took the canoes and left in the night,” Enola said. “I..uh...gave Chapa and most of the others something to make them sleep a long time. After much searching, we found a wrecked canoe not too far from here. You also left a few footprints by the river bank.” She looked around. “Where is Paytah?”
Keme shook his head and struggled to say it, but the words wouldn’t come out. Enola’s eyes widened as she understood and nodded.
“There’s a good chance Chapa will come after us.” He paced around, imaging Chapa’s outrage at realizing Enola slipped them a medicine she usually used to help people sleep.
She nodded “Come with us to the river bank and meet the others.”
“Others?”
“Several are with us.” Enola touched his arm and gave him a tug.
There was something about the touch of her soft hand that calmed his nerves. He couldn’t help but notice her caring expression and followed her to the river bank. All those who had met with him before the council had voted against him were there.
Keme looked them over several times, trying to find his mother, but she was not among them. He feared if he asked about his mother Enola would say she was dead.
Enola stared at him. “Your mother is alright, but was too afraid to come with us.”
“Did you just read my mind?” he asked.
“No, but it wasn’t hard to guess who you were looking for.”
Leotie’s mother climbed out of the canoe and walked over to him. “Keme, it’s good to see you’re well, and I’m so sorry about your father.”
Keme’s throat tensed. “Chapa will answer for this by my hand.”
Dena nodded in approval.
Enola looked around nervously. “Is it safe to stay here for a day? Everyone is exhausted?”
“I’m not sure. There are four of Clawson’s men in a cabin down river, about a day’s walk away. Let’s at least go to the other side of the river. We can find a spot over there.”
Enola nodded. “You better take down your shelter.”
Keme agreed and dismantled his shelter while everyone prepared to cross the river. He took the musket and other supplies he had made with him. They were careful to not leave anything behind, not even a foot print.
The group went across the river and hiked a few miles to the west. They stopped in the evening and set up two shelters made of deer skins, twigs, tree bark and anything else they could find. One for the men and one for the women. Enola worked next to Keme. They wove thin sticks into the frame. He told her everything Chapa had done to him, how his father had died and how he’d acquired the musket.
“So how did Chapa explain it when we were missing?”
Enola said, “He said they didn’t know anything and suggested you two left because you were supposed to leave. I knew he was lying.”
“I’m grateful you found me, but you shouldn’t have taken such a risk. What about the wounded?”
“They’ll have to figure it out because I couldn’t take it anymore. Anyway, I couldn’t leave you out here alone.” Enola looked at him with those big brown eyes and a smile with full lips. She took his arm and tugged. “I must tell you something in private.”
Keme followed her several feet away from the others.
She stopped and turned around, her expression uneasy. “Your mother asked that I tell you a secret she’s kept for a long time.”
“Is it about Paytah?” Keme asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t want to know about it.”
“What? Why?” she asked
“Toward the end my father started to like me, but before that I was nothing but an embarrassment to him. Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling it will cause me more pain. Am I right?”
She nodded. “Probably, but...”
He held up his hand and cut her off. “Then just keep it to yourself. I have enough to worry about.” He walked back to the others, confident he had made the right choice in not hearing it.
