Wingless

3. The Heaven

Charlie

 

            I had to convince myself that Tane was real, that I’d just held her hand minutes before. Because humans didn’t get on their knees to silently negotiate with enormous reptiles. At least, I thought that was what she was doing.

            Felix and I had gone to get wood but had come rushing to the girls’ aid when we’d heard a scream. My first thought was that Dethany had seen a snake, or at worst, someone had fallen into the swamp.

            When was I ever that fortunate?

            Tane was kneeling and impressively maintaining eye contact with an alligator; I didn’t even see her blink. Every now and then she would let out a series of quiet hisses, to which the alligator responded with its own. Her eyes looked like they were screaming.

            Felix pulled Dethany back to stand next to him, and we all watched Tane do whatever she was doing. None of us knew how to help or what she was thinking.

            After what seemed like hours but could only have been a few minutes, the alligator made a sudden move, and I jumped forward. Felix snatched my upper arm and barked an unpleasant “Wait.” I blinked. The alligator was gone. It had slithered right back into the water.

            Tane stood and none of us said anything.

            Her knees buckled slightly, and I went to catch her. She steadied herself first, her fingertips scraping the moist ground. I could feel Dethany trembling next to me.     I couldn’t hear any of us breathing. Tane blinked a couple of times and staggered the few steps toward us. Her eyes were hazy-looking. It was hard to catch her gaze; her eyes darted everywhere and nowhere.

“Dethany,” she started, her voice a pretty rasp, “are you all right?” Dethany answered in the affirmative. Tane’s reddish hair ghosted her cheeks and waved against her neck; a few locks had come out of the ponytail. She looked like a warrior who had just fought off the enemy masses alone.

 There was more silence, and my tongue became restless in my mouth as I searched for words. Her eyes were somehow both feral and soft as they searched mine for understanding.

I couldn’t give it. She was some sort of animal whisperer. Or she was insane and it had just happened to work. I began backing up when she came toward us. In fact, we all did.

“Did you just…talk to that thing?” Felix asked.

“Yes,” Tane answered, her ears twitching. Felix shook his head, not believing her but having no other explanation. “I cannot lie, Felix. It is physically impossible for me.” She spoke slowly as if she were weighing each syllable on her tongue then on her teeth then on her lips. “Must we stay here? It is suddenly quite loud.”

“No, we don’t have to stay here,” Felix said, gesturing to the three of us. Dethany nodded fervently. I felt stuck in place. Tane saw Felix and Dethany backing away from her, and her expression became calculating and contemplative at the same time.

I watched her even as Felix’s hand clamped down on my shoulder, pulling me back fast.

Dethany suggested we make a break for my house. It was the closest.

“Felix,” Tane called. My eyes darted to him, and he became a living statue. His large hand was tense on my shoulder. Dethany stopped, too. I think he was scared that Tane was going to pull some weird psychic trick on him and make his brain explode. “You have five siblings. You brought them here once. One night when your parents went to bed early, you brought them to this place. They all look up to you. You are the oldest.”