The Transall Saga Part 5

"Yes! Oh yes!" Mark grinned. He held out the weapon in his hand. "Club."

"Ksaa."

He jumped up and ran to the middle of the room. "Fire."

She followed. "Tisa."

"We're talking." Mark grabbed her shoulders. "Can you believe it? Leeta and Mark are talking."

Leeta smiled shyly. "Taw-kin."

chapter 18.

Since no one told him any different, Mark decided to spend the night in the same hut where his belongings were stored. There were several other young men already lying on the dirt floor when he entered. Without complaining they moved and made room for him.

Mark lay down but he couldn't sleep. So much had happened that it was hard to take it all in. One thing he knew: It felt good to be around other people. Especially these people. They were so innocent and friendly.

He a.s.sumed Leeta must have come to his defense earlier when they had captured him. He couldn't wait to talk to her again. Maybe she knew something about the blue light.

As usual when he thought of the light, it brought back memories of what life had been like before. He'd been here a long time. Almost a year or maybe more.

Sleep finally came. But it felt as if he had just closed his eyes when the others in the hut began stirring. Someone was shaking him.

He opened one eye. It was the same young man who had prevented him from talking to Leeta in the garden the day before. "Kakon gut no ma."

Mark crawled to his feet and followed the men outside. The women were already up. They had the fires going and were serving bowls of the hot mush.

There was no talking. The men ate quickly and gathered their weapons.

Mark finished his food and went to collect his spear and bow and arrows If they were going on a hunting trip he didn't want to be left out.

Leeta touched his shoulder. She had a worried look on her face. "Mawk. Se dtsik nah. Nah." She shook her head.

"What? You don't want me to go? Sorry, I have to. I can learn a lot from these guys. Besides, I don't want them to think I'm a sissy or something."

Leeta stomped her foot. "Nah. Mawk. Nah."

Mark folded his arms. "Yes, Leeta. Yes."

She made an angry face and marched to the young man who had awakened him. They argued in a whisper for several minutes. Then she dragged him over to Mark. "Mawk. Tukha."

Mark nodded at the man. "Tukha."

The young man seemed upset about something. He motioned for Mark to come with him. The two of them took their place at the end of the line and followed the rest of the men out of the village.

Once they were in the forest, the group moved into a trot. Occasionally a couple of the men would break off from the rest, then meet them farther down the trail.

Mark would have liked time to study the new terrain but every time he slowed, Tukha urged him to keep up.

About noon the group stopped to rest and eat. Mark was amazed at the number of birds they cooked. Somehow, the two men who had kept leaving the group had managed to shoot enough along the way for every member to have plenty of food.

They were allowed one drink from a skin bag containing water and then they were on their way again. Tukha always stayed at the end of the line with Mark.

It was obvious they weren't hunting for small game because they pa.s.sed up several good opportunities to kill rabbit creatures. Mark decided they must be after something big.

At dusk the men gathered around the chief, who held out a small skin pouch containing a tarlike substance. Each put his fingers in and smeared some of the mixture on his face.

When Tukha was finished with his own face he decorated Mark's. The tribe looked different now. More fierce and warlike.

They walked silently through the forest for another half hour until they came to a sandy clearing.

Mark couldn't believe his eyes. It was another small village. He was excited. So there were other people on this planet. Some of them were bound to know about the light. Someday, when they understood each other better, maybe he could get Leeta to come with him and talk to them about it.

The men spread out and hid in the bushes until long after the sun went down. Then the chief raised his club. They stormed out of the trees and raced down into the village yelling and screaming.

Mark started to join them but Tukha grabbed his arm roughly. "Kakon nah. Tsid Lee-ta. Sek tu." Mark wasn't quite sure what he said except that he didn't seem to want him to go and it had something to do with Leeta.

Tukha pointed at the bushes, indicating where Mark was to stay. He raised his club threateningly. "Sek tu."

"Okay. I'm not stupid. I can tell when I'm not wanted." Mark sat down in the sand.

When Tukha was sure Mark wasn't going to follow him, he turned and ran into the village after the others.

Still not sure exactly what they were up to, Mark moved to his knees so that he could see what was going on.

The scene in front of him was chaos. The arrow people were setting fire to the huts and running through the compound overturning cooking pots and smas.h.i.+ng things.

Mark was stunned. He didn't understand. These were supposed to be the good guys. The same friendly peaceful people who had practically adopted him the day before were now doing everything they could to destroy this village and the people in it.

The men in the huts were taken by surprise but they soon came out fighting. The arrow people were ready. They fought one on one and drove the villagers back into the forest. Women and children ran screaming for their lives. The fire had reached almost every hut and now it lit up the whole area like a giant bonfire.

To his right, Mark saw Tukha fighting. Tukha tripped and went down. His spear flew out of his hand and one of the villagers began beating him senseless with a heavy club.

Mark jumped out of the bushes. "Stop. You're killing him."

The little man was frightened out of his wits when he saw the tall, light-skinned boy come charging out of the forest. He stumbled backward and ran off in the opposite direction.

Mark dropped his club, grabbed Tukha's arms and dragged him back into the brush. He shook the young warrior but Tukha's eyes didn't open.

The other arrow people were coming back now. They were ecstatic because they had managed to chase off most of the villagers and steal everything of value that hadn't been smashed to pieces.

The chief raised his hand and was about to give the signal to withdraw when he spotted Mark trying to revive Tukha. He shouted orders and two of the men hurriedly picked up the young man and carried him ahead of the others into the forest toward home.

chapter 19.

Tukha was dead.

The village had suspended work and spent the entire day preparing for his last rites. Mark stood in the shadows watching the funeral procession. Six men carried the lifeless body to a raised wooden platform that was decorated with flowers, vines and leaves. They placed him on top along with his spear and s.h.i.+eld.

Tukha's family, which consisted of his sistera"who turned out to be Leetaa"and an older woman, walked slowly to the beat of the drum, then covered Tukha's face with an animal skin.

Someone handed the chief a burning torch and he touched it to a small stack of firewood underneath the platform. Everyone stepped back to watch the body burn.

Mark had made up his mind. He couldn't stay with these people. They were too different. They had wiped out a whole village as if it was a huge game. In the morning he would go back to his tree house and live alone in the dark jungle.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Leeta had brought the old woman to him. Her sad eyes searched his face. "Kakon es tat mek Tukha." Tears ran down her wrinkled cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Mark said. A lump welled up in his throat. "Your grandson seemed like a good man."

Leeta led her grandmother away and when the fire had completely consumed the body the people crowded into the long hut to talk about the raid, divide the booty and console the family.

Mark didn't go. He wished it wasn't so late. If he could, he would leave right now. None of this made any sense. The arrow people hadn't really gained that much from looting the village, just a few new weapons, some beads and a small amount of food. Nothing they brought back seemed worth dying over.

He went into the hut where he'd slept the night before and picked up his things. The hiking boot still contained one tree rock, a couple of pieces of jerky, an empty sock and a few strips of cloth. He had replaced the shoestring with a vine and now he tied the boot to his belt loop. At first light he would be ready to go.

"Mawk?" Leeta stood in the door.

Mark didn't look up. He grabbed his spear and bow and arrows and brushed past her. His intention was to spend the night at the edge of the clearing and start back first thing in the morning. He would forget these people and their crazy customs and concentrate on finding the blue light.

Leeta followed him past the huts. He stopped and looked at her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Lee-ta, Mawk, taw-kin?"

"There's nothing to talk about. Go back to your crazy people before they catch you out here and decide to kill me too."

Leeta untied a string of wooden beads from around her neck and put them in his hand. She gave him a sad, confused look and turned to go.

"Wait." Mark caught her arm. He took off his broken watch and fastened it around her tiny wrist. "Thanks for everything, Leeta. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

She stroked the watch. "Et tkus Kakon Mawk."

"Yeah, same to you." He put the beads in his boot and walked to the edge of the clearing. When he reached the trees he glanced back over his shoulder.

She was gone.

chapter 20.

The air smelled like smoke. It was still dark, too early for the women to be cooking. Mark's eyes snapped open. There was a heavy, dark cloud hanging over the village. He crawled through the brush to get a better look.

The meeting hut was on fire.

His first thought was that the other tribe had come after them looking for revenge. But when he saw the attackers he knew he was wrong.

These warriors were not simple village people. They rode large long-haired creatures that looked like a cross between a horse and a cow, and their weapons were made of metal.

The arrow people didn't have a chance. Those who tried to fight were cut down immediately. Mark saw the chief and several of the men die fighting with primitive clubs against swords and axes.

Some tried to run. They were chased and either stabbed by the mounted men or trampled by the mounts.

Mark scanned the grounds, frantically searching for Leeta. He ran into the clearing, calling her name. A wild scream came from the garden area. One of the men had her cornered and was bearing down on her with his mount.

"No!" Mark started for her. A rope settled around his neck and dragged him back. He hit the ground hard. The rope was choking him. He fought and grabbed at it with both hands but it was no use.

The man pulled Mark on his back through the sand to the center of the village clearing, where the invaders had rounded up several of the men, women and children.

Mark loosened the rope and threw it off. He stood and saw Leeta being pushed roughly across the compound to join them.

When she spotted Mark she ran to him and held on to his arm. "Es Tsook. Tsook."

The men surrounded them. They were much larger than the arrow people and their skin was a light yellow, but they had the same odd eyes.

The leader, a fat man wearing a long cape made of hides, gave a command and the warriors dismounted and began tying the arrow people together.

Mark found himself at the front of the line with Leeta tied securely to his right wrist. He could see that the Tsook, as Leeta called them, had not come to plunder the village for goods. They were after people. And now he was one of their prisoners.

The fat man was staring at him. Mark stared back. The man's eyes narrowed and he yelled an order in a new language. One of the warriors put the rope back around Mark's neck and held the other end in his hand as he climbed onto his beast.

The leader gave the command and the men rode out of the village, dragging Mark and what was left of the arrow people along behind them.

part 2.

chapter 21.