Winter's Fist by Patricia Renard Scholes

Author:Patricia Renard Scholes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Patricia Renard Scholes
Published: 2018-05-26T00:00:00+00:00

11

After the Nevians left, we returned to the village to search for any stragglers. We found no one on our first pass through. On our second, we found Zed; rather, he found us.

“Follow me,” he said.

He led us under a massive rock overhang where a group of about fifty survivors huddled together trying to keep warm.

“We almost didn’t listen to her,” Zed said as Takiri stepped forward.

“I wanted to forget everything after the Nevians destroyed my home, my family and my village. For a time, I even blocked out winter,” the little girl explained. “But the blizzard reminded me. I remembered how Daddy snuggled us together at night under heavy blankets. Mama wove that wool each winter into cloth that she made into heavy clothing as well as blankets. I remembered that I loved snow. I also remembered how dangerous it can be, for Zed’s village too too. I just couldn’t leave them.”

This winter, with no home or siblings, she realized she needed to find a way to stay warm, or she would die. Winters never forgave. No matter their reluctance, the village took her in. They, too, faced a winter without shelter or warmth, unless the Nevians found them. Except for curious glances at the little girl, no one seemed to mind when she appeared.

“I looked for Zed,” she said.

He nodded. “She told me that if we wanted to rebuild the village, we needed to do it somewhere else, because by tomorrow the Nevians would return. You had said the same thing, so I listened.”

His voice broke. “We didn’t have even that long. We heard the thrum of their engines as they approached. That gave us precious little time to gather very much in the way of supplies.” He glanced at Takiri. “When she asked us to follow her, we did. We were too shocked not to.” He gave her a grateful smile. “I don’t know how she did it, but she rescued sixty-three of us that day.”

One of the men spoke up. “All Zed told us was, ‘Let’s get out of here; our little orphan has one unique ability. She can hide our escape.’” His eyes looked haunted. “Not everyone listened.

“My parents refused. My best friend...” He swallowed. “I led them to this outcropping,” Zed said. “We hoped you’d return for her. She told us you would, but because of the way my father treated you, none of us really believed it.”

I studied the survivors hunkered down under the overhang. They faced the coming winter with little more than the clothes on their backs.

“And so we turn our lives over to these children,” a man from the back protested.

“Shut it, Murr,” a woman countered.

“It is sad, though,” another woman said. “The adults should be protecting the children. Yet it’s these two children, Zed and Takiri, who had the foresight to rescue us.”

“Not important,” I told her. “What’s important is that we begin getting together what we need to keep all of you alive. Takiri can keep you hidden when you leave the overhang.

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