Time Drifters

“Trinder… shhh!”

I thought about the mosquito but instead it was Thomas’ face hovering over me. I jolted awake but his hand on my shoulder kept me still while his finger crossed his lips, signaling for silence. I nodded and he moved quickly to the door as I stumbled to my feet. Just outside, he stopped me. Caelen was propped up against the outside wall, sound asleep.

“You’re good with horses,” he whispered. “Do something nice for Caelen and go get his unhitched from the tree.”

I flinched. I didn’t want to admit that I had absolutely no knowledge of horses. But if Thomas was taking this for granted, he must know something about me that I wasn’t aware of… yet. Maybe it was an innate ability, like the feelings that I had about people. It felt like he was giving me an opportunity.

“Go on,” he said, seeming impatient, stepping around the corner of the cabin and fumbling with his trousers.

The sky already had tones of yellow brightening the colored tops of the trees even though the shadows through the forest and beyond the clearing were still blue and dull.

I looked at Caelen, thinking how nice he’d been to me. His head looked almost rectangular in structure, although it had blunt curves to it, and especially where his red beard covered his jaw. He looked younger as he slept… but still older, I thought, than his 17 years. And how would I get from 12 to 17? If I were his age, would I be similarly strong and brave?

I heard Thomas move inside the cabin and I figured I’d better hurry. I picked up my feet as I walked because the grass had lots of dew and it made a swishing noise as my shoes brushed it. The horse had already heard me and turned an eye and then its whole head, casually observing my progress.

As I got closer, however, he stirred and the muscles in his neck twitched. He raised his neck full up and shuffled backward a bit. His nostrils were flaring as he exhaled in short spurts.

I got gooseflesh on my arms and the back of my neck. The closer I got, the bigger the horse looked. That’s okay, I told myself. He’s domesticated. He’s used to people and to having riders. I had a way with horses, supposedly. I knew they were sensitive, so I decided to try projecting mind talk, just to let him know I came with good intentions.

“I come in peace,” I thought. He only looked mildly alarmed as I held out my down-turned fist. “I come in peace and I’m going to free you now,” I thought, scanning the knot of rope that attached him to the tree.

He swooshed his head in a loop and made a deep grumbling sound. He must like the idea of being free, I figured. He rippled his lips and I saw a flash of tooth, which made me change the direction of my hand from the side of his snout towards his neck. But he tugged sideways on the rope. Better do that first, I thought, since it appeared to be what he wanted. I could share an appreciative pat afterwards.

“The knot was simple enough to figure out, if you were a human,” I mind-projected this in a fraternal way, so the horse wouldn’t feel badly about himself. Oh! He was a “he,” yes? Yes.

The knot had barely loosened when the horse gave a testing tug. The rope began sliding very quickly around the trunk and the small branch. I jerked forward to grab at it. The rough hemp burned my skin and I jumped away.

This instantly alarmed the horse and he hopped backwards. I wheeled and lunged for the rope. My fingers clutched it but I fell to my knees. The horse whickered wildly and reared, testing his newfound freedom.

“No, no!” I cried, seeing him pulling quickly away and feeling the slack in the rope disappearing. I scrambled to get to my feet but I slipped on the damp leaves.

I looked up and saw the horse jolt on his front hooves and then rear. The mass of his body filled the sky above me. I knew he was going to come down on me, squashing me like a bug.

The impact came faster than I expected. In a flash of buckskin and fringe, Walker crashed into the side of me, knocking me to the ground and over to the right. My nose ended up in a clump of wet moss and wild mushrooms.

I looked up and saw him holding the rope, calming the horse, speaking to it softly in his Native Sioux. And the wild beast had changed instantly, as though nothing had just happened.

“What the hell?” I saw Thomas storming towards us, with Caelen jolting awake and Marijka appearing at the door.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Hold here,” Walker instructed me firmly.

I scrambled to my feet. “But I just…” I objected.

“Hold,” Walker insisted, placing the rope in my hand, which was now less than the width of my fist away from the snoot of the beast. I grabbed it.

“I tell you to do something so simple,” Thomas said, approaching us. He didn’t get to finish his thought because Walker’s fist was sure and swift and true. It landed in his stomach and doubled him over so badly than he dropped to his knees.

Marijka gasped, but Caelen held her back. I gripped the rope so tightly, I wouldn’t have let a transport truck pull my hand away.

Thomas wheezed and finally drew breath very slowly. Walker kneeled at his side and spoke directly into Thomas’ ear. It was too quiet to hear, but I saw Thomas’ eyes widen and his gaze shoot up right at me for a moment.

Walker stood and took the rope from me without comment, leading the horse to another area of grass before tying him to a different tree.

“We must go now,” Walker said. “We must fulfill our plan for Mazel Tov… Good destiny.”

I felt a smirk coming on, but I bit my lip. I was still shaking from the excitement and my heart was pounding. I was ready to run miles right now. I knew I could.