Part 40: Dream Within A Dream

Main story folder & table of contents: "Escape From Manitou Island" 
Previous chapter: "Part 39: Fireside Chats" 

PART FORTY:
Dream Within A Dream

WINTER BORN TILTED her head to the side, chewing gummily on her marshmallows and giving Charmian a curious look.

"Eera-koy?" she echoed, and licked chocolate from her fingers.

Charmian nodded and stared miserably at the fire. "They're another tribe," she tried to explain. "Several tribes...they aren't friendly with the people the Islanders descended from. A group of them came to the Island the last time I was there, in fact, and tried taking it over, but Augwak was too busy at the time doing his thing, and they kind of got sidetracked. I think that's actually the only reason why they DIDN'T take over!"

"They live in the east?" Winter Born asked.

Charmian nodded again. "In New York State...at least, that's what my history books taught me...they keep saying Wabun lives far to the east...well, how far--? Will we run into any of them?"

"Why don't we just ask them to pass through if we run into them?" Winter Born suggested.

Charmian gave her a look, trying to determine if she were joking. The look in the girl's eyes was sincere, although she frowned a little and tilted her head again when she noticed Charmian's stare. "What...?" she asked, seeming perplexed. "That's what you do when you need something, isn't it--?"

"I'm afraid it's a little more complex than that," Charmian said. "People don't always do what you ask them to."

Winter Born's frown grew. "Why not?"

The grass rustled and several more of the others returned; Charmian rather hoped Francois would be among them, as he seemed to know some about the Iroquois, yet he wasn't present. She sighed and poked at the fire as they began settling down around it, S'mores being passed around the gathering circle. Her brow furrowed slightly.

They weren't quite so bad, on the Island...but who even knows if those ones were the same as the rest...for all I know there's a hundred different dimensions here with a hundred different Iroquois tribes! What if we run into ones that are even more hostile...? And what was that Crooked Creek said...?

Her thoughts drifted back to not long after she had first met Francois's wife, the stern stout woman she and Winter Born had met in town. She didn't look to be much, but already she'd shown that she could have great strength and courage when she wanted to. Rather, though, it was something the older woman had said to her, when they were discussing the Iroquois, which had stuck with her.

We hear stories from people who have come from the mainland. They mostly live in the town. Monsieur Francois has stories also. They did terrible things to his family! They've never come to the Island before, though. I heard they tried, but never made it...

Her perplexed look grew. She never did get to tell me what she meant by that. Back then, SHE was Francois's only family! So what is this other family she was talking about...and what did the Iroquois do to them...?

Will Francois even be willing to help us along if they did something to him in the past...?

Mani and X'aaru came wandering through, the demon yawning; Winter Born grinned when he flopped down beside her, and, keeping Marten against her with one hand, she crawled over to curl up against him as he dozed off. Mani tilted his head and whistled at Charmian.

No trouble with tree manitous. Wemitigoji One says we should leave by morning.

Charmian nodded. "Thanks, Mani." She scootched over a bit when he plopped down beside her, resting his head against the ground and shutting his eyes sleepily. Kwemoo and Maang flapped up and settled themselves within the cradle of his antlers, looking quite content and satisfied with themselves. Charmian sensed that he would have tossed them off into the trees at any other time, yet he was too tired now, and fell asleep as quickly as X'aaru. Charmian glanced at some of the others and saw how they nodded, and felt a little bad that she should be the cause of them all being so tired.

"I guess I'll turn in a little early," she said to Thomas and Winter Born. "I've never been on a canoe ride before...and it sounds kind of exhausting."

"Can I stay up a little later? Please?" Winter Born asked. "Just as long as Thomas is up too?"

Charmian shrugged, suppressing a yawn. "I'm not your mom or dad." When the girl seemed to be almost disappointed, she took pause, then said, "But, yeah...you can stay up...just not any longer than Thomas. The moment Thomas dozes off, you get to bed too."

Winter Born nodded enthusiastically. "Promise!" She turned back to roasting more marshmallows.

Peepaukawiss returned, rubbing his hands together and moaning loudly. "Ooohhhhhh the strain!" he moaned. "The pressure! The excessive drudging use of my HANDS!" He flopped to the ground and put his arms over his head. "The brutish torment I must put up with merely in the name of HELPING!" He lowered his arms, nose twitching, then pushed himself back up. He started drooling as soon as he saw the S'mores, and he hurried toward the fire, now rubbing his hands together in a much different manner. "OOOOO! What wonderful confections are THESE--?" He tried snatching one from Pakwa but the GeeBee shoved him aside just as Augwak had done earlier and mock-snarled at him, his cheeks stuffed with marshmallows and crackers.

"Back off, weird one!" he exclaimed in a muffled voice.

Charmian settled against Mani's side and stared at everybody quietly chattering around the fire; she hadn't felt very sleepy, but now that she had nothing left to do, tiredness began to set in and she sighed. She tilted her head back and looked up at the pattern that Mani's antler formed against the tree branches and the sky. The stars were starting to twinkle and she wondered if this was the same sky that Geezhigo-Quae saw back in her Tree, or not.

We're going through so many different places, now...so far away from the Island...it's almost like the Island's not real, anymore...

I hope they're all okay back there.

She bit her lip a little, then heard Mani snoring and told herself not to worry; if he could sleep easily, having his three little calves back at home, then surely she could sleep as well. She did glance sleepily at Thomas and Winter Born one last time, however, Stick-In-The-Dirt joining them, and felt a bit of surprise to realize that they looked like nothing more than some odd family camping out. She felt a vague pang, but had dozed off before it could really register.

* * * * *

It was a very long time before she realized that the soft motions she felt beneath her back were no longer Mani's breathing, but the feeling of waves, surging and then fading. She slowly opened her eyes to look up at a slate-gray sky, and recognized it immediately, though it didn't surprise her as she sensed it should have. Rather, she felt puzzled that it was so...still. The clouds were heavy and leaden, as if threatening a storm, yet they barely even moved; and the lake looked as if it should be choppy and violent, yet it merely echoed the sluggish gray of the sky, rising and falling gently. The water should have been ice cold, she believed, but her hand trailing through it told her it was lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. There was a slight breeze now and then but even it was weak and neither warm nor cold; if Charmian had had to give this entire place a description, she would have said that it was just "stuck" this way, as if waiting for something to happen. Like the entire landscape had been put on pause, and whoever had the remote control had wandered off and forgotten to come back.

Despite this feeling, she felt herself moving, and fought a yawn.

"Ahneen!" a faint voice called. "Boozhoo!"

Charmian frowned. Who's calling me names...?

"Boozhoo!" the voice came again; then after a slight pause, "Hello!" She put her hand out against whatever she floated in and turned her head. The stone canoe had returned, and the woman all in red still sat within it; she was leaning over and waving almost excitedly, eyes wide. As soon as she noticed Charmian's stare her face lit up, and her canoe immediately began drifting faster toward her.

"Boozhoo!" she said again. "You can still see me--?"

Charmian nodded. "Yeah, I can still see you."

The woman let out her breath with relief. "I had thought perhaps it was a fluke," she admitted. "But I called you this time and you came! I still can't believe you can see me so easily. I hope you don't mind," she added, blushing a little. "But I just wanted to be sure...and it's nice to talk to someone after a while..."

"How come you haven't seen or talked to anyone in so long?" Charmian asked.

The woman lowered her eyes slightly. "Well...I can't see people very well, from where I am. And none of them can see me. It's dark...I can see through dreams, and memories, but this is about it. Most of the present is hidden from me."

"By what?"

The woman lifted her head and looked at her for a moment, then smiled, her eyes crinkling. "It'll be good to see you when you come north to find me!"

Charmian frowned a little, sensing that her question had just been evaded, yet not aware enough to ask after it again. "You can see through dreams and memories?" she asked instead; the woman nodded, and she bit her lip a little. "Anyone's?"

Another nod. The woman in red tilted her head to the side. "You're curious about something...?"

"Sort of." Charmian pushed herself upright and turned around, sitting; she glanced down and now could finally see the canoe she sat in, although it hadn't been visible before. She looked up at the woman again. "There's somebody I know, and something bad happened to him," she said. "He's traveling with us...the canoe-paddler," she said, unable to think of any other way to describe him. Fortunately, the woman in red's face lit up again and she nodded in understanding.

"Yes! The Wemitigoji, yes?" Charmian nodded. "I see him. The others, too. Most of them are sleeping. You wish to know something about him?"

"A long time ago I think something happened to him. To his family," she said, still feeling odd just saying it; Francois had never had any family that she'd known of, at least, when she'd first met him. Yet why else would Crooked Creek say such a thing...? "I think it might have an effect on where we're going and I wanted to know a little about it, if you could find out for me."

"If it happened long ago, then it is a memory," the woman in red said. "And I should be able to see it whether he is awake or asleep." She shut her eyes and sat silently for several moments. The waves continued rippling beneath them, making the canoes bob. After a short while Charmian saw the bright expression slowly fade from the woman's face, and a line formed on her brow; after another few moments her eyes opened, and she lowered them, her feathers sinking a little.

"Oh," she said in a small voice.

Charmian frowned again. "What is it?"

The woman chewed on her lip a bit and wound a string of shells around her finger. "What do you know of his family already?"

"I know he didn't have one, that I knew of."

"Well...he did have one...but this was quite long ago. Before he came to the Island that you visit. In fact...I get the feeling from the Island that this is why it accepted him as it did, because he had no reason left to return to the mainland."

"No reason to return...?" Charmian felt a twinge of unease, although the odd stilted atmosphere here stifled it somewhat. "He did have another family?"

The woman in red nodded. "A wife, who was with child, and a young girl, younger even than the one with you now."

Charmian's eyes widened. "A wife and a daughter?" she exclaimed in surprise.

The woman nodded again. "I do not sense their memories," she said softly.

This made the uneasy feeling return, and Charmian grasped the side of her canoe. "What happened to them?" she asked, at last snapping just a bit out of the daze she'd been in. "Was it the Iroquois?" When the woman in red nodded slowly she felt her chest clench. "What did they do to them--?"

The woman lowered her eyes again. "I hesitate to say...for it was not good," she murmured reluctantly. "And I do not wish to put this memory in your head as well...I will simply say, that the woman, and the child she carried, they long ago traveled the Spirit Road."

"Dead...?" Charmian whispered in disbelief. The woman nodded and her tensed muscles loosened, though she didn't relax; she let out her breath and stared numbly at the water. "He never even said a thing." Her head jerked up when she realized exactly what she'd just heard. "You mentioned only two! What about the girl--?"

"The girl...I do not know what became of her." The woman shook her head. "She did not travel the Road, that I saw...but I do not feel her memory either. Perhaps...she has forgotten...or is far away...or perhaps she has lately passed, as well." She shrugged a little awkwardly. "I admit, I cannot see all that occurs upon the Road..."

Charmian stared off into space again. Her entire picture of Francois had completely changed; she had always seen him as a solitary trapper and trader, living on his own and always cheery and willing to lend a hand. But he apparently hadn't always been that way. She thought about the other three she'd just heard of, and tried to picture them with him, but for some reason the image wouldn't come. They kept getting replaced by Crooked Creek and Remy, and she couldn't imagine it ever having been another way, no matter how far in the past. But every time she pictured Francois alone, he was always joined by two shadows, and she couldn't make them out. She shuddered.

"I am sorry if I've upset you," the woman in red said sincerely.

Charmian blinked, then blushed a little. "I did ask," she said. "So no...I'm okay." Her eyes widened and met the other woman's again. "Hey! I mean, ah--" She coughed and felt her ears grow warm when the woman tilted her head curiously. "Actually, I'm wondering if you can do something else for me, too."

The woman nodded. "What do you need?"

"You're a Dreamspinner, which means you can see others' dreams, right--?" When this earned another nod she fiddled her fingers a bit. "Well...can you get in touch with other Dreamspinners in the same way...?"

The woman in red frowned a bit. "You mean like this 'Tal Natha' you mentioned?" she asked.

Charmian nodded, biting the inside of her mouth. "I didn't get to say hello to him yet," she admitted, "and he's an old friend of mine, too. I don't...really know how long it'll be before we get back to the Island...and I'm a little bit worried..." She trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished. "I wondered if maybe you could help me see him," she finished, a bit lamely. "I dunno...maybe he can give me a few pointers as to how to work our way through all this." She peered at the woman meekly. "Could you do this...?"

The woman in red appeared to think for a moment, then nodded. "Yes...I believe I can...though I can't guarantee it. I've never spoken with another Dreamspinner! I assumed there must be at least one, but I never knew where to look for it. You say you've had one all along on this Island you come from--?"

Charmian nodded. "He's an Ocryx...not that I'm sure you'd know what that is. Um." She bit her lip. "Well...his thoughts should feel a lot like yours. That's pretty much all I can think of."

"I know where the Island is," the woman said. "I'm pretty sure that I should be able to find him. Do you wish me to speak to him or would you like to go into his dream?"

"You can do that?" Charmian blurted out, so loudly that the woman smiled again, and she felt her face go red. "Um--I mean--sure! The second one. If you don't mind."

She shook her head. "Not at all...for I know that you'll be coming soon, and I'll no longer have to hate never talking with anyone so." Her smile grew, then faded and she shut her eyes. "You please follow suit...and imagine that you're going to sleep, or seeking a vision. I'll see where I can find his dream..."

That doesn't sound too difficult, Charmian thought, and did as she was told. She still heard the water lapping at the sides of her canoe, and felt the soft dull breeze, but these slowly faded and it was as if she could see lights shifting on the outside of her eyelids. "Keep them closed," the woman urged quietly, and she did so, though it was an effort not to open them and peek around. "I know that you have done this once before," the woman added, "in the dream of the wabano. So perhaps this will not be too shocking...just keep still, and keep your eyes closed a bit longer..."

The silence drew out, then was replaced by a soft hissing shushing noise. Charmian felt as if she were starting to move forward, then the sensation grew almost overpowering, and she had the feeling of traveling very fast, so much so that she nearly lost her breath and had to keep sucking it in. She had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep herself from opening them in sheer panic, lest she run into something; I believe I see his dream from here, the woman said, and Charmian felt her movement slowing. The shushing noise grew closer and she slowly realized that it must be the streams of dreams that traveled along like a huge river, all heading toward their owners; she wanted to peek at it, but decided against it as it had shocked her so much the very first time she'd seen it. Oh! I see a small cave, with a large crystal, and a woman with red hair--strange! the woman said. Is this it?

That's it! Charmian exclaimed. Can I open my eyes...?

Let me lead you into it, and then you can open them. I will keep a hold of your own dream so that you can return safely.

All right, Charmian thought, though she felt a bit nervous, leaving her fate in the stranger's hands; she didn't even know her name! She didn't get the chance to ask her, however, as just then she felt the rush of dreams flowing past her stop, and her feet touched something as she slowly sank to her hands and knees. The shushing noise faded and she dug her fingers into what felt like warm sand, still hesitating to open her eyes; then another shushing sound came and she almost jumped.

Charmian--?

She opened her eyes and found herself staring at sand, just as she'd thought. The shushing noise came again and she lifted her head to see a snake tail slithering across the sandy floor; raising her eyes further, she saw the strange red-and-green eyes staring at her from their lupine face crowned with horns, and her own eyes lit up.

"Tal--Tal Natha!" she cried, and jumped to her feet with a laugh, throwing her arms around his neck. "I actually made it! I made it into your dream!"

I felt you return to the Island, but you did not come here, the demon said, and frowned. How is it that you show up in my dream--?

"It's kind of a long story," Charmian admitted, then her smile faded. "Tal Natha...I came here to ask, since you know--how is it going on the Island right now? We left in kind of a hurry, and..."

The look on the demon's face made her trail off. You are aware of what happened...? he asked, and she nodded reluctantly. He silently sat down in the middle of the cave. The ogimah went seeking the man in red. He has searched the entire Island two times over, but for the town on the shore, yet I am afraid he may go there soon enough. The only reason he has not is because he does not like the mainlanders. But he is desperate to find this person. He tilted his head. Charmian...what is this that is happening to the Island? I have a bad feeling of all of it...

"What do you mean?" Charmian asked, growing anxious; she'd never seen him so uneasy before.

He shook his head slightly. I do not know if I can explain it...but things just do not feel right. For one thing...I felt someone who has never been there before...yet somehow...I feel that he has been there before. His brow furrowed. I do not know how to describe this feeling. Does it sound mad?

Charmian shook her head. "No...in fact I think I might understand what you mean." She sat down on a ledge in the cave wall. "There was this really powerful manitou named Megissogwun, a long time ago."

Pearl Feather? Tal Natha asked, frowning again.

She nodded. "Have you heard the story of how the Island was destroyed--? In a flood?" He nodded. "This Megissogwun's the one who did it."

The demon blinked, then lowered his eyes a little. Yes...I believe it makes sense now. He was here long ago, yet not here...perhaps this is why I recognize him, yet do not recognize him...I never knew the old Island, yet it is part of this Island... He lifted his head. He has come back? What does he wish for now?

"He's kind of the reason why this whole mess started in the first place," Charmian said with a sigh. "I went to the tribe to talk with the others about going to the Sky Tree to try to stop Megissogwun...and the man in the red coat followed me..." She trailed off and chewed on her lip. "He didn't mean to do it," she blurted out, making the demon tilt his head again. "Shoot White Coyote," she said. "I know he didn't mean it. He's--he's kind of a jerk, yeah, and he was rude to Little Dove and Moon Wolf, but--I really don't think he meant to kill anybody! He was trying to grab me, and the gun just went off..." Her eyes stung and she chewed on her lip even harder. "Can you tell everybody?" she begged. "Nobody on the Island knows it was an accident! Everybody who was there is with me now. I hate thinking of what Black Elk Horn will do if he goes into the town thinking he can find him there! But I don't know how to tell anybody. Can you--?"

I can tell who will listen, Tal Natha said, but only them. I do not feel that the ogimah will listen. You know how he is. He does not like the mainlanders. Even if he were to hear the truth from Silver Eagle Feather herself, he would act on his own. He paused. Yet I will tell who I can. If you feel it will help any. Perhaps...it can at least prepare them for what to expect.

Charmian let out her breath. "Thanks, Tal Natha...I just wish I could do more..." She fiddled her fingers. "If it also helps," she said after a moment of thinking, "then tell them that I'm doing everything I can. It's not Barrington's fault. It's not anyone's fault. It's Megissogwun. I'm going to try to stop him before he can hurt the Island again. Will you tell them?"

Tal Natha nodded. I will tell them all you say, Mainlander.

Charmian's shoulders sank and she rubbed her eyes, suddenly weary. "I just can't believe how much it's messed up this time," she murmured, "how much I messed it up." Her eyes stung again and she shut them tight, rubbing at them; there was a shifting noise and she felt Tal Natha touch her arm. "I only wanted to come and say hello to everybody...and now...Turtle's gone, and White Coyote's dead, and the Island..."

The full import of it all suddenly struck her, and she let out a noise and ground her teeth together. Watch after your own, and seek Turtle and this Pearl Feather, Tal Natha said quietly, and leave the Island to all of us. We can look after ourselves for now. Right now, you must focus on yourself. Do not worry for us. This Island has been through much already; I feel it will make it, yet a third time.

"You can't ask me not to worry about you," Charmian insisted, though when she opened her eyes and looked up at him she managed a watery smile. The demon gave her a kind look in return, and touched her face. "But I'll try not to, too much." She sighed and wiped her eyes. "I never got to say hi to Red Bird, either...I bet she's pissed..."

Tal Natha snorted lightly. This "pissed" would perhaps be an understatement. She cried for a full two days after you last left--and warned me that if you did not return soon to see her, she--

Charmian suddenly lurched forward as if punched in the stomach, letting out a broken gasp. Tal Natha's eyes went wide and he stepped back, bristling; Charmian fell to the floor and clawed at the sand, wheezing loudly. She stared at the floor with wide eyes which immediately filled with tears, struggling to catch her breath.

Charmian! Tal Natha's voice came above her. What is it--?

"I--I--" she managed to choke out, but that was about it. The feeling came again, only this time it felt like nothing less than an anaconda wrapping itself around her middle, squeezing her ribs; she wrapped her arms around them and would have whimpered had she had the breath with which to do so. It felt like something tugged on her; she started trying to crawl forward, and lifted her head to look up at Tal Natha. Her eyes were blurry so she had to blink to see him; his eyes were wide and he seemed to be staring at something behind her, when he suddenly lunged at her with his teeth flashing. She gasped and ducked her head, feeling his teeth sink into her vest and yank her forward, a growl arising in his throat. She opened her eyes again and started struggling, both against him and against whatever had first tugged on her; the demon snarled and continued yanking on her vest, his eyes livid, and she wanted to cringe away from him, the look on his face was so frightening. Instead, whatever had first pulled on her did so again, and her vest tore in Tal Natha's teeth; she let out a yelp, sliding backwards toward the cave wall, and threw out her hands.

"T--Tal Natha--!" she managed to croak.

He stood blinking at her with the torn bit of cloth in his mouth, then snarled again and dashed forward. Before he could reach her she felt her back hit the wall--only it wasn't a wall, it was open, and she started going through it. She saw the glowing edges open up around her and gawked at them in confusion before remembering that when she had entered Moon Wolf's dream, she'd done so through a sort of glowing passageway. Yet--why would she be leaving, now--?

"Tal Natha!!" she yelled in a panic.

Charmian! he exclaimed, dashed in a helpless circle, then halted and barked aloud. "Charmian--!"

The glowing edges sucked in and her vision of him vanished, just like that; she felt herself fall into something and bit her tongue painfully hard, wincing. She blinked her eyes open and they grew when she saw the woman in red staring down at her, her own eyes wide and her face pale.

"You have to go back!" she exclaimed, her voice shaking. "I can't keep you here any longer!"

"Wh--what?" Charmian blurted out, putting her hand out against the edge of the stone canoe. "YOU did that to me--?"

"You have to go NOW!" the woman cried, and pushed her out of the canoe; Charmian yelped and flailed, but fell into her own canoe instead of into the water; she clambered over so that she pushed herself up onto hands and knees, and glared at the woman in anger and confusion. The woman in red was busily paddling at the water with her hand, trying to urge the stone canoe further away.

"What's going on?" Charmian yelled.

"You have to leave here," the woman urged. "I shouldn't have taken you so far--if you stay here too long, he'll capture you too!"

"He--? He who--?"

The woman in red's head jerked up and her hand froze in her paddling. Her eyes grew so wide that Charmian felt a chill settle over her, before noticing that a strange darkness had fallen over the water. She slowly turned her head to look in the same direction that the woman looked in, and felt the blood drain from her face.

Long sinuous shapes were ascending out of the water all around them, rising into the sky, little greenish-yellow lights appearing in the mist far above them; a hissing noise came, then another, and then a growl, and the shapes moved, coming closer and forming a vague circle around them. The woman in red gasped, then turned back toward Charmian's canoe, throwing out one hand.

"You have to go back now! I'll hold them off--but if you stay longer--you'll never escape--!"

"What--?" Charmian cried, but as soon as the word left her mouth, the canoe, the lake, the Mishupishus, the woman in red all vanished, and she bolted upright and found herself yelling at the sky.

Continue:

Part 41: Telling Tales  (13+) Utter humiliation is the perfect way to pass a canoe trip!... #1341509 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

Please REVIEW if you rate.
Please DO NOT RATE if you won't review.
Thank you!

This item is NOT looking for literary critique. I already understand spelling/grammar, and any style choices I make are my own. Likewise, I am NOT seeking publication, so suggestions on how to make this publishable are not being sought.

This item IS looking for people who are simply interested in reading, especially in long/multipart stories, and who like to comment frequently. My primary intent is to entertain others, so if you read this and find it entertaining, please let me know so and let me know why.

If in the course of enjoying the story you do find something that you feel could use improvement, feel free to bring it up. Just know that that's not my primary purpose in posting this here.

If you have any questions about the story or anything within it, feel free to ask.

I do hope you enjoy! :)