by E S Richards
Zahyra wondered what Asher must be thinking about Cain. As always he was keeping his Gen 4 branding hidden under the sleeves of his leather jacket, but that had done little to relax her when they’d first met. Of course back then she didn’t have anyone telling her that Cain could be trusted, but Zahyra knew that with Asher almost being murdered at the hands of a Gen 4 mere hours ago he probably wouldn’t be too excited to find out that Cain was one as well.
She hoped the topic of Cain and his mutation wouldn’t come up quickly in conversation. Zahyra couldn’t lie to Asher after everything that had already happened but prayed that a blissful ignorance could be maintained at least until they were out of the forest.
There were so many things she wanted to know about Asher’s time in that camp, but there were also so many things she didn’t want to know about it. So long as Asher was okay that was the main thing and Zahyra knew that when he felt ready to talk about it he would tell her what happened.
Looking down at him again she noted that physically he seemed fine, he was a little malnourished and clearly exhausted from the way he was carrying his body but other than that there was no visible harm that had been done. A good meal and a full night’s sleep should be enough to cure those ailments; it was the emotional and psychological damage that Zahyra was most worried about.
Although Asher was and always had been a very smart child, he often lacked charisma and struggled in situations where instinct had to take hold. Zahyra just hoped that the events that had occurred within the camp – whatever they were – hadn’t done too much damage to his already timid self.
Just then Cain let out a yelp in front of her and Zahyra let go of Asher’s hand to move to his side. Cain was crouched over balancing on one foot, his injured one hovering a few inches above the ground.
“Are you alright?” Zahyra asked nervously, scanning the surrounding areas in case there was anyone nearby who had heard Cain’s cry. The forest air was beginning to heat up so Zahyra knew dawn was just around the corner and it wasn’t wise for them to still be wandering around the forest once daylight hit.
“Yeah, fine,” Cain grumbled, “just stood on something.”
The forest floor was covered in broken branches and small rocks so Zahyra realised he must have just stood on one of them at an awkward angle. She bit her lip in frustration at their situation and felt Asher nuzzle up behind her as she did so.
“Can you still walk?” She asked Cain while wrapping one of her arms around her brother, bringing him in closer to her body. She would never grow tired of being close to him ever again, the overwhelming sensation of love coursing through her veins like nothing she’d ever felt before.
Cain set his left foot back on the ground in response and shifted his weight around a little, testing the injury. Zahyra could see pain flash across his face as he tried to stand up straight but he hid it well, looking down at the ground so his face was mainly hidden in the darkness.
“Yeah,” he paused, “it’s not much further. Come on.”
Zahyra marvelled at how he set off again with a determined look in his eye. She was reminded each day that Cain had no obligation to be with her and had merely accompanied her out of the kindness of his heart.
When she thought back to how he had been when they first met, barely being able to string a sentence together and not looking her in the eye she almost couldn’t believe how much he’d changed. And he’d changed her too, she realised. The warmth she felt inside her wasn’t solely in response to having her brother back, but was something that had been growing ever since Cain had kissed her in the scout hut. The scout hut they were now about to revisit.
Ever since that moment she had seen Cain in a different light. But she still didn’t completely understand those feelings, nor was it made simpler by the reminder that he had pulled away when she had kissed him again. She didn’t know whether it was her age, her inexperience or if Cain simply didn’t like her like that. But there had been a connection when they kissed. An undeniable connection. And Zahyra wasn’t going to stand by and let that connection fade away.
First they would get to safety. Then she would make sure Cain’s foot wasn’t too badly damaged and Asher was feeling okay. Then, probably several days later, she would talk to Cain about it all. How she was going to bring up the conversation she had no idea, but there were certainly a few more pressing matters she would have to deal with first.
The forest was now several degrees warmer than it had been only an hour ago and Zahyra could tell the sun would have risen fully within the hour. Sweat was beginning to gather on the small of her back and her left hand was clammy from holding onto her brother’s for so long.
Just then Cain crouched down again in front of her and she lurched forward to see if he had hurt his foot again. Then she noticed the scout hut in front of them and ducked behind a tree, pulling her brother along with her.
There were two mutants positioned in front of the hut cooking something on a fire. The smell floated through the air towards them and Zahyra’s stomach grumbled in response, her mind drifting to the three wild dogs they could have cooked and eaten deeper in the forest.
Pulling her train of thought back to the present she crossed a gap between two trees to kneel on the ground next to Cain, his eyes dancing over the scene in front of them. Asher sank to the ground between them and Zahyra realised how truly broken he looked. Cain wasn’t in any fit state to wage an attack and with a gulp Zahyra realised this was going to be left to her.
The hard casing of the gun in her waistband suddenly felt a lot heavier as she weighed up what she was about to do. Killing one mutant in the moment to save her brother was one thing, but planning how to execute two more who were just standing guard was on another level. Her vision began to cloud as she realised even after everything she’d been through, she was not prepared for this.
Chapter 21
“Zahyra,” Cain muttered under his breath as he unsteadily leaned towards her, “you don’t have to do this.”
Zahyra looked from Cain to her little brother; his face had turned pale at the sight of the other two mutants. She knew he didn’t have the strength to keep running and with Cain’s foot he wouldn’t be able to make it much further either. Cain was wrong: she did have to do this.
She shook her head in response to him and felt where her knife and Cain’s gun were strapped to her waist. She prayed she could take both mutants down with just a couple of shots but knew it was unlikely with the first time she’d held a gun only being a couple of hours ago. A look on Cain’s face told her he was slightly relieved she was going to attempt the task ahead of her. She also thought she detected a look of worry but didn’t dwell on Cain’s feelings for her. This was a moment where she had to maintain complete and utter focus.
“Asher,” she whispered, turning her head to look at her little brother again, “I’m just gunna go talk to these guys, see if they’ll let us stay in their hut, okay?” She knew her lie was stupid and her brother would know what was about to happen, but she was unable to bring herself to admit to him what she was really about to attempt.
“Why don’t you get to know Cain? Just,” she paused for a moment, “just don’t watch me please.” She pleaded internally that her little brother would heed her warning and turned away from him, unable to look him in the eye much longer.
“Don’t let him watch,” she then said quietly but sternly to Cain, who nodded in understanding. “What do I need to do?”
“Get as close as you can first,” Cain said and Zahyra agreed immediately. She wanted to put as much distance between her and them if anything went wrong. “Then shoot. You can do this.”
Cain placed a hand on Zahyra’s shoulder as he spoke, trying his best to give her a reassuring look. It had little effect as Zahyra steeled herself for the task ahead. With one last smile to her brother she began to skulk through the trees, edging closer to the scout hut. The sun had almost risen above them and she knew if she didn’t act now it would b
e too late.
The forest floor was bone dry under foot and it took a lot of Zahyra’s concentration to move without making a sound. The gun felt unnatural against her skin and her mind flipped at the thought of having to use it again, but she knew she had no choice.
Once she’d put enough adjacent distance between herself and who were probably two of the most important people in her life at that moment, she began to creep closer to the scout hut. The two mutants were still outside, now eating from the pot over the fire. Neither of them looked like they suspected anything and Zahyra took this as a good sign, slowly beginning to feel more confident in the steps she took.
Once she was only about ten metres away she stopped behind a large tree trunk and withdrew the gun from her waistband. Two quick shots, she told herself, two quick shots and this was all over. She whispered a silent prayer to herself and then stepped out from behind the tree.
Neither of the two mutants looked up from their food as she raised the gun, pointed it in their direction and fired. Once, twice, three times for luck. Then she opened her eyes, not realising they had involuntarily snapped shut after the first bullet had left the gun.
One of the mutants was lying on the ground, two bullet holes having torn through his chest. He looked dead already and Zahyra felt a cold shiver run down her spine while her eyes moved quickly to the second. All her bullets had missed him and he was staring straight at her, his teeth bared and his food on the ground next to him.
She quickly raised the gun again and fired off another shot. It grazed his arm but did no real damage, the mutant barely recognising the pain the bullet must have caused. She was just about to squeeze the trigger again when the mutant vanished in front of her. Her eyes widened at she stared at the now empty space he had inhabited just moments ago. Then before she could formulate an explanation a body slammed into her sending the gun flying from her hand as she landed with a thud on her back.
She shook her head as she landed, dazed and confused. Then again before she could process what had happened a fist gripped her neck, pulling her to her feet and the second mutant reappeared in front of her. He was holding her in a vice like grip just inches away from his own face.
Zahyra struggled to breathe. She could smell his breath, which reminded her of the meal that had been cooking in the scout hut when she and Cain had been there earlier. His mouth was set into a wicked smile; his yellow teeth protruding out from his gums while his head was cocked at an angle. For a long minute he said nothing while Zahyra kicked and struggled in his hand, her breathing getting weaker while her feet hung just inches from the ground.
Then all of a sudden he dropped her back to the ground without a word and slammed his fist into her chest, causing her to double over in pain and gasp for breath. Whilst she was bent over she remembered her knife and withdrew it from her waistband as quickly as she could. But the space where the mutant had been stood was now empty and she spun around desperately trying to find where he had gone.
“I’m going to have fun with you,” a voice called out in a singsong tone from somewhere to the right of her and she whipped her body around in that direction in response. There was no sign of the mutant and Zahyra realised only then that his mutation must obviously be invisibility. She cursed herself internally for not working it out sooner.
How was she supposed to fight someone she couldn’t even see? In despair she scanned the forest floor for the gun, but in the dim lighting and with leaves and broken branches scattering the ground she couldn’t see it.
“Looking for me?” The voice called out again in its singsong tone and Zahyra straightened up, her knife gripped tightly in her right hand.
“Scared to fight me like a man?” She shouted back, adrenaline beginning to overcome her as she stepped slowly around in circles gazing into the seemingly empty forest.
“Why don’t you –” her sentence was cut off as her body was slammed back against a tree and the mutant appeared in front of her again. She was ready for him this time and quickly rose to her feet, spinning around and planting a kick firmly in his chest as she did so. The mutant staggered back a foot but looked un-phased.
“That the best you can do?” He taunted and disappeared again into nothingness.
Zahyra’s mind worked fast and she bent down to pick up a handful of leaves with her left hand, collecting a fistful of mud along with them. She then moved quickly out to the area in front of the scout hut, away from any trees she could be thrown against.
The body of the mutant she had shot lay still on the ground, his eyes open but thankfully, staring into the distance. She pulled herself away from that image and turned so her back was to the hut.
“Come on now,” she called into the trees, “don’t leave me out here all alone.”
As Zahyra had predicted she began to hear footsteps running in her direction and strained her ears to determine exactly where they were coming from. At the last moment as her body involuntarily braced for impact she stepped to one side and threw the handful of dirt and leaves into the air where she thought the mutant was.
Her hunch ran true as he became visible again, his hands wiping the dirt from his face. He then looked at her and vanished. No less than a second later Zahyra felt two fists hit her face in quick succession. She moved her left arm up to block and slashed out with her knife into the air, searching for the mutant’s body. A third punch landed on her side but then stilled to nothingness.
Zahyra’s eyes searched the forest and in a moment of luck she managed to find the mutant. The leaves she had thrown clung to his clothing like she had suspected and floated in the air as he moved around invisibly. He had now lost his main advantage in the fight, although Zahyra knew he was still much stronger and better skilled than she was. However all that meant to her was that she’d have to continue to rely on her cunning, and that was working out quite successfully for her so far.
She loosened her grip slightly on her knife, the beat of her own pulse resonating through her hand from the pressure and watched the floating leaves curve around to the right, starting to move back in her direction. It was now or never she thought and began to charge at the space the mutant occupied in front of her.
The leaves hung still in the air for a moment as Zahyra ran at the mutant, then at the last second they pulled away to the right. Luckily Zahyra had anticipated this dodge and had guessed the correct direction from the surroundings in the forest nearby. She angled her run to accommodate for this and flung her knife wildly through the air just below where the leaves hovered. She felt the blade hit flesh and pulled her arm back towards her, dragging the knife back through the same place it had just landed.
The mutant flashed into sight in front of her and sagged down onto one knee, his right hand clutching his chest where two cuts now ran deeply through. Zahyra paused for a moment, staring at the damage she had caused and then, adrenaline shaking her into action, lunged forward once more.
The mutant was ready for her this time though and moved slightly to one side, landing a punch in her ribcage as he moved. Zahyra cried out in pain, her ribs still bruised from her very first fight with a mutant, the one that Cain had eventually saved her from. Another punch found her ribcage immediately after and she was forced to stagger backwards away from the mutant. He then rose to his feet, his right hand still pressed to the wounds in his chest and walked slowly towards her.
“This ends now,” he snarled at her and took a big step foward, his left hand curled into a fist and ready to strike.
As instinct took over Zahyra she began to move almost as if she wasn’t in control of her own body. She sidestepped his punch, hearing the wind whistle in her ear as the heavy limb tore through the air where she had just been stood. Spinning around she raised her right arm and brought the blade of her knife down on the mutant’s still outstretched arm. In one clean swoop it sliced through his flesh and bone, causing his left hand to drop to the ground and blood to stream out of the open wound.
His face co
ntorted into a look of sheer rage and with a bloodcurdling cry he ran towards Zahyra, closing the gap between them in seconds. With her eyes half closed she held her knife out in front of her and burrowed it deeply into the mutant’s chest, stopping him in his tracks.
He yelled out in pain and dropped down to his knees directly in front of Zahyra. Both his arms dropped to his sides as the life began to drain out of him, his skin turning pale and the ground beneath him absorbing his blood like a flower with water. His eyes then met Zahyra’s and she was locked into his gaze as he tried to open his mouth to speak. No sound came out except a gargle of blood in his throat as he eventually fell over to one side and hit the ground, his heart taking its final beat. His eyes remained trained on Zahyra as he fell.
Blood pounded in Zahyra’s ears as she watched the mutant fall and stop breathing. Her own breathing was ragged and desperate as she then dropped to the ground beside him, clutching at her ribs. She let her knife slip out of her grasp and curled her fingers around the damp forest floor instead, the leaves moist and warm with the mutant’s blood.
All the adrenaline she had been feeling quickly began to fade away inside her and she felt the pain of the many blows the mutant had landed. She whimpered into the forest floor below her and her eyes began to fill with tears, both at the pain she was feeling and the pain she had caused. Somehow, Zahyra forced herself to look at the mutant.
His body seemed smaller than it had during their fight and she could clearly see his branding on his right arm. A Gen 3. She had just fought and killed a Generation 3 mutant in hand-to-hand combat. Or rather, she then thought, she had just murdered a man.
