Crisscross Moon - 28. Chapter 28

28.

Once it was light, the boy saw more warriors than usual at the entrance to the hidden cave, and he thought something had changed. But he soon realized nothing was different, and after not too long, most of the men went back to the village. The boy had planned to go to the other side of the hill and continue searching there. But he used this chance to look at the hillside again and to try and remember the caves there.

Many of them were too close to the hidden cave for him to have explored. He'd be too easily discovered by the warriors. But with all but two of the men gone, and with both of them looking tired, the boy took a chance.

Most of the caves he explored were shallow and dry. That made it quick for the boy to go in and get out. But he also saw more water here than on the other side of the hill, and in several caves, the ground sloped down and the water gathered in small pools. The boy could feel a current in the pools and could tell it was moving in the direction of the hidden cave. He even found a stream which was big enough for him to go in, and he was sure he'd found the way to reach the women. But this inner cave was really small and easily explored, even in the dark. It was closed on all sides. The boy also realized he would have heard sounds from the women and children over the stream, before he even crossed it.

Then he found the cave. It wasn't by luck. It was probably more from his exploring almost every cave he'd seen. Still, at first, he couldn't believe it. And he'd almost missed the opening. The entrance cave was just as shallow as many others he'd been in, and the boy almost left it too soon. There were signs of snakes and small animals, and these were snakes that could hurt, so the boy didn't want to stay. But then he saw a dark hole just above his head in a rocky wall, and when he held a torch inside, he saw that the ground sloped down. The opening only led to a tunnel, but it seemed large enough for him to fit into.

He crawled in, thinking it would end soon. Instead, it got bigger. The boy couldn't stand, but he could soon kneel. Then he could stand, and he lit another torch.

This inner cave was again small, but it was wider than it was long and at one side was a stream. The water was moving away from the boy and away from where he thought the hidden cave was. But he also thought he might have twisted around in the tunnel. And the stream was deep enough for him to go into.

The water came up to his hands and then went into a hole. Inside, he could again feel the water moving away from him, but in order to explore, he had to put out his torch. He just let it drop it in the water, while he tried to feel the size of the hole. It was big enough to go into, but as far as he could reach, there was only water. He took a deep breath and put his head into the stream.

This was the part that scared him most. When he was running from the bears in his own cave, he didn't really know what was happening. He just wanted to get away. So he didn't think about water and holes and maybe dying there. The second time he'd gone into the water, in the nearby cave, there was no hole. There was only a stream. He got into it on one side and out on the other. There was nothing to worry about. This time, he went so far into the hole that he could feel his feet barely staying in touch with its edge. And still, all he could feel was water in front of him.

He came out to breathe. And he needed to think. Then he reached into the hole again, this time reaching upward, to see if his hand would come out of the water. It didn't. He could feel rock at the top, but it was still covered with water. He decided to go into the hole again anyway. He took his deepest breath, went into the water and pushed himself along the walls as far as he dared. Then he pushed himself up, toward the rocks, to see if he could breathe.

He couldn't. He could feel the water leaving the back of his neck, but he still couldn't get his head out of the stream. There was always rock above him, and he was running out of air. He turned onto his back, to see if he could breathe that way, and his face came out of the water. But he was still in the tunnel, not in a cave.

He pushed his way along. He had no idea how far, but he thought he'd gone maybe two or three times the length of his body. Then he could feel the rock above him move away from his face, and when he got his head out of the water, he could hear sounds. The sounds of children. And he could smell smoke.

Still, he stayed in the water, again needing to think. Around him, it was dark, but he was happy about that because he didn't want to be seen. Just because he'd found the women and children and thought he had a way out of the cave, didn't mean the women would come with him. He also wondered how the smaller children would breathe in the water. And he knew there were babies. He didn't know how anyone could tell a baby not to breathe. That meant some of the children would die, just trying to be saved.

He thought about going back to the warriors and trying to get even one of them to follow him to the cave. If he went to the village, there were too many men, and they'd easily attack him. But there were only two warriors near the hidden cave entrance, the boy thought he could talk with one of them, even if he had to fight while they did. The other man would probably run to the village for help, but the boy still thought he might have a chance. Then he realized the second warrior would get to the other men too quickly, and they'd all come back, thinking there was a bigger attack.

The boy also thought about trying to find just one man in the forest. That would give him more time because the man would be further from the village. And he wouldn't be scared, like the girl, or he would have been trained not to show it. The boy could try to get him to follow him into the water and to see that this was the way to save the women and children. But once the boy led the way into the water, he thought how easy it was for him to be killed. The warrior just had to block the end of the stream.

So he decided it would be easier to try and tell the women. He thought they'd be afraid at first or might try to kill him. But they weren't expecting to see anyone come out of the dark, and most of the women had never seen him. Only the girl really knew what he looked like, and with just the light of a fire, she might not be able to see him clearly. He might be able to convince them all he was a spirit.

He felt for a way out of the water and found the edge of the rocks. It was harder to get out of the stream than he thought because he had to lift himself up on his hands. But he realized it would be easier for the women to get into the water because it got deep, right from the edge of the rocks.

He crouched in the dark, still not wanting to be seen but wanting to see the cave. It seemed as long as the hiding cave, with the women and children at the far end. But if this stream was the women's only water, they'd be used to coming to it.

He wished he could see the girl. He wished he could talk with her. He knew she'd be afraid, but at least she knew him and knew he'd never try to hurt her. If he could just talk with her, he might be able to explain.

Though he thought she'd just yell. That's how she'd been taught. She'd run, and this time everyone would be close. The women and older boys would come, and the boy wondered how fast he could get out of the cave. How quickly could he get into the water? Though maybe if he just let one of the older boys chase him, the older boy would follow him into the water and out of the cave.

Or the older boy could kill him. They could both die in the narrow tunnel. The older boy could kill him, not realizing he was only killing himself. There were so many ways to die.

He wished the girl had a name, and he could call it. He could try to pretend to be a spirit and call her by name. He could call only her. Or if he knew her husband's name, he could call her as his wife. Or as her father's daughter. But the boy only knew what he could see about the girl, nothing more.

The boy simply yelled. He had to take a chance. He stood and yelled and yelled and yelled and made as much noise as he could and stayed at the edge of the stream in case he had to get away. He yelled until the women and children started to come toward him. Then he stayed in the shadows and shouted at them to get a torch. He ordered them to bring fire and twigs. He didn't exactly know their words. He and the girl could understand each other, without really knowing what they were saying, and he thought the women would understand, too.

(continued)