Draggah (15 page)

“
Something
’
s coming,
”
she said in a serious voice.

“
What?
”
Rafe said as he got down on his knees beside her. 
“
What
’
s coming?
”

“
Something big,
”
she said. 
“
I feel it.
”

“
What is she talking about?
”
Lexi said.

“
I don
’
t know, but we better warn everyone,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
You stay here. I
’
ll go find Te
’
sumee.
”

Tiberius made his way through the camp.  In the darkness, it was hard to avoid the shelters and supplies the tribe had left around their personal areas.  There was an impending sense of doom as well.  Something was coming toward the camp, something big enough to alert Olyva through vibrations in the ground.  Tiberius
’
mouth was dry and he felt a chill run down his spine.  All he could think of were the huge creatures that sometimes attacked Avondale, rising up out of the mists like terrible nightmares coming to life.  The city
’
s guards had ways of protecting the citizens of Avondale and growing up, Tiberius was always excited to see the giant creatures.  But now he felt naked and exposed on the flat plains of the blighted lands.  If one of those huge monsters was coming, he had no place to take cover, no position of strength to fight from.

At the edge of the camp, he found one of the Rogu.  The tribal hunters were also the warriors and guardians of the Hoskali camp.  The Rogu bowed his head in respect.

“
Tiswanee,
”
he said.

“
I need Te
’
sumee,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
Where is he?
”

“
He just came off watch,
”
the man said. 
“
Come with me, I
’
ll take you to him.
”

It was hard to see the Hoskali warrior in the darkness, but the hunter moved through the camp with ease.  The Rogu did not take wives, nor did they sleep in shelters.  They lived, hunted, and when necessary, fought together.  Being a Rogu, Tiberius was learning, was a great honor among the members of the tribe.

“
He is just there,
”
the man said, pointing.

He started to return to his post, but Tiberius stopped him.

“
No, don
’
t leave yet.  Something
’
s coming toward the camp and we
’
ll need you to help,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
We have to wake the others.
”

The Rogu warrior nodded and moved among the sleeping hunters quickly, waking them as Tiberius slowly made his way to where Te
’
sumee was resting.

“
What is it?
”
asked the lead hunter.

“
Something is coming,
”
Tiberus said. 
“
Something big.
”

“
How do you know this, Tiswanee?
”
the hunter asked.

Tiberius had expected his news to be met with skepticism, but Te
’
sumee and the other hunters gathering around Ti only seemed in awe.

“
Olyva,
”
he explained. 
“
She can feel the vibrations in the ground I think.  She predicted the rain too.  I think we have to believe her.
”

“
Of course, of course,
”
Te
’
sumee said. 
“
Many creatures come here to drink.
”

“
Should we move the camp?
”
Tiberius asked.

“
We will protect the camp,
”
Te
’
sumee said with obvious pride. 
“
The Rogu will not fail you, Tiswanee.
”

“
Rafe and I will come with you.
”

“
We are not leaving,
”
Te
’
sumee said. 
“
We have no way of knowing where the creature is coming from.
”

Tiberius hadn
’
t thought about that.  In the daylight, they could have seen the creature long before it arrived at the watering hole, but in the dark there was no way of seeing where the threat was coming from.

“
Gather your warriors,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
Meet me at my shelter.  We
’
ll figure out a plan.
”

“
As you wish, Tiswanee.
”

The warriors gathered their wooden clubs and checked their small knives.  Tiberius led the Rogu back toward the center of the encampment where his shelter was located.  Rafe had built their fire back up and Tiberius felt better just moving closer to the light.  He wasn
’
t afraid of the dark, but in Avondale he couldn
’
t remember it ever being truly dark.  At night in the city, there were always torches, lamps, or candles burning somewhere, and of course the moon and stars shined brightly overhead.  In the blighted lands, the thick layer of mist overhead blocked the light from the stars.  Fuel for fires was hard to come by, and even though the tribe kept a supply of the dried Tamaka dung for cooking fires, torches were rare.

“
It
’
s getting closer,
”
Rafe said as Ti approached.

Tiberius could tell his friend was anxious, but there was no sign of fear in the young warrior.  Ti envied Rafe
’
s confidence when it came to fighting.  Tiberius was more than a little nervous about what they were facing.  Personally, he felt inadequate, and as the new Swanee of the Hoskali tribe, he felt the weight of the entire camp on his shoulders.  He didn
’
t think the band of Rogu, as fierce and skilled as they were, could fend off one of the huge creatures he
’
d seen from the city walls in Avondale.  They needed to meet this threat before it got close to the camp and endangered the tribe.

“
Is there any way to know which way the creature is coming from?
”
Tiberius asked.

“
That way,
”
Olyva said, pointing toward the darkness.

“
What are our options?
”
Tiberius said. 
“
I don
’
t think fighting this creature with clubs and knives is a good idea.
”

“
Can we move the camp?
”
Lexi asked.

“
Too close,
”
Olyva said in a high-pitched voice. 
“
No time.
”

“
How close is it?
”
Tiberius asked. 
“
We can
’
t fight what we can
’
t see.
”

“
We have to try,
”
Rafe said fiercely.

“
Tiswanee,
”
said Te
’
sumee as he led his band of warriors to the fire. 
“
We are ready.
”

“
We need some kind of light,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
If we had enough fuel for a fire, it would probably scare the beast away.
”

“
Quickly,
”
Te
’
sumee said to his band of hunters. 
“
Gather the madrus.  We shall build a fire.
”

“
What
’
s madrus?
”
Rafe asked.

“
It is the Tamaka dung,
”
Te
’
sumee said.

“
If we burn that, what will the tribe cook with?
”
Tiberius said.

“
We will gather more, Tiswanee, never fear.  Come, show us where to go.
”

“
Stay here,
”
Tiberius said to Lexi.

“
Ti,
”
Lexi said, taking him by the arm and speaking in a low voice, almost a whisper. 
“
Maybe it
’
s time we move on.
”

“
We can
’
t leave the tribe undefended,
”
Tiberius whispered back.

“
They know how to deal with this, we don
’
t.  If we leave now
…”

She let the thought trail off.  Tiberius knew he couldn
’
t leave, but he understood Lexi
’
s plea.  She wasn
’
t used to looking out for anyone but herself.  Tiberius knew she wasn
’
t selfish or heartless, just practical.

“
I can
’
t,
”
he said. 
“
These people are depending on me.
”

“
What about me,
”
she said. 
“
I
’
m depending on you too.
”

“
Rafe,
”
Tiberius said turning to his friend. 
“
Show Te
’
sumee where to go.  And get our spears.  I
’
ll feel better knowing we have some weapons that can inflict damage at a distance.
”

“
Sure,
”
Rafe said, nodding in agreement. 
“
This way.
”

He led the Rogu leader away from the fire.  Tiberius looked around.  The camp seemed peaceful, despite the approaching danger.  For a moment, Tiberius felt like maybe everything was being exaggerated.  It seemed so unlikely that there was really a monster in the dark; his mind simply refused to believe it.  Then, he felt something strange.  The ground seemed to vibrate under his feet.  Lexi
’
s eyes grew wide with terror.

“
What is that?
”
Tiberius said.

Olyva stood up.  She seemed taller and thinner.  Her face was lit by the orange flames of their fire, but the expression was grim and made a chill run up Tiberius
’
back.

“
It
’
s here,
”
she said.

“
Ti, we have to leave,
”
Lexi said.

“
No,
”
Tiberius said loudly.  People were roused from their sleep by the earth-shaking steps of the creature approaching the camp.  They stumbled out of their tents looking frightened.  Tiberius knew he couldn
’
t abandon them.

“
We
’
re going to stop this thing, Lexi,
”
he said with more confidence than he felt. 
“
Whatever it is, I
’
ll stop it.  I promise you that.
”

She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him so hard he could barely breathe.  Then she looked at him, her eyes sparkling in the light of their campfire.

“
I
’
ll be right here when you get back,
”
she said slowly.

Tiberius smiled, then he dashed away into the darkness.