Find Us in the Shivering - Chapter 21
The snipes scattered up above the cavern but several felt the need to test their intruder. The winged creatures zipped down and attacked Walter as he hurried towards Josh. The coyote yelped and bit at those that managed to get their strange mandibles of teeth onto his flesh.
Josh raced back towards Walter with his grandfather's walking staff raised. He swung about wildly, though as cautious as he could, hoping to avoid striking Walter. Twice he made contact sending one of the snipes flying back into the canyon while the second fell to the ground close by. It limped a little until a pair of its kin buzzed over, picked it up and flew back into the mess of flying creatures.
Half expecting to see the wounded snipe cared for, Josh was not at all surprised when the two carrying the wounded were attacked and pieces began to fly about as the snipes feasted not only on the wounded but on the pair that apparently tried to steal a meal from the rest.
Josh gulped and turned away searching for Walter now that they were out of range of the canyon.
The coyote lied underneath a nearby bush, licking at its wounds. Redness marked where fur and flesh had been torn.
"Walter, how can I help?" Josh asked, wincing as he realized one of the snipes had bitten him as well. It was just behind his shoulder and not a horrible wound but something that needed looking at. He reached for his water canteen, glad to find it still full.
"We'll not make it far now," Walter said as he panted.
"Why? What do you mean?"
"Sickness will come." The coyote turned its head back to the canyon. "I watched others venture in and come away with single bites...falling to the ground."
Josh's heart raced. "Do you mean the snipes have venomous bites?"
Walter nodded and began to whimper. "You should not have come, friend. You should not. This place is death..." His voice was ragged and weak. "This place killed the others who sought the Shivering."
"Damn... No, shit, no, no, no! I need to find the glass arrows." Josh considered Walter for a few moments before pushing ahead. He was too close. Too close to stop now.
The bite he suffered burned and began to itch, but he used his grandfather's walking staff to help his momentum forward. He began to sweat more than he thought was possible and nearly turned around after dizziness touched his head when something in the dirt drew his eyes.
Obsidian arrowheads had been laid out in an undisturbed pattern pointing east. He had missed the forked paths Mavis had warned him to avoid. Yes, he was still going the way he needed. His feet shuffled one in front of the other, staff stabilizing him. His effort and speed seemed quick but a glance back revealed he had only gone twenty feet or so as he could make out the fur mound that was Walter laying under the shaded bush.
The end of his staff hit and slid off a stone, making him lose balance and control. The ground rose up to meet him with a hard, dull smack. His chin struck hard, driving his teeth together in a snap that should have caused at least one of them to break.
The heat of the sun did not touch him but his eyes failed to focus on anything as the desert spun all around him. He called for Walter but there was no answer. He turned his head, seeing the coyote still where he lay though now it looked as if someone--a child perhaps--wearing rags knelt over the animal.
Josh tried to find his water but his fingers clumsily failed to grasp anything. He had tried. That was the resolve he came to in the fading moments. He had tried to help the kids--whoever they were. He had no reason besides the reward to pursue finding them. The desert and town and all its awfulness had beaten him. And so easily too. He naively believed he had the tenacity to succeed where so many others failed. In the end, he deserved to fail.
Small, rough hands took his face, turning his eyes to peer into the scrunched wrinkled face of a woman. Child-sized in every way but her eyes held many years of age and wrinkles marked too many days in the sun. Her words were faint and distant. He could not hear them, nor did he care. Something wet and bitter touched his lips and tongue before going down his throat. He convulsed and wanted to throw up the liquid but the small hands had strength he did not expect.
"Heal," a ragged voice commanded. "Heal and see."
