Forest, men joined with their Nri Brothers and rallied to the call of the master Nwaba. It was time. The Nri would rise.
Kreios heard it. He knew what was coming. Ten stories below the penthouse, he stopped and waited, listening. He had only taken a few, perhaps a hundred. There would be thousands more now, and they were all converging upon their evil master Nwaba.
Kreios quieted himself and waited for El. Everything hung in the balance now. What he did next would seal—or unseal—the next thousand years. And it would only be a beginning, but…it must be the right one.
My feet hit bottom. A wave rolled over me, toppling me forward. I had to give one last burst. Come on, Airel, you can finish. Push it. I did. With a few more strokes I was in the shallows and the surf was receding. I made a clumsy exhausted run for it to avoid the next incoming wave, stumbling up onto the beach until the waves could only kiss my ankles, no longer a mortal threat.
I was breathing very hard. I was completely spent. I sat down on the beach in my underwear in the darkness and rested for a moment. I couldn’t believe I had done it. Now I could concentrate on trying to get some help. And some freaking clothes?! I was glad it was dark.
Judging by the state of activity around me, I figured it was well after midnight. The witching hour. When all the freaks were out.
I looked around me, trying to figure out where I was. I was on a beach that was studded with massive rocks and boulders. There was all kinds of activity going on; little shapes darting here, there and everywhere. Penguins. Okay. That’s weird. Penguins? Really? They were kind of cute, though. Little black-and-white waddlers. I had to smile, even though I was just about as naked as they were.
How am I going to find clothes? At least before I went off walking down the street shouting for help, I needed to cover myself.
She spoke up. “Bertha’s.”
I sighed. I shook my head and stood up, trying to dust as much wet sand off my butt as possible. I had to play the game. Take what I could get and watch my attitude. That was all. I looked around me. There were some buildings standing off a ways. Some of them looked like hotels, others like private houses. In the other direction there were some huge docks poking out into the water with a big navy boat parked at one of them. Parked? I guess a Navy guy wouldn’t say ‘parked,’ but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I decided to start walking. Away from the Navy guys and their battleship or whatever. Perhaps I could use their help after I found clothes, but not before that. Perhaps I would find something at Bertha’s like She had said, which, I assumed, was a clothing store with an open window or something. Trying to understand She was a monumental task sometimes, but I was glad for what little info I got.
After I walked up the beach a little way, past a sign that read: Simon’s Town, I saw a big, long canary yellow building with gabled green roofs pitched over its windows. It looked like a resort, so I thought it was a good place to start. I kept walking until I saw the sign hanging out over the boardwalk: Bertha’s.
“Sweet!” I said, breaking into a run. I tried to keep away from the pools of light made necessary by civilization, but it was not easy. The closer I got to the hotel, the harder it became.
Finally I ducked into a little nook in the wall made by the shape of the building. I was wet, covered in grimy sea water, and a little desperate. I racked my brain, trying to think over what I was going to do. I was at Bertha’s; I had made it that far. Now what?
My hand brushed the corner of the wall as I peeked out from my not-quite-dark-enough hiding place. I scanned the area for clues. And then I saw something. Not far off, draped over the fence that surrounded a large pool area, were some towels and what looked like some clothes someone had set out to dry.
Come on…be something I can use!
I ran to the fence and looked through the stuff. I didn’t hear anyone shout anything at me; it didn’t seem like anyone