Josiah

The bear made hiking up the mountain look like a leisurely stroll. Its body aided it in travel by wrapping its vines onto trees and rocks to pull it up the steep slopes.

Josiah did not have such help. He struggled to keep pace with the other Touched. He could tell she was testing his strength. Her constant looks and huffs expressed her frustration with his slow climb.

The mountain was lush. Many trees still held their vibrant green needles. The ground was covered in a blanket of brown and yellow wet leaves. It looked like a red rushing wave.

It was easy for Josiah to get caught in the beauty. No trails or markings tainted the mountain. He would surely get lost if Ari wasn’t there to guide him.

She was guiding him up the trail. But she seemed tense. Like she was watching out for something. She would path out a way for Josiah and then disappear for minutes. Finally to return and lead him farther up the mountain.

Josiah: “We can’t possibly have more to travel”. The bear didn’t reply. He knew they could communicate, but he hadn’t figured out how just yet.

She huffed again and continued to climb. It was many hours before they made it. Josiah hoped that Sedgeband could handle the group while he was gone. In the back of his mind, he knew they were fine. He just wanted to be there to make sure.

Josiah panted and crouched on his knees. Ari nudged his shoulder with a vine and the two walked a few minutes to a stream. They both buried their faces in the trickling water and drank. It would be a bizarre view for an outsider. A man and a bear, drinking from the same stream. Josiah looked up at Ari, he knew her name but didn’t know how.

The mountain was now sparse of trees. Only bushes dotted in between the cracks of exposed stone. The tree line was close by, but behind them by many paces. The air was pure. It bit at Josiah’s nose and fingers. His sweaty tunic now clung to his body, seeping the warmth from his skin into vapor in the air.

They turned back to where they landed before. Ari brought him into the mouth of a cave. It was another few minutes upward of where they stopped to rest. She kept turning to look behind them as they got closer. It was dark. But Josiah could immediately smell a horrible rot. It was worse than any smell that came from his surgical tent. She motioned him further to the smell.

There he saw a large bear skeleton in a pile at the back of the cave. In front of it rested three grey and white bodies, each no bigger than a human foot. The four lay in the cave. He understood now.

Ari huffed and whimpered to Josiah. She even growled lowly at times. She was in pain. He knew her pain. He could tell how nervous she was.

Josiah touched her stony shoulder, he was confident he wouldn’t take her life, as he could feel no pulse from the rock. The two were connected. His hand, which had small nubs of bone poking out of it, rested on her rough and sharp body. He felt her pain.

It was hard to bring back his memory, but he pressed his hand on her and he forced the image of his daughter Soffi to Ari. She winced at his touches at first, but embraced them when she felt his connection. He pressed so hard the rock split his hand open in several places.

He saw her eyes widen. She turned and began licking his face. Her whimpers echoed in the cave.

He looked at her.

Josiah: “I’ll put them to rest. You won’t have to worry anymore”.

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The two left the cave because of the smell. They sat near a cliff ledge. It looked over the entire valley. He saw a large ocean of pine trees. North was a large lake that spanned the entire width of the valley. At the edge of his view, he could see the other mountain range that encased the eastern side of the valley. The sky was so open; nothing but clouds and sun.

Josiah: “Your father was Touched too?” he said holding onto one of her vines. It allowed them to pass information and “speak” to one another.

Ari: “Yes, on his arms. He would turn humans to stone. The statues are all over the forest”.

Josiah: “Amazing, I haven’t seen any, but I’m sure their facial expressions bring your people pride”.

Ari: “They do indeed. Most are near my home of Mathan. It lies up the valley in its center”.

Josiah: “I thought this was Mathan Valley?”.

Ari: “It is. I am from Clan Mathan. We now rule the valley. So it bares our name”.

The two sat for a moment as a cold breeze moved over them. Josiah looked over and noticed Ari kept looking around behind them.

Josiah: “What’s the matter?”.

Ari: “Humans are not welcome in Mathan. We are at risk for you being here”.

Josiah: “We can leave. We do not have to bury the dead here. Your god could use the flesh to feed the wolves”.

Ari: “You must stay. You have a purpose here. But we must be vigilant”.

Josiah: “What do you want me to do?”. He broke his gaze from the breathtaking view and looked at Ari.

Ari: “Give them honor in their death”. She tightened the grip of her vine on his arm.

Josiah: “I can do that for you”.

He was tired and felt like he’d been chiseling all day. His arms, touched or not, could not chip another pebble. Ari came to check on him finally. He was glad to see her and put in his day’s work.

Ari seemed to appreciate his work. She licked his face dry. He was happy to see her happy. No one should see their loved one’s rot alone. Not even a bear.

He told her he would finish the carving in the next few days. It would take time. She insisted he had to hurry. Her “people” didn’t like them being in the forest.

She guided him down the mountain before nightfall. There she stayed in the forest and said she would look after them.

Josiah: “Take care”.

He strolled out from the tree line. He could see campfires in the distance. He could hear yelling from the camp. It was too dark to see anything.

Sedgeband: “You made it! We thought you were a gonnah”. He and many other men patted Josiah on the back in greeting, making sure to avoid his arms.

The camp was set up in a plus symbol, with a large fire in the center. Their tents were set up at each cardinal direction spreading from the fire, making four distinct walking paths into the camp. He was proud the men had been utilizing their training. Maybe all those weeks of preparation weren’t for not.

He sat by the campfire on the side of a saddle. The green and white tents of Willowood surrounded them in a perfect square. The fire had dozens of sticks holding sizzling plucked crows. The soldiers explained how they threw the stones they collected for headstones at the murder of crows. They said it was quite fun.

After eating and more laughing Sedgeband took Josiah aside.

Sedgeband: “A few men spotted them black bears in the woods. Live ones, watching them. They seemed to be fraid of our spears. A bit lucky if ya ask me?”.

Josiah: “I met the protector of the forest. A Touched. She will protect us in the night. But I’m to help her first light. So be on guard”.

The old man looked at Josiah with arched brows.

Sedgeband: “Yer working with another Touched?” I’ve never seen one of yous till last week, now three have been round me”. He looked in awe.

Josiah: “She’s nothing like Hagar. What did you get gone while I was away?”.

Sedgeband: “A lot, cleared the woods of all them bodies. Think we got ‘em all. At least, we can’t hear no more crows other than the ones here”.

Josiah: “Did you pile the bears?”.

Sedgeband: “Yessir. Gottem in a tent to ward off them birds. Smells worse than our old barracks after a day of training in the sun”.

Josiah: “Good. We’ll bury them after the clouds”.

Sedgeband: “Ya sure. Rather not let wolves take ‘em?”.

Josiah: “They fought, just like the Black Clouds did. They deserve the same burial”.

Resting in the crowded tent at night, Josiah lay awake. His mind was racing. He had never carved stone in his life. But today was an insane creation. He knew exactly which angle to chip, and how much force to drive into the stone. His power was growing. He could feel the bones in his arms were harder. They surely would have snapped from this chiseling today. But they sang like a wind chime.

That bear. She was complicated. Her emotions toiled and writhed. She had lost so much. Josiah was glad they were able to speak to each other. He never even considered an animal to have such complexity inside. It made him feel terrible to see those crows over the fire. With each bite, he wondered how the crow’s family would never see it again. He wished the Tombfather was here again, to cry for him.