Chapter Thirty-five: Gatchu Mountain

Golir and Maffin led the trekkers as they flew over Jopp's prolific forests. Sketta pulled Hekin along on a hang glider. They swooped through the clouds, and Hekin screamed in trepidation.

"Let me down!" he shouted. "You're going too damn fast!"

Sketta giggled before she flew faster.

"Sketta!" he hollered. "Stop!"

"We're almost there, Hekin!" she urged. "Grab on to your butts!"

The strong wind wobbled Hekin's face and he screeched the whole time. "Slow the hell down!"

Sketta laughed as they flew over valleys and did barrel rolls before reaching the large Gatchu Mountain that loomed ahead. Its snow-capped summit glimmered in the sunlight. Sketta narrowed her eyes at noticing human footsteps on the snow that led into an opening on the west side of the mountain.

"Human survivors?" Golir whispered as they landed in the cover of the forest, close to the entrance. Hekin tumbled from the hang glider that had gotten caught in the branches of a pine tree. He screamed as he fell onto the ground and landed hard on his legs.

"Damn, I keep forgetting," Sketta muttered to herself before she tended to Hekin. "Oh, my sweet! Are you all right?"

Hekin got to his feet with a huff. "Nothing's broken but my ass!" He groaned as he rubbed it and walked. "Will you kiss my ass all better, you conniving hellraiser?"

Sketta giggled and flashed her fangs.

"Lord have mercy!" Hekin blurted before he stumbled onto a broken paved road.

"Thorn said his wind magic can't pierce the earth," Golir notified everyone as he strolled beside Hekin. "Tark said there is a maze of tunnels that runs through this mountain. There are more elsewhere, but we can start here."

"Gatchu Labyrinth," Hekin sighed. "Remind me why we agreed to tag along."

Sketta punched his arm. "You're the one that wanted to come."

"A fellow human is easier to believe," Maffin answered.

Barking dogs near the entrance alerted the area.

Sketta glanced at movement in the forest behind them before she grabbed Hekin and pulled him behind a thick tree.

Gunshots rang out from the woods.

Golir used his mace to deflect the bullets while Maffin's skin was impenetrable. The bullets lay in crumpled piles around them.

Sketta's angry eyes glowed green before a howling gale swept through the forest and lifted the gun-toting humans. The sharp daggers knocked the rifles out of their grasps and sliced the weapons into pieces.

"That's right, you weak pieces of crap!" Hekin shouted from the tree. "Oh, wait. We're supposed to evaluate them."

"For the crazy sickness," Sketta reminded.

"Yeah, that," Hekin nodded. "Well? Do they have it? I'm not going near them if they do."

Golir and Maffin approached the hunters, Golir on guard and Maffin like a predator.

Sketta stayed near Hekin as she watched their surroundings. The trekkers formed a circle around her and Hekin.

"You would think hunters would lay traps in their neck of the woods," Hekin muttered.

Sketta gasped. "Golir! Maffin! Fly ahead!"

Leg-shattering explosions erupted from the ground near Golir and Maffin. The rocks peltered them as displaced earth knocked them down. Golir and Maffin scowled at the humans until they realized a female trekker was among them. Her opal skin shimmered gold with the dapples of sunlight. Haunting blue eyes glared at them.

"Is that one of your sisters?" Golir blurted as they got to their feet.

Maffin scoffed. "None of my sisters would be so stupid as to join the likes of them!"

"Hey!" Hekin hollered. "I resent that!"

"We mean you no harm!" Golir started as he put away his mace. "My friend Maffin is a trekker, too. He has eleven brothers and sisters that are nearby."

The female trekker growled at them, baring her sharp teeth. Her human companions stood bravely beside her, their tightened fists armed with knives hinted at their readiness to fight.

"There's no need for bloodshed!" Golir spat. "Maffin, sharpening your claws isn't helping!"

Maffin turned to Golir and growled. "You think your little mace will keep you alive?"

A blue fire burst between them, and they leapt back in shock. Once they glanced at the female trekker, Sketta was speaking with her. Their curious eyes watched as Sketta gifted her a known trekker favorite meal, the fresh heart and liver of any wild game, especially boar.

The female trekker accepted it with grace, and Sketta beckoned Hekin to accompany them.

Hekin gulped as he strolled towards them. "Please don't explode," he whispered. "Please don't explode. Don't . . . Okay, we got this." He took a deep breath as Sketta took his hand and smiled.

"They call her Fianna," Sketta informed. "She's willing to let us assess the humans as long as you stay beside her."

Hekin stared at her with brows furrowed with worry. "It'll be like I'm a hostage, right?"

"I won't go anywhere without you," she assured. "Golir! Come closer!"

Golir did as she said, his darting eyes revealing that he didn't want to get blown up, either.

Once he was within reaching distance, Fianna lifted his chin and inspected him.

"What the hell is she doing?!" Golir hissed.

"Shh!" Sketta demanded. "She doesn't understand how you were able to get so close to Maffin without any injury."

"He's my friend," Golir admitted.

Fianna grunted in acknowledgement and nodded. "Follow me."

She led them into the side of the mountain and opened the steel doors.

At least twenty humans were in the shelter. They were skinny and seemed hungry.

Sketta summoned a table laden with hearty meals. They stood still, as if unsure whether to trust the newcomers or not.

"Oh! That stand-off has me starving!" Hekin blurted as he plucked a turkey leg from the table and began eating it. After he had done so, the humans appeared more at ease. With Fianna's nod, they ran to the table and ate to their hearts' content.

Once their stomachs were satisfied, many curious people surrounded Hekin, Golir, and Sketta. "Where did you come from?" a nervous mother queried as she held her baby in her arms. "Have you any news of the outside world?"

"Have you seen my papa?" a little girl asked them. "His name is Fidge."

"My son's name is Elwin," another mother uttered. "Have you seen him?"

Sketta glanced at Hekin, and he slowly shook his head. "The only survivors we have are ten women," she notified. "Clara, Onsif, Winbun, Lafasse, Bilean, Howder, Kipsie, Panyan, Miwte, and Tachai."

"It used to be more but they were witches," Hekin mumbled under his breath.

Fianna stared at him for a moment as she perked her pointed ears. "What happened to them?"

Hekin pointed out the door. "Maffin. I mean, ask him."

"He smelled like human blood," Fianna scowled. "So did the others."

"We had a falling out with the immortal witches," Hekin whispered. "They wanted to drench the world in darkness, and Maffin and his siblings stopped them with Tark and Jopp's help."

"Who are Tark and Jopp?" Fianna asked as she studied Hekin.

"Well, you remember that guy Noforl? Demons and darkness and all that?"

Fianna slowly nodded.

"Tark used our demonic powers and killed him."

"Tark did that?" Fianna reiterated, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yeah, who would've thought?" Hekin muttered before Sketta punched his arm. "Ow!"

"Tark and Jopp have made Mayzel Fort a haven for survivors," Sketta explained. "That's where the women are right now."

Fianna stared at her with a suspicious eye.

"I don't think she believes you," Hekin uttered.

Sketta sighed with exasperation. "What can we do that will ease your mind, Fianna?"

"Bring me to meet with this Tark," she demanded. "Let me speak with him. He is your commander, is he not?"

Hekin and Sketta glanced at each other. Hekin shrugged and nodded while Sketta crossed her arms.

"It'll be fine," Hekin nodded. "Tark and Jopp would love to meet her, I'm sure."

"It's not Tark I'm worried about," Sketta grumbled. "It's Jopp."

Hekin stared at her with a blank expression. "Why? What's the deal?" He sidled up to her and showed the ten chocolate bars he had in his possession. "Two says 'she'll like Tark,'" he whispered in her ear. "Two says 'she'll like Jopp, too.' What say you?"

"I'll raise you three, and I say 'she'll hate Jopp.'" Sketta whispered back. They soon turned to Fianna and smiled.