Free The Brave by Robert Lipsyte Page B

slowed his breathing to just enough to keep his brain alive. Saw the suns rise and fall but he couldn’t count ’em. Lay there all alone ’cept for his spirit. The Hawk kept watch over him. Finally, his brother Running Braves found him, sucked out the poison and carried him to a medicine man.”
    â€œFairy tale,” mumbled Sonny, sliding into sleep under Jake’s massaging fingers.
    And then it was time to get up again, to kick the stick and run, to chop wood, to leap from slippery stone to slippery stone along the creek.
    One of the younger subchiefs finallystrolled into the yard, pretending to look for an engine part.
    â€œSeen you runnin’.”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œGot a fight?”
    â€œNot right away.”
    â€œWatch yourself now.”
    â€œWhat’s that mean?” snapped Jake.
    â€œHeard about Hillcrest.”
    â€œRobbed his fight,” said Jake.
    â€œDon’t need no more enemies,” said the subchief.
    â€œNot with you for a friend,” said Jake.
    The dogs crowded around, growling at the harshness in their voices. The subchief shrugged and walked away.
    Jake raised his voice so the subchief could hear him. “His grandfather sat on the Council when they banned the Braves.”
    Sonny was surprised by the fury in Jake’s voice. “That was a long time ago.”
    â€œSome things don’t change,” said Jake. “That’s why this ain’t Onondaga or Mohawk, where they got strong chiefs.”
    Sonny laughed. “That’s why you live by yourself, nobody comes to visit.”
    Jake grinned. “Let ’em think I’m just a crazy old Redskin hearing footprints. Be real surprised one day.”
    That night they watched a video cassette of Muhammad Ali’s greatest fights. Sonny was surprised at the chances Ali took in the ring, leaning back from punches instead of letting them slip past him.
    â€œHard to learn boxing from him,” said Jake. “He had his own special way. But you can learn from him outside the ring. He was of his people. White man gave him a hard time, tried to make him give up his religion, join the Army, say things he didn’t believe. Wouldn’t let him fight for a long time. But he stood up for what he thought was right.”
    Later, massaging Sonny’s legs in bed, Jake said, “Some black people gave Ali a hard time, too. Everybody’s got an idea what you should be, especially if you get big. Maybe you find out, Sonny.” He slapped his thigh. “Now sleep.”
    And then one morning he sat up in bed before Jake arrived. It was still dark, that cool, silent moment before dawn in the hour of the wolf.
    Something was different. He waited untilhis eyes cleared of sleep and adjusted to the moonlight streaming through the window before his eyes cut a path around the room and out into the yard. Nothing. He listened until the night sounds separated and became distinct, the chatter of the bird talk and the rhythm of insects and the rustle of grass and tree branch. Familiar. He felt the breeze lift the hairs on his arms and he tasted its moisture. He sniffed the scents of different firewoods. Nothing new there.
    No pain.
    There was no pain this morning. That was the difference. He lay back and closed his eyes and listened to his body from his toes to the roots of his hair. He felt strong.
    I can do this thing. Get in shape. Won’t be long now before I’m ready for Stonebird. Ready to climb to the top of the highest mountain of Moscondaga with a hundred pounds of stones on my back, and stay there alone with the snakes and the wolves and the mountain lions, and the scariest creatures of all, the dark shapes of the future that lurk in the corners of my mind. I will think about my life, and I will come down the mountain, ready to go back tothe city, to Donatelli’s Gym. To be a fighter.
    Brooks will be there.
    And Doll.
    â€œHow you feel?” asked Jake,