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Keme searched around for one of their canoes along the river bank with his friends. He looked to the north and south to make sure they wouldn’t be spotted crossing. Nobody else was in sight. He knew one thing, no matter how strange it was: he still loved Leotie.
However, being without Enola even for a short time made him realize he cared about her too. She’d become a close friend, one he easily related to since they were both healers.
“Over here.” Lusio found one of their canoes and pulled it out of the brush.
They pushed it into the water and got in, crossing the river. Once on the other side, they pulled the canoe on land and tucked it into some brush. He took a last glance to the north, missing the life he once had before the battle. The outlanders had defeated them in more than one way.
In the far distance, something appeared on the river coming out of the north. He squinted, straining to see what it was and could vaguely make out a vessel of some sort moving through the water. From this distance it looked tiny; it had to be outlanders, as his people only used canoes. Keme guessed they were coming to check up on their friends at the cabin.
“What do we do now?” Sakoya stepped next to him. “Maybe we should turn back.”
The boys nodded in agreement.
“No, we have time. We need those muskets. If we hurry, we can get in and out of here fast.” He looked around, saw no one else around, and ran for the cabin.
“Wait up,” Hinto called, rushing from behind.
After a long run, Keme caught a glimpse of the cabin through the narrow trees. He paused. Too much depended on this going right. He motioned for Sakoya, Hinto and Lusio to follow. They all took a hiding spot and waited to see one of the outlanders. This time he’d catch them off guard and take all the muskets and gunpowder.
Oddly, nobody appeared to be around in the early afternoon. Soldiers wouldn’t be in for the night yet. Perhaps they’d returned to the fort or gone into town and were the ones coming back on the river.
Sakoya and the other two boys gave him concerned looks.
Keme crept over to the boys. “I'll go take a look in the cabin. You three wait out here and stay hidden.”
“Obviously nobody’s here. Why can’t we come with you?” Sakoya asked.
“We don’t know for sure and we’re in enemy territory. You must do as I say without question. If it's safe, I'll call for you.”
The boys nodded, looking serious for a rare moment. Keme left them there and made his way up to the front of the cabin. He crept over and slowly went inside, moving past a table, four chairs and a fireplace in the center similar to the kind he would only find in a chief’s wigwam. Wooden bowls and gadgets sat on a shelf.
He picked up an item he figured to be a cooking tool, put it back down and went around the fireplace into the back room. There was a bed with a frame and a thick mat. He touched it, finding it odd how the outlanders liked to sleep on something so soft.
On the opposite wall, a board hung in front of a large square opening. He pushed on it and it opened up to the outside. He figured they kept it shut at night. To the left, a small sack was on the floor in the corner. Keme went over, opened it up and discovered gun powder. The small amount was disappointing. There were no muskets to be found. I’ve come here for nothing.
The sound of distant voice caught his attention. It sounded farther away than the boys, who had the sense not to yell. Keme looked up and hurried to the front door. Men were running through the brush toward the cabin, their faces painted and wearing the white feathers of his people. He caught a glimpse of Chapa and Fala leading the men.
Keme stared a second in disbelief, blinked and shouted. “Run! Chapa is coming!” He slammed the door shut and hurried out the opening in the back room.
“Stop them!” Chapa yelled.
Keme headed toward the boys, who ran several feet ahead of him. Chapa was too close. The boys needed more time to get away. He turned around and let Chapa get a good look at him.
“It’s Keme!” Chapa shouted. “Get him!”
Keme ran in a different direction to protect the boys, weaving in and out around the trees. He came across a couple of burnt corpses with mostly bones remaining and a few pieces of cloth – the same kind the soldiers wore. They had never left the cabin. Chapa had killed them at least a few days ago.
Keme jumped over a slope and into a low spot. It was as if Chapa knew we were going to be here, but how?
Either someone betrayed them or it was the curse. Keme’s eyes widened, wondering if Leotie was helping Chapa.
“Don’t even tell me he got away!” Chapa shouted.
Keme peeked over the slope. Chapa and his men had spread out as they looked for him. He was about two hundred feet away. Keme took an arrow and readied his bow. As he aimed, the thought of the curse came to mind. He shook off those thoughts, took a deep breath, released the arrow and prayed it struck Chapa in the chest.
Instead, one of the men ran over as fast as the wind and caught the arrow with his bare hand. Keme knew most of the men in his tribe, but he didn’t recognize this one. The man turned to him and his eyes glowed red, his face scowling, about to melt with rage. It’s a skin walker!
The skin walker charged for him. Keme turned and ran, only to be knocked down face first into the ground. He tried to get up, but the skin walker stepped on his chest with one foot. His leg was like a tree trunk, keeping him pinned to the ground.
“How dare you fire that twig at our chief.” He kept his voice low while his eyes glowed with rage.
Keme’s mind reeled. “Who are you?”
The skin walker’s voice changed and even though he stood over him, his voice whispered in Keme's ear. “I’m Lord Markus, Leotie’s master. I should kill you right now for what you’ve put her through.”
“I’m...I’m sorry, but Leotie has the wrong idea. I was never with Enola.”
“It’s too late for apologies.” Markus changed his voice to sound just like Keme. “Chapa, come try and get me!”
Markus lifted his foot and disappeared, racing off as a streak of light. Keme bolted for the woods, but it was too late. Chapa and the other men grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. Chapa kicked him three times in the ribs. Keme curled up in pain, struggling to breathe. They tied his wrists up, pulled him to his feet and shoved him along, forcing him to walk all the way back into the cabin.
Chapa pushed him onto the wood floor and stomped on his abdomen. Keme curled up again, aching all over.
Chapa reached down, grabbed his hair and pulled him up. “So you thought you could steal some muskets and kill me?”
Keme remained silent. He wondered how close the outlanders on the river were.
Chapa backed Keme up against the wall and got in his face. “I saw some other men running away. Who were they?”
Keme wasn’t about to give any names.
Chapa turned to his men and motioned for them to scout around and be on alert. “Most likely one of them is Paytah.”
“No, he’s dead. You killed him!”
“No.” Chapa turned toward him. “The Great Spirit made the choice.”
Keme struggled and lunged at Chapa. “Your turn is coming, Chapa!”
One of the others punched Keme in the stomach. He bent over, gasping for breath. They tightened their grips and twisted his arms behind his back.
Chapa pulled his knife and put it to Keme’s throat. “You need to start answering.”
Keme tensed up and broke out sweating as Chapa pressed the side of the knife against his skin.
“Who are they!”
“Chief,” said a man outside the door. “I caught one of them.”
“Bring him in.”
Keme cringed at seeing Lusio shoved through the door. One of the men twisted his arm behind his back.
Chapa pointed his knife at Lusio. “So you must think Keme is a great man to follow him all over these parts.”
Lusio trembled, staring with big eyes. Keme shook his head a little, trying to tell him not to tell Chapa the names of the other two boys.
“Your great leader led you into a trap.” Chapa grabbed Lusio and put the knife to his neck. “How about you tell me where the others are or you could be the first to die.”
Keme struggled against the men holding him back. "Stop threatening a boy, you coward.”
Chapa swung around and backhanded Keme in the face. He saw stars for a moment and blood dripped from his lip.
Keme shook his head and focused. “Look, I know something very important. You and your men are at risk here. I’ll tell you if you let us go and allow us to live in peace.”
Chapa smirked. “What will you tell me? That your little tribe is going to come here and kill me?”
Chapa’s men chuckled.
“I don’t say this for you. I say this for the sake of your men."
The men stopped laughing and eyed Keme with concern.
“I don’t need the advice of a fool.”
Keme imagined the soldiers coming and rounding all of them up. “Alright, I’ll tell you anyway because we’re Mahasi and still brothers, despite everything. I saw a large vessel on the river, far to the north. It seemed to be coming this way and they have to be outlanders on the way to this cabin. For the sake of your men, we need to leave this area.”
Chapa scowled. “You’re so clever. What a story.” He motioned to his men. “Go check the river and report back to me at once.”
Chapa paced about as they waited.
Keme decided to reason with him with the only thing they had in common. “Chapa, we’re both Mahasi. I know we disagree on attacking the outlanders, but at least we agree we need to have a united people. Can we not stop this fighting now?”
Two of Chapa’s men returned, rushing into the cabin.
“T-There is no one on the r-river,” one of them stuttered.
“It’s just as I thought,” Chapa said. “How can we come to an agreement when you try to trick me?”
“It’s not a trick. We saw them. I-I don’t know where they went.”
“It’s true,” Lusio said. “We really saw them. Maybe they stopped somewhere."
Chapa only rolled his eyes.
If he wouldn't believe the truth, Keme would try and confuse Chapa. The obvious came to mind. “I only hope the skin walkers go for your throat.” He waited for Chapa to either laugh or get angry.
Instead, Chapa paused and turned around, a hint of fear in his eyes. “What do you know about skin walkers?”
Keme paused, not ready for the question. “Some of our people who died in the battle were turned into skin walkers. They’re angry about dying and they’re looking for you.”
“How would you know that?” Chapa asked.
“One of them asked me where you were.”
“Someone else mentioned skin walkers to me. They wanted to join our tribe, so they already know where I am, but I can’t have their kind around. Skin walkers are...disgusting creatures.” Chapa raised one side of his lip.
“So this is how you talk about those who once fought for us? They’re still our people, and it’s not their fault they were changed. If anything they should blame you for starting the war.”
The men that stood behind Chapa nodded a little.
“Ha!” Chapa blurted out. “If the skin walkers were still around, they would’ve shown themselves. You only say this to keep me from finding your little tribe. No more games.”
Behind Chapa, a spot of white smoke formed in the corner of the room. At seeing Keme staring, Chapa turned around and backed up as swirling white smoke continued to grow. It shaped into the form of a skin walker. The men in the room all stared at it and backed up against the wall. Lusio’s legs went limp and he passed out on the floor. Chapa stared as if paralyzed, his face clenched in fear. A large face, half man, half wolf with long teeth, formed in the smoke.
He leaned toward Chapa and got right in his face. “What do you know about skin walkers?”
Chapa’s lower jaw quivered as he struggled to speak. The skin walker’s eyes glowed orange while the rest of him remained like a cloud with a dark outline.
“Dare to insult us again and you all die.” His form faded and snapped away with a spark of blinding light. Everyone flinched and covered their eyes.
The men scrambled, some screamed and a few bolted out of the cabin.
Keme’s vision slowly came back into focus and he screamed. “Come back! Kill us now! Just do it!”
Chapa clamped a sweaty hand over Keme's mouth. “Shut up!”
Keme pulled away and got his mouth free. “You saw it.”
Chapa nodded, unexpected humility on his face.
Keme looked out the window, wanting to see either Markus return or the outlanders approaching. Even if it meant his death it would be worth it if they killed Chapa as well. Yet, nobody was coming. The sun was going down, and he could only guess the outlanders went ashore for the night.
Chapa turned to him, seething with anger. “You have attracted these skin walkers to us. You and your strange ways. Put him in that hole for the night!”
“What hole?” Keme wondered, not having noticed one.
Chapa’s men forced him outside and over to a hole hidden behind some trees north of the cabin. It was about twelve feet deep with a water-filled bottom. Before he could even think of how deep it might be or wonder why the whites would dig such a hole, they shoved him into it. He landed on his feet and bumped into the muddy wall, falling on his knees in six inches of water.
Chapa looked down on him. “Tomorrow, I will hunt down your little tribe.”
