Stolen Away (8 page)

“Come on, Kiera!” she shouted above the chaotic confusion of Beothuck howls and the bellows of panicked caribou. “We do not have much time! Shoot!”

Kiera raised her bow and took aim at a large doe, one of a dozen in a wall of fur coming towards her. The doe's eyes were wide in exhaustion, her nose flaring for air. Kiera released the arrow. It sailed just over the doe's forehead and landed harmlessly in the river.

“Too far away,” yelled Sooleawaa, felling a second caribou, which flopped to a halt in front of their stump. “Wait, then shoot! Try again!”

Kiera reloaded the bow and scanned for her next target. There were still so many rushing towards her. She wondered if she simply fired it at the right height, whether the arrow would hit something. Then she remembered Sooleawaa's words. She waited for what she thought would be a shot that couldn't miss. Out of the frenzied charge, a young male came straight at her. Kiera raised her bow and stared down the shaft of her arrow. The caribou saw the log. At full gallop, he raised his front hooves and put all of his power into his hind quarters. She released the arrow. The caribou launched himself skyward just as the arrow struck between his front legs. The caribou flew over Kiera's head at what seemed to her an impossibly slow speed. The caribou was so close that she fell backwards and watched the magnificent animal continue to sail over her head. With the world upside down, she witnessed the caribou come back to earth. Instead of a graceful landing, the front legs collapsed, and the animal fell onto its side, a cloud of dust billowing up from the collision with the ground.

Kiera lay stunned at the sight until Sooleawaa pulled her back up. “Keep going!”

Kiera shook herself and looked again towards the river. For the first time since the herd had arrived, she could see flecks of the greyish-blue river between the dozens of caribou still attempting to cross and catch up to their leaders.

Kiera spied something much smaller than a caribou moving near the water's edge. It took a couple of steps, then curled up like a ball. A moment later, it straightened itself and ventured forth a couple more steps. Kiera's heart stopped in recognition. It was Shawnadit. The little girl had her hands cupped over her mouth, trying to shout, but the stampeding caribou easily drowned out any attempt at communication. Kiera didn't need to hear the words. She knew Shawnadit was calling out her name.

“Sooleawaa! Look! Shawnadit! She's out there!”

Sooleawaa lowered her bow slightly and joined Kiera's gaze. “Great Spirit have mercy on her! She is right in the middle of the herd!”

“We have to help her!”

“No! If we leave this log, we will be killed!”

“I'm going!”

Sooleawaa grabbed her shoulder. “Don't! Shawnadit is right at the water's edge. That's the safest place for her to be! The tired animals are just leaving the water and not moving at full speed. They will go around her. With luck, she will be all right.”

Kiera shrugged off Sooleawaa's hand. “It's my fault she's there. I'm going!”

“Kiera!”

Keeping low, Kiera broke free of Sooleawaa's grasp, swung around the log and moved forward. There were dozens of wounded or dead caribou lining the meadow between her and the river. She dove for cover behind the first one, just as a large doe jumped over her. The wind from its body rustled the top of Kiera's hair as the caribou passed overhead. Kiera half-crawled, half-ran, picking her way from carcass to carcass and avoiding the trampling hooves. Halfway to the river, there was a wide, unprotected stretch of grass and wild flowers. She looked to the river. From this distance, she could see the tears glistening on Shawnadit's face as she searched for her friend. The herd, lumbering up and out of the frigid water, seemed to make an effort to pass on either side of the little girl. But how long would her luck last?

Kiera didn't want Shawnadit to see her and move away from the partial safety of the water. She waited until the young girl was looking downstream, then she jumped to her feet and bolted across the open, unprotected meadow. Her injured leg was now the last thing on her mind. She accelerated into a sprint.

She was halfway across the meadow when an old bull caribou, seeing this strange animal charging towards him, took it as a challenge. He snorted, flared his steaming nostrils, lowered his antlers and charged at Kiera.

Keeping her eye on Shawnadit, Kiera didn't see the danger until it was too late. The sight of a charging bull brought her to a sudden stop. She froze. Where could she go? The antlers were lowered. In a second, she would be dead. Suddenly, something whizzed by her ear. The object hit the old bull in the front shoulder, causing his front leg to buckle. The enraged animal fell forward and cartwheeled, careening out of control in front of Kiera.

With the enormous tumbling boulder of fur and antlers almost upon her, Kiera did the only thing she could do. She jumped. She had almost cleared the animal when a flailing hoof caught her ankle and sent her into an airborne somersault. She managed a full rotation before landing hard on her heels and bottom. A second of shock passed before she realized that she was still alive. She rose to her knees and looked back over her shoulder. Sooleawaa, now a good distance away, waved at her with her bow from behind the log. She had saved Kiera's life again.

There was no time to think of that right now. Kiera shot back up onto her feet. Shawnadit turned away from the river and saw Kiera. Her eyes lit up, and she squealed with delight. A nearby female caribou with a young fawn, just finishing the crossing, heard the strange squeal. She abruptly turned, identified the small creature as a potential danger to her offspring and charged at the young girl. Shawnadit, seeing the angry doe, screamed. There was only one way for the little girl to run. She spun around and jumped feet first into the river. Shawnadit's little legs were no match for the speed of the mother caribou. The mother caught up to her in a flash. With her head lowered, she caught Shawnadit in her stubby antlers and launched her high up into the air.

Kiera stared in disbelief. She watched helplessly as the little girl flew through the air, landing well away from shore in the deepest part of the river. Kiera ran through the remaining caribou and downstream to the water's edge. She searched desperately for the young girl. The frothing, angry water revealed nothing. Dozens of canoes zigzagged across the river, pairs of hunters slaying the slowest of caribou with long spears. Kiera cupped her hands around her mouth in desperation.

“Help! There's a girl in the river! Somebody help me!”

The hunters were completely absorbed in the hunt. Kiera's plea went unnoticed. Without giving up hope, she chased the water downstream towards the growing rapids. While doing so, she stumbled on a pile of brush. She glanced down to realize that the branches were hiding a spare canoe. A paddle lay inside on the ribbing. She threw the branches aside, pointed the canoe away from shore and pushed off into the current.

C
hocan was closing in on an old buck. The cries and smells of the hunt brought alive all of the instincts of his ancestors. His blood pulsed in excitement. He was one with nature. Predator and prey. Death or survival. Today, life had been simplified into its most basic components.

His friend and hunting companion Huritt sat in the stern. He dug his paddle into the water to keep pace with the swimming animal. The caribou's eyes bulged in fear. Chocan lifted his spear and aimed for the side of the neck. He would try to make this as quick and painless as possible for the animal.

Something thwacked into the side of the canoe. Surprised, Chocan almost lost his balance, nearly joining the tired animal in the river. When he looked down, he saw an arrow embedded in the bark below his knee. They were under attack? At the Meeting Place? That was impossible! Instinctively, he lifted his spear in defense while he scanned the shore for danger.

He saw Sooleawaa, bow in hand, on the shore. Around one of her shoulders was a long coil of leather twine for securing a mamateek frame. She waved at him, then pointed downstream. Chocan turned. A canoe with a young woman was chasing something that bobbed in the water ahead of the craft. They were heading straight for the waterfall.

Kiera was relieved when she saw Shawnadit's head finally pop up from the water. Her little eyes showed shock, and her lips were blue with cold, but at least she was alive.

“Hold on, Shawnadit! I'm coming!”

She did her best to paddle the canoe up to the little girl. The current was picking up speed, and the bow now bounced on the increasingly larger rapids. She reached out to Shawnadit with the paddle. After several attempts, Shawnadit's numb hands grabbed onto the blade, and Kiera carefully pulled her to the side of the craft. She hoisted her arms over the side of the canoe and pinned them, preventing her from slipping back into the water. Shawnadit coughed up water through her chattering teeth.

“You…you came for me.”

“Of course,” replied Kiera, “but we are still in danger. I have to get you out of the water.”

Kiera tried to lift her, and although she was not heavy, every time she tried to lift Shawnadit completely out of the water, the canoe leaned over and nearly tipped.

“Stay in the middle,” suggested Shawnadit. “Balance the canoe.”

Kiera shifted closer to the middle of the canoe. She heaved again. This time, Shawnadit's feet came clear of the water. She fell into Kiera's arms. Together, they managed a tired laugh.

“There,” Kiera said soothingly, stroking Shawnadit's hair. “You're safe.”

Shawnadit smiled and looked over Kiera's shoulder.

“Kiera, look!”

The river suddenly narrowed into a roaring chain of rapids and rocks. Without guidance, the canoe floated sideways in the water. Kiera reached desperately for the paddle. The canoe's pointed ends suddenly slammed hard into two large rocks, bringing the craft to a violent halt. A wall of white water crashed into the upstream side of the craft. Water shot skywards like a geyser. Kiera pushed against one of the rocks with the paddle, trying to free the stricken craft. A sickening snap echoed beneath them. A huge crack in the ribbing tore open, then, an instant later, the entire craft shattered in two. Kiera and Shawnadit tumbled backwards through the hole and into the raging torrent. Bits of canoe bobbed along beside them as they were sucked further down the rapids. They slammed into huge walls of white water, each time being pulled into the frothing throat of the wave. They managed to struggle back to the surface, coughing and spluttering, only to be sucked under again.

Kiera fought the growing sense of panic. She maintained a tight grip on the back of Shawnadit's leather garment, towing the child through the endless cascade of rapids. There was nothing she could do but hope that the rapids would end before they both drowned.

Chocan shuddered as he watched the canoe shatter in two. His canoe had been only a moment away from reaching them. As he watched the girls disappear into the rapids, he wasn't sure if there was anything he could now do to save them. The waterfall was rapidly approaching. He turned to Huritt.

“Paddle as hard as you can! We must catch up to them!”

Huritt nodded. If they went further, they might not be able to pull out of the rapids before plunging over the top of the waterfall.

Chocan said a prayer as their small craft shot down into the rapids.

The men expertly weaved their way around the protruding rocks and over the waves of water. Chocan used his position in the bow to guide the canoe towards the two bobbing girls. The growing roar ahead warned him that this was a suicide run rather than a rescue attempt. Kiera, however, was almost within range of his grasp.

Kiera felt Shawnadit go limp in her arms. It took all of her strength not to let go of the girl. She kicked and pulled with her final bursts of strength in order to keep Shawnadit's head above water, often sacrificing her own gasp of air in the process. She tried to kick again, but her legs didn't respond. She sank deeper into the darkness. This was the end. Poor Shawnadit. What the little girl had suffered in her short life simply wasn't fair. This was all her fault. She cradled Shawnadit in her arms. Death was again reaching up from its watery grave.

Chocan threw his upper body into the water where he had last seen them. He grabbed furiously for anything solid in the liquid maelstrom. There! His fingertips touched something soft. Lunging, he grabbed on to it and heaved. Kiera materialized from the froth. Miraculously, she was still holding on to Shawnadit!

“Kiera!”

No response. He slapped her face. With a violent shake, she gagged and spluttered.

“Kiera, hold onto the side of the canoe! I'll take Shawnadit! Kiera, you have to let go of her now, or else we'll all be killed!”

Kiera blinked up into the bright sun. She allowed her frozen arms to let go of Shawnadit, but she was too cold to hang on to the canoe. As Chocan grabbed for the girl, Kiera began to slide back into the water. In one swift motion, Chocan hauled the unconscious girl into the canoe. He then grabbed Kiera before she slipped back under the surface. Huritt reached forward and pulled Shawnadit to the back of the canoe to make room for Kiera.

“Your turn now,” Chocan said and grunted as he took on the weight of the waterlogged young woman. He hauled her over the side and let her collapse into the bottom of the canoe. There wasn't time to do anything more for the new passengers. He jumped back into his seat and grabbed the paddle. In the distance, both he and Huritt saw the horizon of the river disappear into a mist of nothingness. The roar of the approaching waterfall was almost deafening. Together they dug their paddles into the water and pulled for their lives.

They veered hard to the left. Paddling at an angle to the current, they aimed the bow at a flattopped outcrop of rock that jutted out into the raging river. The boat leapt towards the safety of the relatively calm whirlpool that had formed upstream of the natural breakwater. The rock seemed to take on a life of its own, reaching out towards them, encouraging them to reach the swirling waters within its protective harbour.

Seconds later, Chocan cursed. Even with their muscular shoulders burning from the effort, both men were now realizing that the angry river would win this race against time. The current was simply too fast and too strong. It seemed inevitable that they would be carried past the rock and towards the waterfall's foaming edge of death.

Suddenly a person burst forth from the forest. It was Sooleawaa! She raced along the shoreline and leaped up onto the flat surface of the protruding rock. Chocan plunged his paddle into the water once again. There was hope after all!

Chocan and Huritt heaved on the paddles with an even greater effort. They came within a canoe's length of the rock tip as the current ripped them past its salvation. Sooleawaa was standing as far out as she dared on the rock's slippery surface. She threw the coil of leather twine at the passing craft. The twine landed on top of Kiera, whose face was still ashen with shock. Chocan reached back and grabbed the twine. He quickly wrapped it around the wooden supports of his seat. Huritt dug in at the stern and spun the canoe around until it faced upstream.

As soon as Sooleawaa had thrown the rope, she quickly backed away from the water's edge. She had only a second to make a life-saving decision. She would not be strong enough to hold on to the canoe alone. Three steps away, a jagged spire of rock jutted out from the table-like surface of the outcrop. Sensing that she was staring at her only hope, she dove onto her chest and wrapped the twine around the protruding stone. The rope snapped viciously taut. She grunted as the twine rammed her knuckles into the rough surface of the rock. Wrapping the twine around one hand then the other, she hung on.

There was a tremendous jolt. Chocan fell backwards onto Kiera, knocking the wind out of the already battered, shivering girl.

“Sorry, Kiera,” said Chocan, apologizing. “Huritt! Get up here! Now! Sooleawaa's not going to be able to pull us in all by herself!”

Chocan grabbed on just ahead of the knot and heaved. He grimaced as he pulled again, moving the canoe only slightly upstream. Huritt reached over Chocan's shoulder and grabbed on to the twine as well. Together, the two men pulled again. Hand over hand, ignoring the blinding spray of water, they slowly fought their way towards the rock.

The twine held. The canoe finally made its way to the edge of the outcrop. Chocan leaped out first, rolling onto the flat surface. He lay down on his stomach and held onto the gunnel of the canoe so Huritt could disembark. Huritt carefully lifted the passengers out of the canoe and into Sooleawaa's waiting arms. Finally, Huritt himself climbed out, allowing Sooleawaa to knot the twine around the rock, ensuring that the canoe would not float away. Chocan crawled to Shawnadit and checked her breathing. She was all right. The four rescuers joined the child and thankfully collapsed onto the wet, cold surface of the rock.

After catching his breath, Chocan leaned over and eyed Sooleawaa.

“Where did you come from?”

Sooleawaa was wrapping a piece of leather around her injured hands.

“I promised the elders that Kiera wouldn't get into any trouble. The fact that I saved my brother and his foolish friend in the process, well, the elders will just have to forgive me. It simply couldn't be helped.”

Chocan laughed. “Sister, you never stop amazing me. Thank you.”

She stood up and lifted Shawnadit into her arms, then paused to give her brother a flash of a smile.

“You can thank me later. I think we had better get these girls to a fire and warm them up.”