Monu stumbled over the rocky ground, his permanently twisted foot catching in a grassy patch. The air was filled with the stink of the red-men's firesticks. His mama shouted words at him, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. The baby screamed in her arms, flailing about like a wounded dorak. He was a healthy baby, unafflicted by the lungrot and the deformity that kept Monu back from racing with the other boys. Now the other boys were fighting, while Monu ran.
Booms echoed through the stone basin like a dozen thunder claps. Light flashed. People screamed. Monu ran.
"Through the pass," Mama said. Monu complied, limping through a narrow crack in the cliff-face. The baby's crying sounded louder in here. Maybe if Monu hit him then he'd shut up. Monu immediately felt guilt. It was just the three of them now. Papa was dead, a hole in his neck from a soldier's firestick.
The crack in the cliff grew tighter, blocking out the light from the afternoon sun. Monu slowed so his foot didn't catch on the walls. His breathing was noisy, whistling from the lungrot. Mama urged him on. The baby's screams pounded in his ears.
The cracks of the firesticks grew fainter as they hurried through the pass. He couldn't smell the fire and stink of sulfur now. Their home would be ashes by now, along with the rest of the village. Monu had just enough time to see the red-men set it alight before one of them turned a firestick on him. It had only been the intervention of one of the elders that had saved Monu. An intervention that saw the elder burned along with the long-house.
Monu emerged from the crack into glaring sunlight. His chest felt like someone was sitting on it. Mama stopped short behind him. It took him a moment to see what they were staring at.
"Halt," the red-man said in Osish, raising his firestick. It was just the one, standing on a rocky outcrop to their left. His face was hidden behind a mask, a tube running down from where his mouth should be. He stared at Monu, dead eyes behind glass.
Fear flowed through Monu's bones. He backed away on trembling legs. The red-man's noisy breathing was the only sound he could hear. Even the baby had gone quiet.
The red-man turned and yelled something in his own language. The crunching of boots on gravel answered him.
Mama thrust the baby into Monu's arms. He was heavier than Monu remembered. Monu hefted him up as Mama stepped between them and the red-man.
"Please," Mama said, raising an arm toward the soldier. "Please, don't hurt them."
Two more red-men jogged up behind the first. The three of them stared at Mama, leather uniforms swaying slightly in the breeze.
The baby fidgeted in Monu's arms. Monu continued to back away, whispering nonsense in the baby's ear.
"Down," the first red-man said in his harsh accent. He jerked his firestick towards Mama.
Mama began to slowly get down onto her knees. Monu stepped forward, but she waved him back. Her other hand snaked across the ground.
The baby started squirming again. His eyes were fixed on Mama. Tears welled in his eyes.
"Shhh," Monu whispered. He backed into a hollow in the cliff-face.
The red-men marched towards Mama, their firesticks held easy now. One of them glanced over at Monu, but the others ignored him. They stopped in a loose semi-circle around Mama and began talking in their language. Their laughter sounded hollow coming from their masks.
One of the red-men grabbed Mama's tunic and shoved her into the ground. She grunted as the wind was knocked out of her.
"Mama!" Monu yelled. The baby began screaming again.
Another red-man jerked his firestick at Monu. "Come."
"No," Mama said, her voice muffled as her face was shoved against the rock. "Please, let them go."
The red-man laughed and stalked towards Monu.
Mama rolled over. Her lip was bleeding. "Monu." She spoke quickly, too quickly for the red-men to understand. "The baby, his name is Khun."
Monu bit his lip. The baby shouldn't be named yet. It wasn't his Breaking Day for two more years.
The red-man reached his gloved hand toward Monu. Mama's hand wrapped itself around a large rock. Monu understood.
"Mama, no!"
Mama smashed the rock down on her hand. Monu could hear the bones cracked. For a second, Mama's face contorted in pain. Then it was calm. No, not calm. Angry.
Mama thrust her mangled hand towards the red-man near Monu. The others brought up their firesticks, but not quick enough. With the crack of stone breaking, the earth erupted around the red-man. He was thrust backwards, twisting as an invisible wave hit him. Monu covered his face as stone chips shot through the air. The red-man hit the cliff-face with a crack. Blood spilled from the sides of his mask.
The other two red-men were shouting in their guttural tones. One aimed his firestick at Mama. Mama spun towards him and he flew sideways, the weapon ripped from his hands.
Monu dashed forwards, but something pressed against him. Mama was holding him. The baby--no, Khun--thrashed against Monu's tight grasp.
"Flee!" Mama yelled. A force pressed against Monu, shoving him away from Mama.
The remaining red-man drove the butt of his firestick into Mama's stomach. She doubled over, gasping. The pressure on Monu lessened for an instant, then she turned towards him and it returned.
The red-man pressed the barrel of his firestick against Mama's head. His eyes were angry behind the mask. Mama didn't look at him. She stared at Monu. Monu understood. He turned and ran.
The red-man yelled something, but Monu didn't turn back. Tears streamed down his face. He plunged into the cover of another crack in the rock. It was a labyrinth here. It would take the red-men hours to find him.
Monu tried to block out the sound of the single bang from the red-man's firestick.
He limped along, cursing his twisted foot. The baby still screamed. Just the two of them now. Just the two of them.
Khun. A child was named for the first thing his parents saw after his first Breaking. Monu didn't know much Old Osish, but he knew enough to recognise this name.
Khun. Destruction.
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Thanks,
C. R. Hindmarsh
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