Last Wild Boy (18 page)

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Adam was right, thought Mabon as he arrived at the main valley entrance, where the old ones were busily preparing the barricade. They really were wrecking the place.

“Heartbreaking, isn't it Mabon?” Aesop said, throwing a chair on top of the pile. “All those years of building and improving this place and now we're ruining all of our belongings in a futile attempt to stop Blanchefleur from killing us all. What a waste.”

Mabon couldn't think of anything to say. Maybe it was a waste of time to try and fight the rangers. Maybe it had been a waste of time to try to save himself and Nora and Adam all those years ago. But it hadn't been a waste for him. The years he'd spent here with Nora, Adam, and the old ones were the best of his life. In a way, it was the only part of his life worth fighting for.

“Everything ends,” said Mabon finally. “Our time in the valley wasn't a waste. Even if it ends today, it was worth trying. This was a happy place for you and the others.”

“I'm sorry, Mabon,” said Aesop. “You're right, of course. It's
just that seeing all of this stuff piled here — our lives' work — hurts. But all the more reason to fight. We may not succeed, but we have to try. And we will.”

Mabon and Aesop watched the old ones as they brought carts full of their possessions and added them to the barricade. A ways off, there was another group of outsiders sorting through all the items others had brought to serve as weapons — garden tools, scythes, axes, long-handled pitchforks, hammers, all manner of knives, crow bars, boxes of nails, old barn boards, jars of cooking oil, and rolls of barbed wire. The drum of gasoline stood nearby, next to several boxes of empty glass jars filled with liquid and strung with cotton fuses.

Closer to the main building entrance a group of the feebler old ones was sitting on the ground, stringing bows. Mabon and Aesop walked over to admire them. Mabon picked one up and tested the tension of the string. “These are well made,” he said to Aesop, nodding in approval. “Do you know whether Brin finished the arrows?”

“Yes, he did. He's pretty proud of them. He used feathers from the chickens for the fletching and flattened nails for the points. The old ones may not take out many rangers, but they'll certainly be able to distract them.”

“When do you think the rangers will come?” asked Mabon.

“Soon, I hope. Everything we could add to the pile — beds, chairs, cook stoves — is there, which doesn't leave us much to
get by with while we wait. But not too soon, either. Not until
we're ready to defend ourselves.”

Mabon nodded. “There's still lots to be done. I should get back to work.” He gathered all the bows together, and then headed off to find Brin's arrows. When he had everything he needed, he took a few of the old ones aside and demonstrated how to shoot the arrows high in the air.

Mabon, Nora, Adam, and the old ones spent the rest of the
evening and much of the night training and preparing for the battle ahead. By the time the sun started to rise, the entrance to the valley was completely barricaded, and obstacles were set up all over the area.

Just as the morning dews began to dry, Mabon, Nora, and Adam stashed their packs and a coil of rope at the cliff they were planning to descend from when the time came to make their escape. With Lucky chasing at their heels, they walked back down toward
the valley floor hand-in-hand, each trying to enjoy what they
knew might be their last morning together as a family.

As they neared the barricade, Lucky began to bark wildly. Everyone stopped and listened, and soon they could hear the sounds of loud shouting and cheering in the distance.

The valley erupted with motion as the old ones prepared for
battle. Mabon, Brin, and Aesop began breaking hay bales and
scattering the dried grasses over the area, carefully avoiding the tangled barbed wire and the jumble of old boards bristling with sharp nails that lay at their feet. Nora helped some of the other old ones pour a mix of gas and oil all over the freshly strewn hay, and Adam secured Lucky in a nearby hut. All this time the voices and the chanting of the rangers grew louder as they approached the valley rim.

“Everyone get ready!” Mabon shouted suddenly, slinging his bow and quiver of arrows over his back and grabbing a handful of oil-soaked arrows to carry with him.

Adam led the way up and over the tangled pile of their
belongings to the top of the barricade. Brin was one of the last to climb up, and it took a bit of pushing and propping on the part of some of the old ones, but he made it to the top. Everyone took their positions and waited with bows and arrows at the ready
.

Nora watched as the rangers began to climb boldly over the mounds of straw and hay, machetes brandished high over their heads. Several of them stepped on the nails below and cried out in pain, while others cursed aloud as they found themselves tangled in the sharp coils of the barbed wire.

“Ready!” shouted Mabon. The old ones at the sides of the barricade took arrows from their quivers, notched them, and drew back their strings as best they could.

“Now!” called Mabon. Several dozen arrows flew high up into the sky and fell down like vicious rain on the hoard of rangers below. The rangers cried out in surprise and pain.

Mabon chose two oil-soaked arrows and struck a match. He lit one and then the other and sent them directly into the straw, which burst into a wall of roaring flame. The rangers caught in the blaze screamed in agony while the others struggled frantically to save them.

Two of the rangers managed to break through the burning
straw and run toward the barricade. Mabon notched an arrow and was ready to fire at the first ranger when the man fell, an arrow jutting from his shoulder. Mabon looked over to see Adam behind him, still in position, and startled by the effect of his own shot. Mabon shifted his aim and brought down the second ranger with an arrow to the chest.

The ranger Adam had wounded came suddenly to his feet and, after breaking the shaft of the arrow in his shoulder, clambered up the barricade furiously, his machete raised high in his good hand. He was heading straight for Adam. Mabon reached for an arrow, but before he could get it strung Nora aimed her own at the frenzied ranger and released. It glanced harmlessly off the man's shoulder. Mabon followed hers with a shot that struck the man directly in the neck. His lifeless body tumbled to the ground.

The fire had died down quickly and the rangers were now working on stamping out the remaining flames. Several of their party were badly burned. Nora was sickened by the violence — the stench of burning oil and the screams of pain made her nauseous. Nonetheless, she continued to contribute to the steady rain of arrows that found their mark often enough to eventually send the attackers fleeing back down the slope and out of sight.

“They're gone!” shouted Adam. There was a loud cheer from the old ones behind the barricade.

“They'll be back,” said Nora, “and next time there'll be nothing to slow them down. They'll be coming straight at us.”

“Nora's right,” Mabon said. “How's our supply of arrows?”

“Plenty left up here, and several other buckets down at the bottom of the barricade,” said Aesop.

“Refill your quivers and prepare yourselves,” said Mabon.

“We'll head down and drag the wire back across the entrance and scatter more hay and oil,” said Brin, speaking for himself and a few of his kitchen crew. They clambered down the barricade to the entranceway and began tugging at the mangled clump of barbed wire. They had only managed to pull it halfway across when someone up above shouted, “They're coming back!” The kitchen crew took off, tugging Brin along with them.

“You three had better clear out now,” Aesop called to Mabon. “This could be the end. We'll take over from here.”

“Help!” someone cried from below. Mabon looked down to
see Brin, who had fallen as he'd tried to climb up the barricade. Three large rangers were almost upon him. The other old ones were forced to retreat and were scrambling to the top of the barricade. Brin managed to get to his feet, and backed up toward the barricade, slowly shifting from foot to foot.

Mabon let fly an arrow that struck one of the attacking rangers in the arm. It slowed him down, but the other two carried on at full speed.

Brin reached into his loose cloak and pulled out a sizable cleaver and a large carving knife. “Which one of you wants to be carved first?” he said, swiping the knives out in front of him and trying to look as deadly as he could.

One of the rangers swung his machete and Brin ducked to
avoid the blade. As he did, he fell to the ground, but on his way down he somehow managed to drive his cleaver into the ranger's thigh. The ranger howled in pain and bore down on Brin.

“No!” Nora screamed.

She, Adam, and Mabon sent a flurry of arrows down at the
ranger as he attacked, but not enough to save their friend's life.

As the battle waged on, Nora thought about the world history book she hated so much and knew that if someone wrote the story of what was happening around them right now, it would be just as horrible and cruel as the outrages from the past. It was fight or die for both sides, and most would probably die.

Just as Nora thought they might be making progress, a second battalion of rangers came barrelling up the hill, yelling and shouting as loud as they could. Nora leaned down to grab an arrow, but her bucket was empty. She looked around her and saw that many of the others were depleted as well.

“Go! Now!” Aesop screamed at her. “Save the boy!”

Mabon, Nora, Adam, and Aesop scrambled down from the
barricade and took shelter behind it. Nora's heart was aching from the loss of dear Brin but she still wasn't ready to desert her friends. She looked over at Mabon and managed to catch his eye for the briefest of moments. That was all she needed to know he was thinking the same thing.

“Form two lines to hand up those gasoline jars,” Mabon instructed the old ones. “Two of us will stand on each end of the barricade, one to hold a lighted torch and the other to light and toss the jars. These are very dangerous, so be careful.” He pointed to one end of the barricade. “Adam and I will take this side. Aesop, can you and Nora take the other?”

Aesop nodded. “I'll toss,” he told Nora. “You hold the torch.” He looked at Mabon and Nora sternly. “You really should get going.”

“We will, my friend,” said Mabon. “But not yet.”

Mabon and Adam climbed to the top of one side of the barricade's end, while Nora and Aesop mounted the other end. The rangers were now coming through the entrance in large numbers, easily skirting the blackened barbed wire and nails. Some had already started to climb the barricade.

“Light the torches!” Mabon yelled. “And fire when ready!” He lit the wick on his bomb from Adam's torch and whispered, “Don't look.” He threw the jar so it would land just ahead of the attack
ers. The second it hit, a huge fireball knocked the rangers to
the ground. Mabon glanced across the barricade and saw Aesop throw a bomb farther back, among the now-fleeing attackers. A few survivors beat at their clothing and that of their fellow rangers as they hurried to retreat, but many others lay on the ground, lifeless.

Mabon was shocked at the damage the bombs had wreaked in spite of his knowing what to expect. The reality of their effects far exceeded his imagination. This was something he'd only heard about, not something he'd ever experienced before.

As he surveyed the wreckage, two rangers peeked out from below the horizon of the slope and began to edge forward slowly. He tossed another bomb, which erupted violently at a distance from them, and they turned and ran back to the shelter of the trail.

“Aesop!” someone called from behind them. One of the old ones had come to the base of the barricade and was shouting up. “There's a party of rangers climbing up the east wall! Some of them are already inside, and they're killing everyone in their path!”

Another voice called out, “And there are more climbing the
back wall. What do we do?”

“It's time to abandon the barricade!” Mabon shouted. “They're outflanking us. Spread out as best you can and find shelter. The worst thing you can do now is to be in one clump where they can attack you all in a body. Grab as many weapons as you can — bows,
arrows, knives, forks, axes, bombs — whatever you can carry
away — and get out of sight. If any rangers get close to you by themselves, attack them as quickly as you can and then get away and hide. If someone gets in trouble, help if you can. Now go!” The remaining old ones scrambled down the barricade, gathered whatever weapons they could, and scattered in all directions.

Mabon threw one last bomb near the gate before he and Adam
climbed down the barricade. When they reached the bottom,
Aesop and Nora were there, waiting for them.

“This is the end,” Aesop said. “It's time for you to go.”