“Go,” she whispers, “hide him in the forest, we can’t let Becker see him or we’re all in trouble, especially Arthur.” She promises to try and spread the word of Arthur’s deception as far as possible, which hopefully shouldn’t be too difficult given that the entirety of the village is currently in front of her.
I hastily make my way over to Guy, trying to keep my pace normal just in case any of Becker’s men are watching from a distance. I roughly drag him by the arm after me, thankfully he doesn’t resist. The wreck is gently glowing now, little more can be done now anyway. All salvageable goods lay in a pile far off to one side, watched over by Ida who once more also keeps an eye on the kids as their parents aid the village.
Carefully, we walk away from the village until we can pick up the speed when I am confident that we are hidden from the lights. As soon as we are properly protected behind the cover of the forest, I take off running, careful to avoid the branches, ditches, and shrubbery only faintly illuminated by the moonlight. Guy easily keeps stride.
“They’re looking for you,” I feel his eyes bore into me as we run, “the ones who set the fire, they’re from the colony,” I pant and halt. We have reached the spot where only hours before we had scoured the bushes for berries.
“Who are you?” I question, but my only reply is the ever-permanent silence. “Where are you from?” my voice has risen as loud as I dare, we’re deep into the forest now but I am unwilling to risk anything louder. Guy stares back at me but remains mute. I don’t have time for this, I need to get back to Alice and my mum, even from here I can see the faint glow of the village, lights would normally be long extinguished by this time, but I doubt anyone will be sleeping tonight.
I round back to Guy, my face a contortion of frustration, and instruct him to stay and tuck himself away in the shadows. Finally, I am met with some sign of comprehension as he darts through the trees and vanishes from sight.
By the time I reach the outer fields, the first signs of day have begun to reach the outer buildings. I need to grab some food and supplies for Guy, as ungrateful as he may appear, he’s still under our care and with Becker and his men here who knows when, or indeed if, he’ll be able to come back to the village.
I creep around the edges of Avlym, occasionally nipping between huts to stay concealed but keeping clear of candlelight. I also take care to duck under any windows and move silently, I didn’t get to see where Becker and the rest of his men invaded last night and they could be waking up any moment in the homes right next to me for all I know.
The rotten slab of wood vaguely resembling a door creaks open painfully loudly as I cross the threshold back into the safety of my own home. I swiftly cover the straw and dirt plastered floor to my mother who lay protectively embracing my sister. Her eyes flutter as I approach, and her underfed frame carefully removes itself from the sheets. She’s already alert and looks as though she has only been asleep for a matter of minutes.
As I heard last night, Becker has called a town gathering as soon as possible by the fire pits, presumably to discuss what I’d heard at Arthur’s window with the rest of the village. My mother seems confident that word should have spread, and hopefully even those ears her words haven’t reached should be attached to brains smart enough to join in on the effort and support the lie. I am also relieved to hear that although the colony men have invaded a few huts and caused a bit of upset, no one else has been hurt. As she says this, a wheezed snore alerts me to Bruce who slumbers on a makeshift bed in the corner.
After hearing my plans my mother tries to persuade me to stay in the village, now that the sun is rising it’s going to be a lot riskier disappearing into the forest, and incredibly hard to explain if I get caught, especially now that a mandatory meeting has been called.
Eventually we compromise in my promise to hurry back and she scouts the street before ushering me out with a couple of small loaves of bread and a full waterskin. The extent of her generosity never ceases to amaze me, we’ll struggle for the next few days, but Guy will need the food more than we do. Alice stirs quietly behind her and I immediately feel guilty for leaving the two of them alone this morning of all mornings.
The barley stings my bare shins as I head once more towards the forest, behind me I catch the risings of the earliest of the village residents and once or twice my ears prick up towards disturbances that sound worryingly close, urging me to hasten and reach the protection of the treeline as quickly as possible.
After crossing into the shade of the overhead canopy I head straight for the clearing, startling smaller creatures underfoot and disrupting bird songs. Normally this kind of behaviour would be reckless, the birds taking flight and the prey darting away from me may as well be a map to my location for the morning hunters. Whilst they would surely greet me with open arms, I could nevertheless do without the inevitable questions on my doing here that would immediately follow.
I must be lucky however as no faces emerge from the
