by Anna Hub
"Thanks for the food."
"No problem." Matt hooked his bow on his shoulder and turned away.
"I hope you decide to stay," Tara added, then joined him back down the path.
As soon as they disappeared, I took out the animal skin underwear and fixed the band around my chest and the small skirt around my waist. It felt odd to wear anything that even resembled clothing after being without it for so long but somehow it made me feel more like my old self. I did a lap around our campsite looking for Brayden but didn't find him until I returned to the river, upstream from where I'd met Tara and Matt.
He hung upside down from a branch, flicking his shadow into the river as he studied the fish. I sat down silently to be sure I wouldn’t scare them away, jumping as the shadow slapped the water again. He swore as he missed his target.
“Wouldn’t you be better off using a spear? We could make one with the blade,” I offered.
“I want to be able to do it with my shadow.” He wrapped the black strip around his waist and let himself slide from the log.
He disappeared under the water and seconds later emerged in front of me, using both hands to push dripping hair away from his face.
"We can't cook fish anyway," I said.
"It's just practice." He waded closer. “Swim with me.”
“It’s too cold.”
“You’re going to have to get used to it.” He climbed out and flicked cold drops of water at me as he sat down. "What's this?" He tugged at the animal skin skirt.
“Tara brought them. There’s one for you as well.” I expected a joke about him wearing a skirt but instead, he frowned.
“Tara? When?”
“This morning.”
His face tightened. "Did she come alone?"
"Matt was here too."
He looked over the river, silent and tense. Was he too afraid to ask if I'd found the answers I was looking for?
"They brought more food." I pulled the bag closer and handed him some fruit. "They said they'll be able to come back tomorrow."
Brayden turned to look at me. "For what?"
Last night we'd decided to wait twenty four hours for their return but we hadn't discussed what would happen if they did return within that time. Judging by his posture, he didn't want to stay any longer. "They said finding food on our own won't be easy," I began.
He rubbed his face. "What are you trying to tell me, Selena?"
I pulled at the animal skin at my waist. "They seem to think they can negotiate an agreement with the villagers—"
"But we don't want to make an agreement with them."
"It would be to live on our own but get help with food and supplies, not to live amongst them. I would never want to give them that control."
His tone sharpened, "But accepting their help gives them all the control."
"We wouldn't be governed by their rules, we could live on our own and just use—"
"We've already talked about this. We agreed to leave after today."
His frustration was understandable but so was mine. "It's not that easy for me. I need to know more before I walk away and I didn't learn enough today."
"Don't you think there could be a reason for that? Maybe they don't want to give you all the answers because then they'll have nothing to bargain with?"
Maybe he was right. I did get the sense that Tara was eager to keep me close and all I could think about was Ethel and what she'd said to me about having an Enhancement that could counter the darkness in Brayden. Was that the reason behind Tara's behaviour? Was she trying to help Ethel? But then there was Bill. And maybe it would be worth waiting just for the opportunity to speak with him.
Brayden shook his head. "I think the same thing could easily happen every day. You meet with them, they tell you to wait one more day and we stay here relying on them for everything, eventually too useless to do anything on our own."
Everything he said was true. I understood that, but it was still so hard to let go. "Maybe we could leave and arrange some kind of meet up, monthly or—"
"When I first woke up out here, you looked at me like you'd never looked at me before. You were more afraid than I'd ever seen you. And they did that to you."
"I was afraid of losing you but—"
"And you came pretty close, because of the people in that village!"
His eyes were filled with anger, but completely brown. His argument was entirely rational. I swallowed the desire to be stubborn and nodded. "Logical choices, not emotional ones."
"What?"
I turned to the river. "I just need to remind myself to make decisions based on logic rather than emotion."
We sat in silence for a few minutes before his hand brushed over mine. "I know this is hard for you. But I don't trust them."
I couldn't bring myself to look into his eyes. Afraid that he might see all the uncertainty and insecurities floating on the surface. "You're the one with the superhuman Instinct. It's the right decision."
Chapter Two
I barely slept that night. Not out of fear but for loneliness. Because somehow, without other people in my life, the need for definition seemed greater. Otherwise, what was I living for? Without hobbies or interests, I was just a girl in the forest. Life needed purpose, but here there was ... nothing.
Eventually, I moved away from our shelter and sat by the river, listening to the water flowing downstream. As the night grew later, my thoughts turned dark. At first I thought about friends like Natasha. What had happened to her after I'd died? Had she tried to forget the shadows or was she still trying to work out what had happened to me? To begin with, she would probably think about me every day but eventually my absence would become normal. She would think about me less and less. For my family, it was a different story entirely. Their memories went back twenty seven years. For them, the pain would be permanent.
And my family deserved closure. It broke my heart to know they would never get it. No matter how hard they searched, they would never find the answers they were looking for. What happened to me was the kind of thing left in the unsolved mystery file, but I wasn’t the first person it happened to and I wouldn’t be the last.
I wiped tears from my cheeks. Every passing day dragged my family further away and I was afraid that if I stopped thinking of them it would seem as though they never existed. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt so much if I found a way to make my existence in this world mean something. I just didn’t know where to start.
A foot nudged my arm and I woke with a jolt. Slender legs stood beside me but the sun shone behind their owner. "You look really uncomfortable."
"Tara?"
"Did you sleep here?"
The river flowed gently beside us. My peaceful place. "Must have." My back cracked as I shifted, wiping sleep away. "You're here early."
"I had to sneak out while no one else was around. Matt should be on his way by now." She sat down. "Have you had time to think about our offer?"
I closed my eyes, fighting against the disappointment of our decision. "We're going to have to try doing this on our own."
Tara looked to the ground. "I had a feeling you would say that."
"Like I said, we can't put our trust in a village that tried to hurt us."
"We? Or Brayden?"
"My desire to stay here is fuelled by emotion. If Brayden wasn't here, I would be more likely to indulge in that, but as it happens, he's the voice of reason."
She picked at a twig. "I just think you need to make sure you're happy with the choices. You have to be true to yourself, this world is too ruthless to try and make other people happy."
Did she think I was naive? "We survived the Valley together, I think we've established a good decision making process."
Tara stared. "I have no doubt you can survive it, but it's not about food and water for you, it's about human connection."
I swallowed. Every time she looked at me, I was reminded of the urge to be a part of something greater than myself. How did she i
ncite such a feeling? "It's not enough to stay for."
"It's no secret I want you here. I won't pretend my motives are selfless, but I'm good at picking people and I can see you don't want to go."
"The decision's already made."
She nodded; silent for a moment before she shook her head. "I'm worried that his Instinct isn't fully developed and maybe you don't know exactly what you're getting yourself into."
"He's still changing, but I trust him completely."
“At the trial you told us he could control it, but when we met with him, it didn't seem like he had such a great handle on it."
An unseen force squeezed at my throat. He hadn't shown any aggression during their meeting but he hadn't been fully present either. “That was the first time he's had to interact with people he doesn't know. At the time of the trial, I'd never witnessed that before but it was your distrust he sensed. That's a normal human reaction, but with his Instinct, he's unable to hide it."
"He's not the first person to have changed when they came to this world."
I thought again of my conversation with Ethel in the cave: Things change when you transfer into this world, did you know that?
"In order to control it, you need to know where it came from. Usually our Enhancements develop from a dominant part of our personality. So what lies within him that made him become a hunter?"
I worked hard to keep my expression straight; the last thing I wanted was to give her the satisfaction of seeing doubt.
"How much do you know about his past?"
"I don’t know everything there is to know, but I do know he’s not like other hunters."
“It’s reassuring you feel that way.”
I clenched my teeth. Brayden was right. It was time to leave these villagers behind.
"Just remember, understanding it is the key to controlling it." She seemed to recognise that I was done with this conversation. "And if you're going to go solo, there are a few things you should know. The climate changes in the south, don't ask me how the hell that works, but the forest there is subject to rapid temperature changes. It's hostile and few animals live there. Although you may be safe from attacks, there is a greater chance of dying from exposure. And food is harder to find.
"Of course the north takes you closer to the Valley of the Hunters, so I'd recommend avoiding that too. Stay away from mud lands. Vampire leeches live in them, and seek shelter when there are moth swarms," she pointed to a scar on her neck, "the bats are vicious."
“Matt said there was nothing to be worried about out here, no creatures to attack us.”
“He said it wasn’t like the Valley, he never said it was paradise.”
My heart beat harder at the thought of all the terrifying things in this world I was yet to experience and Tara gave me a knowing smile before she continued, "Your life in this world may not be what you hoped for but you'll find your own way.”
I preferred the gentler side to her. “How long have you been here?”
“I passed nine years ago and this place feels more like home than the Origin ever did.” She sucked in a deep breath of appreciation.
“Do you like it here?”
“Now yes, at first everyone hates it, but this life grows on you.”
I wiped hair from my face. “And how long does that take?”
She laughed. “For me, two years. But that’s when Matt transferred so maybe that had something to do with it.” She winked. “It's different for everyone though, it depends on what you’ve left behind. People who were happy in the Origin seem to have a harder time of it. Some people have great jobs, expensive houses, fine dining, all that crap.”
Families, I thought. “What was your job before you passed?”
Tara grinned. “I was the director of an advertising company.”
“Really?”
She tugged at her hair as she chuckled. “I know. The truth is, I was hopeless at the creative part but really good at manipulating other people to do all the work for me.”
She looked far too young to have made it to such a high position nine years ago. “How old are you?”
“Thirty two this year.”
“That means you were pretty young when you were in that position.”
“Like I said, I was good at manipulating people ... and I lied about my age.”
“Wow.” I imagined her in a business suit with gigantic heels, towering over balding middle-aged men until they bent to her will. “You don’t strike me as the corporate type.”
“I couldn’t be further from it now. I had a hard time letting go of my place in the Origin. I thought I was destined for great things. But I soon learnt there were greater challenges here.”
She wasn’t always the person I saw before me right now. Maybe that meant I could find my way too.
We both turned as a figure appeared at the river's edge.
"Brayden?" I stood up.
He froze in his place; eyes grey as Tara rose to her feet.
I hurried to his side. "It's just Tara."
She stiffened as she took in his grey eyes, her hand reaching for the bow on the floor. Brayden kicked his shadow into his hands and my pulse jumped into overdrive.
"Tara, no!"
She paused but it was too late, Brayden's shadow flicked out despite my effort to catch it. The black strap hit Tara's arm and knocked the bow from her hand. She cried out with the pain but left the fallen bow on the ground and raised her hands in surrender. Her wide eyes examined Brayden as I jumped in front of him.
"She doesn't mean any harm." I pressed my hands against his chest but his expression remained tight, his eyes fixed on Tara.
He took a step forward and curled the shadow into his hands once more.
"Brayden?" I turned back, searching for the threat he sensed. Tara appeared submissive but perhaps his Instinct detected thoughts just as easily as physical actions. "Step back, Tara. If you're thinking about fighting, he'll sense it."
She stumbled over a rock as she backed away but managed to catch herself before she fell.
"Keep going," I urged.
"What about my bow?"
I cast my eyes to the ground where her weapon lay. Was it close enough for me to reach? Brayden took aim with his shadow again. Could he reach her from this distance? I tried to grab his face but he shook me away. "Listen to me, Brayden. It's Tara. She's only here to help us."
His shadow shot across the empty space and Tara ducked as it snapped above her. Within seconds Brayden had it loaded once more. This was so much worse than it had been at their first meeting. Panic took hold as I realised the situation was spiralling out of control. If I didn't do something it would end badly.
"Get out of here, Tara."
"What?" Her tone sharpened as she caught the expression on my face.
"Please, go now."
She looked to Brayden, once again dodging his shadow as it shot out to meet her.
"Go!" I cried.
She turned and ran down the path. I expected Brayden's Instinct to fade with her absence but he stared into the distance, his shadow still coiled. I wasn't sure how to reach him. I grabbed at his face. This time he didn't shrug me away but he wasn't fully present either and I had no idea what to do.
"She's gone. There's nothing to endanger us."
He started walking, each stride loaded with energy as though he were about to run. And I was completely powerless. I held a hand out as though it might keep him in place and stretched out with the other to grab Tara's bow. I pulled an arrow into place and took aim at Brayden. He didn't flinch, still heading down the path where Tara had run. If I actually fired, surely he would be able to dodge it in time. Would it be enough to distract him? Could I somehow really intend to hurt him for long enough to attract the attention of his Instinct?
"Brayden?" I called one final time, but he didn't react. I closed my eyes and let the arrow fly, heart in my throat as I waited for him to cry out in pain. Instead there was only silence. I opened my eyes one
at a time and found he'd paused.
"Can you hear me?"
He turned. His eyes still grey but he stared at the shadow in his hands as though he had no idea how it got there.
"There's no one here but us." I rushed forward.
Brown filtered back through his eyes and he surveyed the forest around him. "What happened?"
I fought against the knot in my throat, horrified to think of what could have happened.
"Selena?"
"You attacked Tara."
His eyes turned blank. Perhaps he was searching for the memory.
"You didn't hurt her ... but you could have." My hand rested against my chest as though it might help to slow my pounding heart.
Brayden ran a hand through his hair. "Where is she now?"
"I told her to run. I didn't know how to stop you." I met his gaze. "You hit her with your shadow. When you first walked into the clearing, your eyes were grey, she reached for her bow, but just as self defence, and you must have taken it as a threat."
Brayden looked over his shoulder in the direction of the village. His eyes were brown so there was obviously no immediate danger but he still seemed on edge. "We should get out of here."
I nodded. We couldn't wait here and hope there was no backlash. It was too risky. We rushed back to the campsite with him to gather our belongings.
--*--
Everything had happened so suddenly but there was no doubt in my mind now. We had no choice but to run. If Tara was suspicious of Brayden before, now there was no way she would ever trust him and if I was being honest with myself, I wasn't sure if I'd ever trust him with other people either.
"Tara said the south part of this forest is dangerous and the Valley is north, so I guess that just leaves the west." I struggled for breath as we hiked alongside the river.
"What's wrong with the south?"
"She said the climate is unpredictable and there isn't much food to gather in there."
Brayden nodded. "West then."
We didn't talk about the incident as we walked, but I couldn't help thinking about everything Tara had said about Brayden's Instinct changing. I had complete faith that he would never hurt me, but as far as other people were concerned, nothing was certain.
