Divided (2 page)

2

Arys

I misjudge the fall and land painfully on my feet, the force of it pushing me to the ground. My hands sting as I try to climb up, while the Hunter climbs up from Kai on the ground, bewildered, and charges at me. I glance quickly at the silhouette of Kai on the ground, unable to tell if he’s still breathing as I raise my knife foolishly at the Hunter. The look in his eye is almost apologetic as he carelessly throws my knife to the ground and raises his fist for a killing blow. I attempt to throw myself out of the way, when suddenly the tip of a blade, Kai’s, protrudes from the Hunter’s chest, staining his clothing red. He coughs up blood, and his face goes from surprise to relaxation as he falls heavily to the ground. My heart beating furiously, I stumble up and run towards Kai. He had thrown the knife from his position on the ground. Closer up, the rise and fall of his chest is obvious, and I hold his head in my hands.

     ‘Nice shot,’ I grin at him, motioning towards the Hunter.

     ‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ he gasps, sitting up carefully. ‘He could have killed you! I was doing fine on my own!’

     ‘I love you, remember?’ I say, helping him to his feet.

     ‘Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to go jumping out of trees and making yourself a target! Sacrifice isn’t like that!’

     I think of him lying there, almost helpless. I’ve watched him escape these situations before, I didn’t really have to help him and he’s right. I attempt a comeback, but it’s useless. He’s won.

     ‘What do you suggest we do with them?’ he asks.

     ‘The river is too far away,’ I say. ‘Bushes will have to do again.’ The weight of even one Hunter is too much for either of us to do alone, so together we carry them. We find a large pit, with wild plants growing out of control. Carefully, we conceal them amongst the greenery. They’re hidden well enough to not see them unless you know they’re there. This part, I have done many times before but I’m not a murderer. Yet.

     ‘We should camp out here tonight and head back to the Tribe tomorrow. Unless of course, you’re up for another five mile hike after going through that, in which case- ’

     ‘We have to,’ I cut in. ‘Papa won’t sleep unless we’re there, you know how he is.’

     I think of him worrying and all the wild thoughts rushing to his mind of us dead, lost, or the possibility of Kai and me running away. Papa isn’t my father; he’s the leader of the Tribe, the one in charge of everything there. There’s no real hierarchy, only him. He found me as a baby, shortly after the earthquake. He came to my house in a desperate need for food and to scavenge for anything of use. All he found was me, alone with no parents around. He took me and has cared for me since. I think of my parents often. Maybe they abandoned me, or possibly they died. Either way, I know they’re gone now and Papa is my family.

     We purposely avoid keeping the fire alive, in fear of drawing attention to our location for the Hunters to track and ambush us. I watch as Kai stamps out the dying flames, killing the biggest light source we have. I think back to the whole reason we’re out here. We were both sent out to gather firewood and hunt for small animals, such as rabbits or squirrels. The Tribe might be cold tonight, and I feel a small pang of guilt at the thought. Returning with nothing, or not appearing for a couple of days isn’t uncommon, and search parties are only sent out as a last resort. We usually make do with the remaining supplies we have. I mainly feel bad for Papa. I doubt he’ll sleep until we return.

     ‘Your little friend has died,’ Kai says, holding the rigid bear in his arms. ‘Too much blood loss, you cut it too deep.’

     I knew that he would die, he was too young. Though I know that the cut I made wasn’t deep and that Kai must have ended the cub’s life. He’s like that, he doesn’t have the fondness of animals that I have.

     ‘Kai?’ I ask, already wanting to change the subject.

     ‘If it’s about the bear,’ Kai says, turning away to rest the bear on the ground. ‘I’m sorry for the loss. We can have a proper burial if you want? It can have flowers in its hair and everything.’

     I wish we weren’t so sarcastic with each other, I know that his real motive is to make me feel better, or to cheer me up after what happened with the Hunters, but it’s not working.

     ‘No, it’s not about the bear,’ I say quietly.

     ‘Oh? What is it then?’ he asks me cautiously. ‘Though I’m glad you don’t want a funeral, my favourite hoodie is ruined thanks to it!’

     He pushes his knife through his leather scabbard and stands next to me.

     ‘It’s about the Hunters,’ I say, staring at the place where we hid them. ‘How many have you killed now? What’s your number?’

     I turn to him and see his pained expression. An awkward tension comes between us. It’s not the first time I’ve asked him, but he refuses to tell me. He avoids my eye.

     ‘Enough,’ he says finally.

     ‘That’s not an answer.’

     I understand that he doesn’t want to talk about it, but it’s a question I’ve longed to know the answer to for years.

     ‘You will see me as a murderer. I only want you to know me and look at me like you do now!’

     How do I look at him now?

     ‘I promise you that I won’t change my opinion of you. I know our situation, our world. And you know that I will never stop loving you, however many Hunters you’ve killed.’

     ‘You will. You can’t help it. It doesn’t matter how much you love someone, once you know the number, you never look at them the same way again. Ever.’

     He returns to the place we had our fire, and shoulders his backpack, making his decision not to tell me final.

     ‘Come on, we’ve got a long enough journey back to camp without us putting it off,’ he says, a little too coldly, though not without the slight smile he retains when talking to me.

3

Kai

Arys walks next to me as we make our way back to the river to get our bearings again. The night is cold, despite it being summer now. The blood stained hoodie is now almost dry, so I pull it over my head again. When we find the river, Arys pulls out her knife and holds it in her hand.

     ‘Arys?’ I ask cautiously, assuming she’s seen something that I haven’t.

     ‘We can’t go back empty handed,’ she says, kneeling besides the river.

     I watch as she waits patiently with her knife prepared, before striking once. Her knife kills a fish, and she proceeds to gut it. She cuts part of the meat off, and places it in the river, setting a small rock partially on top of it.

     ‘Now we wait?’ I ask.

     ‘If we’re in luck, the crayfish should come for it,’ she replies, leaning back onto the bank and drying her hands on the grass.

     I sit next to her and watch as eventually, a single small crayfish approaches the fish meat and attempts to seize it. Slowly, Arys lowers her hand into the water and picks up the crayfish with her hand before stabbing it instantly with the knife. Before long, other larger crayfish approach the meat and Arys continually gathers them until we decide that we’ve been away from the Tribe for far too long and we have to head back. Arys throws the remaining fish meat into the river and shoulders her backpack.

     ‘Papa will enjoy these,’ I tell her, pointing to her backpack as we set off.

     ‘They’re his favourite,’ she replies, smiling. ‘I remember when he taught me that method of catching them when I was little, and I fancied myself feeding the Tribe on them forever.’

     ‘I can just imagine you doing that!’ I say, laughing. ‘You haven’t changed much, you know that?’

     ‘What do you mean?’ she laughs. ‘I don’t have wild ideas like feeding the Tribe on crayfish forever anymore!’

     ‘I, alongside your bag full of crayfish, beg to differ.’ I joke. ‘But speaking of wild, I’m sure we passed some wild garlic, and if we find it again, the Tribe would be grateful for the additional flavour.’

     ‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Arys agrees.

     We continue following the river until we see the light of a fire in the distance. After quickly harvesting some wild garlic and putting it inside my own backpack, we make our way towards the sound of laughter.

     The temporary camp is fully set up now, complete with a roaring fire in the centre of all the tents; it appears that other people were sent out for firewood due to our longer absence. When we settle at a proper site for the month, all the tents that we own are used, but during travelling, we stick to using the seven biggest tents we own. I have been allocated the tent with my older brother Zeke and the rest of the hunting party. During travelling, the night watch rota is changed every three hours. Six members protect the Tribe from the Hunters. One is allocated the job of waking people, and everyone sleeps with emergency weapons stashed inside the tents.

     Charlotte is the first person to greet us when we arrive back. Her red hair glowing in the firelight, she smiles apologetically at both of us.

     ‘Papa has been worrying,’ she says.

     Arys tenses up a little besides me, while I return Charlotte’s smile. ‘Where is he?’

     Charlotte points towards the fire, where Papa is deep in the type of enthusiastic conversation one reserves for young children. The smile on his face is genuine at the story Holly is sharing with him. Arys and I watch him listening to the young girl. He’s old and gray haired, still a healthy weight. He carries a staff to help him walk, one which Arys created. It was one of the first that she made. I’ve heard through whispers around the fire that he once was married and loved in the Old World way, but his wife died; killed by a Hunter. It serves as a reminder of the pain the Old World love can bring.

     He turns his head towards us and stands up quickly for someone his age. Arys rushes forward to hug him, her backpack left abandoned on the floor. Picking up the backpack of crayfish, I approach Papa and Arys. They separate and Papa embraces me too.

     ‘I was worried for you both! You shouldn’t stay away so long!’ he says, pulling away from me.

     ‘Arys was catching crayfish and we lost track of time,’ I say apologetically.

     Papa’s eyes look down at the backpack I’m holding and his eyes widen in shock. ‘You’re bleeding!’

     I look down suddenly, noticing the bear’s blood on my hoodie. ‘It’s not my blood! There was a bear, it’s a long story.’

     ‘And Hunters?!’ Papa demands.

     I quickly glance at Arys, who isn’t looking at Papa anymore.

     ‘None,’ I lie. ‘We stuck to the river and didn’t come across any.’

     Papa’s face relaxes as he hugs Arys again. If Papa knew that Arys was almost in serious danger, he wouldn’t trust me with her again.

     ‘I heard someone mention crayfish?’

     Turning, I see Susan and her husband Derek. They’re the best cooks here, and I give them the backpack of crayfish and the wild garlic from my backpack.

     ‘Go get cleaned up before we eat,’ Papa suggests to the both of us.

     Taking a bucket of water each from the small stash near the fire, we both retreat to our allocated tents. As I enter mine, Zeke is the only one inside, lying on his blanket and staring upwards.

     ‘Hey,’ I say, removing my t-shirt and washing the blood off my chest.

     He sits up quickly and looks at me, suppressing a laugh. ‘That’s a good look for you.’

     I wait for the water to calm before examining my reflection. My hair is everywhere and filled with leaves and mud. A thin scratch is spread across my forehead and the blood has dried down the side of my face. I throw my head into the bucket and scrub at my face with a cloth, quickly making the water turn from a clear colour to that of a darker brown.

     ‘Catch anything good?’ Zeke asks me as I dry my hair on a spare blanket.

     ‘We have quite a few crayfish,’ I say, smiling.

     Zeke falls back down onto his blanket, exasperated. ‘You’ve been gone for
hours
! I was expecting a deer or two at the very least and you return with crayfish?!’

     ‘And garlic!’ I argue.

     ‘At least you encountered some Hunters,’ he replies. ‘That should keep your dignity from getting dangerously low.’

     ‘That’s not my blood,’ I protest. ‘It’s-‘

     ‘Keep your excuses to yourself!’ he cuts in. ‘I know you killed at least one. The Tribe may buy your stories, but I know my own brother well. How many did you kill?’

     I pause for a second. ‘Two.’

     ‘Which brings your number up to?’

     Nobody knows exactly how many Hunters I’ve killed in my lifetime. I keep that to myself.

     ‘Zeke...’

     Arys pokes her head into the tent at the right time, saving me from making more excuses.

     ‘Food’s going to be ready soon,’ she says, smiling at me, but giving Zeke a cold stare.

     ‘Thanks, Arys,’ Zeke says, winking at her.

     She leaves us, not saying another word.

     ‘I wish you wouldn’t be like that with her all the time,’ I tell him.

     I leave the tent with Zeke following me. As we approach the fire together, the smell of garlic reaches me and I realise suddenly how hungry I’ve been. Taking a seat next to Arys, I watch as the several people cooking finish off boiling the crayfish.

     ‘Smells amazing,’ comments Mervyn, one of the older members of the Tribe.

     I glance over at Zeke, who doesn’t share the same opinion of this meal and laugh at the look on his face. He was expecting a much greater meal than this tonight.