Over the Moon (16 page)

"The star group that astronomers call the Pleiades is, according
to legend, an Indian family who once lived on the Earth or Tuweap.
They are a family of seven without a father. They are Pe-ats, the
mother, Toatsen, the son, and manigee patsun, five daughters. The
father, Tureris, was very angry because his family disobeyed him.
His wife and children went up into the sky to escape from his wrath,
and he tried to shoot them down with his arrows. Then, because his
arrows couldn't reach them, he used his power to make them stars
so they would have to stay there forever. Toatsen, the son, told his
crazy, angry father, `If you make us into stars so we can never come
down, we will use our power to make you into a wild coyote. You
can never join us in the sky. You will always be lonely and sad, as you
are doomed to run in the desert all night, and you will look up at us
and howl.' Despite his rage, Tureris loved his family and mourned
for them. When you hear the piercing howl of the coyote, remember that it is the soul of Tureris crying for his lost family. He is forced
to roam alone and yelp at the sky as he misses his loved ones for all
eternity. This is one of the earliest recorded incidences of domestic
violence. Too bad there weren't any marriage councilors or anger
management classes back then." We all agreed. Raven told us she
knew another legend about the stars. We begged her to share it.

"This is the Paiute legend that tells why the North Star stands
still. The sky, tuomppiav, is believed to be like the earth. It has rivers,
trees, mountains, animals, and birds. It's like an upside down world
above us. The animals and birds move about the sky, except for one
great star. He is Naga, the North Star. He cannot travel. He was a
mountain sheep and the son of the Paiute god Shinob. He was brave
and daring, and he was always climbing the highest mountains. He
found the very tallest peak that reached up into the clouds. It had
steep, sheer sides.

"He searched for a way to get to the top. Finally, he found a
large crack in the mountain. The hole was just big enough for him
to squeeze inside. There, he found a tunnel that led upward. As he
climbed, he stumbled over and dislodged a bunch of boulders that
fell to the bottom, making a terrible, thunderous noise. He fell many
times as he made his difficult journey toward the top. Growing tired,
he decided to give up and go back down through the tunnel to try to
find another route to the high peak, but his way was blocked by the
fallen rocks. This forced him to continue his journey upward. After
a long time, he came out of the dark cave and found himself perched
on the highest peak with only a small place to stand. The view was
incredible, but he could not find any way to get down again. He was
destined to be stuck there forever.

"Shinob went looking for Naga and found him on top of that
mountain peak. He made him immortal and turned him into the
North Star so he could be a guide for everything living on earth and
in the sky.

"There are other mountain sheep in this inverted sky world that
Shinob turned into stars. We call them the Big and Little Dippers.
They continually circle the high mountain, seeking a trail to reach Naga, but of course they never will. Yeah, I know. Most of these
legends are sort of sad." We all fell silent, thinking our own private
thoughts.

After we had watched the meteors fall out of the sky for about
an hour, dark clouds snuck in to hide the remaining stars. We saw
brilliant flashes of lightning and heard the distant claps of thunder.
I thought about the legend of Naga and the noise of the boulders
falling behind him as he climbed to the mountaintop in the sky.
The sound drew nearer and echoed louder while the huge electrical
bolts of lightning were like extreme fireworks, filling the darkness
with bright veins of illumination. The thunder grew from distant
booming and became painfully and ear-splittingly loud while the
lightning was striking much too close for comfort. We hastily made
our way inside as it began to pour.

When we finally settled down to sleep in Tiffany's family room, I
thought about the legends Raven had shared. The Paiutes had created
some entertaining and dynamic stories to explain the mysteries of the
universe. I felt sorry for the father whose soul supposedly resided in
the coyote. It was too bad he had lost his family as a result of his anger.
I wasn't mad at Andrew anymore. I knew he was only concerned for
my safety. I was sure he would not knowingly put me in harm's way.
That would be completely out of character. I did trust Andrew. The
agent from the Zariba had to be wrong about him keeping secrets
from me. I was also excited to see the petroglyphs and eager to hear
more about the Paiute culture. I hoped Raven was wrong about Jordan, and I really hoped I wouldn't run into any snakes.

Tiffany's mom woke us at seven with promises of pancakes, eggs,
and bacon. She said Tim had called and was picking us up at eight
in his mom's minivan. I had forgotten my hat and my sunscreen, so I
told them I would drive myself there. I also thought it was better not
to be at the mercy of someone else when it came to transportation
just in case Jordan did have some plan to get me alone. I wanted to
be able to leave when and if I needed to escape.

We met at the school parking lot. Jordan tried without success
to get me to ride with him. I insisted that I might have to leave early.
I was going to drive my Honda. There was no way I was getting into
a car with him.

Jenna and her senior boyfriend, Ryan, rode with me so I wouldn't
get lost.

"You're Andrew Martin's girlfriend, aren't you?" Ryan asked.

"Yes," I answered. I loved the sound of that. I didn't think I
would ever get tired of hearing it.

"I hope he'll try out for the basketball team this year. He's a
great athlete and a terrific shooter. He has a wicked three-point shot.
I swear he never misses."

"I'm not surprised. He's good at everything," I said.

"Right," Jenna added, "especially kissing."

"How do you know, Jenna?" Ryan sounded jealous.

"Tiana told me." She giggled.

"Oh good." He relaxed and put his arm around her. "I don't want
any competition from Andrew Martin. Watch out for Jordan today.
He knows Andrew is out of town. He thinks he still has a chance
with you. I know he's delusional, but he can be hard to discourage."

"I don't like Jordan," I adamantly declared.

"You probably should tell him that. He doesn't seem to know
when he's acting like a jerk, and he doesn't accept rejection very well.
He's more than a little dense, if you get my drift. Don't expect him
to pick up on any hints you may have given him. You pretty much
have to tell him straight out to back off."

We finally made it to the trailhead. I parked, slathered on some
sunscreen, put on my hat, and stashed the phone in my pocket
with my car keys. Lucky for me it was overcast and several degrees
cooler than the normal hotter-than-Hades temperature. There
were a few watery red mud puddles here and there, remnants of
last night's monsoon thunderstorm. They looked oddly out of place
in the sandy, desert landscape. I watched with amusement as a tiny
gray-green lizard swam through one of the pools at my feet. I didn't
know lizards could swim. He looked like a miniature alligator as he
maneuvered his tiny, reptilian body across the puddle.

It only took ten minutes to reach the first Indian carvings. I
learned that petroglyphs were carved into the rock and pictographs
were painted. The rock wall covered with the ancient Indian art was shaded by a bright, salmon-colored, sandstone overhang. Most of
the petroglyphs resembled pictures I had seen in books. However,
there was a scene that was similar to the one in Andrew's cave.

Skylar was explaining what the pictures meant according to Paiute legend. He came to the scene I was staring at.

"This is one of the first documented records of space aliens visiting the Earth. These are godlike beings that helped early Native
Americans survive in the barren, desert environment. They helped
them find water by digging wells. They introduced them to corn,
which thrived here when irrigated with water from the Virgin River
and from the wells they had dug. The Paiutes believe that the Anasazi tribe was threatened with extinction by the more aggressive
Navajo tribe. They begged the space gods to take them up into the
sky, where they could exist in peace. The gods had compassion for
the Anasazi and granted their wishes. That is the reason why they
disappeared from their desert home without leaving a clue where
their journey took them. It is still a mystery today."

We continued on the trail. Raven showed us spaceships etched
into a rock wall. They were disc shaped with markings that might be
windows. Of course, they could have been fancy canoes. It was hard
to categorically define them as alien vehicles because the primitive
pictures could represent just about anything that was shaped like a
half circle.

We came to a slot canyon area with several different trails leading off in different directions. Jordan was beckoning Emily, Nate,
and me toward a trail leading off to the west. I wanted to follow
Raven and Skylar as they led a group to the east. It seemed like the
obvious and safer choice.

"There's a cave this way with a pictograph of a space alien. It
has eyes that glow in the dark," Jordan yelled to us. "Come on. We'll
catch up to the others later."

Nate said, "You really should see this, Tiana." He grabbed Emily's hand.

"Come on. It is kind of interesting," Emily coaxed.

I followed them cautiously. I was tempted by the promise of another alien drawing. I was curiously enticed by the idea of seeing
its glowing eyes. Jordan was at the entrance to a very dark cave, yelling at us to hurry. Nate bent down to remove his shoe, complaining
that there was a pebble in it. Emily sat on a rock waiting for him.

"Go ahead, Tiana. We'll catch up in a minute," Nate promised,
urging me to join Jordan.

Against my better judgment, I cautiously followed Jordan into the
cave. He had a flashlight and was shining it on the back wall. I looked
closer and saw a figure with big white eyes staring back at me.

"Now watch closely." He turned off the light, and sure enough,
the eyes glowed.

"Awesome! This is worth seeing. Did they use some kind of florescent mineral in the paint?" I asked as I took in the eerie gleaming orbs.

"Yeah, it's phosphorus," he answered with an extra large grin
that looked a little florescent as well.

I thought about Andrew. I wondered if he were home yet. I
turned to leave the cave. Jordan stood in my way, still wearing that
huge disturbing, glowing smile.

"Where are Emily and Nate?" I asked nervously as I realized my
carelessness had put me in this precarious situation. I was alone in
a cave with Jordan. How could I be so foolish? This was the exact
predicament I had set out to avoid. I'd been warned numerous times
by various people.

"Who cares? Who needs them? I've been waiting for weeks to
get you alone." He put his arms around me. My body went rigid.
How did I let this happen?

"Stop it, Jordan!" I shrieked as I tried to extricate myself from his
arms. He was stronger than he looked. He held me tighter and forced
his mouth on mine. I could feel his hot breath on my face. It smelled
like minty mouthwash. It didn't quite cover the odor of the onions
and eggs he must have eaten for breakfast. I found a sudden burst of
adrenaline. I jerked away from him and kneed him squarely in the
groin. He let out a string of profanity and lost his hold on me.

I ran at bat-straight-out-of-hell speed back to the main trail.
I kept on running until I was almost to the parking lot. I hoped he wasn't chasing after me. I stopped abruptly and listened for the
sound of footsteps. Instead I heard an unwelcome rattling noise.
I immediately recognized that subtle warning. I looked down at a
huge, diamondback rattlesnake coiled and ready to spring at me,
and I did the stupidest thing I could possibly do besides entering a
cave with Jordan. I opened my mouth, and without thinking, I let
a bloody-murder scream escape. The snake's head sprang at my leg
before I could move out of its path. I flinched as its fangs pierced
the white skin just above my ankle. Then it gave me a you-totallydeserved-that look and slithered off into the brush.

I ran a little farther down the trail. I was beginning to feel faint.
Stopping again, I sat on a bench carved out of an enormous boulder.
I pulled the phone from my pocket. Before I could flip it open to
punch in the numbers, it rang. Startled, I answered. I knew who it
had to be.

"Andrew?" I could barely get the word out. My head had begun
to throb and spin. I could see red spots, and they were growing bigger, blocking out my vision.

"Tiana, what's wrong?" he asked.

"A rattlesnake just bit me." There was unmistakable panic in my
voice.