Grey Eyes (34 page)

55
niyānanomitanaw niyānosāp

T
he next day he continued south, coming after a time upon a large lake. He followed the rocky shoreline as well as he could. The lake was leading him further to the east than he wanted, but before midday the shores led him back south and west. As he approached the southernmost tip of the lake, he found himself on a high cliff overlooking the lake. Grandfather Sun was high in the sky as it was now mid-afternoon. Little Grey Bear Boy began to worry he had gone too far around the lake and perhaps he should have gone around the western shore instead.

It was then he heard the distant screech of a hawk. He looked up into the sky and towards the west. The hawk was flying over the lake. There was something in its talons but it was too far away for him to tell exactly what it was. Little Grey Bear Boy crouched down so as not to startle his animal brother and watched as the hawk glided over the water and came to its nest high up in a tree on the southern shore. He was able to tell by the ears that the hawk had caught a rabbit. Another hawk was there too, and had perched itself on the nest to be with its mate.

The two hawks began to eat the rabbit, tearing pieces of flesh and dropping them into the nest. Little Grey Bear Boy decided to go in for a closer look.

This was another sign from
Kitchi Manitou
, and Little Grey Bear Boy stayed for a time to watch the hawk family enjoying their meal. He drew out his medicine pouch and took out another wad of tobacco to give thanks for this second sign.

It was now late in the afternoon and Little Grey Bear Boy decided he would try to make up some ground before settling in for the night. He continued south until the light began to fail and managed to find a decent spot for his camp next to a smaller lake. It was quite dark by the time his tent was up. He had pushed himself hard to stay on the path Painted Turtle Man suggested and now he was too tired for a fire. He ate some smoked fish and drank some fresh, cool water from the lake.

He was too exhausted to think about much that evening and decided to save his strength for the third day of his vision quest. He could not help but think about Water Lily Woman as he settled into his tent for the night. He was perplexed about what to do about his feelings for her. How could something so pure create something evil…

That night he had a strange dream. All of the women in his life were walking in a single file. Their gait was slow and steady and too uniform to be natural. He saw his grandmother, his auntie, his mother, Water Lily Woman, the Eagle twins, and all of the matriarchs of
Nisichawayasihk
. At the very end of the row he saw his sister. They were walking with their hands clasped in front of their bodies.

He began to see, in fact, that their hands were tied together and they were being dragged on a rope, one woman linked to another. On approaching them, he saw their eyes had no colour, no pupil—just whites. He tried to speak to them but they ignored him. It was as though their bodies were no more than an empty shell without a spirit inside of them.

He could hear strange voices—men arguing or grumbling about something. He awoke with a start, just past sunrise. He could still hear the voices of the men from his dream. Quietly, he squirmed out of his tent and lowered the poles. He dragged himself on his stomach towards the sound, which came from the lakeshore. What he saw made his heart shudder against the cool ground.

Two warriors wearing plain, unadorned clothing unlike the style of the
Nehiyawak
were walking. Five women walked slowly in a row between them, just like the women in his dream. Their hair was unbraided, loose, and scraggly. Their clothing ragged and dirty. Without quillwork, the leather looked bare and wrong. Their hands were tied in front of their bodies and linked to one another on a rope. The two men held each end of the rope.

“I do not see why they all need to be used for the ceremony…” said the first man. “We spend all this time and effort to capture them. What would be the harm in saving one or two for ourselves?”

“I am not disagreeing with you,” grumbled the other man. “But who will be the one to ask Dark Cloud Man?”

“Not me, that is for certain. Maybe it should be you.”

“
Motch
! I'm no fool…”

Dark Cloud Man? Little Grey Bear Boy's heart was pounding so hard he was worried they would hear it. He had to get a better look at what was going on. He crawled back to his campsite and picked up his medicine bundle and Flying Rabbit Boy's bow and arrows. He would have to leave his tent, bedroll, and food satchel. He moved carefully, as though on the hunt, to stay out of their line of sight.

They followed a path along the lakeshore. The women's gait was slow, steady, and unnaturally uniform, just like in the dream. Whenever they reached a place where some effort was needed to navigate the terrain, the men would push and pull them in whichever direction they wanted them to go. The women said nothing and went where they were forced.

Little Grey Bear Boy tried to get closer to see the women's faces. He needed to know if they were scared, injured, or sick. He knew in his heart something was not right about the scene before him.

At that moment, the two men began to turn in his direction. Little Grey Bear Boy looked down to see he was standing on a worn path. With nowhere to step off between the cliff and the lakeshore, he was trapped. He forced himself to think and feel just as he had when he disappeared in front of Painted Turtle Man. Taking his cousin's bow, he drew an arrow and aimed it at the lead man. He tried to find his breath.

As he was about to take the shot, he felt a vibration in the air. He looked down at his legs and saw they were no longer there.

“Maybe we could get one of the young ones to ask him,” said one of the men.

“Those young ones would not know what to do with a woman, even if he let us!”

The men and their strange women came up the path, arriving at the exact spot where Little Grey Bear Boy had stood only moments ago.

As they came close, he could see their eyelids were painted red. Their expressions were vacant. Soulless.

He followed them most of the day until they arrived at an encampment. Several tents sat around a large, circular lodge. He had never seen this sort of lodge before, though the style resembled the big lodge of the Trader's people.

Little Grey Bear Boy watched as the men led the three women into the large circular building. Warriors were milling about the camp, shouting and cursing, pushing and slapping one another, all of them with their eyelids painted red. Little Grey Bear Boy drew as close to the camp as he dared.

A man emerged from the round lodge. “Gather around!” he ordered. “I have received our instructions from the Red-Eye.”

“WE SERVE THE RED-EYE!” chanted the followers.

“Dark Cloud Man commands we attack in three days.”

The men cheered and whooped.

“Will we be able to keep any of the women for ourselves?” asked one of the men.

“I did not ask him,” snapped the leader.

“It might be a good thing…” offered one of the younger men, grinning.

“I am sure when we are successful, there will be plenty of women for all of us. Dark Cloud Man tells me the Turtle lodge is overflowing with pretty young women.”

“YEEAAAYYY!” shouted the men.

Little Grey Bear Boy thought his heart was going to stop. It was his village they were talking about, he was sure of it. His vision quest was over. He had to get back at once and tell someone what he knew.

A crow landed on the top of the circular lodge and began cawing loudly. The leader looked up at it and nodded. “There is someone here!” he yelled. “Fan out and find him!”

It was time to run.

Little Grey Bear Boy moved to the south as fast as his feet could carry him. He would have to turn northeast to get back to
Nisichawayasihk
. He could hear men yelling behind him but also a barking and growling that did not sound like dogs, but something much worse. Something savage.

He continued south and had gone only a short distance when he ran right into a fast-flowing river. With the blood pounding in his head, he had not heard the rush of moving water. He waded in, looking for a shallow place to cross. The water pushed him hard along the current and everywhere he stepped seemed deeper and deeper.

Something came crashing out of the forest behind him. It was an abnormally large coyote, bigger than a bear. Its eyes were large and wild. Its tongue lolled, and foam dripped from its mouth. Soon three others joined it. They sniffed the ground this way and that, converging on the place where Little Grey Bear Boy had first entered the river. He had to get across. He dove hard into the water and swam as fast as he could. The river's current pushed him along. He went above and below the surface and down river, but was still far from the other side.

The four coyotes, alerted by the splashing, barked and howled along the river bank. They whimpered and yelped whenever they were bumped into the water. Soon, several of the Red-Eyed warriors joined them, firing arrows at Little Grey Bear Boy in the river.

“Find a place to cross!” screamed the leader. The men began to wade into the river in both directions, looking for a place to cross, just as he had. Little Grey Bear Boy swam harder and harder and eventually rode the current to the other side, downstream. He pulled himself out and staggered northeast, toward
Nisichawayasihk
, exhausted, soaking wet, and with a horrible cramp in his side.

Little Grey Bear Boy lumbered along as best he could. Hearing the howling of coyotes to the south, he realized they had found a way across the river. He picked up the pace, ignoring the pain in his side, but he was moving too slow. The barking and growling was getting closer. Soon, they were on his heels.

The bow was heavy. He drew an arrow with great effort. Is this where he would make his stand? Would the people learn of the attack only as they were being attacked? The coyotes reached him, but stopped short, looking at one another and then back at him. They bared their teeth and drooled. The fur on the back of their necks stood up straight. The largest of the four coyotes stepped towards Little Grey Bear Boy and spoke.

“You are a long way from home, Grey-Eye,” it growled.

“Stay back!” shouted Little Grey Bear Boy, pointing his arrow at them.

“You do not command me, pretender. I serve Dark Cloud Man.”

“WE SERVE THE RED-EYE!” shouted the others. The leader barked and leapt towards Little Grey Bear Boy. The boy loosed an arrow and it sank deep into the coyote's shoulder. The coyote yelped and fell over. When it got to its feet and pulled the arrow out with its teeth, Little Grey Bear Boy turned and ran. The other coyotes rushed to their leader, sniffing and licking at him.

As he ran, the boy drew his turtle shell rattle and tried to think of a song that would help him. The fire chant and the water chant were of no use—there was neither fire nor water nearby now. He looked at the dirt and rock beneath his feet as he was running and decided to sing a song dedicated to Mother Earth. Perhaps she could help him.

As the coyotes snapped at his back with their fangs, the earth beneath them rose up. Pillars of dirt and large rocks burst forth from the ground and blocked their path. One of the coyotes ran right into a large boulder and yelped. Another coyote was pitched high into the air and knocked over a tree as he came crashing down. Still, they continued their pursuit, dodging the pillars of earth and trying to gain on the boy.

Little Grey Bear Boy was running out of options. Exhausted, he knew eventually his body would betray him and he would be devoured by the beasts. He hurled himself forward with one last burst of energy, feeling his legs give out from under him.

“
Kitchi Manitou
, protect me!” he cried as he came crashing down. His body slid forward on the dirt, coming to rest in front of a slender pair of silver-skinned feet. The feet belonged to a beautiful woman wearing a long white dress. Her hair was as black as the night sky, her skin luminescent, like the moon. Her eyes were a bright grey—unlike anything he had ever seen before.

The air around him shook with a force he had never known. The coyotes in pursuit stopped abruptly. Her gaze was upon them. Little Grey Bear Boy could see her eyes beginning to glow with a light from within, like the Grandmother Moon. He covered his eyes and felt an intense heat as the four coyotes burst into flames and were destroyed.