The Wings of Dreams

youma, give a shout. If you hear that shout, think of yourself first and run.”
    “But that youma is faster.”
    Shushou sighed. “Yes, it is. But running is better than standing still. So run away and hide behind a bush or a boulder.”
    Shoutan gaped at her. “Hide? How is hiding—”
    “If there aren’t any bushes or boulders around, lie flat on the ground. No matter how close it gets, don’t move and don’t make a sound. Youma have a hard time spotting humans in situations like that. It’s terrifying but it’s your best strategy. That’s what I did and it saved me. You remember that?”
    “Ah.” Shoutan nodded.
    “I saw that youma sitting on the limb of a tree right over my head, no further away from me than you are. I managed to stomach my fear and stay very still. That’s why I’m standing here right now.”
    The story had already gotten around. That lent an extra weight to the words of a girl who’d been that close to a youma and lived to tell the tale.
    So encouraged, in fits and starts, they made their way back down the road. They came across their discarded supplies around dawn. As before, the youma had left the bodies of the dead behind. They hastily gathered up their belongings. But by the time they’d fashioned them into traveling packs, they were exhausted and in no condition to resume the march.
    “Of course,” the girl said, observing the sun peeking over the eastern horizon. “There are fewer places to hide here during the day, so the youma shouldn’t be as active. We should rest too.”
    “During the day. Then the best time to walk—”
    “—is at night. The visibility is poor and there are plenty of places to hide. No doubt about it, that makes traveling on foot dangerous. There’s no telling where youma might be lurking. But if the visibility improves even slightly, on a moonlit night, for example, you’ll be able to notice any approaching shadows.”
    “I—suppose so.”
    “Youma aren’t at their strongest during the day. They’ve got good night vision. Light washes out their eyesight. People don’t make noise or move around when they’re sleeping. Bedding down under a bush or behind a rock just might make you too hard to hunt down.”
    “That makes sense.”
    “So it’s decided. We’ll sleep now. Come evening, we’ll resume our journey. Keep your packs close at hand. Water, in particular, like it’s attached to your wrist. Anywhere else is too far away.”

    After that, to make sure they didn’t get split up again, Shushou chose a site with a good view of the surrounding area. At some point, she’d assumed command of this motley crew, if for no other reason than nobody else objected or volunteered. They’d grown up being ordered around and quailed when given too much discretion to accomplish a task.
    Though the youma attacks continued, those catching the brunt of them bore up stoically while the rest scattered, hiding under bushes and behind rocks as Shushou instructed. Each incident further confirmed the usefulness of the strategy and the overall attitude picked up as well.
    When an attack came, they grabbed the hand of their nearest companion and fled into the wilderness. Remaining silent and still took an extraordinary amount of courage. By and by, though, they learned that sharing the terror with another person made it that much easier.
    After the youma was done with its mayhem, they went back, gathered up their belongings, and left. After three days and nights of taking one step back for every two steps forward, there were fewer people and fewer supplies.
    But the great majority remained in good condition. The band of refugees steadily continued their forward progress.

Chapter 29
    [4-6]  K inhaku crouched down on the road and examined the packed dirt. “I don’t see any wagon tracks.”
    “Kiwa hasn’t arrived yet.”
    The caravan had continued on through the forest, come across the markers previously left by the goushi, and proceeded into the savanna. After following a narrow valley, they returned to the road. No youma attacked during that time and the going wasn’t unusually difficult.
    But when they merged back onto the road, there was no sign of Kiwa and the others.
    The day was bright and clear. Kinhaku turned to Gankyuu. “Think he got attacked?”
    “I’d count on it,” was the shushi’s blunt response.
    “What should we do?”
    “What else can we do? The sun’s rising. We make camp. If they’re alive, they should arrive