Blaze (The High-Born Epic) Page 3

  Harold read for a while, and then turned off the light.

  That night he dreamed about Colonel Foxx’s pytheel and something about fire. But he often dreamed about fire, so he really didn’t think that much about it.

  Chapter 3

  Harold opened the back door and started across the yard. As he walked, he ate a piece of cornbread leftover from supper and looked above. Though the eastern sky was turning red, the sun had not cleared the horizon. When Harold walked into the barn, the mule actually puffed loudly in her stall. He tossed her some dried corn cobs, a charge of hay, and gave her some water. While she ate, he walked outside and looked past the field out over the slight decline and seemingly a carpet of tree tops. He could see Colonel Foxx’s house underneath his electric security lights. Farther on the horizon, he could see the High-Born city and the silhouettes of its skyscrapers covered by tiny squares of light. There were only a few red dots moving slowly between the buildings, mostly air taxis. He squinted and could even make out the jagged tops of the partially-destroyed skyscrapers. The High-Born didn’t seem to bother with restoring power to them.

  He leaned against the side of the barn and curled his toes in the morning dew. Sleep still clung lightly to him and he rubbed his eyes as he yawned. Scape padded up, wagging his tail and letting his ears droop. Harold reached down and stroked Scape’s head and they both stood there for a few minutes, listening to the shuffling of the mule in her stall. He looked towards Colonel Foxx’s mansion and noticed something strange. Scape noticed where Harold was looking and he also looked in that direction. Colonel Foxx was awake and was walking around the pond. Scape whimpered and put his ears over his eyes. Harold shook his head and looked more closely at Colonel Foxx. He was pacing around the fence, looking intently at the ground surrounding it.

  “That’s odd,” Harold said to himself. He didn’t usually see the colonel, and certainly never this early in the morning.

  “Something must be wrong,” he whispered.

  Harold looked at the island, and he didn’t see the snake. He felt oddly warm.

  Then, he noticed that the mule wasn’t making noise anymore. He walked back into the barn and took the collar off the wall, and walked toward her. She flicked her ear and turned her head, and pressed her nose against the side of the barn. Harold smiled as he shook his head, then he just let the collar and bridle dangle at his side.

  “All right, old girl,” he said and rubbed her neck and tried to slip the bridle over her ears. “Let’s see. Hmmm... I got it, you’re Miss Sassy today, right?”

  The mule was now pressing her head against the side of the barn in an effort to stymie his attempts to bridle her. He took a deep breath and watched her for a few moments.

  She wasn’t budging.

  After a couple of minutes, she seemed to relax and he managed to get the bridle over one ear before she pressed her head against the side of the barn again, tucking her other ear between her neck and the wall. He took another break, and after a few moments the mule looked at him. Harold snickered at the way the dangling bridle hung at an odd angle so that it resembled badly matted hair.

  Harold could see it coming.

  “Oh, no,” he said.

  Then Miss Sassy began braying...

  and braying...

  and braying...

  and braying...

  As it just kept getting louder and louder, Harold turned his head and clapped the ear closest to her. With his other ear, Harold could actually hear the braying echoing through the woods and village. The impossibly loud braying went on and on and on.

  Several minutes later, the fit finally ended.

  “Keep going,” Harold said with an amused laugh, flicking his head toward the city, “no sense stopping now. I’m sure that the entire village is awake now, and at least half the city, may as well wake the other half.”

  Miss Sassy just glared at him for a few seconds.

  Then, she obliged him.

  This episode of braying dwarfed the previous in both volume and length of time. The racket resounded through the sleeping village. This time, in the short breaks between outbursts, Harold could hear his neighbors shouting something unintelligible.

  “I think you’ve got a fan club, now,” Harold smiled as he kept the ear facing her plugged with a hand.

  Finally, she stopped.

  “Well,” Harold chuckled as he pointed toward the skyscrapers. “No doubt, that got the rest of ‘em.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Harold emerged from the barn back first, pulling and tugging with everything he had. His feet occasionally slipped, but he always quickly righted himself; he was almost completely covered with sweat. The bridle was stretched to its entire length and the mule had her feet set firm. Harold’s left suspender was broken and dangling, and there were two large chunks missing from his straw hat. The mule still had part of the hat in her mouth.

  After another fifteen minutes, Harold was sitting on the stack of firewood against the barn and the mule was grazing in the back yard. Harold walked to the well and pumped himself some water. He took several large swigs from the ladle, and looked at the mule.

  She was eyeing him suspiciously. He shook his head and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

  Over the course of the next half hour, he tugged and fought with the mule, and eventually he got the bridle and collar on her. They were barely halfway done with the first row when the mule stopped.

  She turned and looked at Harold.

  “Oh, no.”

  A massive and loud puff of air came from her behind.

  “So, Miss Sassy,” Harold said as he used his hat to clear the foul-smelling air. “I see you’ve just become Miss Windy, huh?”

  The mule turned her head so that Harold could see her face.

  Her lips were apart, showing her teeth.

  “I hope that’s not a smile I see.”

  The mule then brayed. Harold almost thought she was laughing.

  Harold let the mule bray until she stopped.

  Then, he just shook his head and continued plowing. Then time passed fairly quickly and about mid-morning, something caught his attention and he looked up to see Scape bounding across the field. Apparently he had been off in the woods trying to find himself something to eat and was now returning. Just as Scape was nearing him, Harold heard someone else running towards him, and he turned to see Cooper’s beaming smile.

  “Scott and Sarah can come this afternoon!” he shouted as Scape stopped in front of him and began barking. “Me and Scott are gonna’ play Wolf-Man and Tiger-Man!”

  Harold couldn’t help but to smile, “That’s great, I’ll be finished in a bit.”

  “All right, see you in a little while, Harold!” Cooper said as he ran off, chopping and kicking the air as he devastated an imaginary opponent. Scape followed the little boy and ran in circles around him while making his strange barking noise

  Harold had the ornery mule back in the barn just before the sun was high, and dumped a few dried corn cobs in her trough before giving her some hay. Then, he poured some water in her trough, and went to the house.

  Aunt Nean had prepared ham-flavored turnips, cornbread, and ham slices. The succulent smell made Harold’s mouth water. It had been so long since he’d had a meal like this.

  Aunt Nean held up her hand, “Remember-”

  Cooper, Ollie, and Harold all answered at the same time, “Eat slow.”

  Aunt Nean smiled and nodded. Harold noticed that she seemed really happy because they all answered in unison.

  “Since we got that deal from Phil we don’t have to ration so much now,” Aunt Nean smiled.

  Harold, Cooper, and Ollie all returned her grin.

  Though he was famished, Harold did take his time eating and savored the flavor of the ham. And the turnips, ohhh... the turnips. Harold thought. Harold chewed slowly, experiencing the ham-marinade to the utmost. Then he followed it with a bite of cornbread.

  Harold just didn’t know how it could get muc
h better than this.

  “This must’ve been what it was like before the AIR War,” Harold said, letting the turnips soak on his tongue. “Man, those folks sure had it good.”

  “If they ate like this all the time,” Cooper’s brown eyes closed as he smiled and slowly chewed a piece of ham. “They sure did.”

  “And they even got seconds at every meal,” Ollie’s blue eyes beamed as she leaned her head back, chewing her corn bread much more than necessary.

  Harold expected Aunt Nean to say something about them talking with their mouths full, but Aunt Nean just smiled. It almost looked like she was ready to cry.

  “And we can have seconds today,” Aunt Nean replied.

  Cooper, Ollie, and Harold all looked at her, jaws dropping.

  “Ohhh,” she said, wiping her eye. “The meat won’t keep anyways. Eat up.”

  Though Aunt Nean didn’t eat another plate herself, she talked and laughed while she watched Harold, Cooper, and Ollie eat for more than an hour. There was even enough for thirds, but only Harold took another small piece of ham. He didn’t think he could stomach more. Aunt Nean just watched them chew every bite like it was their last, and never once chastised them for talking with their mouths full.

  Chapter 4

  “Okay, Cooper,” a blond boy about ten years old said. “We can be on the same team this time.”

  “Okay, Scott,” Cooper said. “You can be Tiger-Man this time. I’ll be Wolf-Man.”

  “Harold,” Scott said. “You get to be a Mid-Night Stalker!”

  “Okay,” Harold replied. “Surrender or die, Wolf-Man!”

  “No,” Scott answered with a pout. “I’m Tiger-Man this time!”

  “Surrender or die, Tiger-Man!” Harold said, looking at Scott. Then he turned to Cooper “You can do nothing to stop me, Wolf-Man!”

  “You can’t catch us! Come on, Tiger-Man, to the secret base!” Scott said and ran off. Cooper stood for a moment before he ran after him.

  As Cooper and Scott ran farther down the trail, they punched and kicked the air with Scape just behind them barking and yowling.

  “Your little brother is a complete weirdo, Sarah,” Harold said, chuckling. “I think the young ‘un is loose-headed.”

  Sarah smiled, holding back a laugh. She tried to speak, and then just started laughing. After a few moments, she composed herself, but was still amused.

  “My father always tells us the story of Wolf-Man and Tiger-Man,” she replied, smiling and giggling.

  Ollie’s curious little blue eyes looked up, “What does he say?”

  “He says that he saw wolf-men and tiger-men fighting with the High-Born when he was younger.”

  “Really?” Ollie asked, her little eyes wide. “What does he say happened?”

  Harold took a deep breath and rolled his eyes.

  Sarah elbowed him, “He says that he saw the wolf-men and tiger-men fighting a High-Born tank,” Sarah said as she balled up her fist in front of Ollie’s face. “And that they tore it apart with their bare hands.”

  Ollie squinted in thought, “They tore a tank apart?”

  “That’s right,” Sarah said, rubbing Ollie’s head.

  Ollie was silent for a moment, her mind clearly having trouble processing such incredible information.

  “If they tore a tank apart, they must’ve been really strong!” she said, eyes wide.

  “The strongest,” Sarah said and made a muscle for Ollie.

  “If you keep this up,” Harold sighed as he chuckled. “She’ll be loose-headed too.”

  Sarah elbowed him a little harder this time.

  Ollie looked at Harold with such belief that he almost felt ashamed, “I bet they weren’t strong as Harold!”

  Sarah smiled.

  “Probably not, Ollie. Probably not,” Sarah said as she looped her arm in Harold’s elbow. “Harold does have some really big muscles, doesn’t he.”

  “Uh, huh,” Ollie replied. “He plows that stubborn ole mule all the time! Harold’s the only one she minds!”

  “Is that so?” Sarah asked as she raised her eyebrows.

  “Yeah,” Harold’s eyes glanced up at his mule-chewed hat. “She minds me real good.”

  “I’m glad you got her too, Harold,” Ollie said. “‘Cause I ain’t hungry much as I used to be ‘fore you got her.”

  Sarah looked at Harold.

  Harold almost gulped and felt oddly warm as he turned to meet her gaze. Those beautiful hazel eyes spoke more than words could express. He felt strangely uncomfortable, but in a good way. Then he grabbed her hand, and she quickly intertwined her fingers with his.

  As Ollie prattled about Wolf-Man and Tiger-Man, they walked down the river trail hand-in-hand.

  When they arrived at the river, Cooper and Scott were already in the water. They were sword-fighting with sticks and shouting back and forth about who hit who. Scape was running up and down the bank sniffing around. He stopped and looked off to the left, and his strange ears shot up, twisting and turning frantically. Scape bent low and began creeping off down the river, sniffing and listening as he went.

  As always, Harold would just have to wear wet overalls on the way back. He picked out a deep spot and made a shallow dive; the cool water washed over him and he glided to the spot he knew was waist-deep. The relief from the heat was immediate, and he felt refreshed even before he came up. When he surfaced, he looked for Sarah, but just saw Cooper and Scott sword fighting a little way down river. Ollie was tiptoeing down the bank, despite him having told her to just jump.

  The water in front of him bubbled, and Sarah popped up. She was very close, so close that he felt her exhale. He couldn’t understand how something in overalls could be so pretty. Her eyes met his, and she pushed back her long, black hair. Harold couldn’t help but noticing how alluring her hazel eyes and dark hair were as she fiddled with her ponytail. She moved in closer until she touched him. Harold could almost sense it. He put his arms around her waist, and she quickly hugged his neck and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

  Just as quickly as she had done it, she pushed away.

  Harold didn’t know what to think. For a moment, he didn’t know if it had really happened. Then, he saw Ollie.

  Her giggling little face told him that it had happened.

  “I’ll never hear the end of this,” he whispered to himself.

  Sarah looked at him, puzzled, and then she looked at Ollie. She smiled and nodded her head. Then, she walked toward Cooper and Scott, and found a stick.

  “Surrender, Wolf-Man and Tiger-Man,” she playfully shouted.

  Cooper and Scott looked at each other.

  “She’s a girl,” Cooper said.

  “She’s a High-Born,” Scott said. “Get her!”

  The two boys then attacked her with their sticks. They sparred for a few moments, then Sarah moved quickly and had Scott’s neck in the crook of her elbow and her stick was pointed at Cooper.

  Cooper looked at Scott, “What do I do?”

  “Take her out!” Scott replied as he pulled on Sarah’s arm.

  Cooper then attacked, and for a few moments Sarah held him off, parrying his stick with hers. Then, Harold was there and Cooper’s neck was in his elbow.

  “Surrender now, Wolf-Man!”

  “We give,” Scott said. “We give.”

  Harold and Sarah let go of the boys.

  “Now’s our chance, Wolf-Man,” Scott said to Cooper. “We can still get away if we hurry.”

  The boys took off swimming downstream like a real Wolf-Man was chasing them. Sarah and Harold started walking back upstream to where Ollie was playing in the mud. A sudden movement caught his eye and he could see a dirty, half-naked little girl running down the bank. The pair of oversized underwear she was wearing were nearly ready to fall. She was running as fast as her little legs could carry her and she jumped with both feet to land right beside Ollie.

  “Hey,” the little girl had a big smile and bright blue eyes. Then she said with a lisp,
“I’m Maddie. What urr name?”

  “Ollie,”she replied. “Wanna’ help me make mud pies?”

  “Uhh, humm,” Maggie’s face lit up as she nodded her head. “I ‘ike mud ties.”

  Ollie, Harold, and Sarah all grinned.

  “‘Fraid that we ain’t got time,” Phil replied as he came around a tree. He had a fishing pole in his hand, and a sloshing tin pail. “We’ve got to get home and clean these things. Then put ‘em in some grease.”

  “How many did you catch?” Harold asked.

  “I’ve got four bream and two bass,” he said. “So, fish for breakfast too.”

  “Aunt Nean will be finished patching Ollie’s old dress this afternoon,” Harold said. “I’ll bring it by when we leave the river today.”

  “That’ll be fine,” Phil said as he waved bye. “See you then, Harold. Come on, Maggie.”

  “See you then,” Harold waved to Phil.

  “We gots to go,” Maggie said to Ollie and ran off down the trail.

  As they walked away, Maggie stopped running, “Daddy, dat man came to oww house yes’a’day.”

  “He sure did,” he said.

  “I ‘ike him,” she said. “Him’s nice. Him gwow’s weal big.”

  “Yes,” Phil said slightly puzzled. “He’s ‘growed’ up.”

  Harold eyed Sarah and he said, “Let’s walk upstream apiece. I’ve got something I want to show you.”

  “Okay,” Sarah said.

  They walked hand-in-hand up the bank of the river in the direction that Phil and Maggie went, but they didn’t talk. Three different times Harold caught her looking at him, but when he looked back, she would quickly turn her head. Harold could almost see her heart beating through her chest, and he noticed that his was doing the same. They rounded the bend of the river, and were out of the others’ sight.

  Harold gulped, and tried to keep his voice steady, “This is what I wanted to show you.”

  He pointed at a patch of white and purple flowers. She looked at him and smiled, and they walked over to it. As they both began picking the flowers, their eyes nervously flitted back and forth as they laughed and smiled at one another. He was arranging his flowers into a bouquet, trying to make the center purple and the outside white. She was twisting hers together into something that resembled a crown. He wasn’t finished when she walked over to him, and grabbed his hat.