The First Vision

Ehawee looks around in all directions, trying to discover the source of the feeling that she is being watched. "Hello?" she calls out, trying to sound friendly.

The wood is deathly silent in answer. She doesn't hear a sound until a twig snaps off to her left. She turns quickly in that direction while moving closer to one of the trees, just in case she has to jump to safety. She sees a pair of glowing red eyes, staring at her from the wood. This makes her distinctly uneasy. She begins trying to grow her nails into claws, so that she'll be able to grip the tree better if she has to flee up it, watching the eyes nervously. This sweat lodge experience isn't going like she thought it would. "Are you my spirit guide?" she asks, hopefully.

She gets a growl in response and her nails refuse to grow. A chill goes through her as she realizes that she is naked and defenseless. As she watches the eyes, another pair join it. Then another. And another...

Since she was able to float when she left the sweat lodge, Ehawee tries to do so again, but her feet refuse to leave the ground. She begins checking out the nearby trees to see which look the most climbable, but every time she looks up into a tree it's as if the branches grow away from her. She studies the eyes again, trying to gage how big the creatures are from how close together they are. From the spacing of the eyes, she can tell the creatures are at least wolf-sized. Then she hears rustling in that direction. Resigning herself to the fact that she's not going to be allowed to leave, she moves away from the tree she'd been lurking near, standing tall and trying to look brave. She gazes steadily at the many eyes. "What do you want of me?"

The eyes move closer and resolve into the shapes of great dogs. Ehawee has never seen dogs so big, or colored like these. They are as white as snow with red eyes and ears. As they continue growling at her, there is a strange sound in the distance. She's never heard anything like it before. She knows only that the sound, whatever it is, frightens her badly.

Ehawee begins slowly backing away from the dogs, then turns and begins running away from the direction of the sound as fast as she can, glancing over her shoulder to see if the dogs are pursuing her. They are. They set up a terrible baying, which the sound answers, and Ehawee can feel the ground begin to tremble under thunderous hoof beats. The dogs nip at her heals as she runs, which only encourages her to run faster, looking frantically around for someplace that the dogs can't reach.

Spotting a lone, tall boulder in a small clearing ahead, Ehawee sprints forward and scrambles up it as fast as she can manage, adrenaline giving her strength she never thought she had. She lies flat on the rock, gasping for air, her heart hammering loudly in her chest, while the hounds mill about the base of the rock, baying their frustration. Over the din, Ehawee can still hear the pounding of hooves, drawing ever nearer, and soon she begins to see a dark shape looming in the distant trees. It draws nearer as the sound of the hoof beats do. Ehawee stands and moves to the very center of the boulder, hoping to at least make it harder for the rider or riders to reach her. She looks around her for some small rocks to use as weapons, but finds nothing.

Standing still in the center of the boulder, Ehawee sees the rider approach. He is astride an enormous horse, larger than she has ever seen. He is also encased in white metal, from neck to toe. A great hawk sits placidly on his arm. But his face! She knows him! It is Kohana! There is little expression on his unscarred face. He motions with his arm and the hawk takes flight. He then picks up a strange-looking weapon, like a gun and a bow combined. He nonchalantly aims it at her chest. This surprises Ehawee. "Kohana," she exclaims, "why are you doing this? Don't you recognize me?"

Ehawee stands ready to try to dodge to one side, should Kohana choose to shoot her rather than answer her. There is a click, and a small arrow flies at her faster than any she has ever seen before. She makes a desperate dodge, and the small arrow buries itself into her left arm just below her shoulder, shattering the bone. She cries out at the unexpected pain and clasps her left arm against her side with her right hand. She looks into Kohana's eyes in confusion, trying to understand why he's trying to kill her. "Kohana, why are you hunting me? What have I done?"

Kohana begins to reload and Ehawee launches herself at him, trying to get the weapon out of his hand. She slams into him, bruising her ribs against the strange weapon, and Kohana lurches dangerously, dragging the horse's head sharply to one side. The horse goes down, pinning Kohana and Ehawee underneath it. Ehawee feels her right leg snap under the horse's weight, and inhales sharply at the pain. Then the horse rolls to its feet, causing her a new wave of pain. The scene around her spins, and when she can focus again, Kohana has rolled away from her and is regaining his feet. He draws a long shaft of metal, like she's heard that the soldier leaders have. She sees the bow-gun lying about two feet away from her, but doesn't see any of its little arrows. She grabs it anyway as Kohana begins walking toward her, and tries to get to her feet, leaning back against the rock. She holds the bow-gun in her good hand, hoping she can use it to knock away the sharp metal, maybe even deflect it enough to one side so that he hits the rock with it and breaks it. She's given up asking why at this point. Now she just wants to survive. Unfortunately, as she tries to get to her feet, her broken leg gives way on her, returning her to the forest floor. Kohana stops, watching her, as if he's trying to remember something. She tries to meet his eyes again, desperately hoping. "Please, Kohana, it's me, Ehawee. You must remember me."

His frown deepens. "You are my enemy, sent from far away to destroy me. I must kill you first." He raises the metal shaft.

Ehawee readies the bow-gun to block, for all the good it will do, not taking her gaze from his face. "I am not your enemy, and I don't want to destroy you. I'm your wife. Look at me. Look into my eyes. You said you saw your own spirit there, remember?"

Kohana stares at her. The dogs mill about and whine. "Wife?... I...have no...wife," he says haltingly.

"Yes, you do," Ehawee insists, her eyes still on his, some small hope beginning to rise inside of her. "Deep within you, you know it too. You gave me a beautiful pony as a marriage gift. She's as fast as the wind. Think, Kohana. You must remember."

"The pony..." he says, as the metal shaft lowers to the ground. "Ehawee?"

Her eyes light up. "Yes! You remember me! Oh Kohana, what happened to you?"

The metal shaft clatters to the ground and Kohana puts a hand to his forehead. The scenery swirls around Ehawee, and she finds herself crouched in the mist, her wounds gone, with Kohana standing naked and scarred before her. In the back of her mind, it occurs to her to wonder if her scar was gone in that other place too. She gets to her feet and throws her arms around Kohana, not caring for the moment that neither of them is wearing any clothing. "Are you all right?" she asks after a few moments.

He holds her fiercely tight. "I'm so sorry," he says quietly. "It...it didn't look like you at all."

She looks both surprised and relieved. "What did I look like, then? You looked like you, only different. You were encased in white metal, from neck to toe, and you had such a strange weapon... But it was your face. That's how I knew it was you." She continues to hold onto him, half afraid that he'll disappear if she lets go.

"You...you were a great monster with horns and hard skin and burning eyes, but I was not afraid of you..." He trembles under her arms. "I...almost killed you. I'm so sorry."

She holds him tighter. "It wasn't your fault. You weren't seeing clearly. Something was clouding your mind. Why else would you say that you had no wife?" She shivers slightly. "What does it all mean? Is this what normally happens in a sweat lodge?"

He moves the hair from her face tenderly. "Visions are common, but I've never had one frighten me so. I...I've never had a sweat lodge with a spirit woman before..."

Suddenly, Kohana and the mist begin to fade and Ehawee feels herself floating again.

"Deadwood"
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All text on this page is © 2000 by Kris Fazzari.

Last modified on December 31, 2000 by Kris Fazzari.