turn at watch and then wakes Tinok for his turn. Lying down, he does his best to fall asleep.
Morning dawns overcast, the sky beginning to lighten even though the sun is still behind the mountains. Jiron returns to camp just after dawn from reconnoitering down the mountain for signs of the enemy to find no sign of James. Worried, he wakes up everyone else and is about to begin searching for him when he sees him walking back toward the camp, a couple of rabbits in hand.
“Here,” he says as he hands the rabbits to Cassie, “take these further on up the mountain and cook ‘em.”
“But a fire will lead them straight to us,” objects Jiron.
“Exactly,” James says. “We want them to think we’re just a bunch of stupid kids who think they’ve gotten away from them. That we are lulled into a sense of security and are careless enough to light the way for them.”
“There’s a spot another hundred feet up that would be prefect to set up camp,” he tells them.
“What will you be doing?” he asks.
“While the girls are up there alerting them as to which way to come,” he explains, “we’ll be down here setting up several nasty surprises for them.”
“Surprises?” Delia asks.
“Yeah,” he replies, “surprises.” He points down the way they came last night and says, “We inadvertently followed a game trail up the mountain and I’m betting they’ll follow it too. Especially when they see the smoke from the fire.”
“What should we do?” Cassie asks.
“You and Delia go up the mountain and begin cooking the rabbits,” he says. He then points to Jiron, “You stay with me.” To Tinok he says, “You need to stay with the girls in case anyone gets past us.”
Tinok nods his head in agreement though he’s dismayed about missing the fun.
“Save some for me and James,” Jiron says, indicating the rabbits.
“We’ll see,” Tinok says, a grin playing across his face.
As Tinok and the girls begin to head up the mountain, James and Jiron start setting up the surprises. “Just what do you have in mind?” Jiron asks him.
“Well, you see…” he then explains what he plans to do as they make their way down the trail.
“Here they come,” Jiron says from where they hide behind a fallen log. The first man can be seen coming up the trail below them. “They’re following the trail just as you figured.”
“I wasn’t sure they would,” admits James. “Though I’m glad I was right.”
“Looks like they brought the whole garrison,” Jiron observes as more and more men come into view.
“Hope so,” James says, “can’t afford to miss even one.”
“You’re a bloodthirsty one, aren’t you?” Jiron asks.
James turns to him and says, “I don’t like killing, to me it’s just a waste. But if I have to, then I want to make it so they’ll never trouble me again.”
“See your point,” he says.
They watch as the men proceed further up the trail. “You ready?” James asks him.
“Yeah,” he replies with a grin, “let’s do it.”
They stand up from behind the log as James throws two stones in quick succession, killing two of the forward soldiers.
Then they yell as if scared, “Run!” and turn to race back up the trail, the soldiers immediately follow in hot pursuit.
They don’t run too far before they come to an area where the trees and plants all look like they’re wilting, dying. They continue on until they are back into the healthier part of the forest, then abruptly stop and turn to face the oncoming soldiers.
Their pursuers are following the trail for the most part, though some have fanned out into the forest alongside the trail. “We’re not going to get all of them,” Jiron says.
“Perhaps,” James agrees, “but hopefully we’ve planned well enough for that.”
They watch as the soldiers begin to enter the wilted area as they race to reach James and Jiron. When the men in the front nears the end of the wilted area James shouts, “Walls!”
Six foot high walls of force spring up around the men in the wilted area, boxing them in. The men in front run full force into the forward wall of force, coming to an abrupt halt as if they’d run into a brick wall. The men are confused at first and then panic sets in. James can see the officer who locked them up near the back of the men trapped within the invisible walls. He’s trying to keep his men under control but the fear of being entrapped by invisible walls overrides whatever discipline he’s trying to establish.
Jiron watches the men trapped inside, hitting on the invisible walls with their hands and weapons in an attempt to break free. He can hear their screams of terror.
“Shut!” James shouts and the walls slam together, pulping the men inside, abruptly silencing their cries. He can hear Jiron next to him exclaim, “Good god!”
“We haven’t gotten all of them,” James says, indicating over a dozen men, standing stunned over the fate of their comrades on the trail.
James takes out another stone and begins to head back down the trail toward the soldiers, Jiron beside him.
When the remaining soldiers see them coming forward, the men lose heart and turn to flee back down the mountain. Letting fly his stone, James takes out another one. Again and again, he lets fly with stones, striking one after another.
When the remaining men reach a certain tree with a cloth that he tied to it earlier, he says, “Fire!”
Fire erupts from the ground in a circle over a hundred feet across. The fleeing men scream as it burns and consumes them. The trees in the area burst into flame as the dry leaves and needles crackle as they catch fire. The wind coming up the mountain begins to blow sparks from tree to tree, spreading the fire rapidly.
“Crap!” James exclaims, as he sees the fire beginning to burn out of control.
“What?” Jiron asks.
“The fire!” he says, pointing to the blaze. “The wind is going to push it this way! We’ve got to get out of here!”
As they turn to race up the mountain, Jiron asks, “Do you think we got everyone?”
“I think so,” James says, “no way to be sure now. At least the fire will hide the evidence of what we did here.” Smoke is beginning to thicken as more and more of the forest becomes ablaze.
“Let’s get the others and find a way around the fire!” James yells.
They hurry up the mountain and before they reach the camp, they see Tinok and the girls coming down to meet them.
“What’s happening?” Tinok says, as he gazes down the now thickening smoke.
“James set the forest afire,” Jiron tells him.
“What?” Tinok exclaims. “Why did you do that?”
“Didn’t mean to,” admits James, “it just sort of happened. Anyway, we have to get out of here before we’re cooked alive.”
James heads them southeast since the wind is blowing from the east. Running as fast as the forest will allow, they move laterally along the mountainside, trying desperately to gain the far side of the fire before it cuts them off.
Smoke is thick and he can hear the others begin to cough as the smoke in the air thickens. In her haste, Cassie snags an exposed root with her foot and stumbles, falling to the ground. Her screams bring the others to a halt as she rolls down the mountainside, closer to the approaching fire. She comes to a stop amidst a tangle of undergrowth and fallen branches.
“Help me!” she cries out when she realizes she’s stuck within the tangled mess and the fire is quickly approaching her.
Tinok bolts down the mountainside after her and quickly reaches her side. “I’m here,” he assures her as he begins pulling back the brush which has her trapped. The fire is burning closer and a tree no more than ten feet away suddenly bursts into flame.
“Hurry!” she urges, her eyes on the tree being engulfed by the fire. At last he manages to free her and helps
