With a sickening feeling in my stomach I remember my promise to my mother to be hasty. She will be beside herself with worry now, surely the meeting has started by now. I almost stop dead in my tracks. The meeting. Rhys might tell them everything! They’ll have to explain Landen’s arm. Would they really lie and therefore protect me? Or is their hatred for the two of us enough to forsake Avlym and reveal all to Becker? Surely not the village, but the colony men would certainly mark me as a traitor. I just hope that Becker leaves my mother and Alice out of all this. I know the village will try and protect them as much as they can, but if the colony wanted to, they could reduce our village to rubble, let alone take a mother and her daughter.
Briefly I consider turning back and sprinting to my mother’s aid. It wouldn’t take too long to get there, but no I tell myself, that would do more harm than good. I would just incriminate them and we’d all be convicted. So long as I’m not there, my mum has some degree of deniability of knowing anything about Guy. Surely Rhys and the lackeys wouldn’t condemn the whole village. Would they hand me over? Certainly, I gave up on any hope of the bully having humanity or morality where I’m concerned a long time ago, but is it too much to hope that he’d leave my family out of it?
My mouth dry and palms sweaty as I trudge along lost in my own thoughts, I nearly walk into the back of the hunter, narrowly avoiding headbutting Guy. We are next to the water again, a fair way upstream from where the incident with Rhys had happened. A large heap of branches is assembled off to one side.
As we near, the large heap of branches has an opening, which the hunter stoops to disappear through. Hesitant and unwilling to let Guy out of sight, I follow him in.
It is dimly lit inside and surprisingly spacious with a small sleeping area at the far end and a pile of hunting gear and other equipment nearer the entrance. The hunter gently lays Guy down with an odd look resembling reverence. He brushes past me with a grunt and ducks once more to leave myself and Guy alone in the den.
I bend low to check on my friend. Friend? Is that what this boy is to me now? The cut has stopped bleeding, the red now sticking encrusted to the side of his face. His breathing is quick and shallow, but I know nothing of remedial plants and would have no idea where to start. I would likely end up poisoning him before I did any good. I am not my mother; I can only hope that the hunter can help him.
I do not know how far we are from Avlym now, we walked for perhaps an hour from the stream before arriving at the den. Even if the colony men are after us, we should be safe for a while. It would take a lot of luck on their behalf to find us here and hopefully the stream should have masked our trail in case they bring in their dogs to look for us. Of course, Rhys could lead them to the stream, which would give them a small head start. Perhaps they will even assume we are already dead, it is entirely possible that Rhys and Harvey mistook the hunter for a forest demon. Then again, who am I to say he isn’t? Even now that I’m standing in what I assume is his home I’ve learnt nothing about the man.
Guy is on a thin bed of straw, beside him sits a tiny food store and some animal hide. Upon seeing the food after such a long walk in the heat, I longingly remember the loaves I left back downstream.
I check the pile by the entrance, a few loops of vines that have been weaved into ropes and fishing traps form much of the collection. There are also a few wicked looking hunting knives, another couple of bows and arrows thrown to one side, and spears. Spears with runes carved into the side.
The same runes on the spear that killed my dad.
I’m drowning. Overcome with horror and overwhelming panic. I need to get out of here, I head straight for the opening, my shoulders banging against the sides and tearing down a little of the structure.
The return to daylight blinds me and behind from the direction of the stream there’s a cry, but I don’t stop and head into the trees. In my panic I realise I’ve left Guy, but we wouldn’t be able to get away from here in his state. My people all know what the hunter is capable of, the damage those spears can inflict, the number of people who have gone missing over the years.
Thundering footfalls follow me. Low hanging branches whip against my face, and my bare shins continue onwards, bloody and scratched. I am no longer human, simply the personification of some primal flight instinct. I am a fleeing rabbit, desperate to reach the safety of a burrow as I am pursued by the six foot, bald, tattoo-decorated fox.
Through the last few remaining trees, mountains begin to loom above, preceded by a vast pool of sapphire. The crystal waters reflect the snow-capped tips with perfect clarity. I curse. Going into the depths is out of the question, it also looks shallow for several steps at least and I don’t know if I’d be able to disappear before the hunter spotted me. Even if I did escape, with no shelter, dry clothes, or fire to dry off in, there’s no chance
