The PriZin of Zin (4 page)

“You shall each have a gift for yer journey.” Alastair began backing away, almost looking as though he was afraid, eyes darting around, wringing his hands nervously. “Use it wisely. Ye shall find yer destination by land, sea, and air. Hold fast to the strings in the mist, for they alone will sustain ye when all hope is gone. There are those to guard ye, those to fight ye, and those to challenge ye. Ye must learn to know the difference.”

“Only trust beyond a shadow of a doubt.” Alastair was at a decent distance now. “Never forget, especially in the castle. Fear the one who can extinguish yer spark for all eternity. Flee from him.”

Without warning, a small feather floated down from the sky and landed at Aeryn’s feet. She reached down and picked it up. In front of Ian landed a small flask of clear liquid, and at Hunter’s feet, a quartz rock.

“Seek the truth which will light your path. Evil must always give way to the truth, and darkness to the light. Wash away all that holds ye back. Ye can only lead your father back home. He alone must choose. Put out your hands.”

Each of the three extended their open hands, palms turned upwards. Into each, floated down a single tiny yellow seed from the sky
.
“This is all you will need.”

“What is it?” Ian asked.

“Now go!” the tiny creature boomed. He turned and disappeared once again into the rocks. The earth jerked and shook. The ground beneath their feet lurched, sending them all hurtling through time and space.

The light of the volcano went out, and the temperature plunged.

Their screams became muffled and faint as they flew through absolute darkness, swallowed up in the pitch black hole of this new world. Slamming into the dark, hard ground, three separate aftershocks rocked the earth beneath them, and then, nothing.

Hunter or Hunted?

Chapter 4: Scared

Scared/adj/: thrown into or being in a state of fear, fright, or panic

Day 1:

Hunter slammed down hard on his back, air exploding from his lungs. Rolling to his side, he gasped and choked, grabbing at his chest. The wind knocked completely out of him from the fall, Hunter’s lungs fought again and again with each new breath to replace the precious air that had been forced from his body only seconds before. After several attempts, his breathing managed to stabilize, coughing subsided, and his heart rate slowed.

Hunter lay on the ground for a long moment, trying to get his bearings in the pitch blackness of the cavern. He felt around him in the dark. His hand touched fine dirt, but not much else. Then it brushed something hard. He drew it close and felt it with both hands. It felt like— oh yes. It was the rock that ridiculous little elf had given him. No directions, and no light, nothing but dirt. Hunter felt lost.

“Ian?” he ventured. “Aeryn?”

There was no answer.

On the horizon, a faint bluish glow was just beginning to rise where the crimson sun had been earlier. It resembled a moon. As it took shape, so did the world around him. Darkened by the dusky glow, everything was cast in a bluish-gray hue.

Hunter was surrounded by trees. The lake was gone, as was the fruit tree and the thick brush they had been near earlier. Wherever he’d been thrown, it was a long way from the others. Hunter was now in a dense forest. Giant redwood trees, hundreds of feet tall sat a short distance away and towered above him. The branches of the trees bore soft green needles so thick nothing could be seen between them. Around his feet a few rocks were scattered. As he surveyed them, another sailed past his head and landed with a thud at his feet.

Hunter froze, eyes scanning the dense forest cover. A light breeze rustled the branches, making them all sway. Another rock sailed out from the darkness. This time, Hunter was able to see the direction it came from.

“Hey!” he yelled.

No response.

“Help!” he tried again.

Again a rock sailed out, this one almost striking his head.

“Hey!” he screamed back. “Stop!”

A barrage of large rocks began to pelt Hunter from the shadows. He tried to take cover, running for a large outcropping of rocks near where he had landed. He cowered behind it while more rocks pelted his open position, bouncing off the shelter above his head. Unable to move, Hunter weighed all of the options his mind could render.

How can I escape?

I can’t. I’m not good enough. I don’t know what I am doing.

Why is this happening?

I don’t know. I am powerless to stop it. Not good enough.

What should I do?

I’m too scared. I can’t. I can’t - - -

Over and over again the questions tore through his mind, as the rocks landed nearer and nearer to his hiding place.

A large rock bounced off the boulder sheltering Hunter and smashed into the side of his head. Fighting back tears and the rising fears that he had battled his whole life, Hunter heard the words of his father echo in his head.

Face your fears head-on, son. That is the only way you can conquer them.

He swallowed hard and looked at his trembling hands. Reaching down inside himself to depths he did not know he could reach, he summoned the courage to stand and fight. Hunter grabbed a stick that lay on the ground at his feet and leapt from his hiding place. He ran straight toward the spot in the forest where the rocks had been coming from, screaming and waving the stick over his head like a club. Bursting through the thick forest cover and into a clearing, he wailed at the top of his lungs, only to be met with a scream of equal intensity— and fear. Hunter froze and looked across the clearing at the source of his attack.

Cowering in the clearing was a huge dark brown animal. With every move of Hunter’s, it cowered and yelped more, like a frightened dog.

When Hunter froze, so did the creature. When he moved, so did it. It took only a second or two to realize that this thing was just as afraid as Hunter was. Every time Hunter twitched, so did the creature. Hunter tried to move a little to one side to get a better view. It screamed again, the sound resembling something like a bear, or a gorilla, but not really. The tone of the wail almost sounded like a dog, or maybe a wolf. It had almost a howling quality, but not quite those either. After a long moment, Hunter decided that this thing would not hurt him. He bent to the ground and gently laid down the stick that he carried, then backed away a full step, and showed the creature his own shaking hands. It was a peace offering, the only thing that Hunter knew to do.

The creature stood. From its cowering position, it unfurled the entire length of its furry body until it towered over Hunter. Much taller than his father’s six feet, this thing had to be at least nine feet tall, and had enormous feet. It shifted slightly on its thick hairy legs, completely comfortable walking on two giant feet, like a human, and yet it was clearly not. Dark brown fur covered its entire body, and a flat dark-skinned face with a flat nose and big brown eyes watched Hunter’s every move. Hanging down at its sides were two shaking hands.

Could it be? Could this possibly be Bigfoot?  Dad said that there was no such thing, but here we are, face-to-face.

It had a face that was almost human, and there was a haunting intelligence in its two sunken eyes. Hunter had half expected them to be wild creatures, attacking and eating young men alive, then tossing their leftovers to the wolves to finish. But then, they were supposed to be deathly afraid of humans, too. Deathly afraid of almost everything, he had heard. That’s why no one had ever seen one before. Other reports of the mythical creatures had them roasting children for breakfast and picking their teeth with the bones. That was not what this creature seemed at all. He was just as scared as Hunter.

After staring at each other, motionless, for what seemed like an eternity, it was obvious one of them had to make the first move. Hunter, growing tired and needing to sit down, took the chance. His feet hurt, his head throbbed, and his back still ached from the hard landing. He slowly moved to the center of the clearing, and sat down. He gestured for the Bigfoot to join him. Much to his surprise, it did. Hunter squatted down, crossed his legs Indian-style, and watched in amazement as the Bigfoot did the same.

Great
.
Now what?

They sat across from each other for what seemed quite a long time. The sun was rising and rays of light now filtered through the canopy of leaves and needles above. Hunter did not have a watch, but he felt his head grow heavy with exhaustion and his stomach growl. He was hungry. Or at least he had been until that horrid smell wafted his way. Hunter looked at the Bigfoot and winced. Did the creature know that he stank so horribly?

Bigfoot winced back.

Hunter scratched his head.

Bigfoot did the same.

Hunter smiled.
Intelligent
. That could work. “If only you could talk,” he whispered.

“Why?” it whispered back.

“What?” Hunter sat stunned for a second, then regained his senses. “You can talk?”

“Can’t you?” it answered back.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

Bigfoot shrugged. “Nothin’ to say.”

Hunter’s stomach growled loudly.

Bigfoot smiled, growling back at his mid-section and nodding.

“Is there any food here? I’m starving.”

Bigfoot looked toward the dark sky. He raised an enormous finger and pointed to the sky. “You? Fall?” he asked.

Hunter nodded.

“More?”

Hunter nodded again. “Yes, there were four of us that fell through. My father was taken by a serpent to a place called Zin. I need to find him.”

Bigfoot grimaced.

“Can you help me?”

There was no response. Bigfoot moved to the edge of the clearing and turned his ear to the opening in the woods. After a second, he shifted positions and did the same thing again in a new spot. This happened several more times as he moved around the clearing from one side to the other.

“Hey, ah- - -, please,” Hunter hesitated. “What is your name?”

Bigfoot shrugged, still listening into the night.

“Okay, I’m going to call you Mikey, then. Is that okay?”

Bigfoot nodded and straightened. “We go now.”

“Can’t we rest first?” Hunter sat down again. “I’m exhausted.”

Mikey ran to the center of the clearing, hoisted Hunter up, threw him over his shoulder, and barreled through the clearing and into the darkness. “Quick. Danger. Near!”