Brian Pratt - Fires of prophesy

“Where are they?” Jiron yells to James. He comes to stand with him, knives in hand and stares off into the dark forest in the direction he’s facing.

Not paying them any attention, James sends a wave of energy into the forest, beyond the jagged stumps of the trees which had already been shattered. Dozens of trees bow and break, many snapping in two as they crash to the ground from the force of the power James is unleashing.

“I don’t see anyone!” Tinok yells to Jiron.

“Protect the girls!” Jiron yells to Tinok as he runs closer to the devastated area, seeking their attackers.

James cries out again and the wind begins to blow with increased ferocity. The trees begin swaying first one way and then the other, limbs can be heard breaking off and falling to the ground.

Cassie yells to Tinok over the roar of the wind as he approaches, “There is no one!”

“What?” he yells back.

“There is no one,” she cries and then she points to James. “Look at his eyes, he’s not really seeing. It’s the fever! He’s having a hallucination!” She pulls her long yellow hair out of her face from where the wind continues whipping it.

As understanding dawns upon him, he sheaths his knives and then runs over to Jiron. Before he gets there, James cries out again and lightning flashes from the sky, striking trees near where Jiron stands, the force of which knocks him backward. He lands on his back, dazed, just as Tinok reaches him.

Tinok kneels down next to him and then looks up when James screams incoherently. As he begins running into the forest, Jiron tries to get back to his feet to follow. Tinok places a hand on him and says, “He’s fighting dreams!”

“What?” Jiron asks in confusion, not sure if he heard correctly.

“James!” Tinok yells, pointing to where he ran into the forest. “It’s the fever making him do this. We’re not under attack!”

Once he realizes what Tinok is trying to tell him, he says, “We’ve got to help him!” He gets to his feet and looks toward the forest where James entered just as another explosion of immense proportion erupts to the sky.

“We can’t!” yells Tinok over the wind. “He’ll kill us without even realizing it.”

“But…” Jiron says, wanting to help him, but recognizing the truth in Tinok’s words. Then he looks around the camp, wood everywhere, a section of the forest near their camp is simply gone. Trees are toppled over, most of the horses have run off, frightened. They gather together and he asks Cassie, “What should we do?”

“Nothing to do,” she explains. “He doesn’t realize what he’s doing. It will run its course if it doesn’t kill him first.”

“How long?”

Shrugging, she says, “Who knows? I guess we’ll find out when the noise stops.”

They look off into the forest as more lights are seen and explosions heard. A light rain begins to fall a few minutes later and after it has fallen for awhile, the sound of explosions from the forest lessens until it is once again quiet, bringing an eerie calm to the night.

“Should we find him?” Delia asks as the rain continues to fall, plastering her short, dark brown hair to her head.

Shaking his head, Jiron says, “Not in the dark, we might get lost. Besides, there is no guarantee that he’s done.” So they settle down to wait for dawn. None are able to get any rest, what with the rain soaking them and their concern for their friend. Sometime before morning comes, the rain stops.

When dawn at last arrives, they are able to see the extent of the damage wrought by James during his fever induced rampage of the night before. Around them, trees are either blown apart at the base or toppled over, one upon another. Pieces of wood are simply everywhere, the wagons themselves have a layer of broken branches and wood chips covering them.

Most of the horses have found their way back, three of the draft animals and four of the mounts. A quick look around the surrounding area turns up one more mount and the other draft animal.

“Should we go look for him now?” Jiron asks Cassie.

“Since we haven’t heard anything for a couple hours, it’s fairly safe to say that he is no longer a danger,” she says. “We need to find him to see if he’s okay.”

Indicating the path of destruction, Tinok says, “I don’t think it is going to be too hard to follow his trail.”

“No,” agrees Jiron, “it won’t.” Leading the group, he follows the trail of broken trees through the forest. They come across area after area that shows signs of rampant destruction. “I wonder what he thought he was fighting last night?” he says.

“Yeah,” Tinok replies. “What could warrant such power?”

“In his state of mind,” Cassie explains, “he could have been imagining almost anything.”

They come to a section of the forest where the trees look odd. Delia taps one out of curiosity and gasps, “It’s stone!”

The others come over and feel it, mystified at how James could have done something like that. “Incredible,” exclaims Tinok.

Continuing on, they finally reach a point where the destruction ends, but James is no where to be seen. “James!” Jiron calls out, looking through the trees as far as he can.

When there’s no answer, Delia says, “We better split up.”

Jiron nods, saying, “That might be wise, but let’s not get too separated.” He looks at each in turn and says, “If in five minutes you haven’t found him, turn around and come back here.”

They all agree and then head out into the forest, each calling for James.

Weak as a new born lamb and his shoulder aflame with pain, James regains consciousness. His head is fuzzy and it’s hard to formulate thoughts. He realizes that he’s covered in leaves and tree limbs, and that everything is damp. Unable to even lift his arms to remove the foliage from him, he lies there, wondering just how he came to be here.

“James!”

Suddenly alert, he hears his name being called from far away. They’ll never find me here! Afraid they might pass him by, he starts to panic. He tries calling out but only a weak rasp comes out, “Help!” Why am I so weak?

He tries again, “Help!” this time managing a little volume.

“I think I heard something!” he hears someone shout.

“Where?” another voice asks.

“Not sure,” the first voice replies. “James! Where are you?”

He can hear several people moving through the forest, near and around him. Giving it one last try, he shouts, “Over here!” Again, it only comes out barely audible.

“There!” he hears someone shout. “It came from that way.”

Suddenly, Delia comes into view as she walks right by where he’s laying. He moves his hand slightly, but it catches her eye.

“Here he is!” she cries out excitedly. “Are you alright?” she asks him as she places her hand on his forehead.

Shaking his head no, he just lies there.

When everyone approaches, she says, “His fever’s gone, but he says he isn’t good.”

“Let’s get him out,” Jiron says when he sees him lying there, all but his head and one arm is hidden beneath the broken branches.

They all help to get the limbs and leaves off of him and then help him to stand. But in his weakened condition his legs are unable to support his weight and they just give out under him. So Jiron and Tinok move to help him, Jiron on the left and Tinok on the right.

When Tinok tries placing James’ right arm over his shoulder for support, he cries out in pain from the stress that’s being put on the wound from the crossbow bolt. Realizing they’re not going to be able to do it that way, Jiron tries lifting him in his arms, but James is too heavy for him to attempt to carry all the way back to the campsite.