Chapter 6: Leana

For three days their captors had herded them along without mercy. Leana and her companions struggled to keep moving, as they knew that to fall would be the end of them. Marda had already been lost, and the drogs had made it plain that they would not hesitate to slaughter any others who could not keep up. She, and the five others who were left, were harried along.

Toll limped, and wore a rough bandage around his upper arm. Han appeared uninjured, but the others, Alta, Gert, and Bet, all bore marks of rough handling. She herself carried a bruise on her cheek; one of the savages had punished her for looking to the side of the trail. Though it seemed hopeless, Leana was sure that Seth would follow, and would rescue them. She tried to rally the little band at every opportunity, but as the hours dragged on their hope faded, and they trudged like uncaring, mindless things.

She looked again at the drog nearest her. It (to refer to it as “he” would have been too repulsive to consider) was shorter than she, and stocky. Well muscled, it moved with little regard for whatever was in front of it, though it moved gracelessly. There was little that was human about its actions. Nor did its face reflect any human expressions, save, possibly, hatred. She had seen those yellowish colored eyes, and pasty skin before, in two or three human babies that had not survived long after birth. But had they lived, those infants certainly would not have grown into anything like this. Like its fellows, it was nearly naked, and almost hairless. And like its fellows, as far as she could tell, it was sexless. As she glanced around, she could see no difference in them – all were formed the same, and seemed unnatural, clumsily made counterfeits of humanity.

But there was something different in the one who led them. She had tried at first to reason with the drogs, but they had rebuffed her every attempt, and soon made it plain that they would tolerate no more pleas from their prisoners. The leader, an ugly, scarred brute that she had named ‘One-ear’, simply snarled at any who approached him, and Leana sensed a difference in him, an intelligence that was not apparent in the others. He seemed more intelligent, able to consider his actions before taking them, as if making choices instead of following blind instinct. The others deferred to him reluctantly, and there was no doubt they hated him, but they reacted when he snarled commands at them, and they followed his direction. For some reason this frightened her the most.

They struggled on.

Suddenly, at the far edge of her consciousness, a thought flickered, like a beacon fire on a far-off hillside, and she strained every sense to catch it. Faint at first, it gained in intensity as she concentrated. It faded in and out, and she glanced fearfully around her, almost afraid her captors would sense it as well. But the brutish faces she could see nearby showed no hint of awareness, only unfocused cruelty, and she dared not attract their attention. One-ear, likewise, showed no sign of having heard anything, but she watched him furtively, for any sign of alarm.

Then she sensed, clearly, unmistakably, “Leana!” This time it was all she could do to keep from responding verbally, but she composed herself and answered in the same manner. “Seth! I hear you! Where are you? Are you alone?” The thoughts and questions crowded in and pushed aside all other sensations. She could hear him plainly now, and that was all that mattered to her.

The response startled her. “Not, alone, mother, there are several of us following you, besides Seth and me.” Tia’s ‘voice’ was clear, and stronger than Seth’s, and she could sense the relief in it. “Can you use my eyes to see them?”

“Tia! But how? How long?” Leana saw One-ear looking her way suspiciously, and bent to increase the rate of her shuffling. “When did you... ?”

“Not now!” Tia’s thoughts seemed calm, but her mother sensed an underlying awareness of extreme danger and caution in them. “Look up again, and look to the right. Do you see the three large boulders, with the dead tree behind them?”

Careful not to attract more attention, Leana glanced to the right and located the place. “Yes, I see it, “ she replied “what do you want us to do?”

“That is where we will make our attack, so we need you to drop low. Seth and Aard will be shooting from both sides, and Dann is following after. I will be there to cut the thongs holding you, and we will run to the middle boulder. There is a space behind it where it will be safe for a time. Do you think you can get the others to follow?”

“I will try,” replied Leana, “But they are weary and frightened. Are Seth and Dann well? Why can I not hear them?”

“No time for that!” There was increased urgency in Tia’s thought; “Better this way for now. You are too near the place, and there is no time to waste.”

Leana glanced around at the others. They were tired, but their Group instinct should be enough to rally them to follow her lead. She tried to reach out to Gert, but in her haste she was clumsy, and startled him. He tripped and rolled, drawing the attention of one of their guards. He regained his feet as the savage threatened him with his spear, and continued, frightened at what had just happened.

Leana realized she had been holding her breath, and let it out in relief. ‘That was too close, ‘ she thought. Wait! She had an idea. If her thought had caused her friend to trip, what would it do to the man threatening him? She concentrated her thoughts on that individual, and he jerked and turned around as if assaulted physically. She withdrew her thought as quickly as she had sent it, and he looked at one of the other guards and muttered something. The second guard shook his head, and kept shoving their captives along.

She reached out again, and this time the man stopped and looked around to see who was calling him. The other guards were intent on their tasks, and paid him no attention. He yelled something at the others, and turned his attention back to his charge.

Emboldened, Leana reached out once more, as they neared the three stones. This time she tried to reach two of their guards, on opposite sides of the small group of captives, with startling results! As one of them raised his head to see who was calling to him, she screamed to her group a warning in their own home code. “Down! Danger!” Their conditioned response saved them.

Surprised by the sudden dropping of the group, and distracted by the actions of the two confused guards, the other savages stood to see what was happening. Arrows and darts came from both sides, and from behind, and the savages dropped like stones.

One was untouched in the ambush, and raised his spear to strike back at the nearest captive. Leana reached out again and struck at him with her mind. He dropped his spear, covered his head in terror, and died on the spot, as Tia’s arrow pierced his eye. In an instant all was quiet.

The group remained huddled together as Seth made his way from the boulders to them, rising uncertainly as he approached. Only Leana ran to him. “I never thought to see you again!” She sobbed in relief as they embraced, and Dann, Tia and Aard joined them. Doe and two of the other prisoners were likewise hugging one another, while others were making sure their captors were indeed dead, and busily stripping any weapons and food from them.