The Godsend Backfire: The Beginning by Harold Straugh (best e reader for academics TXT) 📗

“I would still like to give him back to the earth,” Mylicious said.

“We at least owe him that,” Mila said and gave me a hateful look, which I wasn’t used to by her.

“What was I to do Mila? Let him attack me, let him kill me?” I asked, breaking the tension.

“No, I wouldn’t, I don’t know why I’m upset, it’s the link between us, I believe. I’m sorry Roldian, I didn’t mean to get upset with you,” she apologized.

“Well, I did just kill one your own, I wouldn’t be to happy about that,” I said, trying to see things from her perspective.

“Tarkik, Tapeesa, let’s get him to the fire,” Mylicious said as Tarkik and Tapeesa picked up Kallik’s body and carried him over to the fire.  Mylicious said a prayer to different Gods and they tossed Kallik’s body on the fire. I went back to getting my ice chunk, because I still wanted to get out of there in a couple of days.

I don’t know went on for the rest of the night, I heard some sorrowful howls and when I went to get my third ice-chunk, the fire was out, and everyone was inside.  I walked over to the fire and only the skeleton of Kallik remained, out of haste, I kicked the skull away from the rest of the skeleton.

The one thing I hate about not sleeping is it’s easy to lose track of night and day.  I tended to the steam room and I think it was mid-day the next day, that Mylicious checked on me and the wood.

“I don’t see how don’t sleep, I would go mad,” he said, startling me as I was staring off, watching the ice melt.

“Maybe I have gone mad, and maybe I’m too use to it that I can’t tell,” I said.

Mylicious took a drink from his canteen.  I was glad he was clothed, I was tired of seeing naked bodies everywhere. He walked over to the wood and picked up a piece, it bent under its own weight, “This is good, I will show you what to do next.”

He took a saw and cut a triangle-shaped notch in the end of some of the half logs.  He took one half and placed the notch inwards just a foot above the top center post.  He took another piece and placed the notch outwards, hooking it into the inward notch.

“Grab that end and bend it towards me.”

I took the piece he was talking about and we bent our wood towards each other, around the posts and he cut out notches at our ends and interlocked them. He then had me help him lift the boat over the posts and flip it.  He made four more pieces that finished the bottom.  He then got out a clay vase and a ladle.  He dipped the ladle into the vase and produce a tar-like substance from it and coated the joints with it.  We repeated the process twenty-three times over of coating the joints.  He then got a bigger vase, with same some substance, but used his hand this time to apply it to the boat.

“This is made from the tree sap, get it in all the gaps you see, it’ll harden,” he said and moved the cauldron away from the fire, “The steam will make it take longer, so we just have to feed the fire, but not too much, you’ll start to melt the walls,” he chuckled.

 I helped him seal the boat, both inside and out.  We scrubbed our hands off in the remaining water in the cauldron. Mylicious threw some smaller pieces of wood on the fire, “It should be ready by mid-day tomorrow.”

He left after that, I knew he was still bitter that I hadn’t agreed to take him straight to Derium’s head. I walked back down the tunnel and ran into Yura coming out of her room.

“I’m sorry for last night, I’m normally not like that,” she said.

“I know, it was the moon,” I said and continued to walk by her.

I walked into the main room and there was dead Elk in the room.  Mila and Tapeesa were covered in blood, then Yura raced passed me, then Amak and Amaruq.  The pack feasted on the uncooked Elk, covering themselves in the blood. Mylicious looked up and caught me staring, probably in disgust.

“The moon takes a lot out of us.  Mila and Tapeessa left late last night and just got back right before we finished the boat.”

“How did they get it back?” I asked confused.

“We floated it, like a raft and moved quickly.” Mila looked up, blood dripping down from her chin, smiling, proud of her work.

I went out to the wood pile, letting the pack finish their disgusting meal.  I grabbed an arm full of wood and headed back down, setting the wood off to the side to dry, then went and checked on the fire in the boat room. When I returned to the main room, the Elk was gone, and Mila walked up to me holding a pair of moccasins.

“I forgot to give these to you, I hope you like them,” she said and handed them too me.  They were soft, the insides lined with white fur, the stitching was tight on the side.  Different colored beads lined the top, I immediately sat down and took off my sandals and slid them on.  They were pleasing to my feet, soft.  Mila had the measurements right, the moccasins fit great.

I think the look on my face, spoke wonders, because when I looked at Mila she had a smile of pure joy on her face, “I think I love them,” I said.

“Well, at least you love something here,” Yura said, dagger-words if you will.

“Now Yura!” Mylicious started to scold.

“It’s okay brother,” I said,