Earning My Spots by Eastburn Mark;

Author:Eastburn, Mark;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2016-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

FINDING A TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT DIDN’T SOUND easy, and once we found the stretch of unprotected border where Manny claimed he’d crossed with his mom, Manny didn’t seem real clear on directions. Not to me, at least. His “pretty sure” back in Arizona must’ve been an exaggeration. Big time.

“We need to look for lights,” was all he told me. “Anything that might be glowing over the horizon.”

Scanning the starlit expanse of bare rock and sparse vegetation, I hoped we’d find something by dawn. After more than an hour of wandering, it became clear we were lost. Manny must’ve known, too, even though he wouldn’t admit it.

He only said, “None of this looks the same as before.”

“Probably because we’re not in the same spot,” I said. No doubt we’d gone off course.

With a scowl on his face, Manny said, “I’m telling you—this is where we went last time.”

“How can you be so sure?”

A low rumble poured out through Manny’s teeth. He probably didn’t plan on saying anything else, but when he turned to face the barren wilderness, he let out a half roar and leaped back. Something had startled him.

“What is it?” I asked.

“A spider,” he said. “A big one.” All of a sudden, he didn’t sound so tough.

I trotted carefully to where he stood and saw an enormous tarantula. Covered in hair, it had orange-ish joints that stood out brightly in the darkness.

A female voice spoke within me. “Our people honor the spider, whose stories helped us through slavery.” The voice was Queen Ayaba’s again. Had the spirits sent this spider for a reason?

Manny raised a paw to swat it, but before he could let loose, I whooped, “No!”

“Huh?” His paw hung in midair.

“Leave it alone,” I said.

“Let me show you the way,” whispered a faint voice.

Manny’s gaze shot all around. “Who said that?”

“Probably the spider.”

The spider motioned with one arm … or leg … whatever those things were called.

“Go that way,” it said.

Moments later, we came upon an enormous horde of tarantulas crawling out from under every rock in sight.

“Let them guide you,” Queen Ayaba instructed inside my mind.

“Okay,” I answered out loud.

“Okay, what?” asked Manny.

“Nothing,” I said. “Let’s go. We need to follow them.”

Manny hesitated. “Are you sure about this?”

As we watched, the tarantulas formed a path that stretched toward the horizon. Far off in the distance, a semicircle of light arched through the sky.

“Sure about this?” I shot back. “Of course I am.” As Queen Ayaba had promised, the spirits were watching over me.

With a nod at the line formed by thousands upon thousands of tarantulas, Manny asked, “Doesn’t this seem kind of strange?”

“What? The spiders?” I smirked. “No, it’s totally normal. Just look over there,” I told him, flicking my snout in the direction of the dome of light in the distance.

“Must be the town,” he said.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

It took nearly two hours to reach the hills outside the town, and by the time we reached them, I was really thirsty.

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