Lovers in the Woods (13 page)

Sajitar watched
the simple life enviously, regretting more than his recent poor
decisions.

The work at the spaceport had
certain advantages
, though he had only been hired to mop the floors. The
security guards knew him and one, who was fond of him, recommended
him to his boss and soon Sajitar began training for a spaceport
guard. He was grateful and eager to learn, ignoring the mockery of
the other trainees about the young lumberjack who rejected
following in his father’s tracks. They had not wanted the
woodboy
in their midst, but
he had proven that he could do far more than learning the duties of
a guard. He had taken them into the woods on a free day and showed
them some of the beauties. He had boasted of his knowledge to be
finally acknowledged. It had worked. Someone had traded information
to Sananda Wang. Someone had told her about the spaceport
apprentice with the astonishing knowledge.

And then she had met him.

Sajitar took a deep breath. The pain was
there, lurking more or less in his left side and center. He watched
the sun filter through massive treetops, and where it reached
ground new plants spread. The B-horses greedily ate the fresh
leaves as they passed and Sajitar had no strength left to keep
Tessla from stopping here and there.

“Wait. Someone’s been here,” Rayenne stated
matter-of-factly. She gazed along the way they were about to take.
Noon was almost over and the shadows grew longer.

“Who?”

“A heavy man.” She got off the B-horse and
knelt on the ground. “He was here some hours ago, probably in the
morning.”

“Which direction?”

“Away from us. He carried something over his
right shoulder.”

“Like an axe?”

“Yes.”

Sajitar propped himself on both hands and
studied the surroundings while Tessla hung her head to relax and
search for more sprigs.

“Can’t be a lumberjack. Not that deep in the
woods.”

“
Could be someone with a large rifle,
then.”

He raised his brows. “You’re an optimist
by nature, I see.”

“My father taught me to think situations
through, not to rely on the first solution jumping my mind.”
Rayenne put her hands on her thighs, gazing the track up and down.
“And you told me about your visions. About men in jumpsuits
shooting Horlyns.” She looked up to him. “Could it be this
place?”

Sajitar smiled weakly, easing his butt on the
saddle.

“
I’m good at orientation, but just from a
vision I can’t tell one part of the woods from another. That’s
asking too much. If I should make a guess, though, I’d say it was
not here. The trees around are too large.”

“Okay. Let us go on.” She mounted again and,
with a last glance at the trace, she turned Bunty away and back on
their unseen path. “Or do you want a break?”

“No.” Sajitar set up straight for the time
she eyed him, only to slump back on the saddle when she turned
away. He prayed for more strength or for the bullet to just slip
into a niche where it did not hurt anymore.

Tessla stumbled over a root and Sajitar
hung over her withers, biting his lips to not scream. The pain had
gotten intense during the last hour. His left side was on fire with
every move. He felt like vomiting and could not. He wanted to lie
down and sleep, but there was still light and they had to cover as
much ground as possible. Yet with every step of the animal he got
weaker. His iron grip on the mane loosened and if Tessla had been a
young, inexperienced B-horse she would have already thrown him off.
But she trotted on, carefully balancing his weight.

“
Good horsey,” he whispered. He could not
feel his left side from the shoulder down to his hipbone. The pain
had reached some deeper region where it was harder to control.
“Just go on. I’ll cling to you.”

“In an hour we should start looking for a
campsite,” Rayenne said beside him.

He had forgotten she was there and jerked
back, causing the anguish to explode. He pressed his eyes shut,
whimpering. Then, slowly but uncontrollably, he slipped off the
mare’s back. Tessla stood at once as if expecting him to get back
on. She even turned her head in his direction and blew out air
before searching the ground for fodder.

The image in his head came so
suddenly he screamed and pressed his fists against his temples the
moment he hit the ground. His back took the impact, squeezing his
lungs. He could not breathe for a few heartbeats. Warm hands bent
back his head and lifted him gently to ease the pressure. He gulped
in air and wished he had not. There was no doubt
—he had never experienced such
pain. His scream was high and out of control. Gasping, he wished
for his consciousness to leave and not return until he felt better.
Much better.

“Breathe slowly, Saji, or you’ll lose
it.”

“I…can’t!” The image was there again. He saw
himself on the ground, his arms and legs outstretched. But there
was more. The long legs of a purple Horlyn and a head that caused
many people nightmares. The compound eyes were large like black
melons. “Horlyn,” he rasped.

“Where?” Ray looked around.

Saji swallowed and kept his eyes closed. The
next vision contained more Horlyns and himself, running around,
smiling, and obviously healed.

It made him feel good and he wanted to cling
to that feeling.

“You can’t see them. They stay in the dark.
But I know they’re here. They have to be close.”

“Shit. Can you get up?”

“No.” His innards cramped and forced Sajitar
to turn on the side. He held tight to Rayenne’s hand, not caring if
he hurt her. He shivered. “They’re coming.”

“To kill us?”

“I…I don’t know.” Another picture assaulted
his mind. He took a deep breath. “I know…”

“Yes?”

“One’s staying. The others leave.”

Rayenne shook her head. “Damn you, Saji,
don’t speak in riddles.”

Sajitar wet his
lips and turned back slowly. The pain subsided to a level he could
tolerate. He looked at Rayenne’s beautiful face, but it was like
looking at her through mist. The alien image was still there,
demanding his attention. He saw himself once more on a small,
grassy clearing.

“She’s going to help me.”

“
What?
Are you out of your mind? That beast will do nothing but
cut our heads and have them for breakfast. Don’t be fooled! Come
on, please! Get up!”

“The image she shows me—”

“She?”

“She shows me…oops, that you’ll have to bind
me naked to the ground. On the clearing nearby.”

Her eyebrows jumped.

“Are you sure she wants to help you or fuck
you?”

“She’s afraid of my weapons.”

“Which are in your pants, front center? Or
did I miss something?”

“She doesn’t know better.” He stared at her
intently, then struggled to get up. She pulled his right arm around
her shoulder and led him to the place where a tree had collapsed
years ago and made way for younger green to spread. Sajitar slumped
on the ground, boneless. “Please, I can’t ride another mile while
that pain kills me. Help undress and bind me or she’ll go
away!”

Rayenne looked around. The forest looked back
gloomily. She shook her head and turned to Sajitar again.

“You trust her? Are you sure? You truly are
out of your mind.”

Saji started opening his jacket with
trembling hands. His words came in short rasps.

“We don’t have the tools to get the bullet
out. You said that. She brings them with her.”

Rayenne took off his shoes and continued by
opening his pants. “She could kill us both. And I’m still convinced
the beast will have us for dinner.”

“If she wanted, she would have done so
already, wouldn’t she? Or any other beast that watched us.”

“I had the camp protected every night!”

“They were close and they were not fooled by
some technical gizmo. Careful, that hurts!”

“Sorry.” Rayenne pulled down the pants slowly
and helped Sajitar get out of jacket, shirt and underwear. “Did I
mention that you have a gorgeous body?”

Surprise took his breath away. He stared at
her open-mouthed and returned her smile amid the strain.

“I imagined that the first day you undressed
me with your eyes.”

He outstretched his arms to both sides.

“I knew I’d stand no chance against you.”

“Glad it’s not freezing tonight.”

She cast aside his clothes and looked down at
the brand, flinching. Her fingers gently stroked the mark and the
round purple scars right of it. “What’s this? Where does it come
from?”

“Don’t ask. Please,” he added, pained. “Not
tonight.”

She looked around for the Horlyn, then up
the sky. Aside from last birds searching for night quarters and
swarming insects, the air was clear.

“Did your image tell you what I’d use for
binding you?”

He swallowed and licked his lips. Lying flat
on the ground did not improve his condition. The bullet throbbed
like a fist hammering at him from the inside to get out. His vision
blurred. He realized he had little time left.

“Yes. There’re some rootless plants hanging
from the branches over to your left. Take a bunch and…” He moaned,
clenching his teeth. “Please, Ray, hurry.”

* * * *

“I’ll hurry.” She got up, not without
checking the dense vegetation. Her imagination showed her a large
Horlyn groping for her, pulling her down to search for a vein to
suck on. She shook her head. There was no need to enlarge her fear.
She was already shaken to the bones.

The long, thin plants hung down
like weeds, easy to collect. The strings were about three feet
long, covered with short hairs that were soft like wool. She pulled
four large stones near Sajitar’s hands and legs and wound the
strings around his wrists and ankles and, at last, around the
stones. She was sweating and shivering at the same time while
Sajitar drifted in and out of consciousness. The thought of losing
him crossed her mind over and again. She would not only be alone in
the woods, but she would also lose the man she had come to like.
The voice of reason still told her it was wrong to feel anything
for a criminal. The other voice said,
Go to hell.

Rayenne bound the last knot and sat back on
her heels.

“Saji? I’m done. Do you know what she’s going
to do? And what shall I do?”

“Go to some place safe.” He looked at her,
pain clear in his eyes. His breath came in short rasps.
“Don’t…don’t interfere.”

“Hey, and if she’s cutting you up just to get
a snack of your liver I shall just watch?”

“I said—”

“I know what you said, you stubborn freak.
That doesn’t mean that I like it.”

“I know.”

Rayenne flinched. “Hey, I want you to stay
alive, you got that? There’s no one like you to bring me through
these frickin’ woods.”

“Glad to be of service. Now, go, please. And
don’t threaten her, okay?”

“
Okay.” She kissed his cheek and, with a
heavy heart, got up to walk over to one of the largest trees she
had seen so far. Or maybe it just appeared to be taller and wider
because she felt so small and vulnerable. The B-horses stayed
together as if they, too, feared being alone. She waved her arms to
shoo them away, then, with one of the saddlebags across her
shoulder, climbed up the tree closest to the clearing to hide
behind large leaves. With a fieldglass she looked where Sajitar
awaited his savior.

She feared the Horlyn would be a killer,
but that thought she kept to herself.

The Horlyn was so much taller and broader
than expected. Rayenne bit her knuckles to not shriek with surprise
and fear. In her eyes, this insectoid was nothing but a monster, a
creature larger than an average village house. Its triangular head
was crowned by three large compound eyes that reflected the light a
hundred times. From the tip of the triangle came two pairs of
antennae, and the slit beneath turned out to be the
mouth.

Another Horlyn, even bigger than the first,
moved slowly across the clearing. It gave the impression of a
soldier on patrol. Its antennae turned in every direction as he
walked around the clearing, into the wood and back again to finally
halt right beside the tree Rayenne had chosen as hideout.

She put a hand to her mouth to quench a
scream when the Horlyn in the clearing lowered its massive oblong
body on its four sets of legs to get a better look at Sajitar. The
antennae bent to touch his face, neck and chest and slowly worked
down his body. Sajitar trembled and followed the movement with
bated breath. His obvious fear was so raw that Rayenne was about to
jump up and shoo away the Horlyn, no matter the consequences. It
took all she had to sit and watch.

Rayenne found out she could
still pray the old prayers her grandfather had taught her.
There has to be
hope
that
this beast will not kill him
.
There is always hope that what we wish will come
true.

The Horlyn stiffened and looked in her
direction. Its head moved up and down then sideways. The second one
lowered its massive body like a dog lying down to sleep. Only its
head stayed up.

Sajitar turned his head in her direction, a
painful inch at a time. She did not want to interpret his glance.
He closed his eyes again and somehow she was glad to not see his
pain anymore.

Far behind her, the B-horses rustled
between the young sprigs. She turned, but could not see them, and
prayed that the Horlyn was not out for a B-horse meal.