Walk A Different Path 🤍 Jaa/First

Chapter 15 ~ community spirit ~

"father, father wake up ..."

When he got to their door he pounded on it loudly, 

"father, mother I'm coming in" Maskwa said turning the handle.

"what's going on Maskwa?" a voice spoke in the darkness then a match was struck illuminating his fathers face as he lit a candle that was by the bed.

"listen, can you hear that noise? and all the lights have gone out at the resort"

"shit, it sounds like an earthquake, I'll wake your mother, get outside son, now" his father said.

"honey, wake up" Maskwa's father said to his wife.

"what's wrong dear ..."

"we need to get up and get out of the house, there's an earthquake"

"oh gosh, what about Maskwa?" she replied.

"he's already up and outside, he came to wake us, now hurry"

The pair dressed quickly in their warmest clothes and rushed downstairs before grabbing their boots and coats the Maskwa's mother grabbed a few valuables before they both raced outside to look up the mountain.

The village came awake as other people came out of their houses and they all began to gather and stared up at the resort to see if the lights were going to come back on. The rumbling became louder and they thought they could hear roaring then someone noticed that the trees looked like they were moving.

"it's an avalanche" someone said.

"what do we do, where do we go?" a woman called out.

"see where the trees aren't moving, we need to move as close to them as possible and try and get up hill" an elder said.

"but that's heading straight at it" one of the younger guys said.

"trust me boy, my grandfather lived through one when he was a kid, we try and get uphill and try and get around it, if we go back inside and go down to our basements we could get buried alive, we have to head towards the trees that aren't moving" the elder said.

"then let's hurry" another said as they all started running as fast as they could not away from the snow that was sliding down the mountain but to the side of it.

They heard the sound of breaking glass and an explosion as something happened at the resort and they began to move faster.

"father I'm going back to let the horses out of the barn" Maskwa said.

"well hurry" his father said.

Maskwa ran back into the path of the avalanche then across to their house before running into the barn and crooning to the horses to calm them.

He threw open the doors to the stalls and smacked the horses on their rumps making them move, 

"come on Maisie girl, you're the oldest, show them where to go"

Maskwa got to Cara and she was shivering in fear,

"Cara, you have to be brave, do you want Sam to come back and hear you were like this, show him how brave you are girl, show me what a brave girl you are, get out there and follow the others go on, I'll find you after, I promise"

Maskwa watched as Cara looked at the open door then back at him then back at the door before she ran outside into the cold night air.

Maskwa looked around the barn just to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything until he heard a loud bang and saw a tree branch pierce through the roof of the barn. More loud bangs followed as he ran towards the door but a piece of timber fell and hit him on his forehead making him fall to his knees.

He continued to try to crawl to the door but the barn was falling on top of him,

"come this way Maskwa" a voice spoke softly in his ear.

"Pipon?" Maskwa called out but he couldn't see clearly 

"kiwîsâmitin, come with me Maskwa" the voice said and Maskwa felt someone take his hand and tug.

He had no idea where he was being led, only that he staggered behind whoever was holding his hand then the voice told him to get on his knees and crawl so he did.

There were loud bangs all around him as the barn roof fell in and things got crushed beneath the heavy timber. Maskwa couldn't see anything, it was so dark and he was sure he had blood in his eyes but the hand kept holding his.

Suddenly there was silence all around him, just creaking here and there as the wood settled and Maskwa wondered how much oxygen he had left wherever he was. He was leaning against what felt like a large wheel and he figured he was under the old trailer so he would just sit tight until it got light.

He wondered if his parents were ok and if the village people had managed to bypass the avalanche, his head was throbbing and he was feeling the cold now but the hand kept hold of his throughout

"it's going to be alright Maskwa, you're going to be ok, just don't fall asleep, you mustn't fall asleep.

"is that you Pipon?" he asked.

"shhh kâkito, be quiet, you must conserve your air" the voice replied.

The only sounds that could be heard were Maskwa's shallow breathing and the timber creaking above him. He just had to wait it out, his father knew where he was so it wouldn't be long, that's if they had made it.

He thought about Sam and wondered what he would be doing right now and still the cold hand held his.

Maskwa didn't know how long he had been there, his pants were cold and wet and he was shivering. He tried to remember what time it had happened ... maybe about 11.30pm, surely the sun must be up by now, why was it still dark?

He was so tired and he was having difficulty keeping his eyes open, he thought he saw a sliver of light flash before his eyes and the last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was the hand letting go.

***

~ if you enjoyed this please vote ~