The Shaman Read online

forget, in light of the fact that at one time he=d been the pussiest gettin= motherfucker I=ve ever met. I missed my wife too, but I put that out of my head as quickly as I could.

  We weren=t walkin= for long when the Devils in front of us veered off in a direction not in sync with my peculiar knowledge, and I began to panic.

  AUm, gentlemen, these white bastards ahead of us are going the wrong way. We run now, or we die. You can follow me if you want, but I=m gone!@ And with that I kept goin= straight on down the main road headin= east, as fast as my naked black ass would carry me.

  AWait up, Tumoc, dammit to hell, I caint run that fast,@ Leon yelled behind me. I slowed down to a slightly slower gait to let Leon catch up, and noticed that Joseph had been keepin= pace with him. To Joseph, the speed we were runnin= looked like a brisk jog.

  We were runnin= for about a minute when I noticed that we hadn=t run into any Devils to block our way. It seemed as though the second I thought that, Leon echoed my thoughts with words, gasping for breaths.

  AWhitey must=ve got cocky and thought we niggas wasn=t gonna run again after what happened when we tried it the last time. . .@ He grew silent for a moment. AAnyway, we=s some lucky Muthafuckas!@

  AYou ain=t lyin=, boomed Joseph gleefully. AIt=s >bout time some luck flew our way. Where=d you say we=re goin=?@

  AWell, all we=ve got to do is stay on this road until we run into a forest. Not one like that pine one behind us, but one full of towering elms and oaks and ash -- @

  The shattering of an arrow shaft on a red-brick building behind us cut me short. It was followed by a dark curtain of several others of its black-fletched kin.

  AKill all those damned niggers! Get >em! Get them Jigaboos!@ They were running as they were shooting, so it was no wonder that they didn=t hit any of us, yet. But we knew the chief had a pistol, and they had at least one rocket launcher, probably the same one they used to attack the caravan with. I sure hoped they didn=t have more. I was just startin= to wonder when we=d even begin to see the trees of the forest we were runnin= for when -- as was becoming quite often in the past few hours -- my thought seemed to be some sort of unordinary déjà vu. We topped a slow-rising hill, and saw the forest valley of my visions laid out before us, stretching to the far horizon. We ran so hard and so fast that my heart began to tear and pound some awfully sharp pains through my chest, and about a minute after that we reached the scattered fringe of the forest. The Devils had been slowly gaining on us the entire time. Those wiry suckers didn=t have Leon with >em, though, and we weren=t about to leave his fat-ass behind. Leon was a good friend.

  I took a sharp, subconscious-prompted left down the third or fourth grown-over dirt road we came to, and there it was, in a thicket of short bushes, the objective of my visions. It was the one thing I hadn=t yet foreseen, but I knew it as soon as I laid eyes on it. Constructed of what I knew was solid willow, it was a small structure, with the tiny shapes of a half moon and star carved into the upper half of the door, sitting under a huge leaning elm.

  AHere we are,@ I said as I ran up to open the door, the sharp thorns of the waist-high brush cutting sharply into my naked loins.

  AThis? Leon asked spitefully. AThis is where you=ve been runnin= us ragged to? An outhouse? An outhouse, Tumoc? Man, you=re fuckin= insane!@

  The door was stuck, no matter how hard I jerked on it. AJoseph, if you would?@

  Joseph gripped his slab of hand around what to him was a tiny handle, and with one fierce tug, he almost ripped the door off its hinges. That was just about the same time the first Devil popped his ugly head around the corner of the road, took aim at the largest target, and loosed. His arrow thrust itself clean through Joseph=s left tricep. His roar was horrible, deafening. Charged with adrenaline and rage, he finished ripping the door off the outhouse, and turned and threw it at the Devil like a discus. The door flew over the edge of the thicket the full ten or so meters to the Devil, without losing any steam. The door caught him under the chin as he finally tried to duck, smashing his jaw into fragments and cracking his skull. I guess it=s pointless to say he was deader than a lying narking crack-whore.

  I ran inside to clear the thick cobwebs from the toilet hole, and thrust my hand inside, feeling around for the lever.

  AThe lever, the lever,@ I mumbled to myself. AAh!@ I breathed in relief as I found it, and flipped it up. The ground fell from beneath my feet, and about a second later I landed, then fell back on something soft and yielding. I couldn=t tell what it was in the dark.

  ACode 1834729-4, confirmation Green Elf Hunts till Dawn,@ I said suddenly. Dim yellow lights burst on from the four corners of the small, rectangular room. I was laying on what looked and felt like a gigantic bean bag, that covered the entire floor. It=d raised up a thick cloud of dust, but I=d been used to travelin= dusty roads for years. . .but I started sneezing anyway. Must=ve been spores or something --

  ALeon!@ I yelled, AJoe! Get your asses down here! Unless you wanna end your life lookin= like a pin cushion!@ I moved out of the way just as Leon=s bulk blocked out the twilight stars above.

  AOof!@ was followed by a fit of sneezing as Leon landed flat on his back, missing me. Barely. He had no time at all to move out of the way before Joseph landed with both feet to either side of Leon, smiling.

  AShit!@ screamed Leon.

  AHey, I coulda landed with my knees in your stomach, or in your groin, or -- @

  AGet out from under that opening!@ I yelled, jumping up and running to the room=s only door, rusting steel, like the walls. I pushed a button, thinking that, if I=d done it earlier without activating the power systems, it would=ve done me no good. The trap door in the ceiling closed. The main door went through its air pressure sequencing, and when it finally swung open, we were greeted with the rank smell of stale air.

  AThis is it, fellas,@ I said, At that very moment I could feel every bit of the visions and internal prompting I was getting come to a close. I knew, somehow, that I wouldn=t have them about Athis@ ever again. I=ll admit, for a while, I was wondering myself if I wasn=t losin= my cotton-pickin= mind. The censors in New Africa would certainly love to hear me say that!

  AWe=re as safe now as we make ourselves, gentlemen. From now on, this is all as much a mystery to me as it is to you.@ I said.

  AI=ll take your word for it,@ said Leon, his face a mask of awe.

  AYeah,@ said Joseph, more interested in the half arrow sticking through his arm. I hadn=t noticed him break off the fletching.

  I walked through the door, and my companions followed. We found ourselves standing atop a steel staircase platform that went down into a vast, brightly lit complex of highly waxed, blue marble floors, and rough gray concrete walls. The walls were lined with doors, equipment, and dead monitor screens, with various other monitor clusters spaced out regularly through the middle of the room. A huge rectangular screen covered most of the wall to the far left of us. It read: Please enter access code. Well, I thought, if there ever was a mystery that=ll have to remain as is. . .

  ATumoc,@ Joseph grimaced, ADo you tink you could help me with dis arrow? I can=t quite get de right grip ta pull it out. Do you mind?@

  ASure,@ I said, noticing his oozing wound. ALeon, if you would hold his arm?@

  Leon gave Joseph=s physique a once over, and snorted contemptuously. AI=ll try,@ he said, his eyes saying Yeah, right.

  Leon went to stand beside Joseph, and took a firm, double-handed grip around as much of his forearm as his short arms would reach, and braced himself.

  AUmm,@ Leon almost whined.

  AYeah, ah, Joseph? You=re gonna hafta kneel down so, um. . .@

  AOh, yeah,@ he said with a rough shake of his head. He got down on his knees.

  AGet ready. . .now think peaceful thoughts, just think about -- @ Joseph bellowed like a wounded bear when I slid the damp shaft from his arm, and his flailing wounded arm managed to fling Leon against the door behind us. His skull banged hard against it with a dull thud.

  AOw! God-damn it!@ he hollered, rubbing a
quickly forming bump on his kinky head.

  Joseph looked at where the blood was pouring a little more freely from his arm, then looked at Leon. ACrybaby.@

  ADon=t make me whup yoe ass, punk. I just might be able to do it too, hit you in yoe arm or somethin=.@ Joseph chuckled.

  AWell,@ I said, starting down the stairs, AWe need to find something for that arm of yours Joseph. There=s bound to be something we can use around here. . .@ I noticed I was still holding the broken Aryan arrow, and tossed it aside.

  AAlright, spread out gentlemen, and let see what we can find,@ I said with spreading arms. AYell when ya find something.@ I started out toward the right-most door. Leon just kind of ambled along, his hands behind his back with a little spring in his step, taking in everything. Joseph=s long strides were those of a man with a serious purpose.

  AI found something!@ Leon yelled.

  AWhat?@

  AA door.@

  AHa ha.@ I started to take a closer look at my surroundings, now that some of my worries were past. I looked up at the ceiling, and noticed the bright flourescent lights that double-tubed around the edges of the room where ceiling met wall, with three double strips going down the length of the ceiling.

  The door I came to was unlocked, the room unlit. I left the heavy wooden door open, and the light from the big room was enough to see by.

  Hmn, a stairwell going down. . . I=ll check it out later. I