Tribal Series Book 1: Timeless

Six

So the question that I needed answered, and fast, was where the hell I was. Had I somehow wandered into a traditional area where the Natives lived how they did in the past? But then, how could I have traveled there from Sheila's grandma's house?

It was dark, so I could see nothing. There was a small light a few feet away from me that I assumed was a dying fire. There was a slight chill in the air that gave me goose bumps.

Other than that, I could hear nothing but the sound of rustling leaves in the wind and night critters. That made me even more uneasy. Sheila's grandma's house wasn't too far from a main road. I should hear the sound of cars.

With my heart beat picking up its pace, I rose to my feet. The first thing I needed to do, was find a way out of this place. I shuffled toward where I remembered the entrance to be.

As I shuffled towards it, I hoped to any benevolent force above that I wouldn't trip over something and get myself caught.

Luckily, I got to the entrance without any mishap. Heart still pounding, I broke out in a run. At the back of my mind, I realized that doing so was quite rash and stupid, but my adrenaline only rose.

The wind was cool against my bare skin, and the way it tangled in my hair made me feel as if I was flying. For a while, I felt as if I was the wind and it was a blissful feeling. I was light. I was free.

I was afraid.

My ears picked up the sound of muffled horse hooves pounding the ground. The sound only made my adrenaline pick up.

Before I knew it, my feet were off the ground and I was dangling from the arms of a maniac. Just then, I belted out a powerful scream. This only made him angrier, if the steely grip of his arm around my waist was any indication.

The horse stopped abruptly, and I was grateful for that.

"Stop this."

His voice cut straight through my terror and right to my heart. With a final wild slam, my heart beat slowed. In that moment of calm, I looked up at my captor. I could see his face a lot better than I thought I would have due to the full moon lodged right above us.

He looked every bit of historic plains Native that I learned about in my history classes. Well, almost. For one, he was a lot more real than a simple grainy picture or rough sketch. He was warm. And hard. Solid.

This was certainly no dream.

He hauled me onto the horse, so that I sat with my legs dangling off one side in front of him. The smell of smoked meat and a grassy smell wafted from his body. Or the horse's, I couldn't really tell.

"Who are you? Why speak Ve'ho'e?"

The sound of his harsh tone jerked me out of my thoughts. I couldn't believe he was asking me who I was.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

At the confidence in my tone, my chest swelled with pride. At least I could appear cool and collected.

The man narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. The gesture was unnerving, but I did my best not to show how affected I was by it. He leaned in closer, so that his face was mere inches from my own.

"You are not one of the people." He growled.

Even though I had no idea why he felt the need to state the obvious, I felt a sense of dread at his words.

"No, I'm not."

At my admission, most of the hard glint in his eyes disappeared. He leaned away and regarded me evenly for a time. I did the same and the longer I stared, the greater my feeling of dread became. It seemed that the more time passed, the more I realized that I was in a strange situation.

How did I end up here? Was I abducted, or did I come here in order to learn more about native history? If that was the case though, Sheila would have been with me. The more I thought on it, the more afraid I became. The more I rationalized it, the less sense it made.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

:)