The Forest, by Ben Greenfield - Chapter 11: "The Fire"

The largest Catawan bellowed a large grunt, held its spear high, and pointed upwards in the direction of the thick support rope that suspended the snare from several overhead trees. One of the Catawan behind the leader nodded, placed the handle of its spear between its giant jaws, moved with two large strides to the base of one tree, leapt like an ape nearly 8ft, wrapped its arms and legs around the trunk, and shimmied up close to the support rope. It then grabbed the spear from between its teeth and swung it towards the rope. Terran gritted his teeth and braced himself for what he suspected would happen next, but the spear blade seemed dull. A few strands of the rope snapped loose and the entire snare creaked for a moment, then stayed suspended. The Catawan smirked in frustration, pulled the spear loose and swung again. Somewhere behind him, Terran heard Tink half whimper, half grumble. This could hurt, boys. Several more strands snapped, but the snare remained aloft. The two smallest Catawans on the ground now both let out loud, amused howls, pointing up while grinning and flashing their crooked teeth at their frustrated companion. Up in the tree, the larger Catawan looked down and let out an annoyed growl. It swung the spear once more. Then, just as quickly as the snare had sprung, the entire thick rope snapped. As the ground approached with lightning speed, Terran saw a blur of green, brown, and tangled ropes. And then everything went black. Terran woke to a strong, overpowering and very unpleasant odor. A blend of sweat, rotting meat, and the skin of something not bathed or washed in much too long a time. He was on his back, both arms trapped under him, and both hands bound by what felt like a very thick leather shoelace. It felt as though some kind of hard wooden slatting was underneath him. Pins and needles radiated up and down his hands and fingers from trapped nerves. He opened one eye and immediately saw Tink laying on his left, staring back at him. Tink's hands were bound also. With his arms trapped below him, the elf scrunched his nose and whispered, smells like a wet dog rolled in cow manure. Hey. Terran didn't reply. He looked to his left. River lay there on his back, his chest slowly moving up and down, both eyes open, staring upwards at a wooden ceiling nearly eight feet above them. Where. Where rays of sun were trickling into the room through large gaps in the roof. Terran's eyes shifted to two large purple bruises on River's forehead. You okay, brother? River blinked and took a deep breath as though mentally scanning his body for injuries. He slowly nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on the ceiling. Still wide in a concerned gaze, Terran looked up towards where river was staring. Three small skulls were hanging above them, their eerie, hollow eye cavities slowly moving side to side as the draft coming through the holes in the ceiling bl the skulls in tiny circles. Just like nasty air fresheners, Terran thought as he narrowed his eyes, trying to determine if the bones were actually human. Tink shifted uncomfortably on the hard wooden slats, trying to free his hands. I'm fine, too. Thanks for asking. Let's get free before there's six skulls hanging up there. Outside, Terran could hear commotion. Footsteps, grunts, the clanking of sticks or spears, possibly the crackling of a fire. He tried to lift his head to look towards the door to the room and didn't like what he saw. Skewered on two wooden stakes on either side of the thick wooden door were two more skulls, and two additional skulls hung directly above the door. These ones were larger and unmistakably human. Before Terran had a chance to swallow the surge of sickened saliva that filled his mouth, the door swung open and a giant cateawan burst in behind him. A glaring surge of sunlight and all the loud commotion from outside poured into the room. For a moment, the beast simply stood there, feet spread wide, surveying the room. It wore nothing other than a strip of leather cloth covering its loins and a thick belt woven from cedar strands that held two small wooden rods with roughly hewn arrowheads attached. By the looks of its broad shoulders, enormous jutting jaw, and thick eyebrows, it was a male. One jagged patch of grayish white fur extended from his big, powerful glutes all the way up to the back of his head, covering nearly 10ft from the door to the prisoners. With just two big strides, the Catawan stormed close and first the thrust his face close to Terran's. The foul, sulfurous smell of rotting meat seeped from his breath as his giant bloodshot eyes peered into Terran's. A stream of saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth and down the hairy stubble to his chin as his lips parted in a sneer, revealing a row of crooked yellow teeth. His gaze remained locked into Terran's eyes in what seemed to be curiosity, fear, or perhaps hunger. Terran couldn't quite tell what the intentions of this massive creature were, but he quietly shifted his eyes away, hoping that avoiding direct eye contact might be considered a sign of respect. Out of the corner of his vision, he watched the beast move away, bend forward and sniff river, then stand up and snort loudly, spraying wet mucus in all directions. Terran felt the mucus hit his face and immediately wished his hands were untied so he could wipe the odorous slime from his skin. The Catawan then turned towards Tink and placed one massive hairy hand on Tink's leg. Tink groaned in disgust and the beast sneered again, then stood upright. Upright, backed away and let out a loud howl. The shadows of three more Catawan immediately appeared at the door. As they stepped into the light of the room, Terran saw that they were quite obviously females with narrow shoulders, large sagging breasts and wide hips. They wore a leather cloth almost like a skirt around their waists. Two, just like the male, had wild knotted hair flying in all directions from their head, while the third had braided her hair backwards and pulled it tight against the skin of her back. The big male leader grunted, growled and pointed and the three females quickly approached. Terran felt strong hands and thick fingers on his body and saw the entire room rotate as he was flipped onto his back. One female tucked him under her arm and carried him like a piece of firewood towards the exit. He felt her coarse, sharp hair against his skin and an overpowering odor pouring from her underarm glands. From the corner of his eye he could see river and Tink close behind, each carried similarly. When they stepped outside, the commotion, loud cries, grunts, growls and ruckus seemed to double held sideways and bouncing up and down as the big female carried him, Terran could see an entire throng of Catawan gathered. There were dozens and dozens, perhaps over a hundred, both male and female. Some simply stood watching. Others were shifting excitedly and bouncing from foot to foot in a trance like dance. Several smaller Catawan held sticks and animal skin drums that they pounded with increasing rapidity as the females strode through the crowd carrying their prisoners. There were more skulls, some skewered on poles stuck into the ground, others wrapped in necklaces around Catawan necks, and one kicked back and forth like a ball between two Catawan youth. Up ahead, Terran could see the flicker of flame. He smelled smoke. As they approached, he could feel heat growing in the air. The female shifted his entire body to one of her shoulders as she approached the fire now carrying him like a sack of potatoes over her bony shoulder. Taran could now clearly see the fire pit they were approaching. The fire itself was in the center of a circle of enormous rocks and half a dozen Catawan were gathered around it, fanning the flames with long leaved branches. Above the fire were two giant logs suspended horizontally like a bridge over the flames, lashed to one log were three long poles extended vertically into the air. Terran had seen something just like this before at a neighborhood barbecue party. It was exactly like the spirit bit they had used to roast a large pig. Tink moaned loudly as the females carried them towards the three poles. I should have known. The Catawan are rumored to relish the taste of human flesh. I'm sorry, my boys. I'm so sorry. As Tink's voice trailed off into a quiet sob, Terran wondered what it felt like to be eaten. He wondered if he would be so burnt from the fire that he wouldn't feel a thing, or if he would still be alive and full of senses when the creatures began biting into his flesh. He strained his neck, looking for river, and saw his brother behind him, also carried like a sack of potatoes. River didn't look scared. His lips were set in a firm line, his eyes were narrowed into thin slits, and he appeared to be uncomfortable, angry, and annoyed. Terran wondered if river was looking for water and at the same time eyed the large rocks surrounding the fire, which were larger than any he had attempted to hurl into the air the past several days, but still offered great potential as weapons. By now, the females had carried all three of them up onto the log with the vertical poles. As they took his already bound hands and added even more ties and knots to secure him to the pole, Terran could see how this spit contraption worked. The log they stood on was fixed between two big rocks. Once they were attached to the poles, the log could simply be rotated inch by inch over the fire until the poles were horizontal. They would then be suspended on the poles between the two logs, the over the fire and roasted.

The female stepped down and off the log, and the large male Catawan with the grayish white stripes leapt up onto the log and stood between Terran, who was bound to the far left pole, and Tink, who was bound to the middle pole. River was on the far right side. The leader held his spear aloft, shook it violently, then let out a loud, guttural roar. All around them, dozens of Catawan responded with shouts, roars, and hungry grunting. The flames grew larger. The drums began pounding faster. Terran squinted as the smoke burnt his eyes. The back of his throat felt scratchy from the smoldering air. The log rotated just a couple inches, and he felt his skin get uncomfortably hot. As the fire grew closer, Tink began to moan loudly from the sharp, painful heat. Terran turned his head and looked towards River. River was already looking back at him. Terran nodded and river nodded back. Terran glared at the large flat rock below him, which glowed with orange, orange and red heat. He clenched his fist, grits his teeth, and violently whipped his neck around towards the Catawan who still stood on the log, shaking his spear. Terran felt a rush of energy spill from his body as he sent the scalding rock flying through the air where it struck the big male directly in the chest. There was a sound like a sizzling piece of meat and a painful howl as the Catawan dropped his spear, fell backwards off the log and tumbled into the dirt beside the fire pit, clutching his chest, howling in pain. As Terran felt his body go slightly limp from the strain of hurling the rock, he saw a massive stream of water explode from a wooden bucket beside the fire and fly towards the three Catawan who were fanning the flames. It struck them like a ocean wave, launching all three backwards, where they collided with the crowd behind them and knocked over several other Catawan like bowling pins. River whooped loudly. Chaos ensued. Terran whipped his chin up and a giant cloud of dust swept like a tornado over the three female Catawan who stood behind them on the log and they fell to the ground, waving their arms and slapping at their eyes. River sent another stream of water into the crowd where it struck several more beasts with hurricane like force and sent them tumbling backwards, howling loudly. Two Catawan males, nearly as big as the leader, came sprinting from the crowd towards the log, pulling their arms back to hoist their weapons. But the rocks and dirt underneath them shifted like a miniature earthquake and swept them off their feet. There was a loud crunch as both hit the ground face first. As Terran took a deep breath, trying to summon enough energy to hurl another smoldering boulder into the crowd, he heard a piercing distress scream louder than any sound he'd heard any of the Catawan make yet. The male leader had stood to his feet, his chest hair singed and black from the rock, and was now waving his arms, screaming passionately towards the crowd while pouring, pointing at Terran, river and Tink. It wasn't an angry, violent scream. He backed away as he continued to scream. It was a scared, defeated sound. Then Terran felt the log rotate slightly backwards away from the fire. A giant hairy hand grasped his wrists and he felt a sudden loosening of the straps as his hands were pulled away from the pole. They were being free.