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Authors: Sharon M. Draper

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BOOK: Shadows of Caesar's Creek
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“We're right here, Ziggy Grab my hand,” Jerome shouted.

“I can't find you, mon The water is much too deep I can't swim in the dark, mon. Help”

Suddenly Rashawn yelled, “ZIGGY SHUT UP AND STAND UP We're in three feet of water Look”

Silence.

Then Ziggy said softly, “I knew that, mon. I was just trying to see if you had noticed.” He stood up and sloshed through the shallow water to the shore.

Rico, Rashawn, and Jerome laughed in spite of themselves and followed him. Wet and cold, but glad to be safe, they sat on the sand, trying to catch their breath. “We made it,” sighed Rico.

“Let's brush this sand off and head back to camp in a hurry,” said Jerome. “Maybe Noni hasn't noticed that we're gone yet.”

“Sand?” Rashawn said, sounding worried. He picked up handfuls of the soft white sand and let it spill through his fingers. Then he added fearfully,
“There was no sand on the beach we left from. It was rocky, remember?”

“Oh, no” Rico exclaimed. “We've landed on another beach We must have drifted across the lake Now we'll
never
find our way back”

“Well, we can't stay here. We've got to keep moving so we can dry off a little and try to keep warm,” declared Jerome. “Maybe our camp is not too far away.” But he didn't sound very sure.

“Let's go this way,” suggested Rico.

“Through the woods?” asked Rashawn.

“Why not, mon Let's move on” Ziggy led their way into the darkness.

They walked slowly at first, stumbling into trees and each other, bushes scratching their arms and faces. Gradually, though, the moon came from behind the clouds and they were able to make out shapes and shadows in the forest as they walked. But they were wet, cold, scared, and very, very lost.

“I wish I had a flashlight,” Jerome sighed out loud.

“As long as we're wishing, mon, wish for dry clothes and a pizza” Ziggy added.

“I wish we were back home,” Rico said quietly.

“You can't have an adventure at home, Rico Think of this as our manhood ceremony, like the Shawnee boys,” Rashawn suggested as he stumbled over a vine. “The spirits of Caesar and Tecumseh are watching us. They expect us to be brave.”

“I'd rather be brave in the daytime,” Rico complained.

They came to a clearing. A huge log lay across one edge of this break in the thick woods. A large flat rock lay close by. Faint moonlight shone through the trees. Ziggy, Jerome, and Rico sat on the log. Rashawn stretched out on the rock. Jerome scratched his mosquito bites and checked the area for bugs as best he could in the darkness.

“Wish I had some bug spray, too,” he whispered to himself.

“What should we do?” asked Rico.

“Well, we can't stay here. We've got to find our way out,” Jerome replied. “The lake is a big circle. We just walk around it until we find our camp”

“It's a big lake,” Rashawn reminded him. “And we don't even know whether to go right or left.”

“I saw a movie about some kids who were lost in the woods for six weeks,” Rico remembered.

“So what happened in the movie, mon?”

“The kids ate bugs and worms and leaves and stuff until they got rescued.”

“Yucky, mon Even Ziggy doesn't want to eat bugs or worms” Ziggy replied. “Let's get out of here”

“What would Tecumseh have done in this situation?” Rico asked thoughtfully. An owl hooted above him and he jumped.

“Tecumseh wouldn't be lost. He'd know these woods like we know the mall,” Jerome replied.

“I know he wouldn't be scared. He would know how to use his head and find his way,” added Rashawn.

“He'd be scared if he knew he would get in trouble when he got back, like we will, mon,” Ziggy reminded them. “Noni is gonna kill us”

“If a bear doesn't kill us first” exclaimed Rico, who turned with a start at the rustling noise behind them. “Did you hear that?”

“What was that noise?” Jerome whispered.

“A rabbit, maybe?” Rico offered hopefully.

“Or a bear, mon” Ziggy said fearfully.

They heard it again, louder this time, and closer. They could hear it moving through the crunchy leaves. It seemed to be running right toward them

“Maybe it's a lion or tiger, like you said, Ziggy,” Jerome joked weakly.

“That's not funny” Rico shouted as they started to run away from the noise.

“No, mon, I think it really
is
a bear. But whatever it is, here it comes” Ziggy cried out.

The four boys screamed and started running wildly into the night.

TERRIFIED OF THE HUGE BLACK BEAR THEY WERE
sure was following them, the four boys crashed noisily through the woods. Ziggy, usually the slowest because he liked to act silly, was in front this time. The night breeze chilled his wet, sticky clothes, which stuck to his body as he ran, but he didn't even notice. He was too intent on outrunning the bear. Rico, close behind Ziggy, tripped over a small branch and fell forward, bumping into Ziggy in the darkness.

Ziggy yelled over his shoulder, “You all right, mon?”

Gasping for breath, Rico panted, “Yeah, I'm okay, just keep running I think it's getting closer”

Jerome and Rashawn, just a little behind Rico, yelled ahead, “We can hear the bear It's gonna get us Run”

Rico yelled to the others, “Find a tree and climb it It's our only hope of escape”

With large, gasping breaths, Ziggy replied, “Don't you know that bears can climb trees too, mon? Just run”

Jerome knew that bugs were biting his bare legs, which were cut and scratched from the bushes and briars. “I wish I knew where the camp was,” he complained as he ran.

“We're good and lost” gasped Jerome. “Plus I think we're going to be dinner for that bear”

The noise in the bushes behind them got louder and closer. The animal had tracked them and was only a few feet behind them. It was just a matter of time.

Ziggy broke a speed record. He ignored branches and scratches; he didn't know where he was heading
anymore. In the moonlight he could see the shadows of the trees ahead. He ran for the tree straight in front of him, hoping to try to climb it, hoping this bear didn't know it was supposed to be able to climb up after him.

Suddenly the tree moved Standing straight and tall in front of him now were the shadows of two trees—and one of them was moving toward him.

Ziggy screamed and tried to turn, but the branches of the tall tree-shadow reached out and grabbed his wrist. Then the tree spoke to him in a powerful voice. “Where are you going in such a hurry in the middle of the night?”

By this time Rico, Rashawn, and Jerome had reached Ziggy and stopped, panting and gasping, almost too tired to scream. “Help” breathed Rico. “A bear is chasing us”

The shadows of the clouds moved from the moon, and for a moment the boys could see clearly. It was not a tree that held the trembling Ziggy, but a man, tall and strong. “I see no bear,” he said quietly. “And all I hear is the silence of the night, that is,
now that you young men are quiet. Even my ancestors could hear all that noise you were making from miles away,” he said with a chuckle.

The four friends looked at one another in amazement. The night was dark, the breeze was cool, and all was silent except for the forest voices of the night.

“Who are you?” Jerome wanted to know as the man gently released Ziggy's wrists.

The man did not reply immediately, but for some reason the boys felt no threat from him.

“Where are we?” Now that the immediate danger seemed to be over, and Rashawn had started breathing normally again, he was ready to find out.

“Can you get us back to our camp?” asked Rico. “We're in big trouble.”

“What happened to the bear, mon?” Ziggy asked finally. At that moment a large raccoon waddled slowly into the clearing. It glanced at the strange group that was disturbing its night and moved on into the forest.

“Our bear was a
raccoon
?” Rico said in disbelief. “If I wasn't so scared, that would be funny”

“Maybe it was
makwa
, the bear, my young friend, and maybe not. Perhaps because of your fear of the darkness and your lack of knowledge about the
forest, the night spirits let you
think
you heard a bear. Perhaps it was only your own fear that was chasing you.”

“Could be, mon,” replied Ziggy thoughtfully. “We were pretty scared.”

“We're on a campout. Can you help us get back?” asked Rico, who worried enough for the four of them.

“I know that campground; it is on the other side of the lake. How did you get here?” the stranger asked.

“We found a canoe. We wanted to try a night challenge—like Shawnee boys. At first it was fun, but then the canoe started floating away, so we jumped in, and then we couldn't get back because all we had for paddles were a board and an umbrella, then our canoe turned over, and we got wet, then we were really lost and got scared and started running—and we ran into you” explained Rico all in one breath.

“You never told us who you were, mon,” said Ziggy quietly.

The stranger smiled. “My name is Hawk. Come, young friends. Let me give you food and rest. The journey back is long without a canoe, and
Keelswah
, the morning sun, will soon erase the shadows of the night. I will take you safely back to your camp.”

They followed the tall, quiet stranger down a path of soft pine needles to a rough lean-to built of branches and bark. It stood close to a rock wall. A small fire burned quietly, barely disturbing the darkness; the smell of a savory soup greeted the boys, who suddenly realized just how tired and hungry they really were. From a leather bag Hawk brought out four clay bowls, which he filled with the soup and handed to each boy. He had two blankets, so he put one around Rico and Rashawn, and one around Jerome and Ziggy.

Hawk sat on a log, chuckling, watching the four boys drink the warm soup with satisfied slurps. He knew that the appetite of the young was deep as a valley, so he refilled their bowls several times. He
then showed them how to rinse their bowls in a stream that the boys had not even noticed, and they drank the cold, sweet water until they were filled.

Ziggy burped, and everyone laughed. “Excuse me, mon,” he said, cheerful once again. “That was a delicious meal. Even my mum couldn't beat that. Many thanks My name is Ziggy”

“And I'm Rico. You're a good cook. Thanks for the blankets, too. Are we far from our camp?”

“My name is Jerome,” added Jerome as he offered his hand to Hawk. “Thanks for saving us.”

“My name is Rashawn. You saved our lives Do you live in these woods?”

“I only saved you from the shadows. The sunlight would have made your journey less frightening. And no, I don't live here. I love these woods—sometimes I need to feel close to the earth and I walk and camp alone for a day or two.”

“Are you an Indian, mon?” Ziggy finally blurted out.

“Yes, I am,” Hawk replied with quiet dignity. “I am Shawnee.”

“You can't be You wear glasses Indians don't wear glasses” argued Rico.

Hawk chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Jerome looked confused. “When I did my report on Indians last year, my history book said that there were no more Shawnee left in Ohio,” he said. “I remember, because I wondered what had happened.”

“History books do not always speak the whole truth, my son,” said Hawk with a sigh. “There is much that is not said as well. Let me tell you a story.”

Jerome and Rashawn sat cross-legged on the soft pine-needle floor of the lean-to, their backs against the warm stone wall. Rico and Ziggy sat close to the
fire, intent on Hawk's bright, piercing eyes and wise, warm face. His hair, which was black mixed with gray, was long and tied back with a leather string. He wore dark jeans, a brown shirt, and glasses. Around his neck was a leather thong from which hung a small leather pouch. Hawk's voice was low but strong as he began his tale.

BOOK: Shadows of Caesar's Creek
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