The Girls of Ohmer Chapter 14 Erika saves the day

The Girls of Ohmer Chapter 14
Erika saves the day

Erika was in the back of the wagon. When it had tilted so violently off of the road, the candle Hilario had been holding went out. It was then that she had invoked nevertime. Usually she did so slowly, in order to let time slow to a stop. Doing so in an instant felt like hitting a wall, it disoriented her. That's probably why she fell and knocked her head. Inside the wagon was dark and with the floor tilted at a severe angle, she was not quite sure where to find the door.

She began feeling her way around the small space, she recognized the softness of the side bench and worked her way up the steep incline to the back of the wagon. There she found the only exit. She tried the door and found it unlocked. "Good she said, one less thing to worry about."

Pushing the door open was another matter. It was heavy. With the wagon angled front down, it would take considerable force to lever it past it's balancing point, to open all the way.

Erika gave up trying to muscle it open and started feeling her way around the cabin of the wagon. She had located the squirrel already, and decided to leave him suspended for a reference point. She held Wentworths soft body and stood up to feel around. She bumped her head on Hilarios cheek. Feeling her way around, she found that Hilario was suspended almost in the center of the space, with his feet pointing toward the door. She drew his knife from his belt and placed it in her own belt for later use.  Further inspection revealed that Vay was just below him and Dog was against the back wall with Popsicle.

She went on to inventory anything that could help her get the door open. She found a coil of rope and a box of tools in the cupboard under the front bench. She found a collection of books and bottles of liquid under the side bench. There was also a cupboard on the back wall containing odds and ends of clothing along with some cloth sacks.

She took the knife from Hilarios belt and used it to lever the door open. When she had sufficient space she placed one of the books between the door and the door frame. Then by levering between the book and the door, she was able to make enough room for two books, which she placed next to the first book to hold the door open that much more. Using this method, she successively added book after book until there was a space sufficient for her to climb out of the wagon.

She could find nothing handy to tie the rope to so she tied it around Hilarios ankle. As long as she didn't interact with him, he would be a stable anchor in nevertime, but if she decided to move him, gravity would be in effect and he would fall to the floor. Or the corner of the wall which was under him now.

She tied the other end around her waist then crawled out of the door, using the bottom of Hilarios foot as a step. She  stood on the slanted back of the wagon trying to see what she could. The answer was nothing. Aside from the slight amount of moonlight that seemed to make the fog glow a little, she could see nothing but fog in all directions.

Gravity told her which way was down, and that was really her only option. So she began climbing down the side of the wagon until she reached the drivers seat. Visibility was only a few feet in front of her, but there was a clear path behind, where her movement had pushed the fog out of the way. Anywhere she went, became clear to her view and slightly illuminated by the glowing fog.

She continued along the rigging and onto Blues back. Crawling down the animal, she grasped his fur to keep from slipping. When she got as far down as she could, there was no clue as to what lay beyond. She looked behind her and saw a clear path through the glowing fog. She looked ahead and saw a wall of glowing fog.

They didn't call her the smart one for nothing. Erika made her way back to the cabin and grabbed two of the blankets they had been wrapped in,  the third was hopelessly  wrapped around Vay and Erika didn't want to move her yet.

Erika returned to the top of Blues head. She took one of the blankets and spread it out, then swinging it around, she managed to cut a large swath of viewable area through the fog. Then she dropped the blanket, doing her best to make it as large as possible when it fell. This cut a tunnel of clear space through the fog. She could even see where the blanked had landed. She judged that they were about as high as the roof on her house. (Or thirty feet if you are the measuring type.)  She dropped the second blanket a little to the left of the first, opening her view even more. She looked at the distance between herself and the ground. If she tied a rope to Blues horns, she could safely lower herself and be out if harms way. But what of the others? She thought. How could she get them out and down safely?

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Some time later Erika was busy filling a sack with bottles, tools, anything heavy  could find in the wagon. After that she examined the rigging she had set up. The rope tied to Hilarios ankle was going out the door and over the top of the wagon. From there it ran through one of the metal rungs on Blues harness, and finally to the sack she had just filled.

Erika had no idea if this plan would would work, she crossed he fingers then attempted to move Hilario. Her hard work filling the sack had paid off. As soon as she tried to move him, gravity took effect. All at once Hilario began to fall, the rope tightened as the weight sack fell. This caused Hilario to swing toward the door while being pulled closer to the door jam. Just as he made contact with the door, he was pulled up and out of the wagon by the increasing momentum of the weight bag. Hilario free fell for a bit until the rope caught on the harness ring. He stopped in mid air then was lifted up a couple of feet. When the bag of weight hit the stone ground below, several of the bottles inside broke, spilling their contents and thus lightening the bag. As a result Hilario was lowered safely, though roughly to the ground.

Having done that, saving the others was a simple matter of lowering the smaller members of the party by rope. However she had used all of the available rope to lower Hilario. As she considered her options, Erika remembered the sturdy leather reigns used to steer the wagon. She climbed up to where the reigns fed through a metal loop in the harness rigging. It was then that she noticed how they were stretched out tight, leading off into the fog. She tugged but could not get them to to give an inch.

"Maybe they are stuck on a limb or rock" she reasoned to herself. "Well, theres only one way to find out." Erika checked that she still had Hilarios knife, then she began inching her way along the reigns, using her hands and legs. At the end of the reigns she found Tom suspended as if in free fall. His hand was wrapped in the reigns.

Erika attempted to move tom so that gravity took effect on him. She held on tight as the two of them swung in a long arc towards the ground and up again. As the swinging slowed down, Erika could see they were still too far up to see the ground. She knew Tom might be injured but there was no avoiding it, she had to hurry and get everyone away from this plummeting wagon before it landed, and before she was exhausted. She feared that if she went to sleep, there might be another nightmare that would bring back realtime before she was ready.

Erika took Hilarios knife and severed the reigns just above where tom was holding them. She had expected to be able to hold on and climb up from there. But with all of the hard work, her arms were tired. When Tom dropped to the ground, she slipped as well. They fell about fifteen feet. Erika heard a crackling sound as she landed on top of Tom. " Oh sorry Tom." She said "I hope you'll be OK."

She then went to climb the rope that was attached to Hilarios ankle. It was no use. The rope was slick with moisture from the fog, and should she was just too tired to climb it.

Erika looked at the rope going streight up through the tunnel in the fog. She looked at the weight bag dangling above. She looked at the way the rope held Hilarios leg up. She decided to take the express route back to the wagon. She unraveled the part of the reigns from Toms hand and used this portion to secure herself to the rope. Then should she cut the rope from Hilarios ankle and let gravity do the rest. The bag fell and she rose. When she got to the top, she secured the rope and climbed to the wagon door. She put the dog, the cat and the squirrel in a sack then she picked up Vay and using the reigns she secured the littlest Ohmer girl to her back.

Erika climbed out and down to the front of Blue. Here she tied the sack of animals to the reigns and lowered them all to the ground. Then she was about to slide down the rope with Vay on her back when she thought of Blue. He was most certainly too heavy to move. She only hoped he was strong enough to survive the impact. Just to give him a better chance, Erika unfastened the buckles that held  Blue in the harness. Now he would not be attached to the wreckage should he survive.

Erika slid down the rope, carried Vay and the bag of animals to a safe distance, and started the task of dragging the two men away from where the wagon would impact. Hilario was smallest, she took him first. Despite his small size He was quite heavy. Erika pulled with all her might yet only managed in moving him just a foot or so. She tried again, and again, each time making little progress. But she did make progress and eventually he was propped against the opposite side of the ravine next to Vay, popsicle, dog, and Wentworth.

By the time she got Tom out of harms way, she collapsed in exhaustion, too tired to lift her arms. She slept.

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Erika didn't dream of unicorns or butterflies. There were no open meadows of flowers. Only fog and the sound of flapping wings. Not the soft flutter of birds wings, but the leathery flap like that of bats wings.

In her dream the fog fell away. She looked up and saw the clear night sky above her. She heard the wings flapping and saw they were her own. Big black wings stretching out and above her, then pushing down with mighty thrusts of muscles she didn't know she had. She looked down and saw that she was holding a doll of sorts. Her hands were clawed and scaled. Sharp protrusions jutted out of her knuckles. She looked at the doll and realized it looked just like Nina.  A crying Nina doll , she thought, how strange. She flew across mountains for as far as she could see. Finally she descended to a place where a trail entered a dark passage. There was a veil of sparkling black mist. When she landed she spoke words in a language that she did not comprehend, "Emosewa siyrrot!" Pronouncing the S's with an elongated hiss and rolling the double R's like the purr of some dangerous reptile. The veil lifted to reveal a smooth dim corridor with stairs leading down into the mountain. She walked in and woke up.

Erika awoke feeling disoriented. Had she been flying? The tendrils of the dream slipped from her mind as she realized where she was, what she was doing.  She was sore all over from the strain of getting everyone out if the wagon. They were all together behind a large boulder. This valley must have been full of water at some time. It was full of boulders of every size that rested on the gravel bottom. But then, only a small stream flowed through the center. Well actually nothing flowed right then not even time.

Erika raised her hands and slowly brought them down invoking realtime.

There was a thunderous crash of splintering wood and snapping metal. The ground shook with a thud that vibrated under Erikas feet. The contents of the bottles mixed causing a fantastic chemical reaction purple and blue flames spouting green smoke.

Hilario screamed. "Mamaaaa!' And then cut it off short realizing he was OK. Everyone in the small group was startled accept for Tom. Tom was gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of him when the demon knocked him out if the drivers seat. He was gasping through the pain of ribs that had been cracked when Erika landed on him. He was gasping through the fear that he was dying after all these centuries.

The dog and the cat were huddled together, shaking. The squirrel was prancing around Tom, chattering.

Hilario looked at Erika, "Hey Erika timestopper, is good you do that" he said giving her a thumbs up and a wide smile. Hilario pointed to the wreck with his thumb. I don't think we would feel so good after that.

Erika looked around the boulder to see the heap of twisted metal and splintered wood. Blue had landed head first, digging a deep furrow into the gravel. He sprang up onto all four hooves shaking his head and looking around confusedly. One of his golden horns had been broken off, leaving a shiny stump on the right side of his head.

Hilario and Erika looked behind them at the chattering squirrel and at Tom. "Oh Tom!" Erika exclaimed as she rushed to his side.

Hilario knelt down beside him."Hey Tom! You OK? Oh man you don't look so good."

Tom was wheezing, his eyes where wide and his color was pale. He struggled to speak. " just.... a...... moment,...... I...." he took a deep raspy breath and coughed. The pain was evident on his usually smiling face. "Some......thing.......broken..." he went on to coughing and then laid still, breathing shallowly.

Erika looked at Hilario. "What do we do?" She asked.

Hilario smiled. "Don't worry girly, We can make him feel better. We'll camp here for the night and then decide what to do in the morning."

Erika gathered wood for a fire, while Hilario went in search of herbs for a pain remedy for Tom. Vay and the animals were curled up in a blanket.

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Ninas new quarters were quite plush. The bed was adorned with dark silk pillows and soft blankets. The room was spacious, containing everything a person could need. There was a table nearby with bowls of fruit, bread, and dried meat. Along with a pitcher of water and a bottle of wine.

"What is this about?" Nina wondered aloud as she surveyed her surroundings. Her neck hurt from being picked up by her hair. But aside from that she was unharmed.

She knew she had to be at Brocks fortress. He was the only one stupid enough in his greed to employ the help of demons. But why in this posh room? Why had she not been killed outright?

The room was indeed lavish. All of the furniture was made from rare wood and carved with the most painstaking detail. Unlike other claw footed tables she had seen, the one that held her food looked as if those claws were real not just carvings in wood.  The walls of the room were solid rock, polished to a brilliant gloss. It was like looking into a dark mirror, a puddle of black oil.

She went to examine the door as this was the only obvious exit.
It was thick wood with finely wrought steel bands. The bands were made to resemble branches and leaves, yet their main purpose was to reinforce the 4 inch thickness of solid wood. In the center of the door was a small hatch with a grating of sharp metal blades. Knives instead of bars in this jail. Peering through the hatch she saw a very little way down the hall way to each side of her door. Right in front of her door was another that looked to be constructed the same way. There were no identifying markers on2 the door aside from the steel leaves and branches.

Just then Nina heard screaming in the corridor. She strained to look down the hall, but the knife blade bars concealed too much. Nina waited foe the noise to approach before risking another glance.  When she did, Nina spied a woman who looked to have been beaten within an inch of her life. She was taken to the room across the hall and pushed in by a well dressed guard of some sort.

The woman stumbled, almost fell, and righted herself in the last moment. The guard pushed her down into a chair and whispered something into her ear. She screamed a mournful wail. " Not my boy! No no you can't kill my precious TimBob!"

"Oh given him a name have we?" The overseer sneered at Emilia. "Well it's no matter, " he grinned. "He'll never even learn it. The child burns tonight! He will be a sacrifice to the kingdom!" The overseer jeered as he turned and slammed the door. Taking a silver key and locking the bolt.

As he turned to leave he spotted Nina gazing at him through the small hatch in the door.

"Ahh our new guest" the overseer said graciously. "Perhaps when I have more time we can get better acquainted." He gave Nina a wink that sent shivers of revulsion down her spine.

Instead of putting him in his place she turned her head slightly, let the sparkle shine in her eyes and replied" maybe this place won't be so lonely for me after all." She gave him a coy look and brushed a strand of hair put of her face.

The overseer stammered. " uh uh umm ahhh yes,  I um must go but I'll return with fresh food. " He turned to leave and bumped into a stool knocking it over. He righted it,catching another glimpse of her face before blushing and hurrying down the hall.

Nina smiled to herself. "Wicked wiles for wicked men."