Zahrah the Windseeker

  Then it happened. The scorpion poison kicked in and everything just went black. It was the kind of sleep you fall into when you're extremely tired and your bed is extremely comfortable. One minute I was mentally there, the next I was in delicious darkness.

  I was brought back to consciousness when an especially sharp rock scraped my arm. I'm sure that rock saved my life. Oh, if I had not awakened in that moment! The Carnigourd behind the bushes was in full view, and I screamed. I thrashed some more. Then I remembered my blood pressure. I had to keep it low. I breathed out of my mouth as I collected myself. I took a deep breath. "Wait!" I shouted at the plant. "Um... please!"

  Oddly enough, the plant's pull slowed.

  I tried my best to remember what I'd read in the digi-book about this common meat-eating plant. It lowered its pod, its mouth open, and I feared I'd fall asleep again from the sight of it. There were no teeth and the inside was red. There were two holes near the back—one large one that led to its stomach and the other hole ... I gasped. The smaller one was its ear, I remembered. Carnigourds responded to sound as a palm-wine lover responds to palm wine; if it was sweet, then he was happy, his brain relishing nothing but the happiness. I started singing the first song that came to me.

  Um ... Close the door

  Light the light.

  We're staying home tonight.

  My mother used to sing the song when I was very young. The Carnigourd immediately stopped pulling, savoring with pleasure the sound of my voice.

  Far away from the bustle

  And the bright city lights.

  I slowly unraveled the plant's vines from my ankle as I sang.

  Let them all fade away

  Just leave us alone

  And we'll live in a world of our own.

  We'll build a world of our own that no one else can share.

  All our sorrows we'll leave far behind us there.

  I slowly stepped back, now thankful that Carnigourds didn't have eyes. The pod had closed and it slowly moved side to side as I sang.

  And I know you will find

  There 'it he peace of mind

  When we Live in a world of our own.

  I stopped singing, turned, and ran as fast as I could, as far from the Carnigourd as possible.

  Chapter 19

  Ghostly Shadows

  The next two days were like the previous ones. Deadly.

  I'd been in the forbidden jungle for two weeks, and somehow I was still alive. If I made it home, no one would believe all I'd been through. I'd walked so many miles that my body was starting to gain useful muscle. The walking was coming more easily to me. At night, I no longer climbed into the trees. I simply floated up.

  I made sure my things were nicely hidden. Nothing was likely to steal them from so high up. As for the many bush cows, or "bandits of the jungle," I'd fed several of the quiet furry creatures some of my overripe mangoes and left even more at the foot of whatever tree I slept in. I was sure that the bush cows were smart enough to find a way to get to my things if they wanted to, so it was my way of compromising with them. So far, my plan had worked.

  "Compass, so now after all you've seen, do you still think the forbidden jungle should be forbidden?" I asked as I sat high in a baobab tree.

  The compass's yellow rotating flower lit up my cupped hands in the night.

  "Of course I do. Go back home to your parents, young lady," it recited. "I can tell you how many days it'll take if you go seven miles a day."

  "That's OK. Compass, I have to do this." I was talking more to myself than to the compass. "And the jungle is crazy but it's just another place. "

  "Do you know how far away from home you are?"

  "I don't want to know."

  "Many, many miles."

  "Don't tell me, compass."

  The next day, when I started seeing half-eaten deer, bush cow, and even horse carcasses hanging high in the trees, I didn't panic. I couldn't afford to. I knew what I had to do. I kept an eye on the treetops and immediately found a patch of lemongrass. I picked some, crushed it up in my hands to release the oil, and rubbed it all over my skin and clothes.

  On my fifteenth day in the jungle, a panther jumped out of a nearby tree and charged at me without making a sound. I could hear its partner coming at me from behind. On their four legs, they stood taller than I, and their fur did look like black oil. I froze, my eyes wide and my mouth half open. Don't run, don't run, do not run, I thought. I could feel myself shaking as I breathed with my mouth open, concentrating on keeping my blood pressure down and my body still. No matter how I smelled, I had a strong feeling that if I fell asleep in front of these beasts, they would not be able to resist such an easy meal.

  They stopped in midcharge, their nostrils flaring wide as they sniffed the air. I slowly blew out air, standing my ground. The other one stepped around me to stand next to its partner. In their eyes, I saw a sharp cunning. The panthers could easily kill me if they chose to. It was all up to them. Still, I was determined not to let my condition get the best of me. One of them spoke.

  "You look scared," the panther said. She purred her words more than she spoke them, and her voice was smooth.

  "You should be," the other one said. His voice was low like the large drums played during the New Yam Festival back home.

  "Please," I said. How come the book had said nothing about the panthers' being intelligent enough to talk? Gradually I was noticing that though full of useful information, the field guide was not complete. There were plenty of holes in its extensive chapters. Once again I noticed that you could never fully trust anything you read or that was told to you. Human beings simply weren't perfect. I hoped the book was, at least, right about the elgort egg's healing properties. "I-I just ... please don't..."

  "Do you think we're so stupid? As if we don't know that you just rubbed lemongrass all over yourself," the male said.

  "You may smell bad," the female said, "but we know that under that foul-smelling skin is tender, sweet fresh meat."

  "Skin is easy to separate from meat when we want to," the male said.

  I shivered with revulsion. The panthers paced back and forth as they spoke, rubbing against each other's fur and keeping their large green eyes on me.

  "That horrible smell you've bathed yourself in won't keep us from eating you," the female said.

  "But it might cause us to give you one chance to convince us why we shouldn't eat you," the male said. He looked at his mate, and they both chuckled, obviously enjoying the prolonged moment of intimidation before their meal.

  I was thinking fast, my eyes scanning all the nearest trees. But climbing the trees was even worse trouble. And if I floated up, the trees would be too close together. The panthers would easily ambush me. What reason can I give them to not eat me? I wondered. I can tell them that I'm on a mission to save my best friend. But what will they care? They'll probably want to eat Dari too. And so I took a chance and blurted out the strangest thing about myself.

  "Um ... I can fly," I said. "Sort of."

  The panthers stopped pacing, their eyes narrowing as they looked at me for the first time as more than just meat. Then they looked at each other, and the male growled something to the female that I couldn't understand. Then the female looked at me and said, "Show us."

  "Yes," the male said. "Show us."

  Even under the stress of my life being at risk, I was able to do it. I floated up two feet in the air.

  "She doesn't lie," the male said.

  "Another Windseeker," the female said, resting on her haunches. "It's been a while."

  "The last Windseeker we met was several years ago. A female, tall for a human," the male said. "Nothing like you. She laughed when we attacked. When we saw that she could fly and appeared to be skillful with two small sharp knives she hid in her dress pockets, we decided to make a swift retreat. Wasn't worth the trouble."

  "She was amazing," the female said with a sound of admiration.

  I felt jittery. I still
feared the panthers but ... another Windseeker? It sounds like her, I thought. But it can't be. Could it? All the way out there? It didn't make sense.

  "What was her name?" I asked.

  "I don't recall," the female said.

  "No wonder this one is so young yet still alive," the male said to the female. He turned to me. "How long have you been with the trees? Judging from your tattered attire, you're from the Ooni Kingdom."

  "Where else would I be from? All human beings are," I said. I didn't think they would eat me anymore, and I was beginning to relax.

  "Some humans live far from the Ooni Kingdom, though very few," the female said. "The Windseeker we met was not from there. Other panthers who'd met her said she was from somewhere beyond this area."

  "How long have you been away from your people?" the male asked me again.

  "A little more than two weeks, I guess."

  "Why are you here and not with those who birthed you?" the female asked.

  "I need to find an elgort egg, to save my friend. "

  If panthers could express fear on their faces, I saw it then. They stepped away from me. The gesture made my belly flutter. If these great creatures can fear elgorts ... I shivered, unable to finish the thought.

  "Not smart, especially for a Windseeker," the male said.

  "Maybe we should eat you now," the female said. "Anything is better than being destroyed by an elgort."

  I looked at my feet, trying to ignore the sting of their words. For many days, I hadn't thought about the danger of hunting down an elgort. I was too preoccupied with the more immediate perils of the jungle.

  "I have to do this," was all I could say.

  "Well, I hope we hear good stories about you after your certain death, young Windseeker," the male said.

  "Make sure your spirit is prepared to leave that scrawny body of yours," the female said, rubbing her nose and turning to leave. She sneezed. "You do smell very bad."

  "Peace watch over you," the male said.

  Then they turned and left, the female still sneezing in disgust. For a moment, I just stood there, their words echoing in my mind. I swallowed the lump in my throat and got myself moving, though my legs were stiff and I felt a little ill.

  I continued using the lemongrass, even when I no longer saw animal carcasses in the trees. The panthers I'd met were curious, but I wasn't sure if the others would be. I also noticed that the smell of the lemongrass oil kept mosquitoes and gnats away better than my repellant, and it smelled nice.

  Later that day, I picked several tree clams from the low branches of an ekki tree. Then I built a fire and roasted them in their shells. I knew to put out the fire quickly so as not to attract the large black eagles I saw zooming about in the sky. I had learned from the field guide that these eagles were known to snatch up prey as large as deer!

  That night, the pink frog that I had met at the beginning of my journey appeared again. It hopped down from a branch above me and sat at my feet. I blinked with mild surprise. I was tired and instantly felt annoyed.

  "Well?" the frog said. "What do you want?"

  "Why do you keep bothering me?!" I snapped. "Are you not right in the head? Or do you have nothing better to do?"

  "I couldn't care less about you," the frog said, looking equally annoyed. "You're the one bothering me with your neediness."

  "Me?" I said, scrunching my face. I was too exhausted for this. "You're just an irritating talking frog with a bad attitude. Why would I want anything from you?"

  The frog sighed loudly, turning around.

  "I hope something gobbles you up soon," the frog grumbled, hopping away. "At least then you'll leave me alone."

  "More likely you than me," I shot back as it hopped down a branch and disappeared behind some leaves.

  I sat for a moment feeling angry and aggravated.

  "Stupid nonsense frog," I grumbled, bringing out my digi-book. "As if I couldn't squash it with my foot."

  I picked up the digi-book and stared at the screen for a moment trying to push the frog out of my mind. Then I tried accessing some elgort information again. When I clicked on the link to the elgort passage, the screen went blank. Then it turned light green, and the words of the elgort passage appeared in black, the opposite of its usual black screen with green words. I gasped with excitement. Finally, I would know what to expect. Aside from the screen and words being the wrong color, a few of the characters were a little messed up, but I could still read it. Trying my best not to move the digi-book, I quickly began to read:

  Suddenly it went dark. Again, it said error. I bit my lip hard, resisting the urge to throw the digi-book to the ground and be done with the frustrating instrument once and for all. Instead of throwing it, I tilted it to the side. I heard something small rattle inside it. I tried accessing the elgort entry again. "Source Page Error, "it said. I wasn't surprised, though I felt a little deflated. Any information would have helped.

  I turned the book over and sighed loudly. Even without the information, I knew that the elgort was deadly. Everyone knew that. All it ever wanted to do was murder and eat things. I felt dizzy. What was I doing? No wonder the panthers had assumed I was on my way to my death. I was! I was hunting a monster and when I found it, it would find me delicious! What was I doing? What was I thinking?

  But I knew the answer to both these questions.

  In my heart I was sure, even if my brain kept telling me I was crazy. I knew. I was sure. I didn't sleep well that night. But by the morning, I was ready to keep going.

  Chapter 20

  Obax

  As I walked, my mind was in the clouds. I was thinking about how much I missed seeing the open sky. The field guide had a whole chapter dedicated to "Junglemyelitis."

  Needless to say, a few of us who were more sensitive to being completely surrounded by trees and bushes have gone mad from Junglemyelitis. The trees started to look as if they were boxing us in. Then the leaves and branches seemed to block out more sunlight than usual. The soil began to smell soilier. And an over-whelming fear of animals waiting to attack set in. This is a rare condition. After being in the jungle for so long, we all feel a bit claustrophobic. That's normal.

  But if you have these symptoms, well, the best way to treat them is to gather as much food as you can and climb to the top of a nice sturdy tree where you can see the open space above. Stay there for three days.

  I didn't like the idea of staying in a tree that long. I didn't have the luxury of time. Plus I wasn't really having any abnormal symptoms. Still, I'd have given away all my mangoes if I could only run through an open grassy field for an hour. I was staring up at the blue sky when I heard the first bark.

  Wild dogs.

  They must have been sleeping nearby because they were at my heels before I knew it. I managed to run and then half float and half jump into a tree just in time. They had caught me off-guard, and I could feel my heart beating extremely hard. As I clutched the tree branch, I watched the pack of dogs mill about below, growling and looking up at me. I tried to think of relaxing thoughts.

  Still, just as the dogs started to lose interest and walk away, I began to feel myself slipping.

  "Oh no!" I said groggily. My mouth felt numb and I slurred my words. "Not now, not now."

  The last dog disappeared into a bush just as things faded. I couldn't hear or see any dogs, but that didn't mean anything in the Greeny Jungle. It didn't mean anything at all. The next thing I remembered was the painful thud of my body hitting the ground. I'd fallen out of the tree. My hip exploded with pain and my eyes flew open. The first thing I saw were black furry feet a few yards away. I slowly looked from the feet to the legs to the—I gasped. Then the gorilla came rushing at me. I was so shocked that I tried to roll onto my side. I was greeted with a fresh burst of pain from my hip. I couldn't get up.

  The gorilla beat its chest and howled angrily at me. I bit my lip hard, pushing my fear as far back as I could. I opened my mouth and took a deep breath. The gorilla got w
ithin a foot of me and stopped. It teetered forward and fell to the side.

  I frowned. What's wrong with it? I wondered. Thankfully, this display of vulnerability helped me relax. The gorilla got up and stood on all fours, its long left arm shaking. Then I realized its entire body was shaking. I squinted, rolling myself to the side a little. If I had been standing up, the gorilla would have been almost my height. And it was obviously much stronger, even if it was in a weakened state. Its fur was more gray than black. The gorilla was old.

  It had green jewels on its ears and around its neck and ankles. Gorillas were fairly common back home, especially in the mountains on the southwest side of the great city. There were several well-known gorilla tribes there, but I'd never heard of gorillas who wore jewelry.

  "I-I mean no harm," I said, holding a hand up. I almost wanted to laugh at my words. What "harm" could I possibly do when I couldn't even get up!

  "What is your name?" the gorilla said in a low, gruff voice, its body still slightly shaky It beat its flat chest once and stared at me. Not "it," "him." This gorilla was male. And I noticed there were others, too, as the bushes around me began to rustle. Some peeked around tree trunks and bushes; a few were in the lower branches of trees.

  "M-my name is ... it's Zahrah, Zahrah Tsami," I said, looking around some more. I could see no way out even if I could run.

  "You are a human," the gorilla said.

  "Yes."

  "You're a child. "

  "I guess."

  "You are hurting."

  I hesitated.

  "Yes," I said. My injured hip was too obvious to hide.