Chindi by Timothy Bryan

Author:Timothy Bryan [Bryan, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hewlett-Packard
Published: 2021-09-07T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Breathing hard, Crook stumbles to a copse of trees looming in the night ahead. Loraine and the troopers are hidden there, crouched in the brush and branches amidst dark tree trunks.

Nayeli and Hakan are nowhere to be seen.

“They went to scout the path to the mountain,” says Loraine, answering Crook’s curious look.

As he catches his breath, Crook and the remaining soldiers glance back to Fort Hollenbush. Their mortified faces stare upon complete devastation, as flames shoot from behind the walls and smoke billows from multiple points within. Distantly, the echo of demonic wails continues from deep inside, but no devil is visible from their current vantage point.

Backlit by the pale night and burgeoning flames, the skyline is remote and eerie. The soldiers gulp in loss at the destruction of the structures and the people inside. For some time, nobody says anything, and each processes the death of friends and comrades. Their teary eyes reflect on the rampaging fire, scanning the destruction with a detached sense of mourning.

Abruptly, Nayeli emerges from the darkness behind them, staying remarkably quiet and crouch-walking among the bushes. Nodding, Crook moves to her.

Pondering, Crook calculates the possible directions of their next travel. He sighs and stares directly at Nayeli, looking for a hopeful answer.

“Does Hakan know the best route to proceed to the burial ground?” Crook asks, wiping his eyes as he looks to the west. “We must choose carefully how we journey from this point forward. One mistake, and our fate is sealed.”

Crook gestures back with a flick of his head toward the burning fort.

Nayeli nods, gesturing in the same direction Crook is facing.

“It take several hours to get to the best point for deciding, Crook,” says Nayeli. “But we must go now, before Chindi knows we escape.”

Crook considers her answer, first looking at his men, and then to the dark shrubs that dot the hilly landscape to the west. Before he can agree, Loraine creeps close and crouches near Nayeli.

“Lieutenant, we just lost our friends, home…-everything,” whispers Loraine. “Now you want to follow the Indians, who can snuff the rest of us out? Is that smart?”

Nayeli doesn’t seem bothered by the accusation, but neither is she intimidated.

“All of us will die if we wait, Crook. You decide where we go, but we must go now,” Nayeli says.

From far ahead, the screech of a bird comes from another set of trees. Nayeli nods toward it, looking concerned.

“It is Father. He says the way is clear,” Nayeli explains.

Moving his gaze between Nayeli and Loraine, Crook decides quickly, nodding toward Hakan’s bird call with a frown. “Sergeant, get the men moving. We depart in two minutes.” “Don’t let them think about our losses, let them think of our flight from this cursed place. If we stop, we are as dead as the rest.”

Looking doubtful, Loraine nods and spins to the other soldiers. As he moves off, Crook stares again at Nayeli. In the dim moonlight, a brief smile crosses her intense features, then quickly melts away.

****

Under the cloudless night sky, the worn dirt path is remarkably well lit.

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