Chapter One
“I know you’re here,” the boy said. “I can feel you watching me.”
I bit my lip as I watched the boy scanning the forest for me. He was crouched low, moving carefully, slowly turning with each step. He was completely covered in black fabric, except for his head. His dark hair would help keep him hidden in the shadows, if he was using them - but he wasn’t. Instead, he was moving in the wide open spaces between the Habula trees where the sun was filtering down. Each step he took caused the ground to ache, which allowed me to find him in the first place. It must have been the heavy things covering his feet since his steps appeared careful and cautious. Had he kept his feet bare, he might have avoided my detection, but I was glad he hadn’t.
Without a doubt he was a part of the newest Arrivals group. I had never seen anything like him. His body structure appeared exactly like mine, but he was not Sunston. His skin was missing the coppery sun-kissed tone, and no Sunston would hide so much of themselves from the world. I would guess he was probably twice as old as me, but clearly not tall enough to be an adult. Although it was possible that adult Arrivals aged differently and were short.
I stared at him, feeling confident that he was definitely not near being an adult. I had tried to see the other Arrivals, but I was forced to leave the village. Mum and Da had sent me and my twin sister, Tara, into the forest to play at our fort when the Arrivals entered our territory. They promised they would come and find us as soon as the Arrivals left. I had begged to meet the new Arrivals, arguing that I was old enough, but Da would hear none of it. He said Arrivals bearing weapons were not friendly.
My curiosity prevented me from going as deep into the forest as our fort, and luckily I had stayed behind because there he was, an Arrival. As strange as he was, I found myself totally captivated. People had black hair like the shadows, not like the dirt beneath our feet. Nor had I ever seen eyes that could blend in with the sky, instead of the forest or river.
I moved in close proximity to where he stood to get a better look while his eyes scanned the area. He took a few steps and abruptly turned, staring in my direction. I was not worried about him seeing me. He couldn’t. I was the best at Camouflage - it was my favorite game. No one ever found me. As he cautiously walked closer to me, I took in the details of his face, especially the blue of his eyes. The color of the sky was so close, I could not look away.
I was about to make him aware of my presence when he suddenly turned his back to me and stood upright. I tilted my head with curiosity before I silently moved to the left to see what had drawn his attention. As he walked away from me, I wondered if now that I had observed an Arrival, I should leave and catch up with Tara.
My sister and I were exactly the same except for two things: our eyes and our souls. I had the eyes of the forest and she had eyes of the river like the rest of our people. I had a soul of adventure and her soul was affixed to logic. Da had said that we were the perfect complement to the other and assured me as long as we stayed together we would always have balance. Thus, live forever, happier than any Sunstons before us. For most of our lives, we were relatively happy. Tara protected me from getting into situations that would have killed me, and I have shown Tara more fun than she had ever dreamed. As our first decade came closer to an end, it became harder and harder to stay together - more specifically the last two years. Today was the perfect example. She had no patience for my adventurism, nor was she the slightest bit interested in finding out what the Arrivals looked like. Mum and Da had made it very clear that we were supposed to go to the fort. She refused to disobey them simply because I was curious, and headed to the fort without me.
As I stared at the boy, Da’s warning about the Arrivals played at the corner of my mind and I knew I should go to the fort where Tara was waiting. With a sigh of exasperation - and guilt of not listening to Da - I turned to run toward our fort, but immediately changed my mind. He didn’t have a weapon.
I stayed low to the ground, following a few feet behind the boy on my hands and feet. I loved the feel of the planet, its short soft ground cover welcomed my hands and feet each time I quietly set them down. The boy checked the area over his shoulder several times, not once did his eyes land upon me. I smiled each time he continued on, proud that I was so good at this game. The boy abruptly stopped and turned 90 degrees. His hand went to his waist, quickly moving it back in front of him. His hand now held a long, silver, pointed…stick? I had never seen anything like that. As I moved in for a closer look, a piece of sun caressed his stick and shone even brighter within it. I was intrigued that the sun liked it so much. My eyes searched his waist as I wondered where he pulled it from. I hadn’t seen it earl…ier. I put my hand over my lips as an awful sensation grew in the pit of my stomach.
“Tara,” I whispered.
Without hesitation I turned and raced to the fort. Something was desperately wrong. Usually slipping between trees and hurdling bushes without making a sound while I ran was the greatest feeling in the world. However, this time my mind was in a panicked frenzy. As I came over the hill, a plume of black smoke invaded the normally turquoise sky.
I raced down the hill, no longer caring about camouflage. When the forest became eerily quiet, I immediately sunk down low and crawled closer to the fort… or what remained of it. The only thing left was the shadow from the blackened sky. I shook my head, and forced my panicked mind to focus. Tara wouldn’t have stayed here when she saw whoever did this. She would have… She would have… Think, Alyxzandra! Think!
The River. She would have gone to the river.
I crept around the darkened area, keeping my body low until I was between the blackened ground and the river. The air reverberated with an energy I had never felt before, and it only added to my anxiety. I climbed one of the thick Habula trees and sprinted across its branches, jumping from one Habula tree to the next. As a horrid smell reached my nose, I halted. I covered my mouth and nose with my hand as I crouched on the strong branch, afraid to go any further. I made myself glance around the forest floor before I hopped out of the tree, landing on my feet with one hand on the ground, listening for any sounds. There wasn’t anything, not even the Tramalli birds that loved to chirp and sing this time of day.
I took in a deep breath through my mouth and held it as I forced myself closer to the river. The river was where my people spent their entire lives. Never traveling too far from it. Da said that it was the river that gave life to our people and so out of respect we stayed near it. I had played often in the water, chasing the fish that lived in it. Sometimes Tara would join me as she tried to understand why I always laughed so much while we were here. I could not comprehend how she couldn’t find it funny attempting to catch fish with our bare hands.
As the river came into view, I immediately noticed it wasn’t the rusty orange that it normally was. Nor had it changed brown with mud like it sometimes did when it rained. Other times the river turned silver with Borah fish before it turned purple when the Tramalli had a feeding frenzy on the Borah. This, however, was not a color I had ever seen before. I knew I was young, but this color - maybe it was the smell - left me anxious instead of intrigued. I glanced upstream, and shook my head as the unease grew.
I sprinted up along the river bank, fear building with each step. I rounded the bend, but abruptly turned away and dropped to my knees, vomiting. I moved away from where I had collapsed. My body continued to tremble as I stared at the ground. I turned back around, but I didn’t want to look again. I understood that death was a part of life, a part that we looked upon with no ill feelings. However, this was not the death of an elder, the kill of a hunter, or an accident. This was altogether different, and I did not understand the emotion that was making me weak and clouding my thoughts.
All the parents sent their young to the fort, promising to come get them when the Arrivals left. Now… I shook my head. Now…
I lifted my eyes away from the ground and scanned the area as I sensed the presence of another, but I saw no one. I forced myself to walk among the dead, my mind blank of thoughts. Their bodies laid all over the banks and in the shallow water of the river, laying every which way. I shook my head in disbelief. My jaw tensed and my hands clenched tight as I searched for whoever was here. I could hear Tara telling me to run, but I couldn’t help thinking that maybe whoever was here was someone I knew. I glimpsed at the faces of my tribe as I stepped over them, continuing to scan the forest for some sign of who was here.
My stomach turned as I recognized Slar and Bena’s faces. Their bodies were bloody and their faces full of fear. We had played in the forest often together, they were afraid of nothing. I shook my head not understanding.
I glanced up and focused in the direction I was certain someone was watching from. As I made my way through the tragic scene, I saw that there were adults here as well. Most with their necks slit open. Flashes filled my mind of them being forced to watch the children die before they themselves were killed. Every bloody face I saw was exactly the same - forever frozen in terror.
A small sliver of hope found its way into my mind when I realized I had not seen Tara. She was smart. If anyone had escaped, it was her. I glimpsed across the river, and my relief plummeted. I ran through the knee high water, tripping twice before I collapsed on the muddy bank next to her. My arms immediately pulled Tara onto my lap as I stared at my parents.
Why wasn’t I here?! Why did I stray and follow that boy? I should have been here. I lowered my head to Tara’s. The frigid temperature of her skin startled me. My eyes abruptly began to burn as her bloody face blurred before moisture slipped down my cheeks.
“You should leave,” a boy quietly said in a very thick accent, making it hard for me to understand. “They are following a few more down the river, but they will be back.”
Why hadn’t he helped them? Anger and surprise overwhelmed me as I shifted my eyes to his face. It was the boy I had been watching - the young Arrival.
“Please,” he begged.
I shook my head, holding tighter to Tara’s body.
He moved closer to me, slowly as though he were stalking me. I stared at the shiny silver stick, and glanced down at Tara and then at my parents. Tara had bled from several places, but the neck was why my parents were dead. A single line of red had poured out their life force.
Arrivals bearing weapons are not friendly…
I instantly glared at him. He glimpsed at his stick and hastily hid it on his waist.
“I won’t hurt you,” he quietly assured me as he showed me his empty hands.
“You…do this?”
He tilted his head in confusion.
“You…do this,” I slowly said, articulating each word the best I could to sound like his.
“No. I was asked to search the forest,” he replied, pointing in the direction I had come from. “And meet up at the river when I was done.”
“You, Arrivals.”
“Yes, I arrived here.”
“Da not trust.”
His face expressed that he did not understand. After staring at me for a moment he shook his head. “Please, go hide. I do not want you to die.”
I breathed deep, trying to make sense of what he said. He spread his hands away from his sides and continued to walk closer. I should have let go of my sister and run, but I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t survive without my family.
The boy crouched down next to me. “Do you know her?”
I stared at Tara a moment before I slowly glanced at his strange blue eyes.
“Is she your friend?”
I put my fist to my heart. “Sister,” I whispered and glanced at my parents, “Mum and Da.”
Remorse filled his eyes. “I am so sorry,” he replied.
My eyes burned again and he placed a hand on my shoulder. I stared up at him, not comprehending the scene around me. What was I supposed to do?
“We have to leave here.”
“I cannot let go,” I quietly admitted.
His eyes filled with sympathy before anxiously glancing around and down the river.
“Are you going to kill me?”
His eyes shifted to mine. “I don’t kill people.”
“But you kill?”
“I have. Creatures for food and—” He abruptly turned his head and stared down river. “They’re coming. We have to go.”
I followed his gaze and a moment later I could hear the splashing of people moving in the water.
“It’s not safe here.”
“How you know?” I asked as I continued to stare down the river, hoping it was my people.
“Please,” he said as he crouched next to me and moved Tara off my lap.
“No!” I shouted, immediately reaching for her.
He grabbed my wrists, pulling me to my feet and away from Tara. He held tight to my left arm and forced me to run with him into the forest.
As the reality of who he was sunk in, I stopped running. “What you going to do?” I asked as I fought to get free of him.
“Shh…”
He stared back toward the river. In the blink of an eye, he had me pulled tight against him with his hand over my mouth. I tried to maneuver myself away, but he was too strong. He lifted me up and ran. His pace slowed dramatically, but he kept moving, not removing his hand from my mouth nor allowing my feet to touch the ground. We were a mile from the river when he finally stopped and released me. I turned to see his shoulders rising and falling with each quick breath he took. I started to back away from him, but he grabbed my hand. My eyes darted to his in fear.
“You can’t go back to the river. They will kill you too if they find you,” he quietly informed me. “Do you understand?”
I stared at the boy. If he was one of them, then why was he leading me away? Did he know dying alone was one of the greatest fears of my people?
“They are exceptional hunters. We need to get more distance between us and them. We can run faster if you run too, okay?”
I debated what to do. I knew if I struggled, I would leave a trail easy for even a novice hunter to follow. On the other hand, if he was lying, then I would die alone. If I was going to die, then I wanted to be with my family. Tara would have rationalized this out already! Tara didn’t get scared. If she was here, she would be getting answers to what was going on and if he really wanted to help. She always knew the right questions to ask, but I couldn't think of one. I glimpsed toward the river again and then back at the boy. I suppose it didn’t matter, if he was going to take me somewhere to die alone, I had already given him the option. I stared down at my feet as droplets of moisture slipped down my cheeks and I nodded.
His feet moved in front of mine, and I glanced up at him.
“I won’t let them hurt you,” he promised as he gazed into my eyes.
“They kill my family?” I inquired, not looking away from his turquoise eyes.
He shifted his eyes to his feet. “Yes.”
“They like you?”
He glanced around the forest before his eyes glimpsed at mine, to the ground, and back to my face. I watched his shoulders rise with his deep breath. “It was my father and his men.”
“Why?” I asked, fighting against a feeling I didn’t comprehend.
“I don’t know. This is my first time hunting off of the Sovereign’s land. I thought we were going to be hunting creatures, not… not people.”
I stared at his guilt filled eyes for a long moment. I shook my head and moved away from him, but he held tighter to my hand. “Please, they will kill you.”
“They hunt me?”
“I will keep you safe,” he immediately replied.
“You lie me?” I asked. My eyes searched his face. “It doesn’t matter, I… I want to know.”
“No.”
“Why?” I asked, hoping that his answer would reveal the truth.
“Because I don’t like lying.”
“Why you want help me?”
“Because my real parents died when I was a baby. I survived because someone was there to keep me safe.”
“I not trust you,” I hesitantly replied. “Da say Arrivals with weapons not friendly. He not trust you.”
“If I wanted you dead, I’d have already killed you.”
I didn’t say anything because he was right.
“I am bigger, stronger, and I have a dagger,” he clarified as he put his free hand on his waist.
Every muscle in my body tensed at his confidence. Not only did he have every advantage over me, he knew it. He knew it, and he hadn’t hurt me.
“How you keep me safe?” I asked.
A smile played upon his lips. “I can hide you until we leave. Do you know of a good place?”
This time I smiled. “Whole forest is a hiding place.”
“Yes, but my father is the greatest hunter in all of Triluma. He can see the slightest unnatural bend in a branch, footprints that only kiss the ground. He hears everything.”
“I best Sunston at Camouflage,” I boasted.
“Sunston? Camouflage?”
“Arrival,” I said, putting my palm on his chest, “Sunston,” I stated moving my hand to my chest. I gestured to the forest around me, “Camouflage, becoming one with surroundings.”
“My father is not easily fooled.”
“Are you?”
“Not usually.”
“Before I came to river, I standing only few feet away from you earlier,” I bragged.
“What?”
“You said: I know you out there, I feel you watching me.”
“Only a few feet?” he asked, his expression showing he did not believe me.
“Yep,” I replied with a smile.
The boy seemed to consider this. “I’d feel better if we get further away from the river before I leave you to camouflage.”
I took a deep breath. I glimpsed toward the river, wondering if I should go back so that I would be dead with my family. Wasn’t that the natural way of things? I glanced around the forest. I did not want to die alone. I… did not want to die. I wanted to live among the Habula trees. Was that an option? The creatures in the forest found a way to survive, perhaps I could to. I met the boy’s gaze and nodded. Relief flooded his face and he led me further from the River.
“You not worry you get lost?” I asked as we continued to move through the large spaces between the trees.
“I do not get lost. My father says it’s an inherited trait.”
“What you mean?”
The boy smiled over his shoulder at me. “I asked that too.”
“He answer?”
“Yes. It means that one or both of my real parents had the ability to never become lost.”
I let that concept set in my head. There was an ability to never get lost? I hadn’t heard of such a thing. “Do Arrivals have many abilities?”
“I don’t think so. This should be far enough from the river,” he stated as he let go of my hand.
“So you leave? Never come back?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and then gazed up at him. “I hope there more Arrivals like you.”
He smiled back and turned to leave, but glanced over his shoulder. “Will you be alright all alone?”
“One never alone in forest. I be fine,” I lied.
“Well, just in case, take this,” he said as he turned toward me.
He undid the leather strap around his waist and crouched in front of me. I stepped away and he glanced up at me. His eyes held mine as he moved closer. This time I stayed where I was, curious about what he wanted to do. He moved his hands on each side of me and fastened the strip of hide snugly around my waist.
“It’s my dagger,” he informed me as he put his hand on the piece that was not a part of the strip. “Umm…be careful when you pull it out, both thin sides are very sharp,” he added as his hand slipped away.
“Thank you,” I replied. I didn’t know what a dagger was, but he seemed proud to give it to me so I didn’t ask.
He smiled again, and this time the smile seemed to light up his whole face. He held my gaze for a moment before he turned away. I watched him walk away, waiting until I couldn’t see him before I hid myself in the forest. I ran to the right of where he left me, just in case he was going to lead the others to me. I climbed into a Habula tree and sat on its intertwined branches. I scanned the area around me. There was no sign of anything. No creatures or birds, no Arrivals or Sunston, just me and the Habula trees. I always felt as though the Habula trees enjoyed me climbing in them and running along their branches. Not once had they dropped me, or prevented me from getting anywhere. My people, on the other hand, did not tend to climb into the trees. They did not understand that the Habula’s branches were strong and that their dark green leaves that hid the sky would also hide them from the creatures on the ground. My people…
I glanced down at the gift from the boy, so that I would not be swallowed by the fact that I was alone. I stared at the gift, wondering why he wanted me to have it. The other Arrivals killed my family, but he led me away and gave me a gift. I gripped the piece his hand had held and pulled the dagger out. I was surprised to see that it was the silver stick.
“Dagger,” I whispered.
I tilted it and watched it gleam as the light gathered within it, shining brightly. I pressed my finger on one of the thin sides and my blood immediately slid down my finger. I dropped the dagger and the point sank into the tree. Flashes of Tara’s bleeding marks moved through my mind. I stuck my finger in my mouth and backed away from the dagger. I was not going to bring death to others.
I stared at the dagger, wondering why he would give that to me. I was about to move to another tree, leaving it there, but I halted and glanced back at it. I was the only one in my family who had never received a gift before and I wanted to keep it. I slowly moved closer to it and pulled it from the tree. Besides, if the sun loved it, then it couldn’t be all bad. I slid the dagger back into the brown holder I had withdrawn it from.
I moved closer to the strength of the tree and leaned against it as I observed the ground. I was going to stay here until the next night to make sure the Arrivals were gone. Not that it really mattered, since it still would not be safe for me to leave then either. I knew a Sunston girl alone had no chances of survival. Although, it was highly unlikely that the Arrivals killed all of my people, wasn’t it? I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, wondering why I had been so curious. Why hadn’t I obeyed my parents? Why was I still alive when so many others were dead?
Slowly a tranquil presence moved around me, and the notion that my life was not at an end filled my mind. I didn’t understand how that could be possible. I had known of no Sunston girl - or woman for that matter - getting lost and being found alive, if at all. As the serenity grew, I listened to the sounds of the forest, smelled the scents of the Habula flowers. I opened my eyes and my breath caught. The large blue flowers were open all around me. I hadn’t even seen the blossoms when I climbed up here. The flowers were not easily missed, they were the size of an adult Sunston’s head. I inhaled deeply and smiled at the comfort that surrounded me.
“Thank you,” I whispered and leaned my head back against the tree’s strength. I stared at the beauty of the flowers. Mum had told me that the forest cared about me, which was why my eyes were green and my blood was as blue as the river used to be. Da explained that was why the planet would always do what it could to make me smile. For a moment, I no longer felt alone.
A faint sound reached my ears, followed by the Tramalli screeching. I sat up straight, listening. The Tramalli only made that noise when the Zurgala attacked another creature. As that registered, a cry of pain echoed through the forest. I smiled, hoping that it was the Arrivals. They would not escape the Zurgala. It was dangerous and…
My smile faded as I thought about the boy who gave me his dagger. I bolted from the tree, racing in the direction that the sound had come from. I easily maneuvered my way through the brush, using the momentum from hurdling over the large branches that had fallen from the Habula trees to run even faster. The Tramalli continued screeching, making it easy to pinpoint where I needed to go.
I arrived as the Zurgala used its front leg to knock the boy into a Habula, immediately pouncing and pinning the boy against the tree before he recovered his breath. The boy attempted to remove the large paw from his chest, but halted as the Zurgala’s razor sharp claws dug into his flesh, forcing the boy to scream in agony. The boy stood zero chances of surviving this encounter. The Zurgala was as intelligent as it was deadly. It was known to take its time with its kills, as though it were giving hope just so it could tear that away as well.
I shook my head as my mind raced for a way to help the boy. Some of the men of the village had taken this creature down, but no one had ever told me how it was done. I hurried over to a tree and snapped a branch off, hastily throwing it like a spear into the Zurgala, hoping it would turn and focus on me. My plan worked and it started to stalk towards me. I stared into its deep green eyes as fearlessly as I could and it bared its teeth. It was halfway to me when the boy collapsed to the ground in a groan, drawing the attention of the Zurgala again. It turned, making its way toward the motionless boy. I shook my head, my adrenaline pumping with the need for action. I had seen enough people dead today, I would not witness one more.
I ran at the creature and jumped onto its back. It halted a few feet in front of the boy, but not because I was upon it. Instead it crouched, ready to pounce and dig its teeth into its meal. The Zurgala didn’t care that I was on it. Why would it? I wasn’t a threat. It seemed to know that my fingers wouldn’t make it through its tough skin, nor my teeth strong enough to do any harm either. If only I had a— The boy’s dagger! I grabbed the dagger and plunged it down.
The Zurgala screeched in pain and turned full circle before it bucked me off its back. I hit the ground rolling. I immediately glanced up as I stopped to see the dagger laying between me and the infuriated creature. The Zurgala let out a challenging cry and I bolted to the dagger. Luckily, this action confused the creature. It wasn’t a long hesitation, but it gave me the opportunity to get to the dagger before the Zurgala was close enough to use its needle point claws or its serrated teeth. I wrapped my fingers around the handle and stood as I extended my arm. The Zurgala’s saliva burned my skin as it collapsed with the gurgling breath of its death, but at least I would live and so would the…
The boy was still. I couldn’t even see his chest moving.
I hurried to get out from underneath the Zurgala, but it was heavy and it took me a moment to shove its rough body off of me. I didn’t glance down at the scrapes its sandpapery body left on my skin before rushing over to the boy, my adrenaline was racing and my mind was completely focused on saving the boy.
His shirt was soaked with blood from the Zurgala’s claws cutting into him, and there was more blood pooling from a large tear in his pant leg. I ripped open the material on his left thigh to see a purple ring inside the lacerations from the Zurgala’s upper and lower teeth, which meant that it had injected its poison. I glanced at the boy’s face, impressed that he had been able to free himself from its powerful jaws - a nearly impossible feat. However, its poison was the reason it was rare to survive the Zurgala. I hastily focused back on his thigh, glad he was unconscious because I did not want him to see what I was about to do.
My mum had said that the Zurgala poison only stung the skin of the women from our village, but it killed the men. She suspected that it was the planet’s way of protecting the women since we did not fight. The men were usually able to protect the women, but there were rare instances where they were defeated…obviously. Moisture stung my eyes as the image of my family filled my mind, and I quickly focused on the boy.
I was going to have to suck the poison out, and hope that I could stop his bleeding. I stared at the mutilated flesh and nervously licked my lips. The Sunston appreciated the taste of blood, but I knew the poison had tainted it, which would evoke a gag reflex. Mum said it was the Zurgala’s way of making sure that the women couldn’t save the men.
I pressed my lips against his thigh before I bit into him. The rush of fresh blood would help me get the poison out quicker. I sucked in a mouthful, but hastily moved away and vomited. Three more times this happened. My body refused to ingest any of it. Moisture returned to my eyes at the thought that I would be unable to save him. I shook my head and hurried back over to him. I refused to not be able to save this boy. I stared at the wound that continued to bleed before I forced myself to try again without moving away. I drank and spat out his blood until I could no longer taste the foul flavor. I knew I should stop at that point and put some distance between us, but I began to drink his blood, enjoying the flavor more than I had thought I would.
“No!” I shouted as I forced myself to move away. I closed my eyes, focusing on how I wanted to save him until the desire to keep drinking vanished.
I opened my eyes, and my heart began to race. I kneeled next to him. He was very pale. No, no, no… I wiped my blood covered hands down my face in frustration. I didn’t know what to do. I stared at the boy’s face and remembered the strange blue of his eyes and the smile that caused his face to beam, but more so his insistence that he would protect me from his own people - that he would keep me safe. I glanced at the Zurgala, but I was distracted by a small gleam of light. His dagger, which was now coated in the Zurgala’s blood, laid on the ground. I tilted my head to the side as I stared at the sun’s light, bright against the darkness of the Zurgala blood. I returned my attention to the boy in disbelief. He had given me… He didn’t even know me, but he gave me his only form of protection.
I glanced at the shallow rise and fall of his chest. It wasn’t too late to save him. I knew, deep inside of me, that I could save him. I slid my fingers onto his bloody bare thigh so that my palms were over his injury and closed my eyes. After a moment, a sensation moved through me, starting in my heart and moving down to my stomach. It was a strange sensation, one that I had never felt before. For a brief moment, I thought about moving my hands away, but I knew if I wanted the boy to live I had to keep my hands on him. Once I let that notion solidify in my mind, the sensation moved to my leg until my thigh began to throb. I screamed as the skin on the outside of my thigh split open, my stomach became sick as the sound of my bone cracking caused another scream. I opened my eyes, staring at the boy’s face, willing myself to not move away. Lesions tore across my chest and I cried out in agony. The boy suddenly gasped for air, and his eyes shot open.
“What are you—”
His question was lost as he quickly grabbed my hands and removed them from his leg. He continued to hold my wrists as he stared at his leg. I clenched my teeth at the pain that was eating through my muscles. I breathed with deep breaths as I felt how scared he was when he realized he had no way to defend himself. I could feel all his pain as the Zurgala bit into his leg crushing the bone, his fears as its claws ripped into his chest and penetrated his lungs, the dizziness that robbed him of his consciousness as he believed he was going to die.
The boy abruptly let go of my hands and moved away from me. My hands dropped to the ground and my arms worked hard to keep my body from collapsing. I stared at the green grass as my body and mind reeled with the horror that the boy had endured.
He slowly moved closer. When he was in arms reach, he cautiously moved his hand towards my face. His fingertips slid along my chin, tilting my face up. His nose scrunched in disgust as his eyes scanned my face. His eyes darted to his leg and then to my eyes in horror. As he moved his hand from my face, I noticed the blood on his fingers and understood what had disgusted him. His eyes had come to mine in fear, knowing it was his blood smeared down my face, surrounding my mouth, and dripping down my chin. He knew because my blood was not the same color as his. I waited for him to kill me, but instead his hand carefully slid onto the side of my face.
“Are you okay? What did— How did you do that? How did you save me?”
I just stared at him. I didn’t have the energy, nor the knowledge to answer him.
“That beast broke the bone in my thigh as it tore into my leg with its teeth. How did you turn it into nothing but a small scar,” he said in awe.
My arms gave out on me, and I collapsed onto my side. His eyes shifted to my chest and then continued to my leg, his face expressing horror as his hand went to the rips in his shirt. He moved to my legs and his hands immediately pressed against my thigh. I squeezed my eyes shut as I screamed.
Breathing deeply, I opened my eyes. The boy had run to his dagger, and was staring at the Zurgala. His fingers slid over his chest where the claws had raked before he slowly picked up his weapon and walked back over to me, thinking hard about something. As he stood over me, I could see he had made a decision. I closed my eyes as he kneeled down, not wanting to see him kill me. Arrivals with weapons were not friendly.
I felt him pull on my skirt before the sound of material ripping reached my ears. I opened my eyes in panic to see him moving the hide away from my thigh.
His eyes shifted to my face. “It bit you too?! What do I do?!”
I shook my head, but it barely moved. The sensation that had surrounded my heart began to replace the pain in my thigh, numbing it.
“Are you healing yoursel—”
“Jared!” a deep voice shouted. “Get away from it!”
“She’s injured, father,” Jared loudly informed him.
“Good. We don’t want to leave any of them alive.”
Jared’s body froze as his face set in determination. “You’re not going to kill her,” he stated with confidence as he lifted his dagger, turning to face the other Arrivals.
A large Arrivals walked over to Jared, laughing. “It’s a creature. Not Triluma like us,” he assured Jared.
“She saved my life,” he stated and the man halted a few feet away from Jared.
“I doubt that. The Sunston are savage. Look at its mouth. This creature was going to eat you after it drained you of your blood. That is why we hunted them down. Their kind have killed many of the Sovereign’s people.”
“She has not.”
“Only because it is so young. It sees us as a source of food.”
“She just saved me, Father,” Jared argued as he gestured toward the Zurgala.
The Arrivals’ dark eyes shifted to the dead Zurgala. He quickly hid his surprise and focused back on Jared. “Either finish the job or move away,” his father sternly replied.
“No,” Jared stated.
“No?” the man questioned in shock.
“No,” Jared repeated with conviction. “I will not kill her. She saved me. She should be rewarded, not punished.”
“Our Sovereign has commanded that these creatures die. There is nothing you or I can do. We must protect our people.”
“I want to keep her.”
“You can’t keep this monstrous creature,” his father growled.
“She’s a girl, not a creature or a monster. How can you not see that?”
“You are too young to understand. I thought you were old enough, but clearly you are not.”
“Father, she—”
“There is nothing you can say. It has been ordered that we kill them all.”
The boy suddenly stood up straight.
“What? Are you going to fight me?”
“I claim her. I will keep her. I choose her,” Jared rattled off as if searching for the proper phrase.
“You choose it?” the man incredulously said.
“I choose her.”
“You know the seriousness of those words,” the man said in a low growl.
“Y-yes.”
Jared’s father shook his head in disbelief and chuckled. “We will pretend you did not say that, Jared. Move away, and let me kill it so we can leave.”
“No. I choose her,” he repeated with confidence, and a gentle breeze played with Jared’s hair before I felt it caress my skin.
“It is too young,” his father stated. “It can’t be much older than eight or nine.”
“I am not. And in a few years she won’t be either.”
There was amused laughter behind the boy’s father, and the man turned to look behind him. He hastily stepped to the side and bowed his head respectfully as did everyone else. A boy not much older than Jared stepped in front of the boy’s father. This boy’s eyes immediately observed the scene. He was taller and a little broader than Jared, and although his eyes were the color of the sky as well, they were not as deep or vibrant as Jared’s. He walked over to us and glanced down at me before looking at Jared.
“Let him take her home, Jonah,” the boy said as he shifted his attention to the boy’s father.
“My lord…”
The boy put his hand up and Jonah fell silent.
“Jared has his father’s air about him. A sort of noble confidence we cannot ignore, wouldn’t you agree?”
Jonah clenched his jaw before he forced a smile. “Yes, my lord.”
The older boy seemed to observe Jonah for a moment before he walked around me, staring at the Zurgala before focusing back on Jonah. “We both know Jared isn’t really old enough to make an intelligent decision of his choosing,” the boy said as though he were Jonah’s age.
“Exactly, my lord.”
“However, fourteen is old enough that we cannot disregard his proclamation, nor will my father.” The boy’s eyes inspected my body for a long moment with intrigue before returning his attention to Jonah with indifference. “She is harmless.”
“It is wild,” Jonah replied as though reminding the boy.
“The Sunston do not train their females to fight. Is this not true?”
“It is, my lord.”
“Then she will be no threat to such a warrior as Jared. When he sees the truth in your words, he will have no problem killing her at that time.”
Jonah chuckled. “Fine.” He returned his attention to Jared. “No one will hold your misjudgment against you when you realize that it is a savage beast. However, it is your responsibility to get it back to the Sovereign’s land.”
Jared turned and crouched next to me. “No one will hurt you,” he whispered as his arms slid under my shoulders and knees. The strange sensation in my body surged at his touch, causing everything to spin into darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment