Blood Red Road

Whatever we git the most of, that’s what we do.
    I ain’t got time fer this, Emmi, I says, I’m—
    Shut up, Saba, she says.
    An I’m so astonished that I do.
    She sets the pebbles in two piles on the ground. She leaves a space in between.
    Everybody gits one vote, she says. You choose yer pebble an then you put it in the middle. When we’re all done, I’ll count ’em up. Now, turn around so’s you cain’t watch what the other person’s doin.
    Nobody moves. We all jest stand there, starin at her.
    I said, turn around! she says. Tommo, you go first.
    The rest of us turn our backs. Ike’s next to me. I see it runs in the family, he mutters.
    Emmi directs the whole thing. I’m th’only one left.
    What about me? I says.
    You don’t git a turn, she says. Okay, turn around.
    In the middle there’s six white pebbles. Not one black one.
    I crouch down. Pick up the pebbles an hold ’em in my hand. They feel solid, warm. I look up into their faces one by one. An it’s like I’m lookin at ’em fer the first time. Jack, Ike, Emmi, Epona, Ash an Tommo. Every one of ’em willin to walk with me across the lake. To go with me into the darkness an face what lives there.
    My throat feels tight.
    You don’t hafta do this, I says.
    Epona shrugs. We’re yer friends, Saba, she says. We wanna help.
    I wish you wouldn’t, I says.
    Too bad, she says. We’re stickin with you.
    If this gits any more heart-warmin, says Ash, I’m gonna start cryin. Now if we’re done here, I say we git movin.

    Jack gits us to muffle the horses’ feet with cloth so’s the wurms don’t know we’re passin over the top of ’em. Then we move out onto the parched lakebed.
    We go as quick as we can, but like Jack said, we gotta guide the horses safely past all the cracks an crevasses, big an small, that split the earth an slow us down. We don’t talk, try not to make no sound. But the horses sense somethin. They’re nervy. Soon they start to shy at their own shadows.
    An we don’t make it. We don’t make it across the lake before dark. Even though it’s the season of long days, we’re only about halfways across when we start to lose the light.
    Jack stops. Looks at the sky. He waits fer everybody to catch up. When the light goes, he says in a low voice, it’s gonna go fast. We gotta be ready well before then.
    My stummick clenches. Ready fer what? I says.
    Hellwurms sleep in the day, he says, deep inside the mountain. When night falls, they come up through the cracks in the lakebed. They’ll be lookin fer food. It could be we git lucky. If they already got full bellies from last night or even a couple of days ago, they might stay down there an sleep it off. But if we don’t git lucky—
    —the minute it’s dark, says Ike, wurms is gonna crawl outta them cracks an cover this lakebed faster’n you could ever imagine.
    You should of told us this before we started off, I says.
    I was hopin I wouldn’t hafta, says Jack. But would it of made any difference? Anybody?
    Everyone shakes their head.
    Hell no, says Emmi.

    We decide to let the horses go. We unwrap their feet an set ’em on their way across the lake. This way, there’s at least a chance they might make it safe to th’other side. Once the wurms come out, they won’t have no chance at all.
    I lean aginst Hermes’ head. I stroke his soft nose.
    Saba, says Jack. Time to let him go.
    I look into his wise brown eyes one last time. Thank you, I whisper. Then I stand back. Go on, I says.
    He trots a few paces away. He stops. He turns to look at me. I raise my hand in farewell. He tosses his head an whinnies. Then he heads off after th’others.
    As I watch him go, I know I’m watchin my best chance of reachin Lugh by midsummer disappear. I wanna blame somebody fer the mess we’re in, but yellin at Jack or Ike or anybody else ain’t gonna change nuthin. We’re all in this together now.
    I turn around.
    So, Jack, I says, what’s the plan?

    We work fast. We ain’t got much time before the dark comes.
    My hands move, my feet move. I push down the fear that’s risin in me. There ain’t no room fer it, ain’t no time fer it. Jack’s in charge. He says to do somethin, we all do whatever it is right away. We don’t ask no questions, don’t ask him what his plan is. We’ll be findin out soon enough.
    He gits us to gather as much wood as we can find. Branches, twigs an trunks of long dead trees blown here by the mountain winds. No matter how big or small, we find ’em